How to use Text Substitutions in Google Docs

Here’s a nice quick way to speed up your typing. We all have those standard bits of text that we type regularly in our documents. For example, your company name or a phrase you prefer. This is where Google’s text substitutions come in handy. They’re a bit like the shortcuts you use on your phone, like brb, which can automatically expand to be right back.

Google Docs and Google Slides have these text replacements, called Substitutions. Once you set it up, you can just type the text shortcut you want, and it will automatically be replaced with your preferred word, phrase, or symbol.

Let’s check out how it works.

Using Text Substitutions in Google Docs

1. Start with a new or existing document in Google Docs.
2. Select Tools > Preferences.
3. At the top of the Preferences dialog box, click on Substitutions.

At this point, you’ll see a list of built in substitutions. These are based on the most used substitutions. For example, you can type a (c) and have it automatically replaced with a copyright symbol. It’s worth taking a few moments to check out the existing list. If you see any that you will never use, you can remove them.

Ok, now let’s add a new item to be replaced.

1. In the Replace box, enter the shortcut you want to use. Note that you can’t use spaces in the shortcut.
2. In the With box, enter the text you want to replace your shortcut with. This can include spaces and punctuation.
3. Click on the OK button when done.
4. Test your shortcut by typing it to confirm the replacement.

In my example, I used the shortcut “iu”, then the replacement text “This document is for internal use only”. Once I type “iu” into the document, it’s replaced. That’s it!

Handy Uses for Text Substitutions

• Full names or company names
• Sentences you use regularly
• Symbols you use
• Email addresses
• Words you commonly misspell

Conclusion

If you like using text replacements to save time in your text messages or email, you should consider using them in your documents as well. By the way, if you pop over to Google Slides, you’ll see your text replacements are also available there. Enjoy.