Google Docs is used regularly, if not constantly, by hundreds of millions of people. There are many features and tools to explore behind its seeming simplicity—just open it up and start typing—many of which let you customise the programme to your needs and can boost your productivity and workflow.

We've chosen some of our favourites, and you should be able to do more on Google Docs with less resources by using at least some of them.

Dictate your text 

Although not everyone finds dictating papers effective, you may at least test it in Google Docs: To begin, select Voice typing from the Tools menu. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S in Windows or Cmd+Shift+S in macOS if you find it more convenient.

Start speaking by selecting the on-screen microphone. As you speak, you'll see your words printed down. If you need to modify or clarify anything, just keep typing. To exit dictation mode, press the microphone button once more.

More than you may imagine, voice commands are supported, including "choose paragraph" and "move to the end of the line." Try experimenting with various formatting instructions, and refer to the whole list of words here.

Quickly create new documents

Simply put "docs.new" into your browser's URL bar and press Enter to instantly create a new Google Docs document. You may build a desktop shortcut or a browser bookmark pointing to the same hyperlink shortcut to speed up the procedure even further.

Put Your Own Substitutions in Order

Open Google Docs' Tools menu, select Preferences, and then select Substitutions: When you input certain character combinations, Google Docs will substitute them with a list of other characters (correctly formatting fractions, for example).

Simply use the Replace and With boxes at the top of the list to generate your own substitutes. Existing subscriptions may also be edited, substitutions can be eliminated by using the crosses on the right side, and substitutions can be turned on and off by using the checkboxes on the left.

You decide how to apply substitutes; examples include changing "--" to a real em dash (—), fixing common misspellings, and inputting short abbreviations that are subsequently substituted with typical extended words.

Work together on emails

As you might think, Google Docs and Gmail are closely related, so you may use Docs to draught emails for Gmail until they are ready to send. To begin, select Insert, Building blocks, and then Email draught from within Google Docs.

When you're ready to send it to Gmail, click on the blue email icon close to the left in Google Docs and a new Gmail draught will emerge on the screen. You may @-mention individuals to fill out email addresses and write the email in the main text box.

Font and layout changes

You don't have to accept the default appearance that Gmail provides you with: Configure the text formatting and style choices to suit your needs. One of those things may be fonts, and you can import new fonts by selecting Add fonts from the drop-down menu at the very top of the fonts list.

Fonts are just one choice; the toolbar's zoom drop-down is just one more. In the meanwhile, you may convert to a Pageless view, which appears as one long document with no page breaks, by opening the File menu and selecting Page configuration.

Utilize templates

Never undervalue the amount of time that templates may save. They can sometimes be limiting and restricting, but they can also help you get started on a document: To display options, select New, Google Docs, and From a template from Google Drive.

Directly Enter a Video Call

Google Meet is another another Google tool that Docs integrates nicely with. Video conversations are far more prevalent than they used to be for reasons we're all aware with, and Google has responded by putting a Meet button in the top-right corner of the Docs interface.

When you have a document open, you'll notice it, and you may start a new meeting by clicking on it. While you talk, everyone else on the call will be able to see the most recent version of your document since it isn't lost.