Need to construct a slide presentation for a gathering, coaching, or different occasion? Google Slides is an easy-to-use internet app that comes with the important instruments and extra. It shops your shows within the cloud with Google Drive. Anyone with a Google account can use Slides and Drive at no cost, and so they’re additionally included with a Google Workspace (previously G Suite) subscription for enterprise and enterprise prospects. There are Google Sheets cell apps for Android and iOS, too.This information will assist you to develop into aware of the Google Slides internet interface and present you how one can begin a brand new presentation, add a Microsoft PowerPoint file to edit in Google Slides, collaborate with others in your presentation, and at last, current it to others.Create or open a presentationLog in to your Google or Workspace account. Then:From Google Slides: At the highest of the house web page, you’ll see a “Start a new presentation” header, with a row of thumbnails beneath. To begin a brand new, clean presentation, click on the Blank thumbnail. To begin a brand new presentation in a template, choose one of many thumbnails to the correct or click on Template gallery towards the upper-right nook, then click on any thumbnail on the web page that seems. IDG

The Google Slides house web page. (Click picture to enlarge it.)

Below the “Start a new presentation” space you’ll see a listing of shows which might be saved in your Google Drive or shared with you. To open a presentation, click on it on this listing.The listing of your shows seems in reverse chronological order beginning with the presentation you most lately opened. Clicking the “AZ” icon on the higher proper of this listing modifications the type order to Last modified by me, Last modified, or in alphabetical order by presentation title. You may browse to a selected folder by clicking the folder icon subsequent to the “AZ” icon. From Google Drive: Presentations saved in your Google Drive are listed in the primary window of the Drive house web page. To see a list of shows that others are sharing with you, click on Shared with me within the left column. From both listing, double-click a presentation to open it in Google Slides.To begin a brand new, clean presentation, click on the New button on the upper-left of the display screen after which click on Google Slides. If you need to use a template to begin a brand new presentation, click on the New button, then transfer the cursor over the correct arrow subsequent to Google Slides and choose From a template. The template gallery for Google Slides will open; click on a thumbnail to begin a brand new presentation in that template. IDG

Creating a brand new presentation from Google Drive.

From Google Slides or Drive: You can also use the search field on the prime to search out shows in your Google Drive or shared with you. Enter phrases or numbers which may be within the presentation you are on the lookout for.Upload a PowerPoint presentation to SlidesYou can edit a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation in Google Slides, however first it’s essential to add it to Google Drive.From Google Slides: Click the folder icon (Open file picker) that is above and towards the correct nook of your shows listing. On the panel that opens, click on the Upload tab. Drag-and-drop your PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx) onto this panel, or browse your PC’s drive to pick out it. From Google Drive: Click the New button, then File add, and choose the PowerPoint file out of your PC’s drive and click on Open.Traditionally, if you uploaded PowerPoint recordsdata to Google Drive, they had been robotically transformed to Slides format. That’s nonetheless the case if you add PowerPoint recordsdata by way of the Google Slides house web page.However, Google now helps the flexibility to edit Microsoft Office recordsdata of their native format. By default, any .pptx recordsdata that you just add by way of Google Drive will stay formatted as PowerPoint paperwork. You can edit and collaborate on a PowerPoint file proper in Slides, with all modifications made by you or your collaborators saved on to the PowerPoint file.On the Google Slides and Drive house pages, native PowerPoint recordsdata might be denoted with an orange “P” icon, and if you open a local PowerPoint file in Sheets, you’ll see a “.PPTX” flag to the correct of the doc title. IDG

Native PowerPoint recordsdata present the PowerPoint icon (prime) as an alternative of the Google Slides icon (backside).

If you’d relatively have Google convert PowerPoint recordsdata to Slides format robotically if you add them by way of Google Drive, click on the gear icon within the upper-right nook of the Drive house display screen and choose Settings from the drop-down menu. In the Settings field subsequent to “Convert uploads,” examine the checkbox marked Convert uploaded recordsdata to Google Docs editor format.Work in a presentationWhen you open a brand new or current presentation, its first slide seems in the primary window of Google Slides. Here’s a breakdown of the toolbars, menus, panes, and sidebars that seem round your presentation.The left pane reveals thumbnails of all of the slides in your presentation. Click a thumbnail, and the slide it represents will seem in the primary window, the place you possibly can edit it. IDG

The Google Slides modifying interface. (Click picture to enlarge it.)

Your presentation’s title seems alongside the highest of the display screen. To change it, click on anyplace contained in the title and begin typing.The menu bar beneath your presentation’s title has an entire set of instruments for working with shows. These are the primary submenus to know:
File has instructions for taking motion on the entire presentation, together with Print, Rename, and Share.
Edit lists the usual modifying instructions resembling copy, minimize, paste, delete, duplicate, and discover and change.
View lists a number of methods that you could view your slides as you design and edit them. This consists of arranging them right into a grid, previewing them as a slideshow, or zooming in on them. You may watch the transition impact that takes place between slides once they’re performed in a slideshow.
Insert permits you to add a number of objects to your slides, together with charts, diagrams, photos, tables, and textual content. You may add hyperlinks to YouTube movies or sound or video recordsdata which might be saved in your Google Drive.
Format permits you to change the look of your slides. Certain features on this submenu develop into clickable relying on whether or not you’ve chosen a picture or textual content on a slide, or chosen the slide itself.
Slide is the place you possibly can add, delete, or duplicate a slide that you just’ve chosen. You may add a preset format to a slide, change its background or theme coloration, or add and edit a transition impact that takes place between slides when your presentation is performed as a slideshow.
Arrange lists instruments that allow you to group or reorder objects on a slide in relation to a different. For instance, you possibly can place a picture behind one other picture or group a picture and a block of textual content collectively to make them simpler to maneuver without delay.
Tools results in a number of miscellaneous features. These embrace letting you file a voice clip to go along with a slide, operating a spell checker, and exhibiting you a listing of objects in your presentation which might be linked to different recordsdata.
The toolbar instantly above your presentation places generally used instructions in simple attain. From this toolbar, you possibly can click on buttons so as to add to a slide or change its background, feedback, format, objects (pictures, traces, shapes, textual content), textual content model, theme colours for the entire presentation, transition results throughout a slideshow, and extra. The buttons on the toolbar change relying on whether or not you’ve chosen picture or textual content on a slide or the slide itself.Notice that there’s no Save button within the toolbar — or anyplace in Google Slides. That’s as a result of Slides robotically saves any modifications you make to your presentation.Speaker notes: Along the underside of every slide you’ll see an space marked Click so as to add speaker notes. Here you possibly can sort in short notes to remind your self what to do or say when the slide is being proven. Only you will note these notes if you present your presentation to an viewers.Themes sidebar: When you begin a brand new clean presentation, the Themes sidebar opens on the correct aspect of the display screen. (You may open this sidebar at any time by clicking Theme on the toolbar above your presentation.) Themes apply the identical fonts, colours, and different design components to all of the slides in a presentation, giving it a constant appear and feel. Click a thumbnail on this sidebar to vary your presentation to that theme.Create and handle slidesHere are the fundamental issues to learn about working with slides in a presentation.Add a brand new, clean slide to your presentation: Click the + button on the left finish of the toolbar above your presentation. Alternatively, when you click on the down arrow subsequent to the +, you possibly can select a format to make use of as the idea for a brand new slide. IDG

Click the down arrow subsequent to the + button within the toolbar to decide on a format for a brand new slide.

Apply or change a slide’s background: Select the slide’s thumbnail within the left sidebar and click on Background on the toolbar above your presentation. On the panel that opens, you possibly can change the slide’s background coloration or use a picture file out of your Google Drive, Google Photos account, or PC because the background.Apply or change a slide’s format: Select the slide’s thumbnail within the left pane, then click on Layout on the toolbar above your presentation. On the panel that opens, choose the format you need to apply to this slide.Apply or change a slide’s transition: Select the slide’s thumbnail within the left sidebar and click on Transition on the toolbar above your presentation. In the Motion sidebar that opens alongside the correct aspect of the display screen, you possibly can apply or change the animated transition impact that’s performed earlier than this slide. IDG

Choosing a transition model within the Motion pane.

Move a slide to a special spot within the slideshow sequence: Click and maintain its thumbnail within the left sidebar, drag it up or down to a different place within the sequence, and launch it.Delete a slide: Right-click its thumbnail within the left sidebar and choose Delete from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, choose its thumbnail and choose Edit > Delete from the menu bar or simply press the Delete key.Share and collaborate on a presentationPresentations are sometimes a bunch effort, with a number of staff members contributing to and sprucing a presentation. In Slides, it’s simple for a number of collaborators to work on a presentation collectively.First, you’ll want to share the presentation. When you’re viewing your presentation in Google Slides, click on the Share button on the upper-right. Or, out of your Google Drive homepage, click on to focus on the presentation that you just need to share. Then, within the toolbar towards the higher proper, click on the Share icon (a head-and-shoulders silhouette with a +).Either approach, the “Share” panel will open. IDG

Setting permissions for a file being shared privately.

Share a presentation privatelyIn the entry field, enter the e-mail addresses (or names of your Google Contacts) of the folks with whom you need to share. By default, the folks you invite to your presentation can edit it and reshare it with others.To change entry permissions for invitees: Click Editor to the correct of the entry field and select an alternative choice from the drop-down menu. Commenter means they’ll view your spreadsheet and add feedback however can’t change it. Viewer means they’ll view your presentation however can’t edit it or add feedback.To stop your presentation from being reshared, downloaded, or printed: Click the gear icon on the upper-right of this panel. On the smaller panel that opens, uncheck the containers by Editors can change permissions and share and Viewers and commenters can see the choice to obtain, print, and duplicate.When you’re carried out setting permissions (and, optionally, typing in a message to your invitees), click on Send, and everybody you’ve added will obtain an e-mail with a hyperlink they’ll click on to entry the doc. IDG

The shared presentation icon.

A presentation you’ve shared (or that others have shared with you) can have an icon of two silhouetted heads subsequent to it within the shows listing in your Google Sheets and Google Drive house pages.To restrict or change an individual’s entry to your presentation: With the presentation open in Google Slides, click on the Share button on the upper-right. Or, from Google Drive, spotlight the presentation and click on the Share icon.The Share panel reopens exhibiting a listing of all of the folks you’ve invited, together with their permission standing. Click the down arrow to the correct of an individual’s title, change their permission degree or take away their entry totally, and click on Save. IDG

You can change permissions for folks you’ve shared a presentation with on a person foundation.

If you’ve a Google Workspace subscription, an alternative choice is to pick out Give non permanent entry and, subsequent to Access expires, choose a date inside one 12 months of the present date. If you set an expiration date for an individual that you just’ve assigned as Editor, their entry might be downgraded to Commenter on the expiration date.Share a presentation publiclyMost enterprise customers will need to share shows privately with choose colleagues or purchasers, however you do have the choice to share a presentation publicly. At the underside of the Share panel is a “General access” space the place you possibly can copy a hyperlink to the doc. By default, this hyperlink is restricted to these you invite to the doc. To change it to a public hyperlink, click on Restricted and choose Anyone with the hyperlink from the menu that seems.Click Copy hyperlink and the hyperlink to your presentation might be copied to your PC’s clipboard. You can share this hyperlink by pasting it right into a chat message, doc, e-mail, discussion board put up, or most different technique of on-line written communication. Anyone who clicks this hyperlink will be capable to view your presentation on-line. (Be conscious that anybody can copy and reshare this hyperlink.)To enable anybody within the public to touch upon or edit your presentation: At the underside proper of the Share panel, click on Viewer and choose Commenter or Editor from the drop-down menu. Then click on the Done button. Now the net hyperlink to your presentation will let anybody who clicks it add a remark or edit it. IDG

Sharing a spreadsheet publicly.

To flip off public sharing in your presentation: Bring up the Share panel once more. Near the underside, click on Anyone with the hyperlink and choose Restricted from the menu, then click on the Done button.Note: You can apply each private and non-private sharing strategies to your presentation. For instance, you possibly can enable the general public to solely view your presentation, however enable particular folks that you just’ve invited to touch upon or edit it.Collaborate on a presentationThe folks you’ve shared a spreadsheet with can view or work on it similtaneously you or at different instances. Remember that individuals who have Editor privileges to your presentation can change all points of it. Having a number of folks making modifications to a presentation can get complicated. In most circumstances, setting everybody to Commenter is the easiest way to collaborate in Slides: People can connect feedback to a slide or to things in a slide, however their feedback gained’t alter your presentation’s data or design.To add a remark to a slide: Right-click its thumbnail within the left sidebar and choose Comment from the menu that opens. Alternatively, you possibly can choose its thumbnail and choose Insert > Comment from the menu bar or click on the Add remark button (a speech balloon with a + signal).A clean remark card together with your title on it opens to the correct of the slide in the primary window. On this card’s entry line, sort a short remark, and if you’re completed, click on the Comment button. IDG

Typing in a brand new remark.

To add a remark to an object on a slide: Right-click the thing (a block of textual content, chart, picture, image, and so on.) and choose Comment from the menu that opens. Alternatively, you possibly can choose the thing and choose Insert > Comment from the menu bar.To draw somebody’s consideration to a remark: As you’re composing the remark, sort the @ image and start typing their title, then choose the particular person from the listing of prompt Google contacts that seems. They’ll obtain an e-mail notifying them of the remark and linking to it.To learn, reply to, or take away a remark: A slide that accommodates a remark is denoted within the left sidebar with a speech balloon by its thumbnail. Click the slide’s thumbnail to make the slide seem in the primary window, and also you’ll see all its remark playing cards on the correct.To reply to a remark, click on its card. The card will develop to disclose an entry line the place you possibly can add a remark in response. IDG

Replying to a remark.

Clicking the checkmark on the higher proper marks the remark card as “resolved” and removes the cardboard from the presentation. Clicking the cardboard’s three-dot icon opens a menu that permits you to edit or delete your remark.To see a listing of all feedback: Click the Open remark historical past icon (the speech balloon) to the left of the Slideshow button. A sidebar will open alongside the correct aspect of the display screen; it lists all of the remark playing cards in your presentation. When you click on a touch upon this listing, the view of your presentation in the primary window will soar to the cell the place the remark is situated and open its remark card. IDG

The Comments pane permits you to shortly overview all feedback and soar to particular ones.

For extra particulars about collaborating in your presentation, together with what it’s prefer to collaborate in actual time, see “How to collaborate on a document” in our Google Drive information. You may collaborate on a presentation in Google Chat; that’s lined later on this story.