How to Change the Text Color in a Google Docs Document

While standard black text on a white background is perfect for formal reports and essays, it can be visually uninspiring for other types of documents. Whether you are designing a creative flyer, color-coding meeting notes by department, leaving prominent red feedback on a colleague’s draft, or creating a visually engaging study guide, changing the text color is a fundamental formatting skill in Google Docs. Fortunately, applying custom colors is quick and offers endless customization options.

How to Apply a Basic Text Color

The tool you need is permanently located on the main formatting toolbar at the top of your screen.

1. Open your document in Google Docs.
2. Using your mouse, click and drag to highlight the specific text you want to change. (This could be a single letter, a word, or entire paragraphs).
3. Look at the main formatting toolbar (where you find the bold, italic, and underline options).
4. Locate the Text color icon. It looks like a capital letter “A” with a thick black line underneath it.
5. Click the icon to open a dropdown palette of preset colors.
6. Click on any color to instantly apply it to your highlighted text.
7. Click anywhere else in the document to deselect the text and view the final result.

How to Create Custom Colors

If you are creating a branded document and need your text to perfectly match your company’s exact shade of blue, the preset colors won’t be enough. You need to create a custom color.

1. Highlight your text and click the Text color (“A”) icon.
2. Instead of clicking a preset dot, look under the “Custom” heading and click the “+” (Plus) icon.
3. A detailed color picker will appear.
   • Visual Selection: You can click anywhere on the large color spectrum box to visually find a shade, and use the slider underneath to adjust the hue.
   • Hex Code: If your marketing department has provided you with a specific Hexadecimal color code (e.g., #1A73E8 for Google Blue), click inside the “Hex” box at the top and type or paste the code.
4. Once you have found the perfect shade, click the blue OK button.

Your text will update immediately. More importantly, that new custom color will now appear under the “Custom” section of the palette for the rest of that specific document, allowing you to easily apply it to other text later without having to recreate it.

How to Reset Text to Default Black

If you have made a mess of your document with too many colors and want to revert to standard text:

1. Highlight the colored text.
2. Click the Text color icon.
3. At the very top of the palette, click the circle labelled Black (it is usually the first color in the default theme row).