Funeral program template for Google Docs

Download

Templates by tradition

Each of these downloads as an editable file with the service sequence already in the right order for that tradition, and each opens in Google Docs the same way. Confirm the order with your officiant before printing, since congregations vary.

Open the template in Google Docs

1. 1

   Download the template

   Click one of the downloads above. The file saves to your Downloads folder with a .docx extension. Nothing opens automatically.

2. 2

   Open Google Docs

   Go to docs.google.com and sign in. A free Google account is enough; you do not need a paid Workspace plan.

3. 3

   Choose File, then Open

   In the menu bar of any open document, or from the Docs home screen, choose File and then Open.

4. 4

   Switch to the Upload tab

   The Open a file dialog has tabs across the top: Recent, Starred, Shared with me, My Drive, and Upload. Click Upload.

5. 5

   Add the file

   Drag the .docx into the box, or click Browse and select it. The file uploads to your Google Drive and then opens in the Google Docs editor.

6. 6

   Check the .DOCX label

   You should see .DOCX beside the file name at the top. That means Google Docs is editing the Word file in place and saving your changes back into that same .docx. If you would rather work in Google's own format, choose File and then Save as Google Docs, which creates a separate copy and leaves the original untouched.

7. 7

   Delete the instruction page

   The first page is guidance and is meant to be removed. It sits behind a page break, so you can select it from the top of the document to the break and delete it in one action.

8. 8

   Replace every bracketed field

   Every field you need to fill in is written inside [square brackets]. Press Ctrl+H, or Cmd+Shift+H on a Mac, to open find and replace, and search for an opening bracket to move between them until none are left.

Five things to check after the import

Moving a document between two programs almost always shifts something. These are the five places it happens with these templates, in the order worth checking them.

Make sure the document is in Pages format, not Pageless

Google Docs has a pageless mode in which page setup, columns, page breaks, and section breaks are all unavailable. Choose File, then Page setup, and confirm Pages is selected at the top of the dialog. Every other item on this list depends on this one, so check it first.

Confirm the landscape sections came across

The bifold template is a portrait instruction page followed by landscape pages. Google Docs supports different orientations in one document by using section breaks. To see where they are, choose View, then Show section breaks. To change one, put the cursor inside that section, choose File, then Page setup, and set Apply to: This section.

Check the two columns on the panel pages

Each bifold sheet is two columns, one panel per column. Verify with Format, then Columns. More options lets you set the gap between columns and whether a dividing line is drawn. To push text to the top of the next panel, use Insert, then Break, then Column break, rather than pressing Enter until it moves. Pressing Enter looks the same until you edit a line above it, at which point everything slides.

Look at the alignment of the order of service lines

Those lines use a right tab stop so the names stay in a column down the page. If they arrive ragged, select the lines and drag the tab marker on the ruler until they line up. If you cannot see the ruler, choose View, then Show ruler.

Set the photograph to In line

Insert, then Image, then Upload from computer. Click the image and choose In line from the small toolbar that appears beneath it. In line makes the picture behave like a very large character, so it stays where you put it. Wrap text and Break text both allow it to drift once you start typing above it, which is how photographs end up on the wrong panel.

The templates are set in Georgia, which is one of the fonts Google Docs includes as standard, so the type should carry across unchanged. Fonts are still worth a glance: if any text substitutes to a different face, the line breaks move, so read the whole document once after you finish typing rather than before.

Export a print-ready PDF

• Check File, then Page setup first. Confirm the paper size is the one your printer expects, Letter in North America or A4 elsewhere, and that the margins are what you want. Fixing this after you export means exporting again.
• Choose File, then Download, then PDF Document (.pdf). The file lands in your Downloads folder.
• Give the print shop the PDF, not the .docx. A PDF fixes the fonts and spacing exactly as you saw them. A .docx re-flows on whatever machine and font set the shop happens to have, which is how a name ends up alone on its own line.
• Open the PDF and read it before you send it. This is the last moment a wrong date is cheap to fix.
• Printing at home, choose actual size or 100 percent rather than fit to page, or the margins shift and the fold no longer lands where the design expects.
• For a bifold, print double-sided flipping on the SHORT edge. Long-edge flipping prints the inside upside down. Print one, fold it, then run the rest.

The same file in Pages, LibreOffice, and Word

A straight answer about Canva

Canva comes up constantly alongside Google Docs in these searches, and it deserves a real answer rather than a dismissal from a site that does not sell it.

If you want visual control, use Canva. If you want a file that anyone can open and edit on any computer, use the .docx above. Neither is wrong, and there is nothing stopping you from designing the cover in one and writing the text in the other.

Questions

Is there a funeral program template for Google Docs?

Yes. The files on this page are .docx templates, and Google Docs opens .docx directly through File, then Open, then Upload. Once uploaded, you edit them in the browser exactly as you would any Google Doc, and Google saves your changes back into the same file.

Are these really free?

Yes. No signup, no email address, no watermark, and nothing withheld for a paid version. You may edit, print, share, and reuse them, including for a service you are paid to arrange, and you do not need to credit us.

Do I need a Google account?

You need a free Google account to use Google Docs, which is Google's requirement rather than ours. If you would rather not create one, the same file opens in Apple Pages and in LibreOffice, both of which run on your own computer.

Do I have to convert the file to Google Docs format?

No. Google Docs edits .docx files in place and shows a .DOCX label beside the file name while it does. Converting with File, then Save as Google Docs is optional, and it creates a second file rather than changing the first.

Why can I not find the columns or page setup options?

The document is almost certainly in pageless format, which hides page setup, columns, page breaks, and section breaks. Choose File, then Page setup, and select Pages at the top of the dialog. Everything reappears.

Will Google Docs change the layout?

Some spacing can shift slightly between any two programs, which is true of Word and LibreOffice as well. The five checks above cover everything that moves in practice. Read the whole document once after you finish typing, and print one copy and fold it before running the rest.

How do I get a PDF for the print shop?

Choose File, then Download, then PDF Document (.pdf). Check File, then Page setup first so the paper size is right. Send the print shop the PDF rather than the editable file, because a PDF fixes the fonts and spacing and an editable file does not.

Should I use Canva instead?

Canva is a strong choice if the visual design of the cover matters most to you, since it handles photographs and typography better than a word processor. A .docx is the better choice if several relatives need to edit the text, or if you want a file that opens on any computer without an account. Check canva.com for what its current plans include before you commit to building there.