
Google Docs is a quite feature-packed document editing platform that is available for users who have a free Google account and paid Google Workspace users too.
If you use Google Docs daily to type reports, exam papers, maths assignments, and more, you might need to type in a fraction or multiple fractions into your documents at some point and it can be quite challenging especially if you’re attempting it for the first time.
If you have not typed a fraction on Google Docs before, you might have probably typed out the numerator and denominator separately then added the slash symbol (/) in between when trying to do it for the first time then got confused along the way when you tried typing a complex fraction.
Well, instead of doing fractions this way on Google Docs, there are better ways to write fractions on your documents, and in this article, we will show you multiple methods to type fractions on your documents in Google Docs including complex fractions.
How To Type Fractions In Google Docs (4 Methods)
The easiest way to write fractions on Google Docs is by using the auto substitution feature on the platform. This will automatically substitute the correct fraction equivalent whenever you type in the numerator and denominator with a slash “/” sign in between both numbers.
Other methods you can use to write fractions include using the equations to insert custom fractions, using superscript/subscripts to style the numerator and denominator, and then utilizing the Google Docs special characters tool.
Below, we discuss each method you can use to type fractions on Google Docs in detail with additional screenshots to help you understand better.
Method 1: Using the Google Docs auto-substitution feature.
As we mentioned earlier, one of the best methods to add fractions in Google Docs is by using the auto-substitution feature on the document editing platform.
In most cases, this is enabled by default and when you type in a fraction manually using the numerator/denominator format, it should be auto-converted to the appropriate fraction if the fraction is included in the auto-substitute list.
To use the Google Docs fraction auto substitution feature, simply type in “A/B” anywhere on your document – replace “A” with the number to be used as the numerator and “B” with the number to be used as the denominator.

After typing in both the numerator and denominator, hit the spacebar on your keyboard and it should be converted to the correct fraction automatically.

Now, if it doesn’t auto-convert to the appropriate fraction even after hitting the spacebar button on your keyboard then there 2 potential causes – the first being that the auto-substitution feature is not enabled while the other is that the fraction is not included in the list of fractions that can be auto-converted on your document.
To enable the auto-subtitution feature on Google Docs, go to the menu bar then click “Tools” > “Prefrences“.

On the Preferences dialog, switch to the “Subtitutions” tab then tick the “Auto substitution” checkbox to enable auto substitution on your document in Google Docs.

If you scroll down on the dialog, you should see a list of fractions that can be auto-substituted on your document alongside other characters that can also be automatically substituted.
You can add your own to the list and if you have a way to type the correct fractions in the “With” section, then you can add a fraction to be auto-substituted.
If you can’t do that and the fraction you want to add to your document is not included in the auto-substitution list, then you can check out other methods which will be discussed below.
Method 2: Using the Google Docs equations tool (Recommended).
Another way to write or add fractions in Google Docs is by using the equations tool.
This tool which is available by default on Google Docs allows users to add a wide range of equations and mathematical expressions including fractions into their documents on the platform.
Here is how you can type fractions in Google Docs using the equations tool.
Step 1: Open up the equations tool.
First, go to the Google Docs menu bar and click “Insert“, then select “Equation” from the available menu items.

Step 2: Click the “Maths operations” icon and select the first option.
Now you should see a text box inserted in the current page alongside an additional Equations toolbar added just under the default Google Docs toolbar.
Go to the new Equations toolbar that was just added, then click on the “Maths operations” icon and select the first option from the available options in the available operations.

Next, enter the numerator in the top part of the fraction in the inserted textbox then enter the denominator under then use the right arrow key (->) to move your cursor out of the equation textbox.

And that’s it. You have successfully added a fraction to your document using the Google Docs equations tool.
If you want to add a mixed fraction instead of the proper or improper fractions using the equations tool in Google Docs, simply move the text cursor to the beginning of the equation using the left arrow key (<-) on your keyboard then input the whole number just like we have below.

And that’s how to add a mixed fraction in Google Docs using the equations tool. It’s also quite easy.
Step 3: Using superscript and subscript.
If you prefer adding fractions manually and not using the Google Docs equations tool, then you can use the subscript and superscript feature to customize the numerator and denominator of the fraction you typed.
To do this, first type the fraction into your document using the numerator/denominator format.

Next, select/highlight the numerator then go to the menu bar and click “Format” > “Text” then select “Superscript” from the available text formatting options.

Next, select the denominator and repeat the above steps but this time, select “Subscript” instead from the options.
Alternatively, you can use Ctrl + . (or Command + . on Mac) for Superscript anmd Ctrl + , (or Command + , on Mac) for Subscript.
After that, you should have a fraction that looks like this:

That’s all. You can use this method for as many fractions as you want to add to your document without having the deal with the complexity of the equations tool.
Method 4: Using the special characters tool.
The last method we will be discussing is a way to add fractions to your documents in Google Docs using the special characters tool.
This is a quick method to type fractions on Google Docs but it is quite limited as you can only add a handful of (specific) fractions to your document using this method.
To write fractions in Google Docs using the special characters tool, go to the Google Docs menu bar then click “Insert” and select “Special characters” from the menu options.

Now you should see a dialog box containing a huge list of characters that can be inserted into your document.
Click on the first drop-down selector then choose “Numbers” from the available options.
After that, click on the second drop-down and select “Fractions/Related“.
Now you should see a list of available fractions and special numbers you can add to your document.
To insert a fraction using this tool, simply click on the fraction you want to insert from the available options and the fraction should be added to the section where your text cursor last was before opening up the tool from the Docs menu bar.

Wrapping Up
If you have ever tried adding fractions to your documents on Google Docs, you will discover that it could be quite tricky especially if you’re just doing it for the first time.
Thankfully, there are quite a few methods that you can use to type fractions seamlessly on your documents in Google Docs.
Throughout this article, we discussed quite several methods you can use to add fractions to your document in Google Docs.
These methods include using the auto-substitution feature, using the Google Docs equations tool, customizing the fraction manually with superscript/subscript formatting, and using the special characters tool amongst others.