Adding images in Google Docs is very easy, but adding captions is another matter. Actually, there is no real captioning feature in Google Docs. Still, we show some ways to caption images and tables in a document.
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 to 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 on 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 size of 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 the 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 is to create a table in which the image and caption are both in a different cell. If you then remove the table border, the table even becomes invisible. You go to the menu again 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 and 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.
Caption Maker
We find the last solution to be the cream of the crop for people who create a file or paper with many images and tables. In a bulky project, you want all graphic elements to be captioned in a uniform manner. The solution we propose is Caption Maker, a free addition to Google Docs. Add-ons are small programs that extend the capabilities of Google Docs.
In the right bar of Google Docs, you’ll see a plus sign. When you hover over it, the text appears Add add-ons. Click on it and then Google Workspace Marketplace will open. Type in the search box Caption Maker and there is the addition of Zeljko Sucic. Double click on the add-on and then you will come to a new window where you click to install clicks.
Captionize
It takes a bit of getting used to the method, because Caption Maker is not intuitive, but you can save so much time with it. You can even generate a dynamic and clickable list of all used images and all tables. Position the images and tables in the document in the desired locations, but don’t caption them yet. That will come soon.
We have noticed that with every image you have the Text Wrap in the option inline must place for this add-on to work perfectly. Earlier we explained how to do that. Then use the Add-ons menu from where you start Caption Maker. In the sidebar you will find the section Process document. Click there on the button Captionize. A few seconds later, a pop-up will appear telling you how many images and how many tables have been captioned.
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Since you haven’t typed any captions yet, you’ll see a bookmark icon and a caption with the insignificant message below the images Figure 1, Figure 2 and so forth. The flag means that Caption Maker has placed a bookmark that it can use in the listing later.
If you feel that a certain image or table should not have a caption, select this object and in the sidebar of Caption Maker click the button Set caption off. If you change your mind afterwards, you can easily undo this with the button Set caption on.
Of course you are not satisfied with the English references such as Figure 1 and Table 1. That’s why you click on the Options. In the category Images and Drawings see you at format : New the code Figure (c). {t}. Replace the word in this code figure for example by the word Image. In the same way you change at Tables Format : New the code Table (c). {t} in Table (c). {t}.
Click the button again Captionize to apply the changes. As a result, the captions in Dutch start with the words Image or Table and then you read a serial number. In the options you can indicate with which number the numbering of the images and tables should start.
Fill
You can then manually type the correct captions behind the in the document under the images and the tables Image # or Table #. At the options of Caption Maker you pass in the section Visual settings also the looks of the captions.
Choose at Predefined style one of the settings and it is possible to change the text size and color. These changes will only become visible again if you click Captionize clicked. In addition, you can place the captions below or above the image or table.
Interactive lists
For those who create a piece of work with many illustrations, the last option of Caption Maker is very interesting. You can generate a list of the images and/or the tables that you then place at the beginning or the end of this document. Such a list contains references to the marked parts.
So if you click on the link in the list, you immediately switch to the correct image. When you need to refresh these lists because images have been removed or added, click in the group Insert/Update listings on the button Update listings.
