How to use Google Slides

Google Slides is a free, web-based presentation program. This guide will show you how to create and format a presentation, navigate Google Slides, and add media.

Creating a presentation 

1. In your Google Drive, click on New, then on Google Slides, then Blank Presentation to create a blank presentation. You can also type slides.new into the address bar from any web browser and hit enter to automatically create and open a new blank document.
2. To rename your presentation, click on Untitled presentation and type in a new name.

Formatting a presentation 

Google Slides comes preloaded with different themes for slides.

1. The themes sidebar appears on the right side of your blank presentation. Choose the theme that you want from here. You will be able to customise these if you want.
2. To choose your aspect ratio, go to File, then Page set up. Your choices are standard 4:3, widescreen 16:9, widescreen 16:10, and custom.

Navigating Google Slides 

The left sidebar displays the slides you have made, and the body of the screen displays the slide you are currently working on.

1. Click on the slide you want to edit from the left sidebar.
2. To add text, click on the text and type.
3. When selecting text,  new options appear in the toolbar above. You can edit the appearance of the text box, such as the background colour and border.
4. The icons on the right side let edit the appearance of the text itself, such as typeface, font size, colour, and styles like bold, underline, and italic.
5. Click and drag text boxes to resize them or move them around the screen.
6. To add new slides, click on the plus button on the upper left side of the screen.
7. Delete slides by selecting the slide and clicking Edit > Delete.

Adding media 

If you want a media slide as opposed to a text slide, you may want to choose a different layout for it.

1. Click on the arrow button next to the plus button and select a different layout for the slide.
2. To add an image, click on the image button in the toolbar, or go to Insert > Image.
3. Click on the image that you want and press Select if it is from archives or stock images, or click on Open if it is from the upload option.
4. Now, the image will be added to your slide and can be moved and resized according to your liking.