Google Slides

Tips & Tricks

(A Bit Beyond the Typical!)

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RESIZING

Always resize from the CORNER handles

(handles are those blue squares that you get around an image when you select it).

CROPPING

Generally, you crop from the MIDDLE handles

(crop handles are the black rectangles you get when you DOUBLE CLICK on an image).

Crop to change the proportion (length to width) of the image instead of resizing.

CORRECT

Using black CROP handles to change proportion to fit

INCORRECT

Using middle blue RESIZE handles to force fit

MASKING

Images, including GIFs can be “masked” into images using any of the shapes available in Slides.

COPY without COPY/ PASTE

Sometimes you already have something copied that you want to paste into a text box and you want to use the same formatting of a text box on the slide. You can get an exact copy of the text box without using copy/paste!

Just click the edge of the text box you want to copy, hold down “ctrl” and drag (hold mouse button while moving your mouse). You’ll have an identical text box to paste into!

See “PASTE w/o FORMATTING” to paste.

CTRL + a

A double click in a text box selects a word. A triple click selects a paragraph. And “Ctrl” + a -selects all text in the text box.

PASTE w/o FORMATTING

Top shows

pasting from website WITH formatting.

Normal copy/paste (“ctrl”+c, then “ctrl” + v).

Bottom shows pasting from website WITHOUT formatting.

Special copy/paste (“ctrl”+c, then hold down

“ctrl” + “shift” and type “v”).

CUSTOM

LINE SPACING

You can change the space between lines of text using decimals (such as .8 or .9) to help fit your text within a particular space.

IMAGE SEARCHING

Locate transparent images easily. When in a Google image search, click “Tools”, then under “Color”, choose “Transparent”. Most of the returned image will have transparency which is shown by the checkerboard pattern after the Woody image loads.

LINK SHARE OPTIONS

Hit “enter” to see that the link forces a copy.

Additional URL end replacements:

Replace with “present” to go directly to “present” mode.

Replace with “preview?rm=minimal” for “present” mode without the bottom toolbar

Replace with “template/preview” for a preview file with the option to “Use template”.

On any Google file, delete what’s after the last “/” in the link (“edit...”) and change to “copy”.

COPY/PASTE MULTIPLE SLIDES

In the “side panel”, hold down “ctrl” while clicking on multiple slides. You can, then, copy and paste within the same file or another file.

Make sure that both files use the same slide size or items will be distorted.

FORMAT OPTIONS

Some of the more specialized text formatting options

Some of the more specialized image formatting options

COLOR OPTIONS

Word art

Text boxes and shapes

DRAW SPECIAL CHARACTERS

You may need to use special characters, but may not know what they are called to be able to search for them. What to do? Just draw it!

MAINTAIN

SLIDE POSITION

Windows machine/ Chromebook

Hold down “Ctrl” AND “Alt” while dragging from a corner handle

Mac

Hold down “Option”

TY to Ray Birks

@raybirks for the Mac Info!

By Becky Foellmer

@Foes4Sports