How to Change Background in Google Drawings

Google Drawings is a relatively less known service of the technology giant. It brings together almost everything you need to collaborate and create graphical diagrams, organization charts, and more with your colleagues. Drawings is hosted in Google Drive and gives you access to a blank canvas and all the essential tools you'll need to create just about anything.

The best part of using Google Drawings is that it allows multiple users to open and edit drawings simultaneously in real time. However, the only possible disadvantage at the moment is that its interface is not very intuitive, especially for new users.

This makes things simple like changing the background a bit confusing, but do not worry, we are here to help you. Read on to learn how to change the background color of Google Drawings or set an image as a background.

How to change the background color in Google Drawings

When you open a new project in Google Drawings, the interface welcomes you with a blank canvas with a transparent background. Now, if you want to change the background and add some color, you'll have to follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Right-click anywhere on the canvas to open the context menu.

S2nd step: Move the mouse pointer over the Background menu option to open the background settings.

SStep 3: In the following drop-down menu, you can select a solid color or a gradient for the background.

The Solid Color tab is selected by default and you can choose any color from the variety of predefined options in the tab. If you do not want to select a preset color, you can also click the Customize option to open a color wheel.

Here you can either enter the hexadecimal code of the color of your choice, or choose it manually by dragging the slider on the color picker. You will also be able to select the transparency of the background. Once you are satisfied with the choice, click OK to set the color as the new background.

SStep 4: If you prefer to have a gradient as the background, you can switch to the Gradient tab by clicking on it.

The gradient also offers a variety of different presets and a custom option to help you choose the gradient of your choice.

Click the Customize option to open a pop-up window where you can select the type, angle, and shape of the gradient. You can also add gradient stops if you want to add several different gradients to the canvas.

Once you are satisfied with the selection, click OK and the gradient will be added as a background. Pretty simple up to now, no?

Once the new background is in place, you can select the tool of your choice and start working on your project as you would with a transparent background.

How to use an image as a background in Google Drawings

If you have a background image for your project and you prefer to use it, you do not need to tinker a lot. So, instead of using a solid color or gradient, you will need to follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Click the Insert option on the toolbar to open the context menu, and then hover over the Image suboption to open the following options.

S2nd step: Here, choose the location from which you want to download the background image.

You can download directly from your computer, search for an image on the web, or insert an image from Google Drive or Google Photos. You can also insert an image with the help of a URL or click on a new one using the webcam of your system.

I chose the first option and uploaded an image directly from our system. This opens a dialog box where you can search and select the image you want to download. Just click on Open to insert the image on the canvas.

Once the image is inserted, you will probably have to resize it to fit the canvas. You can do this by moving the cursor to one of the corners, then clicking and dragging to increase or decrease the size.

Once you have adjusted the size, you must align it on the canvas to get the best fit. You can do this by right-clicking the photo and selecting Horizontally or Vertically in the Center on Page option.

If the format of the image is different, you must also crop it to fit the canvas. To do this, you must select the Crop Image option in the context menu, then drag the edges to trim the image and press Enter to crop.

You will now be able to use all the tools as usual. Just be sure not to accidentally select the image and move it. In this case, use the Center on Page setting again to fix the problems.