The Typographical Swap
When you type a quotation mark (“) or an apostrophe (‘) in Google Docs, the software actively intercepts your keystroke. Instead of inserting the standard, straight, vertical mark that physically exists on your keyboard, Docs automatically replaces it with a curved “Smart Quote” (often called a curly quote). These curl inward toward the text, resembling tiny 6s and 9s. While curly quotes look professional in published novels and printed articles, they are disastrous if you are writing code, entering mathematical formulas, or drafting scripts where the standard, straight ASCII quotation mark is strictly required for the syntax to function.
Reverting to Straight Quotes
To ensure your technical writing remains accurate and stop Google Docs from automatically replacing your standard punctuation with curved Smart Quotes, you must disable the specific autocorrect preference.
Open your Google Docs document. Navigate to the top menu bar and click on Tools. From the drop-down menu, select Preferences. A dialogue box will appear with two tabs at the top; ensure you are on the General tab (it usually opens to this by default). Look down the list of checkbox options for the one labelled Use smart quotes. Click the checkbox to remove the checkmark, turning the feature off. Click the blue OK button at the bottom. From now on, whenever you type a quotation mark or apostrophe, Google Docs will insert the exact, straight, unformatted character you pressed on your keyboard.