/ How to

How to Curve and Bend Text Around Objects in Google Docs

Google Docs is a powerful word processing tool that allows you to create professional documents with ease. One useful formatting technique in Docs is curving or bending text around objects like images. This not only looks great, but also helps improve readability by eliminating awkward gaps in the text.

Why Curve Text in Google Docs

Curving text in Docs serves both aesthetic and functional purposes:

  • Makes documents more visually appealing and professional looking
  • Draws attention to key images or graphics
  • Improves readability by eliminating awkward gaps around inserted objects
  • Allows flexibility with text flow and layout

So whether you want to showcase a key photo in a brochure, highlight an important diagram in a report, or just make your document look more polished, curving text is a great option.

How to Curve Text in Google Docs

Unfortunately, Google Docs does not have a built-in feature to directly curve text. However, there are a couple easy workarounds:

Method 1: Use an Online Text Curving Tool

  1. Go to a free online curved text generator like MockoFun or Troygram.
  2. Enter your text and customize the curve.
  3. Download the curved text as an image file.
  4. Insert the image into your Google Doc.
  5. Optionally, crop the image or adjust text wrapping.

This method makes it quick and easy to curve text exactly how you want it.

Method 2: Manually Curve with Text Boxes

  1. Insert a curved line or shape to use as a guide.
  2. Click Insert > Drawing > Text box.
  3. Click and drag the text box handles to curve the text along the line.
  4. Repeat to add additional curved text boxes.
  5. Delete the guide when done.

While this method takes more work, it allows you to precisely curve text right in Docs.

Bending Text Around Images

In addition to curving text itself, you can bend text around inserted images in Google Docs using the Wrap text feature:

  1. Insert an image.
  2. Click the image and select Image options > Text wrapping > Wrap text.
  3. Drag the image edges to adjust text flow.

This causes text to automatically bend around the image edges. Combined with curved text, you can create professional, print-ready layouts directly in Docs.

Tips for Curved and Bent Text

Here are some top tips:

  • For images, enable In front of text so text overlaps cleanly.
  • Use justified text alignment for smoother bent text.
  • Add borders or background colors to make curved text stand out.
  • Experiment with different fonts and sizes for visual impact.
  • Align several curved text boxes to create arcs and waves.

Advanced Techniques

Once you master the basics, try these advanced tricks:

  • Use the Distort tool under Modify to stretch text along custom paths.
  • Combine curved text boxes and distorting to make text circle an object.
  • Apply gradients or image fills to curved text boxes.
  • Invert the text box curve to create opposite facing arcs.
  • Animate bent text movement with Drawing options.

The possibilities are endless for bending and curving text in Google Docs! Start simple, then explore more complex layouts as you gain experience. Proper use of text flow around objects makes for striking and professional documents.

Conclusion

While Google Docs lacks a true curved text tool, the workarounds provide you with plenty of creative options. Use online generators for quick results or manually curve text boxes for precision effects. And leveraging the text wrapping features allows you to flow text cleanly around inserted images.

So whether you want to showcase a key visual or simply make your documents look more polished, curving and bending text around objects is an important formatting skill to add to your Google Docs repertoire. Just remember to experiment freely and have fun with the process!

Related Posts