Format text, apply headings, manage lists and leave comments without leaving the keyboard. Mac and Windows.
The everyday wins in Google Docs are the formatting keys. Bold, italic and underline are the familiar ⌘/Ctrl + B / I / U, but the ones people miss are paste without formatting (⌘/Ctrl + Shift + V), which strips the styling off text you copied from a webpage, and copy/paste formatting (⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + C and V), Google's version of the format painter. Together they keep a document visually consistent without any trips to the toolbar.
Applying real heading styles — ⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + 1 for Heading 1, 2 for Heading 2, and 0 to return to normal text — does more than change the font size. It builds the document outline, powers the navigation pane, and makes the file easier to skim and to convert later. Pair that with the list shortcuts (⌘/Ctrl + Shift + 7 and 8 for numbered and bulleted) and the alignment keys, and structure becomes something you apply as you type rather than clean up at the end.
Docs is built for working together, and the keyboard keeps up. ⌘/Ctrl + Option/Alt + M drops a comment on whatever you've selected, ⌘/Ctrl + K inserts a link, and ⌘/Ctrl + Shift + C shows the live word count. If you ever forget a shortcut, ⌘/Ctrl + / opens Google's complete list inside the document. For the spreadsheet equivalents, see the Google Sheets shortcuts.