Google Docs has adopted a new feature that lets you add a full-width cover image at the top of your document to set the tone from the start and make your document look more professional.
While you may print documents containing cover images, they’re primarily intended for people creating a document to be read on-screen, such as an onboarding pack, a virtual brochure, or a training manual. When added, the cover image spans the full width of your screen, like it would at the top of a website’s homepage. For this reason, they can only be added when yourGoogle Docs is set to Pageless Mode, which you can activate via File > Page Setup > Pageless or Format > Switch To Pageless Format.
There are three ways to add your cover image in Google Docs. If you already have the cover image feature, you’ll see a Cover Image chip when you open Google Docs, along with the others that were added last year.
The second option is to type@Cover Image, and then click “Upload From Computer” or “Choose From Stock Images.”
Finally, you can click Insert > Cover image > Upload From Computer or Choose From Stock Images.
If you opt to use Google’s stock cover images, you’ll see a pane appear on the right with many different options.
This is how your Google Doc will look when you’re done:
This is just one reason why you mightprefer to use Google Docs over Microsoft Word. Indeed, adding a cover image in Word is a much more laborious process. The first method is toadd an image to the header, and adjust the margins and image width manually. However, as soon as you switch to the Draft or Web Layout to make your page wider on your screen, the header disappears from view, including the cover image. Alternatively, you can choose a Word template or preset cover page that contains a full-width image, and replace the default picture with a stock image or one of your own.
