How to Type Accents in Google Docs: Search, Code Point or Draw

What can you type into the Special characters search box?

The search box takes a letter's name, and the name it understands is the letter's Unicode name. Knowing how to type accents in Google Docs mostly means knowing that name: é is latin small letter e with acute, ñ is latin small letter n with tilde. The table further down gives the word each mark carries in those names, mark by mark.

You rarely need the whole name. In our screenshots, e with acute was enough, and the grid on the left filled with six tiles. Short searches are quick to type but loose: e letters that carry a second mark as well came back too.

So hover before you click. The preview box shows the full name and the code point, and at the size of the grid that is the surest way to tell two similar tiles apart.

The words are English and technical. Accent marks in Google Docs searches go by their Unicode names, not by what a Spanish or German writer calls them, so use the word in the table below. The capitals have names of their own, with capital in place of small: for Ñ, search latin capital letter n with tilde.

When is a code point faster than a name?

A code point is faster when the name is long or you are not sure of it. Google's help page for special characters (opens in a new tab) lists entering the character's Unicode value as one way to find it. Our capture used the U+ form: U+00F1 brought back one tile, ñ, and nothing else.

A code point is precise where a name is loose. A short name search returns the small letter and its capital side by side, and often more, while a code point names exactly one character. The capital has a code point of its own, U+00D1 for Ñ. Every AccentPad letter page prints the code point next to the letter, so look it up there and type it into the box.

What does the draw box in Special characters do?

The large box under the search field, marked Draw a symbol here, is the least known way into special characters in Google Docs: it is for handwriting. Google's help page lists writing the character in the box on the right as one way to find it, next to the Unicode value and the categories. Draw the letter with its mark, using the mouse or a trackpad.

Drawing suits a letter you can see but cannot name, such as one on a photo of a street sign or in an old document. AccentPad's screenshots show the empty box only, not a drawing, so this page gives no example of what it returns. Whatever it offers, hover over a tile to read its name before you click.

Picking from categories is the fourth way in. After our searches, the dropdown at the top left of the dialog read Search Results; Google's help names the categories as an option but does not list them.

Do your computer's accent keys work in Google Docs?

Yes, and for letters you write every day they beat the dialog. They belong to your computer, not to Docs, so AccentPad keeps them on its device guides:

• On a Mac, Option+E, then E types é. The Mac guide has every Option key and the press-and-hold menu.
• On Windows, hold Alt and type 0233 on the number pad for é. The Windows guide lists the Alt codes mark by mark.
• On a Chromebook, switch to the US International keyboard first. The Chromebook guide walks through the setup.

Use the dialog for the rest: the rare letter, the stacked marks of Vietnamese, or a one-off name. It is part of Docs, not of the keyboard, so its steps are the same on any computer.

How do you fix accents in Google Docs after typing?

Fix accents in Google Docs after typing with Find and replace, under Edit. Google's find and replace help (opens in a new tab) describes it: type the plain spelling next to Find, the accented one next to Replace with, then select Replace all. Type naive while you write, then turn every one into naïve in one pass. Tick Match case to handle Naive at the start of a sentence separately.

Autocorrect can save the second pass for words Docs flags. Google's Autocorrect help (opens in a new tab) says to right-click the word and select Always correct to with the spelling you want.

The same page shows where to undo that. Under Tools, then Preferences, then Substitutions, uncheck or remove an automatic substitution that changes a word you meant to leave plain. Google lists Autocorrect for English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, and says it can be managed only on a computer.