Google Docs Equation Editor Shortcuts

This page provides an unofficial LaTeX-like shortcuts list / cheat-sheet for the Google Docs equation editor.

To use these shortcuts, enter them in the equation editor followed by space bar.

If you are looking for special characters or symbols that are not listed here, you can go to Insert → Special characters from the Google Docs toolbar and search by name.

Greek letters

Element Shortcut
 
\alpha
 
\beta
 
\gamma
 
\delta
 
\epsilon
 
\varepsilon
 
\zeta
 
\eta
 
\theta
 
\vartheta
 
\iota
 
\kappa
 
\lambda
 
\mu
 
\nu
 
\xi
 
\pi
 
\varpi
 
\rho
 
\varrho
 
\sigma
 
\varsigma
 
\tau
 
\upsilon
 
\phi
 
\varphi
 
\chi
 
\psi
 
\omega
 
\Gamma
 
\Delta
 
\Theta
 
\Lambda
 
\Xi
 
\Pi
 
\Sigma
 
\Upsilon
 
\Phi
 
\Psi
 
\Omega

Miscellaneous operations

Element Shortcut
 
\times
 
\div
 
\cdot
 
\pm
 
\mp
 
\ast
 
\star
 
\circ
 
\bullet
 
\oplus
 
\ominus
 
\oslash
 
\otimes
 
\odot
 
\dagger
 
\ddagger
 
\vee
 
\wedge
 
\cap
 
\cup
 
\aleph
 
\Re
 
\Im
 
\top
 
\bot
 
\infty
 
\partial
 
\forall
 
\exists
 
\neg
 
\triangle
 
\diamond

Relations

Element Shortcut
 
\leq
 
\geq
 
\prec
 
\succ
 
\preceq
 
\succeq
 
\ll
 
\gg
 
\equiv
 
\sim
 
\simeq
 
\asymp
 
\approx
 
\ne
 
\subset
 
\supset
 
\subseteq
 
\supseteq
 
\in
 
\ni
 
\notin

Maths operations

Element Shortcut
 
\frac
 
\sqrt
 
\rootof
 
\subsuperscript
 
\subscript or _
 
\superscript or ^
 
\overline
 
\widehat
 
\bigcap or \bigcapab
 
\bigcup or \bigcupab
 
\prod or \prodab
 
\coprod or \coprodab
 
\rbracelr
 
\sbracelr
 
\bracelr
 
\abs
 
\int or \intab
 
\oint or \ointab
 
\sum or \sumab
 
\limab

Arrows

Element Shortcut
 
\leftarrow
 
\rightarrow
 
\leftrightarrow
 
\Leftarrow
 
\Rightarrow
 
\Leftrightarrow
 
\uparrow
 
\downarrow
 
\updownarrow
 
\Uparrow
 
\Downarrow
 
\Updownarrow

Unlisted

Those aren't in the menus, but they work! If anything is missing, feel free to contribute on GitHub.

Operations

These unlisted operations allow you to apply a treatment to some text.

Element Shortcut
Binomial distribution \choose or \binom or \binomab
Bar over element \bar
Hat symbol over element \hat
Vector symbol over element \vec
Tilde symbol over element \tilde
Underline element \underline
Dot over element \dot
Double dots over element \ddot
Maximum \max, \maxa
Minimum \min or \mina
Limit A \lim or \lima
Limit Inferior A \liminfa
Limit Inferior A -> B \liminfab
Limit Superior A \limsupa
Limit Superior A -> B \limsupab

Symbols

These unlisted shortcuts render specific symbols.

Element Shortcut
Angle \angle
H Bar \hbar
Vertical dots \vdots
C dots \cdots
L dots \ldots
\nabla
\vdash
\parallel
\propto

Keywords

These unlisted shortcuts apply a special treatment to some mathematical keywords, rendering them in normal font instead of the default italics.

Element Shortcut
log \log
ln \ln
exp \exp
Trigonometry functions \sin, \arcsin, \cos, \arccos, \tan, \arctan, \csc, \sec, \cot, \tanh, \cosh, \sinh, \coth
Other keywords \lg, \inf, \dim, \Pr, \hom, \sup, \arg, \deg, \gcd, \det, \ker, \Pr