How to enable Google Docs pageless mode

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1. Go to “File” in the top menu, then select “Page setup.”
2. Select “Pageless” tab at the top right of the dialog window.
3. Click on the “Select as default” button for new documents to open in a pageless mode.

What is pageless mode in Google Docs?

▸ The pageless mode lets you get rid of the classic print layout, with rulers, page breaks, margins, headers, and footers. In just a few clicks, you will remove the limitations of old-era WYSIWYG text editors.

▸ The pageless mode automatically adjusts the width of the text block to the current width of a display or browser window.

▸ The pageless mode makes Google Docs resemble modern workspaces, such as Notion, especially when you hide the top navigation menu (press the Ctrl+Shift+F shortcut to do that).

▸ The pageless mode will not remove any formatting you have made in the page layout mode. When you disable the pageless mode, all your formatting is back – untouched.

▸ The pageless mode was announced back in May 2021 together with smart canvas, but it was available to a limited number of Workspace subscribers.

▸ In February 2022, the pageless mode was rolling out to all Google users, including Gmail-based personal accounts. 

How to enable Google Docs pageless mode

Enable pageless mode in Google Docs

1. Go to “File” in the top navigation menu, then select “Page setup” at the bottom of a drop-down list. 

2. Select “Pageless” tab at the top right of a dialog window.

3. Click on the “Select as default” button if you want all new documents to open in a pageless mode.

Google Docs enable pageless mode

Please note that setting the pageless mode as default will not be applied to previously created documents. If you want to enable the pageless mode in any document created before, you will have to do it manually.

Tip: You can set up the width of the pageless mode text area by clicking “View” in the top menu, and then “Text width.” The default option is “Narrow,” but you can change it to either “Medium” or “Wide.” There is no way to set up the width of the text block in pixels.

How to turn the pageless mode on and off

You don’t need to use the above described method to switch the pageless mode on and off. There is a much quicker way to do it.

You can use a special shortcut that lets you find the most common options and settings when you start typing them.

Google Docs turn pageless on and off

1. Use the shortcut Alt+/ on a PC or Option+/ on a Mac computer to search the menus.

2. Start typing “pageless” immediately (the cursor is automatically moved to the search box) and click Enter once the “Pageless” option becomes highlighted in gray, or select it from a menu.

3. Do the same to uncheck the pageless mode.

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Piotr Kowalczyk Avatar

4 responses

  1. […] the arrival of pageless mode, the Google Docs app for iPhone and iPad has become a fully fledged note-taking app, not just a […]

  2. […] assume you already have the pageless mode enabled. The pageless mode helps you get rid of the classic print page layout limitations. Most […]

  3. […] Read more: How to enable Google Docs pageless mode […]

  4. […] a robust, extremely popular grammar checking and rewriting Chrome extension, is available in a Google Docs Pageless Mode since December […]

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