When working in Google Docs there may be times where you want to send an image to the back.
Whether you are trying to place a background image in your doc, or whether you have a picture that you want to display behind the text that you have in your file, all of this can be done with a little know-how.
Unfortunately, at this time, there is not a built-in feature for adding background images into your doc, there are a few good workaround methods that we can use to accomplish this.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to add a background image in Google Docs.
Table of Contents
Image Behind Text
The easiest option for getting an image behind the text in Google Docs is to upload your image and select Behind text for the text wrapping settings.
To do this:
1. First upload your image by selecting Insert>Image in the top menu. You can upload your image from wherever you have it saved
2. Next click on your image and select the Behind text button
3. You can now click at the top and begin typing
4. As you type you will see that your text is in front of your image, so you have a background image now
Creating a Background Image with the Drawing Feature
Another option that you have for sending an image to the back is to use the built-in drawing feature in Google Docs and upload your image. You can then place any text directly on top of your image before inserting it into your doc.
Here is how this is done:
1. Click in your doc wherever you want the image to appear and in the top menu select Insert>Drawing>New
2. Once the drawing editor appears on your screen, select the Image button from the toolbar. Follow the prompts to upload your image
3. After you image is uploaded select the Text box button. Click and drag in your image to place the text box in your image the size you desire
4. You can now type text anywhere that you want on your image
5. When you have your desired text, select the Save and Close button
6. You will now see that your image is a background for your text in your doc
Creating a Background Image Using Slides
You can also use Google Slides to create a slide with a background image, then put text over the slide, and bring it into Google Docs.
Here is how this is done:
1. Open a new Google Slides. Once you have it open select File
2. From the drop-down menu select Page setup
3. Set a Custom size. For this setting, you can use any size you want. Ideally, you want a size that is closer to the size of a Google Doc. I will set it to 11 x 8.5 in my example. Select Apply when you are done
4. In the top menu select Slide>Change background. Follow the prompts to upload your image as a background
5. Once you have your image in your slide you can place text over it wherever you want
6. When you have your desired text on top of your background image, you can download your image. Select File>Download and choose either a JPEG image or PNG image. Save your file onto your computer
7. After you have your file saved, open your Google Doc and select Insert>Image>Upload from computer. Find the image you saved from Google Slides and upload it
8. You will now have your image with the text in front of it in your Google Doc
Closing Thoughts
As you have seen by now, there are a few different ways to create a background image and place your text on top of it in Google Docs.
If you just want a quick option, the method that involves changing your text wrapping to behind text is a good option.
However, for more control over the formatting and layout of your text, the drawing or slides methods gives you much greater flexibility.
More Google Docs Tutorials:
How to Write on an Image
How to Change Background Color
How to Insert a Video