Tips for strong proposals

Modified on Wed, 9 Jul at 5:24 PM

On this page

  • Use a template or write with Gemini
  • Add citations
  • Enhance your proposals with visuals & video
  • Make changes on the go
  • Add an outline for readability
  • Track drafts in one place
  • Collaborate on proposals in real time
  • Quickly see who changed what
  • Set an expiration date on confidential proposals
  • Share proposals on a team site


Use a template or write with Gemini


Choose an existing template

  1. On your computer, go to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, or Sites homepage.
  2. At the top right , click Template Gallery.
  3. Click the template you want to use.
  4. A new file with the template opens.

Tip: If the template you choose has "Add-on" next to it, you may have to install an add-on to use it. Learn more about add-ons.


Create your own template

You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator. 

  1. Choose an option:
    • Create a new document, spreadsheet, presentation, form, or site.
    • Open an existing document, spreadsheet, presentation, form, or site and make the changes you want for your template.
  2. Note: If your template file is in a shared drive, check the sharing settings on the shared drive. Sharing restrictions can prevent people from accessing the template.
  3. From the Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, or Sites home screen, at the top, click Template galleryand thenyour organization name.
  4. Click Submit template.
    Important: You won't be able to submit a template if you do not have permission to modify the sharing settings of your template, or if the template sharing settings have been set to restrict viewers and commenters from downloading the file.
  5. Click Select a document and choose the template file you created.
  6. Click Open.
  7. (Optional) To submit a copy of the file instead of the original, check the box.
  8. Select a category for your file.
  9. Click Submit.

    To find your new template, go to Template galleryand thenselect your template.

Show or hide the Template Gallery

  1. Open Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, or Sites homepage.
  2. At the top left, click Menu Menu and then Settings.
  3. Turn Display recent templates on home screens on or off.

Write or rewrite with Gemini

  1. On your computer, open a document from Google Docs.
  2. At the top right, click Ask Gemini .
  3. On the side panel, select a prompt or create your own.
  4. Press Enter.
  5. Generate text and refine it.
    • Examples:
      • “Write an announcement email about a new feature.”
      • “Make the announcement more fun.”
  6. You can also:
    • Add the text to your document: Click Insert .
    • Find a different version: Click Retry Refresh.
    • Send feedback about the suggested text: Click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .

Add citations

Need to cite sources for your proposal? Quickly add citations and a bibliography without leaving your proposal. 


Enhance your proposals with visuals & video

Add an image

  1. On your computer, open a document or presentation in Google Docs or Slides.
  2. Click Insert and then Image.
  3. Choose where to get your image from.
    • Upload from computer: Insert an image saved on your device.
    • Stock & web: Insert stock images, GIF files, stickers, and Google images.
    • Drive & Photos: Use an image from your Google Drive or Photos library.
    • Camera: Use your device’s camera to add an image.
    • By URL: Insert a link to your image or insert a .gif.
  4. Click Insert or Open.

 

Create images based on slide content with Gemini

  1. On your computer, open Google Slides.
  2. At the top, click Ask Gemini .
  3. In the side panel, you can:
    • Create an image based on a selected slide: For example, you can enter Create an image or Suggest images for this slide.
    • Select a suggested prompt: Gemini in Slides might suggest images based on the content of your slides.
    • Create your own prompt: For example, you can ask Create an image of a dog with glasses.
  4. Press Enter.
  5. Point to a specific image and click Insert .
  6. (Optional) To send feedback about the image, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .
  7. You can also:
    • Edit the prompt: Click Edit Prompt .
    • Generate more images: At the bottom, click Generate more .

Generate a new slide with Gemini

You can use the Gemini in Slides side panel to generate a new slide.

  1. On your computer, open Google Slides. New slides are generated using your current theme.
  2. At the top, click Ask Gemini .
  3. In the side panel, select a prompt or create your own. To create a prompt with the name of your file, insert @ before the name. For example, Create a slide about how to optimally train for a marathon or Create a slide about @Company 2023 Goals deck.
  4. From the generated slide, you can:
    • Get a different version: From the menu, click Retry .
    • Add the slide to your presentation: From the menu, click Insert .
    • Refine the generated slide: From the menu, click Close . On the side panel, write a new prompt.
    • Send feedback: From the menu, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .

Crop an image

You can trim the edges of an image or remove an unwanted section.

  1. On your computer, open a document, presentation, or video.
  2. Click on the image you want to crop.
  3. Click Crop .
  4. Around the border, click and drag the blue squares into the shape you want.
  5. When you’re done, press Enter on your keyboard or click anywhere else in your file.

Get suggestions for images

  1. On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
  2. At the bottom right, click Explore .
  3. At the top, search for a document, presentation, image, chart, or webpage. Search results will show in categories:
    • Web: Info from the web related to your document.
    • Images: Images from the web related to your document.
    • Cloud search: Items from Google Drive and Gmail. To filter by type, click Filter Filter. Your administrator may turn off this option, in which case you can search with Google Drive.
    • Drive: Documents saved in your Google Drive.
  4. Add an item from your search:
    • Add an image or chart: Click the item you want to add. At the top, click Insert.
    • Add a footnote: Point to your search result. Click Cite as footnote Cite as footnote.
    • Add a link: Point to your search result. Click Insert Link Plus.

Create a video with Vids

  1. On your computer, open Google Vids.
  2. Choose an option:
    • Help Me Create: Create a video with AI in Google Vids. 
    • Select a template: Build your video based on a template that you select. 
    • Start with a recording: Build your video with a video, audio, or screen recording. 
    • Upload media: Build your video by recording yourself (audio narration or a full video recording), your computer screen, or both. 

Make changes on the go

Edit proposals on your phone or tablet with the Docs app. Whether you’re on the way to the airport or visiting a customer, it’s easy to update your proposals when you’re away from your desk. Any changes you make automatically sync to all your devices, so you’re always up to date. Even better, if you’re in a rush, type with your voice to quickly put words on a page.


Add an outline for readability

Create an automatic outline in Docs

  1. To temporarily close the document outline: At the left, next to "Outline," click Close document outline  Back.
  2. To completely hide the document outline: At the top, click View And then Show outline

Tip: If there's a checkmark next to "Show outline," the document outline icon Docs outline icon will still be visible in the top left of your document.


Track drafts in one place

View or revert to earlier versions of Docs, Sheets, & Slides files

Note: You need Owner or Editor access to see the version history.

  1. In Drive, open your file.
  2. Click Fileand thenVersion historyand thenSee version history.
  3. Click a timestamp to see a previous version of the file. Below the timestamp, you can review:
    • The names of people who edited the document.
    •  The color next to each person’s name. The edits they made appear in that color.
  4. (Optional) To revert to this version, click Restore this version.

Upload a new version of a file to Drive

  1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
  2. Click the file you want to replace.
  3. At the top right, click More More and then Manage versions and then Upload new version.

Collaborate on proposals in real time

Share a file from Drive

In Drive: 

  1. Select the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share or Share Share.
  3. Enter the email address or Google group you want to share with.
  4. To decide what role people will have on your file, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
  5. If your account is eligible, you can add an expiration date for access.
  6. Choose to notify people.
    • If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
    • If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box. 
  7. Click send or share

Quickly see who changed what

See who commented, edited, moved, or shared a file

You can see activity on files in My Drive or in a shared drive.

  1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
  2. On the left click My Drive.
  3. In the upper right, click Info Info.
  4. Select an option. To access:
    • Recent changes, select an option:
      1. Click Activity.
      2. Scroll down the right side.
    • The activity of a specific file or folder, click the file or folder.

Set an expiration date on confidential proposals

  1. Open a file in Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides.
  2. Click Share and thenfind the user you'd like to give temporary permissions to.
    • If you haven't shared the file with that person yet, add the user's email and click Send or Share. At the top right of the document, click Share again.
  3. Next to the person's name, click the Down arrow Down and then Add expiration.
  4. Next to "Access expires," click a date to set as the expiration date. Choose a date within one year of the current date.
  5. Click Save.

Share proposals on a team site

Want to share a draft proposal with your team? Create an internal team website in Sites and add your proposals there. You can access the site at any time, from any device. Changes you make in Docs automatically appear on the team site, too.


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