How can I use old-style (lowercase) numbers in Google Docs?

Question

I'm completely baffled. I like to use lowercase, or oldstyle, numbers when I write essays because I think they disrupt the flow of text far less for the reader, (usually my tutor). My question is how I even access them in Google Docs - I've tried finding these numerals under 'Special Characters' to no avail, and also by selecting numbers in my text and toggling to lowercase, but it still shows me only ugly, uppercase lining figures. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Jo S. · Accepted Answer

Hi, Ed,
Thanks for clarifying and providing those examples. Those types of numbers are font based, meaning that they are part of particular fonts. If they aren't included in a font, they aren't available. I don't think any of the web fonts that Google uses in Docs have those types of numbers. They are usually only available in specialty fonts that are stored locally on a device rather than in web-based fonts. You could try a variety of fonts in Docs to see if any of them come close to what you need, but I have feeling you might be out luck in terms of trying to obtain them in Docs.
~Jo