Google Docs shortcut makes it easier than ever to add an emoji to your document

What you need to know

• Google has added a new shortcut to Docs that lets users quickly access and insert emoji.
• Typing an “@” symbol followed by a word will now present related emoji.
• Typing “@:” will present a list of emoji, or users can access the full suite by clicking the Emoji menu button.

Google has been hard at work making various functions in Google Docs easier to access, and the latest adds a bit more of an expressive touch thanks to a new emoji shortcut.

The company announced the new shortcut on Monday through the Workspace blog, which details how to access and insert emoji inline within a Google Doc. To find something specific like a smile, users simply type the “@” symbol on their laptop or computer, followed by the word “smile.” Thus, typing “@smile” will pull up the smile emoji and other related emoji that you can select from.

However, sometimes, you’re not exactly sure what emoji you want to use; you just know you want to insert an emoji. In that case, you type “@:” to pull up a short drop-down list of emoji to select from. Additionally, you can click the arrow button in the top right corner of the drop-down list to view the entire emoji catalog.

Google says the new feature is an extension of the emoji reactions introduced in April. These allow users to simply react to a piece of text in the document with an emoji. This can be used to express certain emotions that may not require words, such as when a section of text is simply amusing.