Google Docs now allows for custom text watermarks | ZDNet

This week, Google added some new Workspace updates to personalize your Google Docs even more.

According to a post on the Google Workspace Update blog, Google Workspace customers will be able to add custom watermarks in a Google Doc and create their own background text identifiers. The “Watermark” tab in the “Insert” drop-down now lets you either choose an image as a watermark or type in your own in the new “Text” tab. 

“Text watermarks will repeat on every page on your document, making it useful for indicating file status, such as ‘Confidential’ or ‘Draft’ before sharing more broadly, no matter the application you use,” Google detailed in the blog post. “In addition to text watermarks, you can insert an image watermark or images above or behind text.”

While Google added the watermark feature in September, you could only add an image as a watermark. This latest update makes it much easier to customize whatever you want your watermark to say. In addition, Google said it would preserve text watermarks when importing or exporting your files. 

The new feature is in the rollout phase and will be available for all Google Workspace customers and G Suite Basic and Business customers. The feature will be available for users in the Rapid Release domains within the next two weeks. Scheduled Release domain rollout begins Feb. 14 and could take up to 15 days after to update.

It’s important to note that the feature is only available with the desktop version of Google Docs, so you can’t insert a watermark if you’re using the Google Docs iOS or Android app. 

However, Google isn’t the first platform to implement a custom watermark feature. Microsoft Word added a similar feature years ago that allows you to create custom watermarks from text or images. Microsoft even lets you add a watermark within an email through Outlook. 

Google regularly updates its Google Workspace applications to add new and valuable features to users. In recent months, it’s added the ability to present to Google Meet from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, new fonts that improve accessibility for those with impaired vision, and the Smart Reply function to save time when replying to comments in Google Docs.