Doc Tools for Google Docs

Doc Tools is a collection of 4 helpful add-ons that make your work with text in Google Docs more efficient. Perform daily text operations with 11 one-click tools: change case, highlight and sort text, turn words into numbers and back. Gain complete control over the formatting of your text by creating custom styles for your documents. Quickly search for and navigate to bookmarks, pictures, headings, tables, links and found text within your document. And finally, mail merge straight from your email template in Google Docs!

Start Doc Tools

Run the collection from Extensions > Doc Tools > Start:
Run Doc Tools from the Google Sheets menu.
The add-on will appear to the right of your document.

To switch between the tools, click this waffle icon at the top:
Switch between the tools using this waffle button.
Then pick either Styles, Tools, or Search & Navigate and the required options will be displayed on the sidebar.

How to work with Tools

The Tools add-on consists of 11 one-click utilities that quickly alter your text.

Select the text you'd like to change, decide what you need to do, and click the corresponding button to apply changes:
Edit text in a click with 11 tools for Google Docs.

Tip. We placed some of the tools directly under the Extensions dropdown menu. Click right there to change text quicker.

Video: One-click tools for Google Docs

Highlight text or erase color

The highlighter is a great tool to quickly mark the most important blocks of text.

Select the information you want to accentuate and click on the Highlight text tool on the sidebar:
Color the text and remove all or a particular highlighting.

Tip. The little arrow next to the icon will let you choose from 5 colors. The tool will always remember the latest color you choose:
Pick the color to mark the text.

The highlighter can also remove any of the selected colors, or clear them altogether:

  1. Click on the little arrow next to Eraser and pick the needed color in the list:
    Pick the color to remove it from your text.
  2. Then select the paragraphs where you want to remove that highlighting and click on the Eraser icon itself.

Sort your data

How to alphabetize lists

To organize your bibliography list alphabetically, select the items and click on the Sort A to Z or Sort Z to A icon to arrange them in ascending or descending order respectively:
Sort the records alphabetically.

Note. If the selected list items contain additional text, they will be moved together to avoid data corruption.

How to sort paragraphs

To sort the paragraphs, please select them separately, i.e. without headings or list items.

How to organize tables

You can organize records in your table by any columns.

Place your mouse cursor at the beginning of any cell in a table and click one of the Sort icons. You will see a small dialogue box that prompts you to pick column(s) with the key records:
Organize table by multiple columns.

  • Tick off My table has header row to leave the top row intact.
  • Select the column(s) to sort on. E.g. sort the reference list by author's name, then by article titles.

Once you specify how you want to arrange your text, click Sort.

Tip. To organize just a part of your table, select the necessary rows and run the Sort tool to define the key columns.

Spell numbers

Number-to-word converter will help you replace integers with words and vice-versa in one click.

Simply select the number you need to spell and click on the 10 to Ten icon. You can turn words to numbers with the help of Ten to 10 tool:
Spell numbers or turn words to integers.

Note. The current version of the add-on does not work with decimals.

Change case

The add-on offers 5 common ways to change the case of the selection.

Place the cursor on the word, or select the block of text you want to change, and click on the case you prefer on the sidebar:
Tools to change the case of the selected text.

  • Change all selected text to uppercase by clicking the UPPERCASE icon.
  • Apply lowercase to the selection using the lowercase icon.
  • Click the Capitalize icon to start all words with a capital and make all other letters small.
    Note. If there are some words in all capitals within the range, please apply lowercase beforehand. This should be done in order to avoid corrupting any acronyms you may have.
  • Apply Sentence case. to start every selected sentence with a capital letter.
    Note. Only the first letter in a sentence will change, all your acronyms and names that start with a capital will remain intact.
  • Click tOGGLE cASE to invert case in the selection.

How to work with Styles

The next is Styles. This tool lets you create and apply your own custom styles for Google Docs, customize 20+ pre-supplied styles or use them as is, and edit each style element from any style to your liking.
Styles add-on in Doc Tools.
Learn how to create and apply styles to your Google documents.

Video: Customize styles in Google Docs

How to work with Easy Mail Merge for Docs

The next add-on is Easy Mail Merge. It lets you run email campaigns for daily use straight from Google Docs. You just upload a mailing list (Google Sheets table) and create your email template. The add-on will send bulk emails from your Gmail — tailored for each recipient.
Easy Mail Merge in Doc Tools.
Learn how to easily mail merge from Google Docs.

How to work with Search & Navigate

Last but not least is Search & Navigate. It creates lists with all the headings, links, tables, images and bookmarks your Google document contains and lets you search all the text and jump to any part of the Doc with ease.
Search & Navigate in Doc Tools.
Learn how to explore your Google documents.

Responses

Silvia says:
December 22, 2021 at 11:28 am

Thank you guys for such helpful tool!
I'd like to suggest some improvement to it.
It would be great if we could sort just some columns of a table in alphabetical order.
Sometimes I need to create numbered lists and then organize the names in alphabetical order, but when I use DocTools for that, the numbers on the left column will get all out of order.
Anyway, thanks again.

Sabina Berselli says:
July 10, 2020 at 7:29 am

Hello, Numbers in letters is a wonderful tool, but I'd need to transform "page numbers" in" letters": we are teacher in a italian school, Istituto Farlottine Bologna (www.farlottine.it), and we would teach English from 5 to 13 Years wit our Englis-LAB, create with Google Documents. Is it possible to insert that tool in Doc Tools? It would be lovely! Thank you very much! Sabina

Dina Spears says:
June 23, 2020 at 6:45 pm

Does the sort alphabetically tool work for a table of contents in Docs? I am getting this error message:
TypeError: Cannot find function appendParagraph in object TableOfContents

James Wartian says:
November 22, 2019 at 6:08 pm

I installed your Docs Tools to sort a list in a table. The table is simply two columns. It sorted it Z to A and now won't resort it the way I wanted, A to Z.

Mary Trifuntova (Ablebits Team) says:
November 22, 2019 at 6:23 pm

Hello James,

Thank you for your comment. Please note that there is currently an issue on the side of Google that occurs when you are logged in under more than one account. Please sign out and log in back only under the account you used to grant permissions to the add-on and try to reproduce the issue.

If this doesn't help, for us to be able to assist you, please send us the screenshot of the records you're trying to sort before and after the sorting to support@ablebits.com. Thank you.

Mel says:
August 17, 2019 at 10:55 pm

I would like to create an index of words at the end of a Google Doc. I need to know how many times a word has been used and on what page I can find it on. Possible?

Holly says:
July 27, 2019 at 1:41 pm

I can't seem to sort a table. Using the Add-on it allowed me to Capitalize, but not sort ascending or depending. Help

Mary Trifuntova (Ablebits Team) says:
July 29, 2019 at 1:27 pm

Hello Holly,
Thank you for your comment.

Please note that there is currently an issue on the side of Google that occurs when you are logged in under more than one account. We kindly ask you to sign out and log in only under the account you used to grant permissions to the add-on and try to reproduce the issue.

If this doesn't help, please send us the screenshot of the records you're trying to sort to support@ablebits.com and specify whether you run the sorting tool via the drop-down Google Docs menu (Add-ons > Doc Tools > Sort the selection ascending/descending) or by clicking the corresponding icon on the Doc Tools sidebar.

These details will help us understand the problem better. Thank you.

Kathy Midkiff says:
March 31, 2019 at 5:12 pm

I'm looking for a tool that will center text top to bottom within a table cell.

Natalia Sharashova (Ablebits Team) says:
April 1, 2019 at 8:21 am

Thank you for contacting us, Kathy.

You can do that with a standard Google Docs feature. Select all cells (table) you want to center, right-click any cell, and choose Table properties. In the next pop-up window find the Cell vertical alignment option and choose to center at the Top/Middle/Bottom of cells.

This will place your text accordingly within each cell.

Hope Sollows says:
December 13, 2018 at 3:03 pm

I'm looking for an add on that will allow me to print brochures - or simply print back to back with a 'flip on long edge' option. I've searched the add ons, but haven't found it yet.

Thanks

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If you have any questions or issues with this add-in, please feel free to post your concerns in the comments area. As soon as we answer, a notification message will be sent to your e-mail. If you do not want to share your thoughts in public, please contact us at support@ablebits.com.