A Simple Guide to Turn off Auto Capitalization in Google Docs

Just like auto-detection of lists, auto-capitalization is another Preferences feature of Google Docs that is very helpful but can be annoying in some cases. Since the first letter being capitalized is an important rule of grammar in English, this rule greatly helps in most forms of writing.

However, in many cases, especially in coding or artistic writing, the author may not want to capitalize the first letter. For example, I personally never get to take advantage of this feature as I have a habit of always capitalizing the first letter myself using the Shift key and I also write in other places where auto-capitalization isn’t supported (like WordPress). So at times when I do need to lowercase a letter, Google Docs forces it to be capitalized which can be annoying.

In this post, I’ll tell you some reasons why someone may prefer to use lowercase letters at the start of a sentence and how to disable auto-capitalization in Google Docs.

Why Disable Auto-Capitalization in Google Docs?

Below I am writing types of writeups and situations where it’s okay to go against the grammar rule of capitalizing the first letter of a sentence. If you write like this often, then disabling auto-capitalization will be beneficial for you:

• In creative writing, many authors may prefer to lowercase the first letter to resonate with the audience or mimic someone. Poetry is another genre where lowercase is preferred.
• Acronyms and names with the first letter being lowercase must be lowercase even at the start of a sentence. For example, iPhone, iOS, or eBay.
• Some languages are written using Latin letters but don’t follow the first letter capital rule like in English. Turkey is a good example of such a language. If you use such a language often while writing, then disable auto-capitalization.
• Although rare, if you write code in Google Docs, then capitalizing the first letter can be a problem since code snippets can be strict about capital and small letters.
• While quoting someone, you have to adhere to the formatting. If they used a lowercase first letter, then you have to add it as is.
• And of course, in the end, it’s your writing style and if you don’t want to follow grammar rules, it’s your choice.

Overall, if you often need to write with lowercase letters at the start of a sentence, then it’s better to turn off auto-capitalization.

How To Disable Auto-Capitalization in Google Docs?

Being a Preferences option, turning off auto-capitalization is really simple as you just need to uncheck a checkbox. Here’s how to do it:

While a document is open in Google Docs, click on the Tools menu at the top and select Preferences from it.

Here under the General tab, uncheck the checkbox next to the Automatically capitalize words option and then click on OK.

From now on, Google Docs will not automatically capitalize the first letter of a sentence and you can easily write in lowercase. You can always hold the Shift key to capitalize a letter when needed.

Ending Words 👨‍💻

I personally think it’s an overall good habit to always capitalize the first letter yourself since not all text apps automatically capitalize the first letter for you. If you do have this habit, then make sure you turn off auto-capitalization in Google Docs as at some point it will annoy you when you have to use lowercase.