Punctuation marks tend to be small so it is easy to mistake them. For example, it is easy to mistake a comma for a period and vice versa. For this reason, it is useful to increase the font size of the punctuation marks in your document to make them clear.
The period, also known as the full stop, is the most commonly used punctuation mark. There are different ways in which the period can be used. Firstly, it is used at the end of sentences to indicate that the sentence has ended. It is also used after abbreviations, such as Mr. and Ms. Lastly, it is used at the end of initials (for example, Anita M.). Note that this convention is only used in some countries.
However, if the size of the periods in your document is too small, they are not noticeable. The default size of the periods is the same as the font size of your document. Google Docs allows you to change the size of the periods in your document.
3 methods for changing the size of the periods in your document.
- Changing the default font size of your document
- Using find and replace
- Using the ‘Advanced Find and Replace’ add-on
Method 1: Changing the default font size of your document
The first method of increasing the size of periods is by changing the default font size of the entire document.
The downside of this method is that it doesn’t allow you to only change the size of the periods in your document. You would also have to increase the size of the remaining text. If you want to increase the size of the periods without increasing the size of the other text, check out the third method.
Step 1: Open your Google Docs document.
Step 2: Press Control (or Command) + A or click on ‘Select all’ from the Edit menu.
The next step is to select your entire document. An easy way to do this is by pressing the Control (or Command, if you are using a Macbook keyboard) and A keys on your keyboard. All the text in your document should be highlighted in blue.
Another way of selecting your entire document is by going to the Edit menu. Click on the Edit tab at the top left corner of your screen to open the menu. Then, click on the ‘Select all’ option in the menu.
Step 3: Increase the font size from your toolbar or by going to the Format menu.
Next, increase the font size of your document. An easy way to do this is by using the toolbar. At the top of the screen, you should see the Google Docs toolbar. On the left side, you should see the font size icon. Next to the font size, there is a plus sign. Click on this sign to increase the font size.
Another way of doing this is by going to the Format menu. Click on the Format tab at the top left corner of the screen to open the Format menu. Click on or hover over the ‘Text’ option (which is the first option) in the Format menu.
This will open another small drop down menu. Towards the bottom, you should find the ‘Size’ option. Click on or hover over it to open another menu. The first option is ‘Increase font size.’ Click on it repeatedly to keep increasing your font size.
(Optional) Step 4: Set the new font size as the default size.
This step is optional. If you want to increase the font size only for this document, you can skip this step.
However, if you want to set the new font size as the default (so any new Google Doc documents you create will have this font size), follow this step.
An easy way to do this is by using the toolbar. First, select a piece of main text in your document (text that is not heading). In the Google Docs toolbar, you should see ‘Normal text.’ Click on this to open the paragraph styles menu. The first option is ‘Normal text.’ Click on this to open another smaller menu. The second (and last) option in this menu is ‘Update ‘Normal text’ to match.’ Click on this option to change the default font size of your document.
Another way of doing this is by going to the Format menu. Click on the Format tab at the top left corner of the screen. Then, click on or hover over the ‘Paragraph styles’ option to open another drop down menu. From the new menu, click on or hover over the ‘Normal text’ option to open a smaller menu. Click on the second (and last) option, ‘Update ‘Normal text’ to match,’ in the menu to change the default font size of your document.
Method 2: Using find and replace
The second method of increasing the size of the periods in your document is by using find and replace. The benefit of this method is that it allows you to change the size of periods without changing the size of the rest of the text.
The downside of this method is that it takes a lot of time and effort as you have to manually change the font size of the periods in your document. This is why we recommend using this method only if your document is not very long (e.g. less than 2 pages).
Step 1: Press Control (or Command) + F to open the Find dialog box.
The first step is to open the Find dialog box. An easy way to do this is by using the keyboard shortcut. Press Control (or Command, if you are using a Macbook keyboard) and F keys on your keyboard. This will open the Find dialog box in the top right corner of the screen.
Step 2: In the Find dialog box, type a period (.).
Next, type a period in the find dialog box so that all the periods in your document are highlighted.
Step 3: Change the font size of each period in your document.
The final step is to manually change the size of each period in your document.
One way to change the font size is by going to the toolbar. Click on the plus sign next to the font size to increase the size.
Another way to do this is by going to the format menu. Click on Format → Text → Size → ‘Increase font size.’
Use the top and bottom arrows in the Find dialog box to go through each period in your document.
Once you are done changing the font size of all the periods in your document, press Escape to close the Find dialog box.
Method 3: Using the ‘Advanced Find and Replace’ add-on
The final method involves using the Advanced Find and Replace add-on. An add-on is a piece of software you can install in Google Docs to get more features. For example, there are add-ons for generating citations for your document.
This method is the most convenient method of all the other methods. This is because you can increase the font size of all the periods in your document in one go. Hence, you don’t have to do it manually. This method also allows you to increase the size of the periods without increasing the size of the remaining text in your document. Therefore, it saves you a lot of time and effort.
However, one downside of this method is that you would have to install an add-on. One problem with installing add-ons is that they can make your website slower. Hence, if you already have a lot of add-ons in your Google Docs, installing another one can slow it down.
Step 1: Click on the ‘Add-ons’ tab at the top left corner of the screen.
The ‘Add-ons’ tab is located at the top left corner of the screen. Click on it to open the ‘Add-ons’ menu.
Step 2: Click on ‘Get add-ons’ from the menu.
At the bottom of the Add-ons menu, you should see the ‘Get add-ons’ option. Click on it to open the Add-ons window.
Step 3: In the search bar, type ‘Advanced Find and Replace.’
At the top of the Add-ons window, you should see the search bar. In the search bar, type ‘Advanced Find and Replace.’ Then, click on the option from the menu that appears below the search bar.
This should take you to a new page which shows the icon of the add-on.
Step 4: Click on the icon of the Advanced Find and Replace add-on.
Next, click on the icon of the add-on. This will take you to a page with all the information about the Advanced Find and Replace add-on. You can see images of the add-on, reviews that previous users have left and other details.
Step 5: Click on the blue ‘Install’ button.
At the top of the window, you should find a blue button named ‘Install.’ Click on this button to begin the process of installing the add-on.
When you click on this button, you will be asked to confirm your installation. Click on ‘Continue.’ Then, Google Docs will ask you to sign in to your Google account. Click on the account that you would like to sign in to.
Once the installation is complete, go back to the add-ons window. Click on the x at the top right corner of the screen to close the window.
Step 6: Click on the Add-ons tab once again.
Once again, click on the Add-ons tab at the top left corner of the screen. This will open the Add-ons menu.
Step 7: Click on Advanced Find and Replace from the Add-ons menu.
If you have correctly installed the Advanced Find and Replace add-on, you should see it as an option in the Add-ons menu. Click on it to open a smaller drop down menu.
Step 8: Click on ‘Find & replace.’
From the smaller drop down menu, click on ‘Find & replace’ (which is the first option in the menu). This may open a dialog box warning you about your limit (if you want to use the app more, you have to upgrade).
Close the warning to open a panel on the right.
Step 9: In the ‘Find’ box, enter the period.
Type the period (the punctuation mark) in the ‘Find’ box at the top of the panel.
Step 10: In the ‘Replace’ box, enter the period. Change the font size in the panel.
In the ‘Replace’ box, once again enter the period punctuation. Then, increase the font size using the option in the panel.
Step 11: Click on ‘Replace Selected / All.’
To increase the font size of all the periods in your document, click on the ‘Replace Selected / All’ option at the bottom of the panel.
Now, the font size of all the periods in your document should be higher.
Once you are done, close the panel by clicking on the x at the top right corner.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the article!
Thank you for reading!