CT GAFE - Docs #3 - Formatting Docs

Most of us are familiar with how to do certain items regarding formatting with Microsoft Word, we may not be as comfortable with Google Docs. This page is to help with some of the basic formatting options available in Google Docs.

To start with, when editing a document, you will find the majority of your formatting tools on the formatting bar in Google Docs. This bar begins with the printer on the left hand side. Using this bar, you will find Print, undo, redo, zoom, text style, font, size, bold, italics, underline, text color, create a hyperlink, make a comment, text align left, text align center, text align right, text align justified, spacing options, numbered list, bulleted list, decrease indent, increase indent, and clear formatting. At the very far end, you will see a button that says “editing.” That button will allow you to also “suggesting,” which is like Microsoft’s track changes, and simply view the document.

Google Docs will also allow you to insert many different items into the document using the “Insert” menu. This insert menu will allow you to insert images, links, equations, drawings, charts and tables. This is also where you will find the ability to insert special characters into your Google Doc. Using the insert menu you can also find your header and footer options for your document using this menu. Aside from those, you can also add comments to your document as a reminder for yourself or feedback for your collaborators. You can also set up bookmarks in your document as well as a table of contents.

Overall, Google Docs will let you format most documents as you would in a Microsoft Office document, but if you can’t find a template that you like, check out the free educational version of LucidPress for your document needs.