Google Docs update makes it simple to craft professional-looking documents

Google Docs logo
(Image credit: Google)

Google is set to roll out an update for its Docs word processor that will help users add a professional flourish to their documents.

As per a new blog post, the company will soon allow users to add watermarks to their documents, which will sit behind the text on every page.

Further, the new feature will ensure watermarks already applied to Word documents will remain in place when imported into Google Docs.

Watermarks in Google Docs

According to Google, the new feature will give users another way to customize their documents to their liking, so they can “share them with confidence”. And it’s easy to imagine watermarks adding something to business documents, in the context of an invoice or business proposal, say. 

Once the feature goes live, inserting a watermark will be as simple as selecting the Watermark option under the Insert menu. From here, users can choose whether to upload an image stored locally, in Google Drive or elsewhere online.

Although users can upload watermark-style images with high opacity, Google Docs will also be able to add a translucent effect after the fact, once an image has been drawn into the system.

The watermark update comes alongside another Docs tweak, which will improve the legibility of comments in the right-hand side panel. Currently, comments are capped at 35 characters wide, and so often trail down the page, but Google has now expanded the width of the comments section to 50 characters.

“Comment width will intelligently scale based on your browser window to maximize the use of available screen space,” wrote Google, in a separate blog post.

“While screen time may increase in remote and hybrid work environments, this update makes more efficient use of the space by fitting more content on a single line and enhancing readability.”

Not only will it be simple to add a professional touch to Google Docs, then, but easier to collaborate on them too.

Joel Khalili
News and Features Editor

Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He's responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.