Since its launch, Google Docs has made online collaborative work a dream. You can use a browser app similar to MS Word that is cloud-based and allows for unique collaboration options. Although Google Docs follows the MS Word model, there are still discrepancies.
Still, Google Docs comes with many useful formatting options. These options, however, can be a bit complex for new users. Some are there, in your face. While others, such as tables and borders, are a little less obvious. Here’s how to remove lines from tables in Google Docs, as well as some other helpful formatting tips.
Remove table borders
First, you will need to create a table. To do this, navigate to the Insert menu at the top of your Google Document and click on it. Hover over Table in the drop-down menu that appears. Now, select the table size (column x row dimensions) and click to confirm. You should see the table in your document.
If you right click on the table you will see options like Delete row, Delete column, Delete table, Distribute rows, Distribute columns, etc. If you want to remove table borders, look for the Table properties option in the list right click and click on it.
A new menu will be displayed from the right, allowing you to access advanced table options. From this menu, you can adjust column width, minimum row height, cell padding, table alignment, indentation, etc. Most importantly, however, the Color menu allows you to set table border options.
To make the borders disappear, you choose the color white in the border options, right? Well, this will work when the background is white. However, if the background changes for some reason, the white borders will be evident and you will need to match the background color again.
Additionally, this can cause some alignment issues. As a general rule, the smaller the border, the better the alignment.
The best way to do it here is to change the border size to 0 pt. This will literally make the edge of the table invisible.
Other Helpful Formatting Tips
There are a lot of cool things that Google Docs can actually do. It may not be obvious and the application may look like a simplified version of MS Word, but it is definitely not.
Sources
When you look at the Google Docs toolbar, it probably looks pretty familiar to you. After all, it is created from the Word toolbar. When you click on the font drop-down menu, you’ll see a number of interesting fonts to choose from. Still, this is nowhere near the number that Word offers.
You may not know it, but Google Docs has dozens of other fonts in the same dropdown menu. Simply navigate to More sources and a new window will open. Here you will see a lot of interesting fonts to choose from.
Templates
Some people prefer to do the formatting themselves. They like the freedom and the creative aspect involved. For most people, this is just a waste of time. Formatting your own document may seem like a simple task, but it tends to be quite daunting.
Although MS Word also comes with a set of templates, Google Drive updates them frequently and offers a better and broader option.
Instead of starting from scratch, you can use one of the pre-made templates available in Google Docs and work from there. The best part here is that you can invite someone to collaborate on the document. This means that you can, for example, invite your mentor to help you craft the perfect resume.
clear format
Sometimes you want to paste a quote or body of text into your document. Chances are, the formatting won’t match and you’ll end up with an unseemly passage. To avoid this, you don’t need to rewrite the entire passage by hand. There are two ways to clear the formatting of a passage, aligning it with the selected Google Doc formatting.
The first way is to right click where you want the region to go and select Paste without formatting. If you are copying multiple regions at the same time, go ahead and use the Ctrl + V command when pasting. Then when you’re done, select everything you pasted from somewhere with a different format, navigate to Format in the toolbar and select clear format.
Language accent buttons
When you type text in French, you will naturally use the virtual French keyboard. This applies to any other language. However, if you are working on an English text but plan to mention several French words, you will probably need accent buttons to achieve that perfect, professional formatting.
There is a plugin that will make your life easier in this sense. You can find it by opening your Google document and clicking Accessories, located in the toolbar. Search for accent-related extensions and find the one that suits your needs.
These plugins work by adding a toolbar to the side of your page, with different symbols to choose from. Now, instead of having to paste Google symbols or having to memorize the Alt+ [insert code] codes, adding a symbol is just a click away.
Add a new page
By default, each Google Doc should automatically add a new page as you type. However, if this never happens and you need this feature, you can add a new page manually.
To do this, place your cursor over the location where you want the page to break and left click there. Then navigate to Insert in the toolbar and click Break. Then select page break.
Google Docs tables and formatting
Google Docs gives you many formatting options to work with. Be sure to learn how to properly remove table borders and try all the other formatting tips and tricks mentioned.
What other formatting options have you worked with in Google Docs? Did you learn about anything new here? Feel free to visit the comments section below if you have any questions or advice.
