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How to Create a Presentation Using Google Slides

Last Updated: November 30, 2023

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 17 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 234,272 times. Learn more...

This tutorial will show you how to make a PowerPoint-like presentation using Google Slides. Presentations can be used for school, business, and so much more.

• You can also just type in https://slides.google.com , log in if you haven't already, and will be taken to the Slides page.
• If you don't have a Google account, learn to create one now!

• For more options, hover over the arrow on the right edge of the Google Slides option, where a smaller drop-down menu will appear. From here you can select to create a presentation from a template or a blank slide.

• Be sure to add a title and subtitle by clicking where you are prompted to add text.

• You can also change a pre-existing slide's layout by clicking the layout option on the upper editing bar.

• As you add animations to each element by clicking the blue "+ Select an object to animate", they will begin to pile up. Click on each one to edit it.
• Change the transition from slide to slide by clicking the default "Slide: No transition" at the top of the sidebar. You can choose whether to apply to all slides or just one.
• Preview your animations by clicking Play at the bottom of the sidebar.
• Remove an animation by clicking the small x on its rectangle, and drag each animation up or down to change the order.

Community Q&A

wikiHow Video: How to Create a Presentation Using Google Slides

• If you have a pop-up blocker, make sure to disable it so Slides can work properly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Hover over each tool to see its keyboard shortcut and function. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Remember, these are the basic functions- Google Slides contains many more tools that you can work with as you explore the creator. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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About This Article

To create a new Google Slides presentation, open a web browser and go to Slides.Google.com. If you want to start from a template, you can choose one from the template gallery. Otherwise, click "Blank" to create a new blank presentation. Your blank presentation starts with a single simple slide with space to enter a title and subtitle. You can personalize this slide, as well as other slides you add, by editing the placeholder text, as well as choosing a slide theme from the panel to the right. To insert another slide, click the "Insert" menu and select "New Slide," or press "Control M" for a quick keyboard shortcut. You'll also find other things you can add to your slide on the Insert menu, including the option to add an image, a text box for typing, videos, shapes, charts, and other features. After adding a new slide, click the "Layout" menu to choose a slide layout—you can give each slide its own layout or reuse the same layout as much as necessary. Edit the placeholder text, and then insert objects from the Insert menu. To move an object, click the arrow in the toolbar, hover the mouse cursor around the object's border line until it turns to a 4-point arrow, and then click and drag it. Each slide you add will have a thumbnail in the left panel—click a slide's thumbnail to open that slide for editing. To see your presentation as a viewer would, click your first slide in the left panel, and then click "Present" at the top corner. Click the Escape key to go back to editing. Google Slides also has some built-in effects you can access from the "Transition" menu—here you can animate a slide's transition into the next slide, as well as animate individual objects. To apply an effect, background, theme, layout, or any other setting to more than one slide at once, select the slides in the left panel by holding down the Control key as you click each thumbnail. Your presentation will automatically save to your Google Drive as you work—type a name for the presentation in the top-left corner so you can easily find the file when you need it. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Google Slides: How to make a phone-friendly, vertical presentation

W hile your presentation shows up thoroughly on a laptop, TV, monitor, or projector, the default landscape orientation doesn't play well on smartphones. If you plan to give a quick presentation on a smartphone or want to add a touch of novelty to stand out, use the steps below to use vertical orientation in Google Slides.

Apart from enhancing the mobile experience, vertical orientation simplifies the printing process, delivers a better flow of information, and makes your presentation stand out among other horizontal slides.

Although Google offers feature-rich Slides mobile apps on iPhone and Android , vertical orientation is only available on Google Slides for the web.

Use vertical orientation in Google Slides

You shouldn't create and complete a presentation in landscape mode and change the orientation at the end. It may mess up the graphical elements of your presentation. Follow the steps below to use vertical orientation in Google Slides.

• Navigate to Google Slides on the web and open a presentation you want to edit.
• Click File at the top and select Page setup .
• Expand the top menu and find the default options. Standard 4:3 is ideal for viewing your presentation on a tablet. Widescreen 16:9 is suitable for viewing a slide on a TV, projector, or monitor. Widescreen 16:10 is the preferred dimension for viewing a presentation on modern laptops with taller displays.
• None of the default options offer vertical orientation. Select Custom .
• Expand the side menu and select Inches , Centimeters , Points , or Pixels . Let's select Inches .
• Type 9 x 19.5 (preferred for modern smartphone displays) and select Apply . You can also select Pixels and type 1080 x 1920 (common on most Android phones).
• You can check the entire site in a vertical orientation.

Now, you can use Google Slides features to create an ideal presentation.

How to autoplay your Google Slides presentation

Popular portrait orientation dimensions.

Whether you want to create a portrait presentation for printing or smartphones and smaller screens, glance over and memorize some common vertical slide sizes.

• A3: 29.7 x 42 cm
• A4: 21 x 29.7 cm
• US Letter: 8.5 x 11 inches (identical to A4 size)
• US Legal: 8.5 x 14 inches

Try the dimensions below to view a presentation on a smartphone or upload it to a social media network like Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat.

• iPhone 15 Pro: 1179 x 2556 pixels
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 1440 x 3120 pixels
• Google Pixel 8 Pro: 1344 x 2992 pixels

If you don't want to deal with these unusual pixel numbers, use 1080 x 1920 pixels in the page setup menu for vertical slides.

When should you use vertical slides?

Vertical slides come with several benefits. You need to factor in your audience and the context of the presentation. Here are the top reasons for using a vertical orientation in Google Slides.

• Better mobile experience: A vertical orientation makes more sense if you plan to view your presentation on the phone. Scrolling on vertical slides feels more intuitive than tapping them.
• Seamless printing: Since a vertical layout is suitable with most standard paper sizes, you don't need to make any major tweaks to fit the content on paper.
• Ideal for online presentations: Do you plan to share a presentation with your students or attendees over a video conference? Not everyone has a laptop to view your shared presentation. Use a vertical orientation that's more user-friendly for your audience.
• Suitable for social media platforms: Go with a portrait ratio if you want to share a presentation during livestreaming on a social media platform like TikTok or YouTube.
• Novelty factor: Vertical slides add a unique touch to your presentation. When everyone else addresses the audience with the same horizontal slides, a vertical presentation adds a unique touch to your pitch.

Using vertical orientation in a presentation: Our observations

Before you apply a vertical orientation, keep the points below in mind.

• Google Slides doesn't allow you to mix horizontal and vertical slides. The tweak applies to the entire presentation when you change the page setup.
• If you use a Google Slides template, adjust your designs accordingly. Most templates are designed for landscape orientation and don't use flexible elements that automatically fit a vertical slide.

What's the difference between Google Slides templates and themes?

Optimize your presentation for mobile convenience.

Whether you use a horizontal or portrait orientation, your presentation must hit the bull's eye to catch your audience's attention. Instead of creating a presentation from scratch and ending up with a bland one, use one of the top Google Slides templates to speed up the process.

How-To Geek

How to autoplay and loop a google slides presentation.

Play your presentation without touching a thing.

Quick Links

Set up autoplay and loop when presenting, set up autoplay and loop when publishing to the web.

If you don't want to worry about clicking through your slideshow, you can set up Google Slides to play your presentation automatically. Plus, you can have the slideshow loop, so it starts over at the beginning when it ends.

You might be playing your slideshow at a kiosk, during a conference, or publishing it to the web. These are the ideal times to use AutoPlay and Loop in Google Slides . You can automatically present the show and choose the timing between slides. Then, restart the presentation at the beginning each time it ends.

If you plan to start the slideshow and then let it play, you can set up AutoPlay and Loop , or simply one or the other.

Related: How to Loop a PowerPoint Presentation

Start the presentation by clicking "Slideshow" at the top of Google Slides. You can also use the arrow to pick either "Presenter View" or "Start From Beginning" per your preference.

When the slideshow opens, display the Presenter Toolbar by hovering your cursor over the bottom left corner of the presentation.

Click the three dots on the right of the Presenter Toolbar, then move to AutoPlay. You'll see a pop-out menu that lets you select the advance timing for the slides. You can pick from every second up to every minute.

If you also want to loop the slideshow, select "Loop" at the bottom of the pop-out menu.

When you finish, click "Play" to automatically play your presentation.

To stop the slideshow, simply click on a slide. You can then resume AutoPlay from the Presenter Toolbar by selecting "Play" again.

Maybe you plan to publish your slideshow to the web or embed it on a website rather than play it locally. You can set up AutoPlay and Loop as part of the publish settings.

Related: How to Share a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides File as a Web Page

Go to File > Publish to the Web in the menu.

Choose either "Link" or "Embed" per your intent. Then use the Auto-Advance Slides drop-down box to choose the timing for the slides. Here again, you can pick from every second up to every minute.

To loop the slideshow, check the box for Restart the Slideshow After the Last Slide.

You can then mark the checkbox for Start Slideshow as Soon as the Player loads if you like, so that the viewer doesn't have to take any action to begin the presentation.

When you finish, click "Publish" and confirm to obtain the link or embed code for the slideshow.

To share a Google Slides presentation that doesn't require you to walk viewers through it, remember these steps to automatically play and loop the slideshow.

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How to Use Gemini (Formerly Duet AI) to Create Images for Slides & Backgrounds

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If you have a paid subscription to Gemini (formerly Duet AI), you may generate images in Google Slides and Google Meet in a web browser. The feature is available to Google Workspace customers with the Gemini add-on (for $14 per user per month, paid annually for Gemini Business, or $30 per user per month, paid annually for Gemini Enterprise) and individual Gemini subscribers ($20 per month on personal accounts). Gemini in Google Slides or Meet offers an alternative to laboriously drawing custom images yourself or selecting from sterile stock photos; instead, you can type text to describe your desired image.

As always, make sure that your use of generated AI images complies with your organization’s guidelines for use and attribution.

When using Gemini, Figure A shows how to create an image in Google Slides (i.e., Create image with Gemini), and Figure B shows how to access the background image creation option in Google Meet (i.e., Generate a background). Activate the feature, enter text that describes an image, optionally select a style from the drop-down menu and then wait a few seconds for the system to generate images.

Drop-down style menu options differ between Google Slides and Google Meet. The Google Slides style drop-down defaults to No Style, but you also might select Photography, Background, Vector Art, Sketch, Watercolor, Cyberpunk and I’m Feeling Lucky options. While the I’m Feeling Lucky option is a nod to an early Google search feature that automatically took you to a first result, in this case it lets the system select a style. Similarly, the Google Meet background generator style defaults to No Style with the available options of Photography, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, 3D Animation, Illustration and Film Noir.

How to review the Gemini generated images

You may review the generated images. When you select a generated image either by clicking or tapping it, the system adds it either as a background in Google Meet or an image in Google Slides.

If you’re not happy with any of the generated images, select View More to try again. You might also edit the text prompt to describe your desired image differently. Google’s Gemini support page suggests that you might obtain better results when your text describes the subject, setting, distance, materials and background.

What types of images can Gemini create?

The variety of images that Gemini can create in Google Slides and Google Meet is vast. To give you a sense of the range and quality available, I generated five distinct types of images in different styles: an object, a scene, people, an idea and a sign. The images on the left below were the first four images the system generated, which I inserted on a Google Slide and then captured as a screenshot. The image to the right is a similar prompt used in Google Meet. Since the style options differ, the choice is noted in each case below.

Generate an object

With no style selected, the prompt “Laptop on a desk in an office” produced images that suggest a straightforward photograph of a common office scene in Google Slides and Google Meet ( Figure C ).

Generate a scene

A prompt of “Beautiful nature scene of bird flying over the Rio Grande” resulted in an image in both Google Slides and Google Meet ( Figure D ) that depicted a river with varying quantities of birds in flight. The watercolor style in Google Slides and the illustration style in Google Meet evoked the quality of hand-created works. Interestingly, the images generated in Slides included images within an image — framed illustrations of the requested subject set within the scene.

Generate an image of an abstract idea

The prompt “Abstract illustration of a neural network” explored how the system might show a concept. The results differed, with Google Slides set to vector art style showing neural network illustrations, while Google Meet  set to sci-fi style produced human faces enmeshed in network connections  ( Figure E ). 

Generate an image with people

In my testing, the system sometimes declined to generate images with people. The prompt “Two people shaking hands, photorealistic” set to photography style in both Google Slides and Meet produced results ( Figure F ). These results are much improved over the initial hands produced in earlier iterations of Duet AI.

Generate a sign with text

Next, I tried a request to generate a “Sign that says ‘encourage experimentation,’” with the style option set to sketch in Slides and fantasy in Meet, respectively ( Figure G ). Whereas Duet AI had provided images in response to this prompt, the update to Gemini results in a refusal. The system won’t generate signs with text, so you’ll need to create those separately at the moment.

Generate an image from literature

When prompted with the wonderfully descriptive first paragraph of James Joyce’s short story Two Gallants from his book “Dubliners,” Google Slides and Google Meet generated the following images ( Figure H , left and right, respectively). Repeated attempts often similarly produced just one or two images in response, unlike nearly all of the above prompts that resulted in three or four sample images. The complexity of the text prompt likely affected the number of images the system could generate within a system-defined response time

Mention or message me on X ( @awolber ) to let me know how you use Gemini (formerly Duet AI) to generate images in Google Slides or backgrounds in Google Meet. What prompts and style settings produce images you prefer?

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Create a presentation

Create a presentation in powerpoint for the web.

With PowerPoint for the web running in your web browser, you can:

Create presentations that include images, videos, transitions, and animations.

Get to your presentations from your computer, tablet, or phone.

Share and work with others, wherever they are.

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Windows PC, see the PowerPoint Quick Start .

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Mac, see Office for Mac Quick Start Guides and PowerPoint for Mac Help .

Create, open, and name a presentation

Go to powerpoint.office.com .

Select New blank presentation , open a Recent file, select one of the themes , or start with a presentation template .

To name the presentation, select the title at the top and type a name.

If you need to rename the presentation, select the title and retype the name.

Add a slide

Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

Select Home > New Slide .

Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

When working in PowerPoint for the web, your work is saved every few seconds. You can select File > Save a Copy to create a duplicate copy in another location.

Or choose File > Download As to save a copy to your device.

When you're online, AutoSave is always on and saves your changes as you work. If at any time you lose your Internet connection or turn it off, any pending changes will sync as soon as you’re back online.

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