When you receive a digital contract, a lease agreement, or a permission slip via email, printing it out, signing it with a pen, scanning it back into the computer, and emailing it is an incredibly tedious process. If the document is formatted in Google Docs, you can bypass the printer entirely. Google Docs includes a hidden, built-in drawing tool that allows you to cleanly draw your signature and insert it directly onto the signature line.
How to Use the Drawing Tool for Signatures
To sign your document, you need to open the specialized Drawing canvas, which acts as a digital piece of paper.
- Open your document in Google Docs.
- Click on the exact spot in the document where you want your signature to appear (usually on the blank line at the bottom).
- Click on Insert in the top menu bar.
- Hover over Drawing and click on New. A large, checkered drawing canvas will appear on your screen.
- Look at the toolbar at the top of this new window. Click the small downward arrow next to the Line tool (it looks like a diagonal line with two dots).
- From the drop-down menu, select Scribble.
Drawing and Adjusting Your Signature
The Scribble tool allows you to draw freely, just like holding a pen.
- Click and hold your left mouse button (or press down on your laptop trackpad) and carefully write your signature on the canvas. If you make a mistake, you can use the Undo button (the curved backward arrow) to try again.
- When you are satisfied with how it looks, click the blue Save and Close button in the top right corner.
Your handwritten signature will instantly appear in your document as a transparent image. If it is too large, simply click on the signature once to highlight it, grab one of the blue square handles on the corners, and drag it inward to shrink it down until it fits perfectly on the dotted line. Your legally binding digital document is now ready to be downloaded and emailed.