The Squeezed Numbers
Google Docs includes a robust “Autocorrect” system designed to clean up common typographical errors as you type. One of its more aggressive aesthetic features is automatic fraction conversion. If you type the number 1, a forward slash (/), and the number 2 (1/2) and press the spacebar, Google Docs automatically intercepts those three characters and squashes them into a single, specialized typographical symbol (½). While this looks elegant in a recipe or a casual letter, it can completely ruin the formatting of a technical document, a math worksheet, or a coding snippet where you explicitly need the raw characters to remain separated.
Disabling Typographical Fractions
To ensure your numbers display exactly as you typed them and stop Google Docs from automatically converting standard text into fraction symbols, you must disable the specific substitution rule in the preferences.
Open any Google Doc. Navigate to the top menu bar and click on Tools. Scroll down the dropdown menu and select Preferences. A new dialogue box will appear in the center of your screen. Click on the Substitutions tab at the top of this box. You will see a long, scrollable list of automatic replacements (e.g., changing (c) into ©). Scroll down this list until you find the entries for the fractions (you will see 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, etc., on the left, and the corresponding symbols ½, ¼, ¾ on the right). Uncheck the box to the far left of each fraction rule you want to disable. Click the blue OK button. You can now type 1/2 freely without it shrinking.