Hiding in Plain Sight - the Time Saving Format Tool in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Have you ever added a text box to a slide, and discovered your text font and size is your Slides default, not the Slide Theme default? You can spend a lot of time re-formatting the newly created text box! Each time you add a new text box, you have to format again.

Google has just improved a rarely used tool (by me, anyway) that can be really helpful. You've seen it many times, but probably have never used it before!

The paint roller is officially called the Format tool and is found in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Google has recently updated the tool to include Persistent mode. Here's how it works:

Highlight a text box or object that uses the formatting you want
Double Click the Format tool (Paint roller) for Persistent mode*
Create a new text box, or highlight an existing object

Voila! The text changes to match the highlighted object you selected when you entered Persisent mode. You can format as many objects as you want in Persistent Mode.

Video courtesy of the G Suites Update Blog

To leave Persistent mode, just click the Paint roller again, or hit Escape!

*Click the Format tool once to format a single object. You will automatically leave Format mode once you have applied the desired format to the single object.

Additional resources.

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