How to Add Caption to an Image in Google Docs

Have you ever heard of the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? This phrase dates a couple of decades back when the use of pictures was starting to be the norm in marketing materials.

Today, pictures are a must in almost all written work, be it on a newspaper, magazine, or digital articles.

This is due to the fact that humans are mostly visual beings. And, you’ll surely agree with us that an excellent photo should come with a good, complementing caption. 

Captions convey important information to explain what the picture is about. It answers the who, where, what, how, and why of the readers to draw interest to the full-text story.

Now, there are about three ways to add a caption to an image in Google Docs. 

3 Ways to Add Caption to an Image in Google Docs

• Add an image caption using an inline text 
• Add an image caption using the Drawing Toolbar
• Add an image caption using an add-on 

We’ll go through each of these methods step by step in this guide below. We’ve made sure to outline the steps with beginners in mind so you’ll find them relatively easy to follow. 

All methods are equally reliable when it comes to adding image captions in Google Docs. The first two methods employ features that are already built inside of Google Docs. The third one involves installing a third party add-on but offers more features in terms of customizing captions. Whichever path you decide to take, Google Docs has paved the way to make sure it’s gonna be like a walk in the park. 

That being said, let’s get right to it! 

Why Should You Add a Caption to an Image in Google Docs?

Articles are mainly text. Most writers, if not all, add pictures in them for visual presentations. This is because we, the readers, are mostly visual learners. We normally tend to browse the pictures first in an article, newspaper, or magazine. Then, we go around the picture reading the captions to have a glimpse of why, where, or what the picture is all about. Generally speaking, both writers use images to guide their readers to easily connect the dots and understand the text as a whole. Sometimes, readers won’t actually bother to read the whole story after going through the descriptions in the captions.

This is why knowing how to add captions to an image in Google Docs is an essential skill to have. And the good thing is, Google Docs offers a lot of ways to easily add captions to your images. This way, you’ll be able to insert captions that will certainly draw the attention of your readers. 

Before we move on, here are a couple of situations when adding a caption to an image in Google Docs is an excellent choice. Adding image captions is most suitable when: 

• You want to add a short description of the image. 
• You want to add a piece of information or insight for the picture. 
• You want to cite a reference to the image. 
• You want to draw your readers’ interest to reading the main text. 
• You want your readers to be able to scan the information about the images. 

Now, these are basic guidelines we’ve come up with and should be strictly followed. You’ll be surprised to discover other instances where adding captions is most appropriate.

Here’s how you can add a caption to an image in Google Docs. 

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Method 1: Add an Image Caption using an Inline Text

This method is, by far, the fastest way to add a caption to an image. You won’t even have to navigate away from the main text. The inline text is a built-in feature of Google Docs that allows you to easily align text with objects like images, shapes, or tables.

Here’s how you can add an image caption using an inline text. 

Step 1: Open up a Google Docs file. 

Before we get started, we’ll have to open up a Google Document and make sure to have a picture ready. Feel free to use your own personal document if you have one. Otherwise, you can download an exact copy of the file we used in this guide. This way, you can follow the steps accurately. 

The Inline text wrapping style allows you to type in text around the image without breaking it. 

Step 2: Configure the text wrapping style. 

If you don’t have an image on the document yet, go ahead and insert one. Now, click the image to select it. This will display the Text Wrapping options right below it. Select the In line option from the choices. 

Step 3: Add your caption.

You can start adding your caption below the image. Adjust the alignment of your caption to suit your image. Or, you can configure both the image and caption to have the same alignment. 

Alternatively, you can use the ruler to adjust the page width of your caption. Simply adjust the left and right ruler slider to align accurately. 

Congratulations! You’ve just added a caption to an image using an inline text. 

Method 2: Add an Image Caption using the Drawing Toolbar

The Drawing Toolbar is a powerful tool of Google Docs. It has a plethora of built-in tools devoted to add, edit, and delete different visual objects. It allows you to insert objects in a different window so you don’t mess up your document while editing them. You can insert images, text boxes, shapes, among others using this toolbar.

Here’s how you can use the Drawing Toolbar to add captions to an image. 

Step 1: Open up a Google Docs file.

First off, we’ll have to open a Google Docs file. If you have one already opened, feel free to use that. Don’t worry about messing up your document, as changes can easily be undone. Simply hit the CTRL + Z keys on your keyboard to revert unwanted changes. Here’s the link for the Google Document used with the picture in this article.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab. 

On your Google Docs window, go to the Insert tab found in the top menu right below the title of your document. Now, select the Drawing option and click New. This will launch the Drawing Toolbar in the middle of your window. 

Step 3: Insert the picture. 

In the Drawing Toolbar, insert your image by clicking the Image button at the far right. This will open a new window called Insert Image. 

Click the Choose an image to upload button to locate the image file from your computer. 

Alternatively, if you already have a picture in the document like the one we used, you can copy the image and paste it inside the Drawing Toolbar. 

Step 3: Add the caption. 

Click the Text Box button sitting next to the Image button. Click somewhere below the picture to show the Text Box editor, then type in your caption. 

You can resize the text box by dragging any of its corners. Or, drag the left and right squares on the sides of the text box to align it to the width of the image. 

Click the Save and Close button at the upper-right corner once finished. 

Congratulations! You’ve just added a caption to an image using Google Docs Drawing Toolbar. 

Method 3: Add an Image Caption using an Add-on

While this method requires installing an add-on, this sure will blow your mind because of the other features that come with it. For this tutorial, we’ll be using the add-on Caption Maker.

Here’s how you can do that. 

Step 1: Open up a Google Docs file. 

Before moving on, we’ll need a Google Docs file with a picture in it. If you already have a document opened, feel free to use that as well. However, if you want to try it out using a sample document, you can download a complete copy of the document we used in this guide. 

Step 2: Install the add-on.

In the main menu, click the Add-ons menu and select the Get add-ons option. 

This will launch the Google Workspace Marketplace window. 

In the Search apps field, type in “caption” and press enter. Select the Caption Maker app from the results. You’ll notice you have other options to choose from.

Click the Install button to install the add-on. This will show a confirmation pop-up box to confirm the installation. 

Click the Continue button to install. Otherwise, click the Cancel button if you changed your mind. 

Step 3: Add the caption. 

Once the add-on is installed, go to the Add-ons menu again and hover over Caption Maker. Then, select Start. 

This will open a pane area on the right side of your window. Click the Captionize button. 

You’ll see a predefined caption inserted right below your image. You can go ahead and type in a text to add a caption. 

Voila! You’ve just used an add-on to add a caption to your image in Google Docs. We’ll leave it up to your discretion if you want to explore the other options the Caption Maker add-on has in store for us.

Editing and Deleting an Image Caption in Google Docs

Editing and deleting an image caption is as easy as adding them. Simply select the caption and start editing. If you used the third method, double click on the caption to open the Drawing Toolbar window. 

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Conclusion

We’ve finally come to the end of this guide. Hopefully, we’ve helped you figure out how to add a caption to an image in Google Docs. Before we let you go, allow us to give you a brief summary of what we’ve covered today. 

Adding captions to images in your article allows your readers to get glimpses of what your article is all about. Captions should be used in order to complement and boost the value of your image.

In this tutorial, we’ve laid out three methods to add image captions in Google Docs. You can use an inline text, an add-on or the Drawing toolbar. Overall, all of these methods will get the job done in no time. 

We hope you’ve found this article helpful!