How to Make a Powerpoint on Google Docs

Easily Convert a PowerPoint Presentation to Google Slides

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated July 9, 2020

Applies to: Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 and Google Slides (Windows)

You can import or convert a PowerPoint presentation in PPTX format to Google Slides format in several ways. Google Slides will try to convert a PowerPoint presentation to compatible objects, tools and fonts but these programs do have differences so don't expect a perfect conversion.

Google Slides is a cloud-based program and is updated regularly so menus, buttons and features may change. Notably, Google rolled out a new feature in 2019 to edit PowerPoint files directly in Google Slides without conversion. Prior to the upgrade, depending on the way you imported a PowerPoint file, Google may have made a copy of the PowerPoint file and created a new Google Slides file automatically. This is no longer the default setting.

If you have not already done so, you will need to set up a Google account and log in.

In this article, we'll look at converting a PowerPoint presentation to Google Slides in 5 ways:

1. Drag the PowerPoint presentation into a Google Drive folder from your computer
2. Upload the PowerPoint presentation into a Google Drive folder from your computer
3. Open the PowerPoint file in Google Drive
4. Insert an entire PowerPoint file into a new Google Slides file
5. Insert some slides from a PowerPoint file into a new Google Slides file

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For the following examples, we are using PowerPoint 2013 or later with Windows 10 and the Google Chrome browser. The process is similar for other browsers.

Preparing a PowerPoint file for conversion to Google Slides

Presentations will convert best if you have designed the PowerPoint deck as follows:

• Titles are in title placeholders
• Body text is in body placeholders (if possible)
• Themes have been applied
• Slide master(s) and layouts have been used
• Images are good quality
• Fonts are readable by Google Slides (standard or safe fonts should convert without a problem)
• Links or hyperlinks work

Formatting changes after conversion

Google Slides will typically change the formatting of your PowerPoint presentation when you convert it.

If Google Slides does not recognize the font that has been used in the PowerPoint presentation, it will convert the font to the closest available Google font. Google Slides uses web fonts by default and PowerPoint uses standard installed fonts on your computer by default.

After you convert a PowerPoint presentation to Google Slides, the formatting should be similar to the original formatting. However, you may need to fix formatting or objects in Google Slides.

Certain features are not supported during PowerPoint conversion to Google Slides:

• Most PowerPoint animations and transitions
• Links or hyperlinks (you will need to reinsert the links)
• Embedded charts and videos (these will be converted to images but you can reinsert videos or recreate charts)
• Linked Excel spreadsheets
• SmartArt graphics (these will be converted to drawing objects)
• Password protected files (they can be previewed in Google Drive but not converted to Google Slides)
• VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros

The following are five ways to convert a PowerPoint presentation to Google Slides.

Converting a PowerPoint file to Google Slides by dragging a PowerPoint file from your computer into a folder on Google Drive (Option 1)

To import a PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides by dragging the file into a Google Drive folder:

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to drive.google.com in the Chrome browser (you may use another browser).
2. Double-click the folder where you want to store your imported PowerPoint presentation. In the folder, an icon may appear with Drop files here.
3. Drag the title bar of the Google Drive window down and resize the window so you can view both the Google Drive folder and your computer with the PowerPoint file.
4. Drag the PowerPoint file into the Google Drive folder. The file is still a PowerPoint or PPTX file at this point.
5. Double-click the file in the Google Drive folder to open it. A dialog box appears.
6. At the top, select Open with Google Slides. The PowerPoint file opens in Google Slides.
7. In the menu, click File and then select Save As Google Slides to save the presentation in the Google Slides format. There will now be two copies of the presentation – the original PowerPoint presentation and the converted Google Slides file. These files are not linked.
8. Edit the Google Slides presentation as required.
9. Click Slides Home on the top left to return to the Google Slides area of Google Drive. Editing changes will be saved automatically.

In the following example, a PowerPoint presentation has been dragged into a Presentations folder in Google Drive:

Converting a PowerPoint file to Google Slides by uploading a PowerPoint file into a folder on Google Drive (Option 2)

To import a PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides by uploading the file into a Google Drive folder:

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to drive.google.com in the Chrome browser (you may use another browser).
2. Double-click the folder where you want to store your imported PowerPoint presentation. In the folder, an icon may appear with Drop files here.
3. Right-click in a blank area in the folder click Upload files from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
4. Navigate to the location of the file on your computer, click it and then click Open. You can also double-click the file.
5. Double-click the file in the Google Drive folder to open it. A dialog box appears.
6. At the top, select Open with Google Slides. The PowerPoint file opens in Google Slides.
7. In the menu, click File and then select Save As Google Slides to save the presentation in the Google Slides format. There will now be two copies of the presentation – the original PowerPoint presentation and the converted Google Slides file. These files are not linked.
8. Edit the Google Slides presentation as required.
9. Click Slides Home on the top left to return to the Google Slides area of Google Drive. Editing changes will be saved automatically.

Upload files appears in the context menu when you right-click in a folder in Google Drive as follows:

Converting a PowerPoint file on your computer to Google Slides by opening the presentation in Google Slides (Option 3)

To convert a PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides by opening the file in Google Slides:

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to drive.google.com in the Chrome browser (you may use another browser).
2. At the top, click My Drive > Google Slides > Blank Presentation. A new blank presentation appears.
3. In the menu, click File and then select Open. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Upload at the top.
5. Click Select a file from your device. A dialog box appears.
6. Navigate to the location of the file on your computer, click it and then click Open. You can also double-click the file. The file will be named the same name as the PowerPoint file but will be in Google Slides format.
7. Edit the Google Slides presentation as required.
8. Click Slides Home on the top left to return to the Google Slides area of Google Drive. Editing changes will be saved automatically.
9. Right-click the presentation and select Move from the drop-down menu if you want to move the presentation to a specific folder on your Google Drive.

When you select Open from the File menu, you will have the option of choosing from Google Drive as well as other locations including Upload:

Importing all slides from a PowerPoint file on your computer into a new Google Slides file (Option 4)

To import a PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides from within a new Google Slides file:

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to drive.google.com in the Chrome browser (you may use another browser).
2. At the top, click My Drive > Google Slides > Blank Presentation. A new blank presentation appears.
3. In the menu, click File and then select Import Slides. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Upload at the top.
5. Click Select a file from your computer. A dialog box appears.
6. Navigate to the location of the file on your computer, click it and then click Open. You can also double-click the file.
7. On the top right, click All.
8. Check or uncheck the option to Keep original theme as required.
9. Click Import slides.
10. Edit the Google Slides presentation as required.
11. Double-click in the title and enter a name for the presentation.
12. Click Slides Home on the top left to return to the Google Slides area of Google Drive. Editing changes will be saved automatically.
13. Right-click the presentation and select Move from the drop-down menu if you want to move the presentation to a specific folder on your Google Drive.

The Upload option appears when you select Import Slides from the File menu:

Importing some slides from a PowerPoint file on your computer into a new Google Slides file (Option 5)

To import some PowerPoint slides into a new Google Slides presentation:

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to drive.google.com in the Chrome browser (you may use another browser).
2. At the top, click My Drive > Google Slides > Blank Presentation. A new blank presentation appears.
3. In the menu, click File and then select Import Slides. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Upload at the top.
5. Click Select a file from your computer. A dialog box appears.
6. Navigate to the location of the file on your computer, click it and then click Open. You can also double-click the file.
7. Click each slide you want to import.
8. Check or uncheck the option to Keep original theme as required.
9. Click Import slides.
10. Edit the Google Slides presentation as required.
11. Double-click in the title and enter a name for the presentation.
12. Click Slides Home on the top left to return to the Google Slides area of Google Drive. Editing changes will be saved automatically.
13. Right-click the presentation and select Move from the drop-down menu if you want to move the presentation to a specific folder on your Google Drive.

In the following example, specific slides have been selected for import:

Although you can convert PowerPoint decks to Google Slides, you will typically lose formatting and it's probably not the best option if you have a lot of charts and videos.

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More Resources

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How to Do a Hanging Indent in Google Docs (3 Ways)

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How to Make a Powerpoint on Google Docs

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