Making periods bigger on Google Docs can enhance readability and visual appeal of your documents. Whether you want to emphasize punctuation or simply make periods more noticeable, there are a few easy ways to increase period size in Google Docs.
In this article, we’ll cover the step-by-step instructions to enlarge periods on Google Docs manually, using keyboard shortcuts, and with the Find and Replace tool.
Manually Changing Period Size
The simplest method is to manually select each period and make it bigger. Here are the steps:
- Open your Google Docs document.
- Select a period by clicking on it.
- Click on the toolbar at the top and adjust the font size to your desired number. 14 or 16 pt works well.
- The selected period is now larger.
- Repeat steps 2-4 for all other periods you want to enlarge.
While this works, it can get tedious for long documents. The next two methods automate period resizing to save time.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Google Docs has keyboard shortcuts to quickly increase or decrease size of text selections. Here’s how to use them for periods:
- Select the period you want to resize by clicking on it.
- Use the following shortcuts:
- Ctrl + Shift + > to increase size
- Ctrl + Shift + < to decrease size
- Repeat for other periods.
The shortcuts instantly apply size changes, letting you rapidly go through your document.
Find and Replace Tool
The most powerful approach utilizes the Find and Replace tool. Here are the steps:
- Click Edit > Find and replace or press Ctrl/Command + H.
- In the Find field, type a period:
. - Leave the Replace with field blank.
- Click Replace all. This will select every period.
- With all periods selected, increase the font size on the toolbar.
- Click the X to close Find and Replace.
And that’s it! The tool finds and selects all periods at once so you can resize them in one go.
Customizing Period Size
When increasing period size, aim for 14-16 pt font as it’s subtle yet noticeable. The goal is readability without periods looking oddly large.
Be judicious with size changes depending on your document’s length. For example, a 20 page paper likely needs only a slight increase for visual impact versus a 3 page paper that could handle more dramatic period resizing.
Additionally, consider keeping your changes consistent with other punctuation like commas and colons by altering their sizes in tandem.
Conclusion
Adjusting period size in Google Docs is straightforward once you know the methods. Manually changing, shortcuts, and Find & Replace give you flexibility based on document length and formatting needs.
With great readability and visuals, your Google Doc will engage readers and effectively communicate your message. Proper use of fonts, sizes, and punctuation form the foundation of quality content.
So try increasing those tiny periods and see the big difference it makes!
