How to insert a drawing in Google Docs on Mac: new or existing file steps

What you need before you start

You need a Mac, a web browser, a Google account and edit access to the document. Google Docs has no native Mac app, so every step here happens in your browser. The menus come from the web page, not from macOS.

Google's help pages describe drawing menus without any Mac or version differences. That means the labels in this guide should match your screen. If a label looks different, Google has probably changed its page, not your Mac.

• Edit access to the document. If Insert > Drawing is greyed out, check this first.
• A saved drawing in Drive, if you want to reuse one. Only Drawings files appear in the picker.
• A clear spot in the text. Click the paragraph where the drawing should go before you start.

Insert a new drawing from scratch

Use Insert > Drawing > New when you want to sketch something inside the doc. Common uses are a flow chart, a labeled diagram or a rough sketch that explains a process. Google's help page says that once the drawing opens, you add shapes, lines or text with the editing tools.

A new drawing is a Google Drawings file. Google says Drawings files saved in Drive can be embedded in Google Docs, so the same diagram can go into other documents later. That is the reason to name it well from the start.

Keep the first draft rough. You can tidy the drawing later, once you know how much room the text around it needs. Spending too long on alignment before the text is written wastes time.

Insert a drawing you already saved in Drive

Use Insert > Drawing > From Drive when a colleague built the diagram, or when you want the same figure in more than one document. The picker shows the Drawings files in your Drive. Find the one you want, click it, then click Select.

Google's help page asks you to pick a Drawings file, so look for that file type before you click. If the file you need is missing, check which Drive account you are signed into.

What a linked drawing does when the source changes

A drawing from Drive stays linked to the original file. Google's help page says the inserted drawing is linked, and it gives you controls for that link. Click the drawing in the doc and look at its top-right corner.

Update pulls in the latest version of the source. Unlink disconnects the drawing, so later changes to the original stop reaching the doc. Both controls sit in the top right, according to Google's page.

Use Update when a colleague changes the source and the doc needs the new version. Use Unlink only when the doc should keep the picture as it stands. Unlinking is the choice to think about, because it ends the connection to the source.

A worked example: a process diagram in a team handbook

Say you run onboarding for new hires and need a flow chart in the team handbook doc. Open the handbook, click the section called First week, and go to Insert > Drawing > New. Draw a few boxes with arrows between them, then add a short label to each box.

Later, a colleague changes the first box in the source drawing. You click the linked drawing in the handbook, read the top-right corner, and click Update. The handbook shows the new box, and nobody has to retype the chart.

Shortcuts for drawings on a Mac, and the one that is missing

Google's keyboard shortcut page lists the Mac shortcuts that matter here. Option + / opens the Tool finder, which the page formerly called Search the menus. ⌘ + / shows common shortcuts. ⌘ + k inserts or edits a link.

No shortcut inserts a drawing. Google's list does not include one, so the menu is the route. If you lose your place in the menu, press Option + / and type Drawing in the Tool finder.

Option-drag copies a shape inside a drawing. Google's help page asks you to hold Option where Windows uses Ctrl. That is the drawing-specific Mac key Google gives.

Mistakes people make with drawings in Google Docs on Mac

• Choosing New when they meant From Drive, then drawing the diagram again. Read the submenu label before you click.
• Forgetting Update. A linked drawing does not refresh on its own. Click it and use Update when the source changes.
• Sharing the doc without checking the drawing. The How-To Geek guide says linked drawings are visible to anyone who can view the document.
• Dragging a shape without Option when they wanted a copy. A plain drag moves the shape, while Option-drag copies it.
• Unlinking by accident. Use Update first, and use Unlink only when you mean it.

Check sharing before you send the doc

This is the mistake with the highest cost. The How-To Geek guide says linked drawings are visible to anyone who can view the document, even if the drawing is not shared separately. Check the doc's sharing settings, and treat a linked drawing as part of the doc.

When the drawing will not load or stays grey

Google's help pages do not give a fix for a drawing that stays grey or will not load. The checks below are general steps from search results, not confirmed Google fixes.

• Reload the tab. This is the cheapest check and the first thing to try.
• Click somewhere else in the doc, away from footnotes, tables and equations, then try again.
• Open the doc in a private window or another browser to rule out your browser profile.
• Check that the drawing is still in Drive and that your account can open it.

Older guides mention a Save and Close button

A 2020 How-To Geek guide says a new drawing ends with a Save and Close button. It also says you change a drawing later by selecting it and clicking Edit in the toolbar. Google's current help page names neither step.

Look for those buttons if they appear, but do not build your routine around them. The path Insert > Drawing > New is the step Google's page confirms.

Where drawings fit in a longer Google Docs workflow

A report might need a footnote beside a figure, or a shared draft might need comments on the diagram. If your figure needs a source note, read how to insert a footnote in Google Docs on Mac.

For review, how to add a comment in Google Docs on Mac shows how to point a reader at a figure. Course writers can also check Google Docs for instructional designers on Mac.

Check the drawing once it is in the doc

Scroll the doc at the size readers will see. A drawing that looks clear on a large screen can have text too small to read on a printed page. Check the text size inside the drawing, then check where the page breaks fall.

If the drawing is linked, click it and confirm that Update and Unlink appear in the top right. If they are missing, the drawing probably is not linked, so updates to the source will not reach the doc.

Then share the doc with the reviewer you have in mind and ask what they can see. That check takes less time than a correction after the doc has gone out.