It’ll soon be easier to find tools in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Google is adding a new feature to some of its Workspace apps that will help users quickly locate commonly used tools without needing to sift through various menus and toolbars. The “enhanced tool finder” is starting to roll out across Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides today, appearing as a search bar — identified by a magnifying glass icon and a “Menus” label — at the top-left of the app’s usual toolbar.

The search bar features a pill-shaped design that’s in keeping with the recent Material Design 3 overhaul. It’ll automatically offer up commonly used suggestions that vary depending on which Google Workspace app you’re using, such as “Page setup” in Docs, “Insert rows/columns” in Sheets, and “Edit theme” in Slides. Alternatively, users can look up specific tools by name or slap in a description. For example, searching for “who last viewed this document,” will bring up the Activity dashboard.

The new tool finder is also now the home of the “find & replace” tool, where you’ll find it pinned below any search results. Tapping on the search bar will re-surface previous queries and keyboard shortcuts will appear beside applicable tools in search results, prompting users to memorize those for the tools they most often use.

Prior to this update, you could locate various features and tools in Google Workspace apps by heading into the Help menu and selecting Search. This update just makes those search features easier to find and auto-populates the field with suggested prompts. It may take a while for the new tool finder to appear as this update is rolling out gradually, though Google’s release timeline indicates it should arrive on Workspace and personal Google accounts by May 25th.