To stop Google Docs from turning text into lists, open a document on a computer, go to Tools > Preferences and clear the checkbox that controls automatic list detection. For a one-off fix, press Backspace or Ctrl+Z (Command+Z on a Mac) right after Docs makes the list. The setting doesn’t touch lists you already have, and the Substitutions tab is a separate set of options.
What makes Docs start a list on its own
Google announced automatic lists for Docs in 2014, switched on by default and controlled from Tools > Preferences. The announcement on the Workspace Updates blog describes the triggers:
- An asterisk (*) or hyphen (-) at the start of a line, followed by a space, starts a bulleted list.
- Something like 1) or a. at the start of a line, followed by a space, starts a numbered list.
Once a list starts, each press of Enter adds another bullet or number. That is why a script, a set of interview notes or a line of code that begins with a dash can suddenly fill up with bullets. Google’s current Autocorrect help page confirms that Docs’ automatic features “can also find links, lists, and quotes.”
Turn off automatic lists for good
This change is made in the Docs web app on a computer, in Chrome or another supported browser. It is a preference, so you set it once rather than in every document.
- Open any document in Google Docs, or create a blank one.
- Click Tools in the menu bar.
Older Google Docs layout shown; current menus look different.
- Click Preferences.
The Tools menu in an older version of Google Docs.
- In the Preferences window, clear the checkbox for list detection. In older versions of Docs, like the one shown below, it was labeled Automatically detect lists and sat on the main tab of the window, not on Substitutions. Google’s help pages don’t show its current wording, so look for the option that mentions lists.
The list setting in an older Preferences window. The current dialog may look different.
- Click OK to save the change.
To check it worked, type a hyphen and a space at the start of a new line. With the setting off, the hyphen stays as an ordinary character.
Undo one automatic list and keep the feature
If you like automatic lists most of the time, there is no need to turn them off. Undo the one you didn’t want:
- Backspace right away. Google’s 2014 announcement says that pressing Backspace immediately after any autocorrection, including automated lists, undoes it. The asterisk, hyphen or number stays as plain text.
- Ctrl+Z or Command+Z. Undo in Docs is Ctrl+Z on Windows and ChromeOS and Command+Z on a Mac, per Google’s Docs keyboard shortcuts list. Press it as soon as the bullet or number appears.
The timing matters. Backspace undoes the list only if you press it right away, and Ctrl+Z also takes back anything you typed after the list appeared. If you have typed more since, use the steps in the next section instead.
Turn a list that already formed back into normal text
Turning off the setting does not reach back into your document. Lines that already became a list stay a list until you change them. To clear them:
- Select the listed lines. Click and drag across them, or click in the first line and Shift+click in the last.
- In the toolbar, find the list button that matches what Docs created: Bulleted list or Numbered list. If the toolbar is narrow, it may be under More.
- Click that button to switch the list off for the selected lines. You can also use its shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+8 for a bulleted list or Ctrl+Shift+7 for a numbered list (Command+Shift on a Mac).
- If a hyphen or asterisk you typed is gone, type it back in. With automatic lists off, it now stays put.
If you only want a different style rather than plain text, click a bullet or number and use Format > Bullets & numbering, as described in Google’s help page on lists. To build a list on purpose later, see how to add bullet points in Google Docs.
What this setting does not change
The Preferences window holds several unrelated switches, and people often turn off the wrong one. Here is how the list option compares with its neighbors:
| What you see | Where to change it |
|---|---|
| Bullets or numbers appear as you type | The list-detection checkbox in Tools > Preferences |
| (c) becomes © or other text is swapped | Tools > Preferences > Substitutions: clear Automatic substitution or single rows |
| Words get capitalized | Automatic capitalization under Substitutions |
| Web addresses turn into links | Link detection under Substitutions |
| Typed symbols turn into bold, italics or headings | The Enable Markdown checkbox in Tools > Preferences |
Google’s Markdown help page lists italics, bold, strikethrough, links and headings as what Markdown formats, not lists, so turning Markdown off is not a fix for automatic bullets. For capitalization, see stopping Google Docs from auto-capitalizing; for the symbol swaps, the copyright symbol walkthrough covers the Substitutions tab.
The toolbar list buttons and their shortcuts keep working with automatic lists off. You lose only the guessing, not the ability to make lists.
Google Docs on iPhone, iPad and Android
Google says you can only manage Autocorrect in Google Docs on a computer, not in the Android or iPhone and iPad apps, and the apps have no Preferences window. Google doesn’t say whether the computer setting carries over to the apps. If a list appears while you type on a phone, use the app’s Undo button right away, or open the document on a computer and use the steps above.
Google Docs list questions
Does the setting apply to every document?
It is a Docs preference rather than formatting stored in one file, so you don’t need to repeat it for each document. If lists still appear in another document, check that you are signed in with the same Google account (the profile picture at the top right), then look at Tools > Preferences again.
Why did bullets come back when I pasted text?
Pasted text can bring its own list formatting from a web page, an email or another document. List detection isn’t involved there. Use paste without formatting instead: Ctrl+Shift+V (Command+Shift+V on a Mac), which Google lists among its Docs shortcuts.
Microsoft Word does the same thing. Is it the same fix?
No. Word has its own AutoFormat settings, covered in removing automatic numbering in Word.
Planning to send the document to someone who doesn’t use Docs once the formatting is clean? Here are the file formats Google Docs can convert to.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.