How to Use WPS Superscript and Subscript on macOS

Use Superscript and Subscript through 5 how-to topics in WPS Docs; 5 are available without membership and 0 are membership-related.

How-to Index

How-to Guide

1. Apply superscript from the ribbon toolbar

Entry point: Home tab → Superscript

1. Select the text you want to format as superscript.
2. Click the Home tab at the top of the window.
3. Click Superscript.

Success Criteria

• The selected characters appear above the baseline.
• The text displays in a more compact superscript style.

Tips While Using

• Select the text before applying the format.
• If the button does not respond, make sure the current content is editable.

2. Apply subscript from the ribbon toolbar

Entry point: Home tab → drop-down arrow next to Superscript → Subscript

1. Select the text you want to format as subscript.
2. Click the Home tab at the top of the window.
3. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Superscript button.
4. Select Subscript.

Success Criteria

• The selected characters appear below the baseline.
• The text is ready for chemical formulas, variable indexes, and similar layouts.

Tips While Using

• If the document window is small, expand the related toolbar area first.
• Subscript works well for numbers, letters, or short character groups used as indexes.

3. Apply superscript from the right-click menu

Entry point: Select text → right-click → Font → Superscript

1. Select the text you want to format as superscript.
2. Right-click the selected content.
3. Select Font.
4. In the Font settings, select Superscript.
5. Click OK.

Success Criteria

• The text is formatted as superscript through the Font settings.
• You can return to the document and continue editing.

Tips While Using

• This method is useful when you also want to adjust other font settings.
• If Superscript is already selected, clear it to return the text to normal.

4. Apply subscript from the right-click menu

Entry point: Select text → right-click → Font → Subscript

1. Select the text you want to format as subscript.
2. Right-click the selected content.
3. Select Font.
4. In the Font settings, select Subscript.
5. Click OK.

Success Criteria

• The text is formatted as subscript through the Font settings.
• The subscript content appears below the baseline.

Tips While Using

• This method is useful when you need more detailed text formatting control.
• If the text already has other formatting, most existing font settings can still remain in place.

5. Apply or remove formatting with shortcuts

Entry point: Select text and use the keyboard shortcuts directly

1. Select the text you want to format as superscript or subscript.
2. To apply superscript, press Cmd + Shift + =.
3. To apply subscript, press Cmd + =.
4. To remove the applied format, use the same shortcut again on the same text.

Success Criteria

• Superscript or subscript is applied to the selected text immediately.
• Running the same shortcut again restores normal text display.

Tips While Using

• Shortcuts are useful when you enter formulas or indexes frequently.
• If a shortcut does not respond, check whether the input method or macOS shortcut settings are using the same key combination.