---
title: "How to turn on (and off) autocorrect in Google Docs"
description: "Google Docs offers an autocorrect feature called Automatic substitution. Here's how to turn it on, how to turn it off, and a few ideas for how to use it."
image: "https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/5LgNoaJ8dOotOnBwEUR1js/a86173ff0fc1bd01d74becc48afa9b8d/google-docs-hero-neutral.png"
---

# How to turn on (and off) autocorrect in Google Docs

Google Docs offers an autocorrect feature called Automatic substitution. Here's how to turn it on, how to turn it off, and a few ideas for how to use it.

Google Docs offers an autocorrect feature called _Automatic substitution._ Here, I'll walk you through how to turn it on, and maybe more importantly, how to turn it off. I'll also talk about a few ways it might be particularly useful.

## How to turn on autocorrect in Google Docs

1. Click **Tools** > **Preferences**.

2. You'll see a popover with a list of checkboxes. Make sure **Automatically correct spelling** is checked. That will take care of fixing your typos.

3. Click the **Substitutions **tab.

4. Make sure **Automatic substitution **is checked. You'll see a whole slew of default autocorrect features. For example, Google Docs will automatically change `(c)` to `©`.

5. Add your own autocorrect options from here. You'll see a blank row at the top. On the left, under _Replace_, type your shortcut: what you want to type in Google Docs. On the right, under _With_, type your result: what you want the text to change to.

For example, you could set up Google Docs autocorrect to replace `eml` with `yourname@gmail.com`, saving you a couple of keystrokes. Once you've started filling in both the _Replace_ and _With_ sections, a new row will be created at the top, so you can add more customized autocorrect options.
6. Click **OK**. Now, every time you type one of your shortcuts, it will automatically change to whatever you indicated.

## How to turn off autocorrect on Google Docs

If you're sick of Google Docs changing your (c) to © and your 1/2 to ½ , here's how to disable it.

1. Click **Tools** > **Preferences**.

2. Click the **Substitutions **tab.

3. Uncheck **Automatic substitution**.

4. Click **OK**.

That's it. Google Docs will now leave you alone.

## When to use Google Docs autocorrect

The Google Docs substitution feature comes in handy as a personal editor and a text expander. Here are a few of the spots it's the most useful.

- **Misspellings. **If there's a word or person's name that you consistently misspell, put the misspelling under _Replace_ and the correct spelling under _With_.
- **Markup. **If you write in HTML, Markdown, or another markup language, you don't want to type the markup every time. So you might replace `ahref` with `<a href="url">linktext</a>` and then fill in the rest manually.
- **Repeated phrases. **If there's a phrase, sentence, or paragraph you repeat often in your work, you can come up with a shortcut word. Then you'll just type the shortcut word and the whole paragraph will appear.

Dedicated text expanders serve this purpose, but if you wear a tin foil hat and don't want a text expander reading everything you type on your computer, you can use autocorrect to serve the same purpose in Google Docs.

## Automate Google Docs

If you're spending so much time in Google Docs that you need to use its text expander feature, you should also start automating it. By using Google Docs with Zapier, you can connect Google Docs to thousands of other apps, so you can do things like [create and autopopulate a Google Docs template](https://zapier.com/blog/create-autopopulate-google-docs-template/). Here are some templates to get you started.

**Related reading:**

- [Google Docs formatting tricks to make your files pretty](https://zapier.com/blog/google-docs-formatting-tips/)
- [How to create and autopopulate a Google Docs template](https://zapier.com/blog/create-autopopulate-google-docs-template/)
- [How to remove page breaks in Google Docs with pageless view](https://zapier.com/blog/google-docs-pageless/)
- [How to insert a checkbox in Google Docs](https://zapier.com/blog/checkbox-google-docs)
- [How to see who viewed your Google Doc](https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-see-who-viewed-your-google-doc)

_This article was originally published in January 2019. The most recent update was in March 2024._