Online text editor guide
How to use an online text editor and download your work
In short
Start typing or paste your text. The toolbar has headings, bold and italic, lists, links, colours, alignment and 132 Google Fonts, and a live word count sits at the bottom. When you're done, download a Word document (DOCX), a PDF with page numbers, or plain text. There's no account, and your writing stays in your browser; the documents are built on your device too.
- Download as
- Word (DOCX), PDF, plain text
- Fonts
- 132 Google Fonts
- Account needed
- No
- Where your text goes
- Nowhere. It stays in your browser
How to use the online text editor
Type, paste, or import a TXT, Markdown or HTML file up to 2 MB. Pasted text comes in as plain text, so stray formatting from other sites doesn't follow it.
Format with the toolbar: Heading 1–3, quote, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, lists, indents, links, text and highlight colour, alignment and font. Change the case of selected text from the same bar.
Give the document a name at the top. It becomes the file name when you download.
Open Download and choose PDF document, Word document or Plain text.
Save your text as a Word document or PDF
The editor builds real Word and PDF files in your browser, and keeps your formatting. Headings become proper Word heading styles, so the Word navigation pane and table of contents work, and both formats get page numbers in the footer.
| Formatting | Word (DOCX) | Plain text | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headings 1–3 and quotes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bulleted and numbered lists | Yes | Yes | No |
| Links | Yes | Yes | No |
| Text and highlight colour | Yes | Yes | No |
| Font and size | Yes, fonts embedded | Yes, fonts embedded | No |
| Alignment | Yes | Yes | No |
| Page numbers | Yes | Yes | No |
| Indents on normal paragraphs | No | No | No |
Both files use US Letter paper with one-inch margins (slightly less at the bottom of a PDF, to leave room for the page number). If a font you used can't be downloaded for embedding, the export stops and tells you, rather than silently swapping it.
Find and replace, outline and word count
- Find and replace
- Ctrl+F (or ⌘+F) opens it. Match case, whole words and regular expressions are all supported, and Replace all tells you how many it changed.
- Outline
- Lists every Heading 1, 2 and 3. Click one to jump to it.
- Live counts
- Words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and reading time, plus the count for whatever you've selected.
- Word target
- Starts at 500 words; change it, or set it to 0 to turn it off. A progress bar shows how many words are left, or how far over you are.
- Focus mode
- Hides everything except the page. Press Esc to come back.
Does the editor save your work?
Your document is saved in the current browser tab as you type, so a reload or an accidental refresh won't lose it. Close the tab and it's gone, unless you tick “Remember this draft on this device”, which keeps it in your browser's storage on this computer.
How it compares with Google Docs
| This editor | Google Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| Account needed | No | Yes, a Google account |
| Where the text is kept | Your browser only | Google's servers |
| Real-time collaboration | No | Yes |
| Sync across devices | No | Yes |
| Download as Word and PDF | Yes | Yes |
| Headings outline | Yes | Yes |
If you need to work with other people or pick up a draft on your phone later, use Google Docs. If you want to write something quickly, keep it off anyone's server and download it as a proper document, use this.
Google Fonts and privacy
The font picker has 132 Google Fonts in sans serif, serif, display, handwriting and monospace. When you apply a font, your browser loads it from Google Fonts, the same way most websites do; only the font name is requested, never your text. Font previews use a fixed sample sentence. For Word and PDF downloads, the font files come through our own server so they can be embedded, again without any of your text.
Common questions
Is this online text editor free?
Yes. There's no account, no trial and no limit on how many documents you download.
Can I download my text as a Word document?
Yes. Choose Word document from the Download menu to get a DOCX file with your headings, lists, links, colours and fonts.
Can I save as PDF?
Yes. Choose PDF document. It's built in your browser, with your fonts embedded and page numbers in the footer.
Does it save my work automatically?
Yes, in the current tab, so a refresh won't lose it. To keep it after closing the tab, tick “Remember this draft on this device”. Download a copy of anything important.
Is my text uploaded to a server?
No. Your writing stays in your browser, and the Word and PDF files are created on your device. Only font names are requested when you use Google Fonts.
Is there find and replace?
Yes. Press Ctrl+F or ⌘+F. It supports match case, whole words and regular expressions, and can replace one match or all of them.
Can I open a Word document in the editor?
You can import TXT, Markdown and HTML files. For a Word file, open it in Word or Google Docs, copy the text and paste it here, or save it as HTML first to keep the formatting.
Is it a good Google Docs alternative?
For writing on your own without an account, yes. It doesn't do real-time collaboration or sync between devices, which is where Google Docs is better.
Does it have a word count?
Yes. The word and character count is always shown at the bottom, with a fuller breakdown and a word target in the side panel.
Can I use it as an online notepad?
Yes. Type or paste notes, and they stay in the tab while you work. Use Plain text download for a simple .txt file.
Sources
- Storage quotas and eviction criteriaMDN Web Docs
- Online rich-text editorWikipedia