Summary
Highlights
The 'Share' button enables collaboration by adding specific people with viewer, commenter, or editor access. You can also make the slideshow accessible to 'anyone with the link' with varying permissions. Comments can be used for communication during collaboration. Presentations can be published by downloading them as Microsoft PowerPoint files or PDF documents. For web publication, use 'File' > 'Share' > 'Publish to the web' to generate a link that displays the slideshow in presentation mode, with customizable slide timings and looping options.
Google Slides is a web-based slideshow program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. You can access it through Google Apps, Google Drive, or by typing 'slides.new' in your browser. The layout features various menus (File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Slide, Arrange, Tools, Extensions, Help) and a toolbar for common functions. The right panel changes based on selected options, and speaker notes are available at the bottom. Presentations are automatically saved and given a title.
To begin editing, click to add a title and subtitle. It's recommended to choose a theme early on from the themes panel to give your slides personality. New slides can be added using the plus sign icon. Text can be added to slides, and bullet points or numbering can be used for lists. Avoid pressing 'enter' to exit a text box; instead, click outside the box.
Images can be inserted from your computer, stock and web search, animated GIFs, stickers, Google Drive, Google Photos, or generated by AI (if you have Gemini access). Images can be resized, moved, rotated, and cropped. Videos can be inserted from Google Drive or YouTube, with options to play on click, automatically, or manually. Shapes can also be added, customized with fill and border colors, resized while maintaining proportions (by holding Shift), and converted into text boxes by double-clicking. The 'Arrange' menu allows you to control the layering and alignment of visual elements.
Themes can be changed at any time, updating the entire slideshow. Individual slide backgrounds can be customized with colors or images. Slide orientation can be changed from landscape to portrait or custom dimensions in 'Page setup'. Transitions between slides can be added from a selection of seven options, with the ability to apply them to all slides. Slide timing allows for automatic advancement, useful for looping presentations.