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Google Docs now lets you edit and format text using your voice

A new line being formed in Google Docs in response to a voice command.
Image Credit: Screenshot

Google today announced updates to Google Docs that builds on the speech recognition capabilities it introduced a few months ago.

“We launched Voice typing in Google Docs to help you capture ideas, compose a letter, or even write the next great novel — all without touching your keyboard. Starting today, you can also edit and format your documents with your voice,” Google product manager Isaiah Greene wrote in a blog post.

For example, you can say things like “select all,” “select line,” “bold,” “make bigger,” “increase indent,” “copy,” “paste,” “go to next page,” and “insert page break.” There are a bunch of commands for tables inserted into documents, too. (The full list of commands is here.)

This is just the latest way Google is broadening out Google Docs. In September, right when Google first unveiled voice recognition support in Docs, it also added the Explore button for automated chart generation and a web search function on Android. More recently Google brought mobile commenting to Sheets and Slides and made it easier to add people to documents.

To turn on the new capability, you’ll need to enable the voice typing option from the Docs tools menu.

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