Create your first presentation in Slides

On this page

• Create or import a presentation
• Add slides to your presentation
• Update your presentation
• Generate a new slide with Gemini

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Create or import a presentation

Create your presentation

1. Open the Slides home screen at Google Slides.
2. In the top left, under "Start a new presentation," click New . This will create and open your new presentation.

You can also create new presentations from the URL https://slides.google.com/create.

Import and convert an existing presentation

Converting your file from another program creates a copy of your original file in a Docs, Sheets, or Slides format. You can then edit the file in your browser.

If you have existing files, you can import and convert them to Docs, Sheets, or Slides.

1. Go to Drive.
2. Click NewFile Upload.
3. Choose the file you want to import from your computer to add it to Drive.
4. In the Upload complete window, click Show file location .
5. Right-click the file and select Open withGoogle Docs/Sheets/Slides.

Have a Microsoft file?

If you've already stored Microsoft files in Drive, you can also update them without converting them.

Add slides to your presentation

Add a slide with the same layout as the current slide

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. In the top left, click New slide .

Add a slide with a different layout

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. At the top left, click New slide with layout .
3. Choose a slide.

Note: If you don't see the New slide with layout  option, click Templates .

Add a slide with your organization's branding

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.

2. In the top left, click Templates .  
3. At right, click the template you want to use.

Note: The Templates option appears only if your administrator makes organization-branded slides available.

Update your presentation

Choose a theme and layout

When you first create a presentation, you can choose a theme for your slides. A theme is a preset group of colors, fonts, background, and layouts. Your presentation's layout is the way your text and images are arranged on a slide.

Change your presentation's theme

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. At the top, click Slide Change theme.
3. On the right, click the theme you want.

Change the layout of your presentation

1. On your computer, open a presentation in Google Slides.
2. Select a slide.
3. At the top, click Layout.
4. Choose the layout you want to use.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

Arrange slides

Move slide—Drag the slide to a different position in the presentation. To move several slides at once, Ctrl+click multiple slides before dragging them.

Delete slide—Right-click the slide and select Delete.

Duplicate slide—Right-click the slide in the sidebar and select Duplicate slide.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

Add pictures, text, speaker notes, and more

Rename your presentation—Click Untitled presentation and enter a new name.

Add images—Click InsertImage to add images from your computer, the web, Google Drive, and more. You can also move, delete, or resize images.

Add text—Click InsertText box to add new text boxes. Then, click a text box to enter text. You can move, delete, or re-size text boxes. You can also change how text fits in a box. Learn more about changing how text fits in presentations.

Add videos, shapes, charts, and more—Click Insert to add videos, shapes, charts, slide numbers, and other features to your presentation. You can also move, delete, or re-size these inserted features.

Add speaker notes—Use speaker notes to keep track of your talking points for each slide. In the presentation editor, speaker notes appear beneath the current slide. When you present your slides, your speaker notes show in a separate window.

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

 

Generate a new slide with Gemini

You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator.

Gemini for Google Workspace is available when your Google account language is set to an English dialect. Additionally, some features are available in Spanish and Portuguese. Learn more about language availability.

Use Gemini in Slides to generate a new slide with images and content. Use this slide as a starting point.  

Generate a new slide with Gemini

You can use the Gemini in Slides side panel to generate a new slide.

1. On your computer, open Google Slides. New slides are generated using your current theme.
2. At the top, click Ask Gemini .
3. In the side panel, select a prompt or create your own. To create a prompt with the name of your file, insert @ before the name. For example, Create a slide about how to optimally train for a marathon or Create a slide about @Company 2023 Goals deck.
4. From the generated slide, you can:
   • Get a different version: From the menu, click Retry .
   • Add the slide to your presentation: From the menu, click Insert .
   • Refine the generated slide: From the menu, click Close . On the side panel, write a new prompt.
   • Send feedback: From the menu, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .

Get started with Slides

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