Adding images in Google Docs is very easy, but adding captions is another matter. Actually, there is no real captioning feature in Google Docs. Nevertheless, we show some ways to place captions under images in Docs in a document, using tables for example.
People are visually oriented. The first thing we look at in a newspaper or magazine are the photos. Then we read next to, above or below the photo the caption that tells a little more about the subject or the photographer. In general, you use captions to connect the image with the text.
Few images can do without a caption. In that sense, captions are essential. There are even readers who, after going through the photos and captions, don’t even bother to read the whole story.
Google Docs is undoubtedly one of the best cloud-based word processors with real-time collaboration and all kinds of great features. But if you want to caption the images, there is no direct option in Google Docs. So you have to do a bit of work to add a text to your photos.
Insert picture
To add an image to the online document, use the menu Insert. From there you can select an image from Google Photos, from a folder on the hard drive or you can consult the internet offer from the built-in search engine.
In this example we choose the latter option. This will bring up a bar on the right where you can type keywords at the top. Double-click the image you want to place in the document.
Often such an image is much too large. By clicking on the image, handles appear with which you can reduce the image. Then you indicate in the toolbar how you want to align the image: left, central or right.
Inline text
By far the fastest way to add a caption to an image is through inline text. This is a setting in Google Docs that aligns text with objects, such as shapes, tables, and images. In fact, it is a text wrapping style.
When you click on the image, different text wrapping styles appear below the image. The first is inline. Select this style, place the mouse pointer under the image and type the caption. Then you can format the text size, alignment, color and style using the buttons in the toolbar at the top.
The downside of this method is that it’s basically a break in the text. That’s fine for larger photos, but if you still need to tinker with the text, the caption can shift.
Embed in a drawing
Do you plan to change things in the document afterwards? Then it is better to choose another method, such as embedding in a drawing. Position the mouse pointer where the image should be and choose Insert / Drawing and then select New. The drawing you compose consists of the image and the caption.
In the window Drawing click the button at the top of the toolbar Image. Then you can upload an image from your PC, Google Drive or from internet. When the image is loaded, use the button text box. With that you drag a text box under the photo in which you type the subtitle.
You can also format the text now. Customize it using various formatting options, such as font size, font, text color, fill color, alignment, bold, italics, underline, add border to caption, line spacing, and bullet points.
When you are satisfied, click the blue button Save and Close. As a result, Google Docs now treats the image and caption as one element. If you want to change something in the caption afterwards, click on the image and then you can click the button below the image To process to use. This will take you back to the drawing module where you can change the text.
In a table
The third method and last method we’ll cover here is to create a table where the image and caption are both in a different cell. If you then remove the table border, the table even becomes invisible.
Again you go to the menu Insert and then you choose Table. As you do this, specify the number of cells that make up the table. Choose a 1×2 table. This will give you a table with one column and two cells on top of each other.
After that, insert the image in the top cell. Click in that cell and via the menu Insert import an image. If there is already an image in the document, you can also drag it into this cell. Then type the caption in the cell below the image. And again you can format the text like any other text.
To make the borders of the table disappear, right click on the table and choose Table properties. Change the table border to 0 pt. This makes the table appear to no longer exist, but as with the drawing option above, the caption and image remain connected. Handy if you decide to move them.
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