Add text or objects to a slide
In the new version of Google presentations, you can draw lines, shapes and other objects directly on a slide your presentation. Go to the slide where you’d like to draw an object, and select a drawing tool from the Insert menu or from the toolbar.
To edit text or an object, click the shape. Then, you’ll see the toolbar display several formatting options for that object. If you’ve drawn a line on a slide, for example, you’ll see formatting options that include line weight, line dash, and arrowheads. Learn more about formatting text and objects on a slide.
Insert a drawing in the old version of Google presentationsIf you’re using the old presentation editor, you can insert a drawing by selecting Insert > Drawing and then selecting the type of object you'd like to insert from the toolbar. Once you've created your drawing, click Save & close at the top right of the canvas to close the window and insert the drawing into your doc.
Arrange objects on a slide
If you’d like to change the way objects are arranged on a slide, select an object or multiple objects. Then, go to the Arrange menu and choose from the following options:
- Select an option from the Order menu to create overlapping effects with the text and objects in your slides. This will rearrange your overlapping text and objects in the order you choose.
- After selecting multiple objects, you can align them in a several ways by selecting an option from the Align horizontally or Align vertically menus.
- Go to the Center on slide menu to place your object(s) at the horizontal or vertical center of your slide.
- Use the Rotate menu to flip your object(s) horizontally and vertically.
- If you've selected three or more objects, you can evenly distribute the space between them horizontally or vertically by selecting the applicable Distribute option.
- Select Group or Ungroup to group multiple objects together. This makes it easier to format or move them around as a single unit.
Every option in the Arrange menu is also available when right-clicking on an object.
To move and resize multiple objects at the same time, hold down the Shift key while you click each object, or drag over all of the objects you'd like to select. If an object has already been selected, holding the Shift key while clicking an object will deselect it.
Snap to grid
Snap to grid allows you to easily auto-align text, images, shapes, and tables.
In the new and old versions of presentation, Snap to Guides is enabled by default. For the new version, you can enable or disable the Snap to Grid and Snap to Guides options under the view menu. In the old version, you can disable this option by going to the Arrange menu, and deselecting the Snap to grid option.
If you have the Snap to Guides option disabled, or if you’re working in the old version of Google presentations, you can also use the following keyboard commands to modify the way you work with objects on a slide:
- To turn off the grid to smoothly drag-and-drop your object, hold the Alt key (Option key on a Mac) while dragging an object.
- To create a duplicate of an object while leaving the original in place, hold the Ctrl key while moving an object.