Practical guide
Auto Typer Extension vs. Cloud for Google Docs
By the TypeWit team · Updated
A Google Docs auto typer either runs in your browser as an extension or on a server through Google’s API. The difference decides whether you can close your laptop, what you install, and what the tool can access.
Two ways to type into Google Docs automatically
A browser-extension auto typer is installed in Chrome or another browser. It sends simulated keystrokes or edits into the Google Docs tab you have open, so the tab, the browser and the computer usually have to stay awake until it finishes.
A cloud auto typer runs on the provider’s servers and edits the document through Google’s Docs API, with permission you grant to your Google account. TypeWit works this way: once a session starts, you can close the tab or shut the laptop and entry continues on schedule.
Side by side
Neither approach is right for everyone. These are the practical differences to check before choosing a tool, whichever product you use.
- Keeps running after you close the laptop: usually not with an extension; yes with cloud entry.
- What you install: an extension with permission to read and change the sites it runs on, versus no install for cloud entry, only a Google permission for specific documents.
- Devices: extensions need a desktop browser that supports them; cloud entry can be started and controlled from any modern browser, including a phone or Chromebook.
- Formatting: depends on the tool. TypeWit keeps supported headings, bold, italic, bullets and highlights from a normal paste.
- Control: check for pause, resume and stop, and for a log of what was entered and when.
Permissions are worth reading
When you install an extension, Chrome shows the sites and data it can read and change. Read it before installing, and remove extensions you no longer use.
With cloud entry, the service holds a Google authorization for your account. TypeWit uses Google’s drive.file permission, so it can open only the documents it creates and those you choose in Google’s file picker, not the rest of your Drive. You can disconnect the account at any time from Connected accounts.
When a browser extension is the better fit
If you only need short, one-off entry while you watch the document, an extension can be quicker to try. It also works in editors that have no public API.
If entry takes longer than you want to keep a tab open, needs to continue overnight, or has to be paused and resumed from another device, cloud entry is the more dependable choice. Read how to schedule text in Google Docs to set one up.
Use either responsibly
Both approaches automate typing. Neither proves that a person wrote a document or how long it took, whatever the rhythm looks like in version history. Academic cheating and fabricated writing histories are prohibited by TypeWit’s Responsible Use Agreement and by most institutions’ rules.