The Problem with Smart Quotes
Word processors like Google Docs are designed to make your writing look professional. One way they achieve this is by automatically converting straight quotation marks (" ") and straight apostrophes (') into “Smart Quotes” (also known as curly quotes or typographer’s quotes). These are the aesthetically pleasing, slightly slanted quotation marks that curve inward toward the text.
For novelists and essayists, smart quotes are essential. However, for programmers, web developers, or anyone writing technical documentation, smart quotes are a disaster. If you copy and paste a line of code containing curly quotes into a terminal or a code editor, the compiler will fail to recognize the characters, resulting in frustrating syntax errors. If you frequently use Google Docs to draft code snippets, JSON payloads, or terminal commands, you must force Docs to use basic, straight ASCII quotation marks.
How to Disable Automatic Smart Quotes
You can turn off this auto-formatting feature in the Preferences menu.
- Open a document in Google Docs.
- Click on the Tools tab in the top menu bar.
- Select Preferences from the dropdown list.
- In the Preferences window, make sure you are on the General tab.
- Look for the checkbox labelled Use smart quotes.
- Uncheck the box.
- Click the blue OK button to save your changes.
From now on, whenever you press the quote or apostrophe key on your keyboard, Google Docs will insert a raw, straight quotation mark that is perfectly safe to copy and paste into any programming environment.