The Diagram Dilemma
Google Docs is primarily a word processor, but it includes basic layout tools, including a built-in Drawing canvas. If you insert multiple shapes, text boxes, or images into a single Drawing canvas within your document, Docs attempts to treat them as individual elements. However, if you use your mouse to drag a selection box over several overlapping images within the Drawing tool, Docs may automatically assume you want them to act as a single unit, sometimes inadvertently grouping them or snapping their borders together if “Snap to Grid” or “Snap to Guides” is overly aggressive. This makes micro-adjustments nearly impossible.
Managing Image Independence
To ensure you can move individual graphical elements freely and stop Google Docs from automatically grouping or snapping images together within the Drawing tool, you must disable the alignment guides.
First, double-click on the image cluster in your document to open the Drawing dialogue box overlay. If the images are currently acting as a single unit, click on the cluster, right-click, and select Ungroup (or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G). Now that they are separated, you must stop them from snapping back into an involuntary alignment group. In the toolbar at the top of the Drawing window, click on Actions (the leftmost button). Hover your mouse over Snap to. You will see options for “Grid” and “Guides.” Ensure that there are no checkmarks next to either option by clicking them to toggle them off. With snapping disabled, you can freely drag an image a single pixel to the left or right without Docs automatically magnetic-locking it to the edge of the adjacent image.