How to Use Subscript in Google Docs Documents

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Matthew Burleigh

Many of the same features found in Microsoft Word are also available in Google Docs, including many of the more popular text formatting options.

One of these options is to choose some text and change the font size so that it appears below the baseline of the text. Subscript is what it is known as, and many document editors use it frequently.

If you need to make that type of change to parts of the text in your document, our tutorial below will show you how to use Subscript in Google Docs documents.

Summary – How to Apply Subscript Formatting in a Google Document

  1. Open the document.
  2. Select the text.
  3. Choose the Format tab.
  4. Select Text.
  5. Click Subscript.

Our guide continues below with additional information on applying this formatting, including pictures of these steps.

A text document should be informative and simple to read, and good text formatting is a key component of that. While some of these formatting options, such as many of the numerous spacing settings in Google Docs, are simple to locate and utilize, others may be a little difficult. You might be interested in learning how to subscript in Google Docs if you need to format something.

Many formatting options, including “subscript,” are available in Google Docs for you to use with the material in your document. As a result of its center line being lower than regular text, text with subscript formatting will appear “below” other text in your document.

In Google Docs, you can type subscript by selecting the text, going to the Format tab, selecting Text, and then choosing Subscript.

Other formatting options, like subscript, might not be as obvious to find in the toolbar above the document, although some formatting options, like bold, italics, and underline, are.

But to write subscript in Google Docs, all you need to do is choose a portion of the text in your project (or place your cursor where you want to type the new subscript text), then choose the appropriate formatting option from the Formatting menu.

Fortunately, the “Format” menu at the top of the window offers a variety of additional text formatting possibilities. To add subscript formatting to some of the text in your document, follow the instructions in the guidance below.

How to Do Subscript in Google Docs

The following steps will have you select some text in a document and apply the subscript formatting to it.

If you haven’t added the text to the document yet, then you can enable subscript first, then start typing.

Step 1: Go to Google Drive and open the document to change.

Step 2: Select the text to turn into subscript.

Step 3: Choose Format at the top of the window.

Step 4: Select the Text option from the dropdown menu.

Step 5: Click Subscript to apply the formatting.

how to use subscript in Google Docs documents

Now that you know how to use subscript in Google Docs documents, you will be able to type whatever content you need that would benefit from that style.

More Information About Google Docs Subscript

There is another approach to apply subscript in your document without using the “Format” menu, which is how this method is done.

Creating Subscript Text in Google Docs Using Method 2

You can enter text as subscript instead of utilizing the first technique in this article, which focuses on using subscript as a styling option.

This section will explain what to do if you want to learn how to write a subscript in Google Docs as opposed to transforming existing text to a subscript.

Step 1: First, open your file.

Step 2: Decide where to insert the subscript text in the document.

Step 3: Select Insert.

Step 4: Choose Special characters in step four.

Step 5: Select the Subscript option by clicking the Arrows button.

Step 6: Choose the subscript character to insert in Step 6.

You may simply produce that type of text in future documents now that you know how to do it in Google Docs, either from the Format option or with the aid of special characters.

When writing technical articles that call for things like mathematical or scientific symbols that you can’t type on a keyboard, this particular character drop-down menu with all of these unique symbols can be useful.

Below are some more questions you might have regarding how to create subscripts in Google Docs as we continue our article.

Using Subscript in Google Docs for Mobile

If you edit documents on your iPhone using the Google Docs app, you’ve probably found it to be a surprisingly effective method.

Many of the features available in Google Docs’ desktop version are also available here, including the option to apply subscript formatting.

The Google Docs app for iPhone is used in the instructions below, although the procedures are essentially the same for Android-based devices.

Step 1: Open the Google Docs app on your iPhone in step 1.

Step 2: Open your current document or start a new one in step two.

Step 3: Tap the pencil symbol located in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 4: In order to make text subscript, you must highlight it.

Step 5: Tap the A button at the top of the screen.

Step 6: To apply the subscript formatting, tap the X2 button in the toolbar.

You may use a similar method to apply various sorts of Google Docs document formatting on your phone now that you know how to do subscript in the Google Docs iPhone app.

Common Questions Regarding Google Docs Subscript

How can I stop Google Docs from using subscript?

By shifting your cursor to other, regular text already present in the page or by selecting Format > Text and hitting Subscript once more, you can leave Google Docs’ “subscript mode.”

If you want to convert text that is in subscript format to standard text, you may also follow these techniques.

Superscript in Google Docs: How do I use it?

In Google Docs, the superscript option is located on the same menu as the subscript option. Click Superscript under Format > Text.

This will apply superscript to the text you have selected if you have text selected. The next text you input will be in superscript format if nothing is selected.

The Ctrl +. keyboard shortcut can also be used to enter superscript mode.

How can I get rid of subscript text formatting in Google Docs?

By selecting the subscript text with your mouse, heading to Format > Text, and selecting the Subscript option once more, you may get rid of the subscript formatting in Google Docs.

How do I remove all formatting from Google Docs?

While other formatting can be removed with clear formatting, subscript that has been applied to text won’t be. The button to clear formatting is located above the document on the right side of the toolbar. The button has a diagonal slash through it and resembles a T.

Can I increase or decrease the size of my subscript text in Google Docs?

Subscript text can indeed have its font size changed in the same manner as other types of text. After selecting it with your mouse, change the font size by clicking the plus or minus sign next to it.

What Google Docs keyboard shortcut is there for subscript?

To format selected text as subscript or to change your text entry mode to subscript, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl +. To leave subscript mode or convert subscript text back to regular text, use the same keyboard shortcut.

How to Use Superscript or Subscript in Google Docs: More Information

The process is largely the same whether you’re trying to utilize subscript or superscript in Google Docs, and both of the techniques we covered in our lesson above will work. The appearance of superscript and subscript in the document is their only distinction. It is the same whether you create them or format them.

As previously mentioned, Ctrl + and Ctrl + are the keyboard keys for superscript and subscript, respectively. If you hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the other key on your keyboard, you can use these keyboard shortcuts.

Many other helpful characters are available in the special characters menu that you utilize in the second manner above, especially if you’re working on things like chemical formulas or mathematical equations where the ability to add subscript is required. These additional special characters include a copyright mark, math symbols, musical notes, and many other things.

Although I usually favor utilizing the Format option in the menu bar to apply superscript or subscript to a document, some users may find the extra options available via the special characters window on the Insert menu more appealing.

When working in a group or when you need someone to proofread your work, sharing files in Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets allows you to give other people access to the files.

Google Slides Subscript Instructions

While the prior instructions showed you how to add subscript to Google Docs, you might be interested in using similar formatting to add content to a presentation slide.

Fortunately, adding superscript or subscript in Google Slides is quite similar to adding tiny numbers above or below sentences in Google Docs.

Step 1: Choose a slide in your presentation once it is open.

Step 2: Select the text you want to format.

Step 3: At the top of the window, select Format.

Step 4: Then select Subscript under Text.

You can use the Ctrl +. (superscript) and Ctrl +, (subscript) keyboard commands to utilize that formatting in your Google Slides, just as you did when you learned how to add a subscript in Google Docs.

Matthew Burleigh

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech content online for more than ten years. He enjoys writing about Google Docs in addition to many other applications and devices and has cumulatively covered Google’s word-processing application in hundreds of different articles.

He has been published on dozens of popular websites, and his works have accumulated millions of pageviews.
While focused primarily on tutorials and guides for popular electronics like the iPhone and iPad, as well as common applications like Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, he covers topics across the entire technology spectrum.

You can read his bio here.

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