Images are a great way to add visual interest to your documents. If you’re looking to create a document with images and aren’t sure what file formats are supported, you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we’ll let you know about all of the different image types supported in Google Docs and how to insert them into your document.
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Supported Image Types
Google Docs supports the following image file formats:
JPEG
The JPEG file format is one of the most popular image file formats. JPEGs are compressed images, which means they’re smaller in file size than other image formats. This makes them ideal for use in documents, as they won’t take up too much space. JPEG filename extensions include .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jif , .jfif , .jfi, etc.
PNG
The PNG file format is another popular image file format widely used on the web. PNGs are lossless, which means that they don’t lose quality when they’re compressed. This makes them ideal for use in documents, as they’ll retain their quality even when reduced in size. The filename extension for PNG is .png.
GIF
The GIF file format is best known for its use in animated images. However, you can also use GIFs for static images. If you want to use an animated image in your document, you can do so by using the GIF format. The filename extension for GIF is .gif.
WMF/EMF
The WMF (Windows Metafile) and EMF (Enhanced Metafile) file formats are both vector graphic file formats. Vector graphics are images made up of lines and curves, as opposed to pixels. These images can be scaled up or down without losing quality, making them ideal for use in documents. The filename extensions for WMF and EMF are .wmf and .emf, respectively.
TIFF
The TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) file format is a lossless image file format and retains its quality when they’re compressed. TIFFs are typically used for high-quality images, such as those used in printing. The filename extension for TIFF is .tif or .tiff.
How to Insert Images into Google Docs?
Now that you know about the different image file formats that Google Docs support, let’s take a look at how you can insert images into your document.
To insert an image into your document, click on the “Insert” tab and select “Image.” There you will find several options to insert the image.
If you want to insert an image from your computer, click on the “Upload from Computer” option and select the file you want to insert.
Other options include camera, by URL, Google Photos, search from Google, etc. For these options, once you’ve selected the image you want to insert, click on the “Insert” button. This will insert the image into your document at the current cursor location.
You can then move and resize the image as needed.
What to Do If Google Docs Isn’t Supporting Your Image File Format
If you try to insert an image into your document and find that the file format isn’t supported, don’t worry. There are a few workarounds for this issue.
You can convert the image to one of the supported file formats. There are many free online tools like Online-Covert that you can use to convert your image.
Once you have converted the image, save it to your computer and then follow the instructions above to insert it into your Google Docs document.
A quick conversion to JPEG or PNG is the simplest fix in almost every case, and it works well for HEIC photos from an iPhone, WebP files saved from a browser, and RAW files straight off a camera. If you only need a one-off swap, opening the image in the Photos app on Windows or Preview on a Mac and choosing Save As (or Export) lets you change the format without installing anything extra. For batches, a free desktop tool like IrfanView or XnConvert can run through a folder of files in seconds and keep your originals untouched in a separate output folder.
If the file you’re trying to add is actually a PDF, a screenshot of the page is often quicker than a conversion. Open the PDF, snip the area you want with the Windows Snipping Tool or macOS Shift+Command+4, and paste the capture into your Google Doc. The same trick works for screens from design apps that export to formats Docs doesn’t read, such as PSD or AI files. For animated content that loses its motion when converted to a still image, you can drop the GIF into Google Drive first, then insert it from there using Insert > Image > Drive, which keeps the animation intact when the document is viewed online.
Conclusion
In this post, we’ve covered the different image file formats that Google Docs support. We’ve also gone over how to insert images into your document. You are now all set to add images to your next Google Doc!
