Skip to main content
Customization options let you shape the product to match your team’s workflows and visual identity. Most options are accessible from Settings or directly within the relevant section of the interface.

​
Custom templates

Templates give you a reusable starting point for new items. Any item — document, sheet, presentation, or other supported type — can be saved as a template.
1

Create a template

Open the item you want to use as a template. Select File → Save as template. Give the template a name and choose whether to make it available to yourself only or to your entire organization.
2

Edit a template

Go to Templates from your home screen. Hover over a template and click Edit. Your changes are saved to the template immediately.
3

Share a template

Open the template, then select Share template from the File menu. Choose whether to share with specific people, a group, or your entire organization. Recipients can use the template but cannot modify it unless you grant Editor access.
4

Delete a template

Go to Templates, hover over the template, click More (⋮), and select Delete. Deleting a template does not affect items already created from it.
Organization-wide templates are managed by admins. If you want a template published for all members, contact your Google Workspace admin to promote it.

​
Workspace branding

Teams and organizations can apply custom branding to make the experience feel consistent with your company identity.
Workspace branding is available on Business and Enterprise plans. You must be an organization admin to change these settings. Find them under Admin console → Appearance.
Set a primary and accent color to apply to buttons, links, and interactive elements across the interface.
  • Click Pick color and enter a hex code, or use the color picker.
  • Changes apply to all organization members within a few minutes.
  • High-contrast and accessibility modes are not affected by brand colors.

​
Custom labels and tags

Labels help you categorize, filter, and find items across your workspace.
1

Create a label

Open Settings → Labels. Click New label, enter a name, and choose a color. Click Save.
2

Apply a label to an item

Right-click any item in your home screen or file browser and select Apply label. You can apply multiple labels to a single item.
3

Filter by label

In your home screen or a folder view, open the Filter menu and select one or more labels to show only matching items.
4

Manage labels

Go to Settings → Labels to rename, recolor, or delete existing labels. Deleting a label removes it from all items that had it applied.
Labels are personal by default. Organization admins can create shared labels that all members can apply but only admins can edit or delete.

​
Homepage and dashboard layout

Your homepage shows recent items, quick-access shortcuts, and activity summaries. You can rearrange and customize each section.
OptionHow to accessDescription
Rearrange sectionsDrag the handle (⠿) on any homepage sectionMove sections up or down to prioritize what you see first
Hide a sectionClick ⋮ → Hide section on any section headerRemove a section from view without losing your data
Restore hidden sectionsClick Customize at the top of the homepageToggle hidden sections back on
Pin a saved filterApply a filter, then click Save view → Pin to homepageKeep a specific filtered view on your homepage
Compact viewClick View → Compact in the top-right toolbarReduce card sizes to see more items at once
The sidebar provides quick access to folders, labels, shared drives, and other sections. You can pin your most-used destinations so they always appear at the top.
1

Pin a location

Right-click any folder, label, or shared drive in the sidebar and select Pin to sidebar. It moves to the top of the sidebar under Pinned.
2

Reorder pinned items

Drag and drop pinned items to change their order.
3

Unpin an item

Right-click a pinned item and select Unpin.
4

Collapse sidebar sections

Click any section header (such as Shared drives or Labels) to collapse or expand it. The state is remembered between sessions.
You can also hide the sidebar entirely by pressing \ or going to View → Hide sidebar. Press \ again to bring it back.

​
Custom fonts and document styles

You can define default fonts and paragraph styles that apply to all new documents you create.
1

Set a default font

Open any document. In the toolbar, set the font and size you want to use as your default. Then go to Format → Paragraph styles → Options → Save as my default styles.
2

Apply your defaults to a new document

In a new document, go to Format → Paragraph styles → Options → Use my default styles. The saved font and heading styles will be applied.
3

Reset styles

Go to Format → Paragraph styles → Options → Reset styles to return to the product’s built-in defaults.
Default styles apply only to documents you create going forward. Existing documents keep their original styles unless you manually apply the new defaults.
For organization-wide document templates with enforced styles, use the custom templates feature instead.