Slides

A presentation opens with the current slide in the middle and every slide in a strip along the bottom. Changes save on their own a moment after you make them.

The Slides editor with a slide in the middle and the slide strip at the bottom, light theme

The Slides editor with a slide in the middle and the slide strip at the bottom, dark theme

Part	What is in it
Toolbar, top left	Select, Hand, Rectangle, Oval, Line, Text, Frame, Image and Layers
Slide, in the middle	The slide’s number and title above it, with Download and Open on its own
Slide strip, at the bottom	Every slide in order. + adds a slide, the notes button opens speaker notes
Top right	Zoom, Edit to turn editing off and on, Present with more ways to present

Move around

Scroll to move across the slides, or hold the Hand tool (H) and drag. The zoom menu zooms in and out, fits the slides to the window (⇧1), or jumps to 50%, 100% (⇧0) or 200%.

The zoom menu with Zoom in, Zoom out, Zoom to fit, 50%, 100% and 200%, light theme

The zoom menu with Zoom in, Zoom out, Zoom to fit, 50%, 100% and 200%, dark theme

Open on its own, above a slide, shows just that slide filling the editor. The arrows go to the previous and next slide, and Back to the canvas returns.

One slide filling the editor with arrows and Back to the canvas, light theme

One slide filling the editor with arrows and Back to the canvas, dark theme

Click a slide in the strip to go to it. A small mark on a slide in the strip means it has a transition.

The editor on slide 8 with a chart, light theme

The editor on slide 8 with a chart, dark theme

Right-click a slide in the strip, or use its ⋯, for its menu:

Action	What it does
New slide after	Adds an empty slide right after this one
Duplicate (⌘D)	Makes a copy of the slide next to it
Move left, Move right	Moves the slide one place in the order
Transition	How the slide comes in when you present: None, Fade or Slide
Present from here	Starts presenting at this slide
Delete slide	Removes the slide, its file and its speaker notes, after you confirm. This cannot be undone

The slide menu with New slide after, Duplicate, Move left, Move right, Transition, Present from here and Delete slide, light theme

The slide menu with New slide after, Duplicate, Move left, Move right, Transition, Present from here and Delete slide, dark theme

The Transition submenu with None, Fade and Slide, light theme

The Transition submenu with None, Fade and Slide, dark theme

To rename a slide, click its title above the slide and type. The title shows in the strip, in the menus and in the presenter view.

The slide title field above the slide, light theme

The slide title field above the slide, dark theme

Speaker notes

The notes button in the strip opens the notes of the current slide under it: what to say on the slide. Only you see them, in the presenter view.

The speaker notes box under the slide, dark theme

Change what is on a slide

Click anything on a slide to select it. Its tag and size show on the slide, and its properties open on the right. Shift-click adds more elements to the selection. The panel button next to the zoom hides and shows the properties.

A selected heading with its properties on the right, light theme

A selected heading with its properties on the right, dark theme

Section	What you set
Size	Position: In layout follows its row, column or grid, Free stays where you put it and can be dragged anywhere. Width and Height: a number makes it fixed, Auto fits the content
Layout	How the elements inside are placed. Arrange: Normal, Row, Column or Grid. For a row or column: Align, Distribute and Gap. Padding, the same on all sides or each side apart
Text	Font, weight, size, Line height, Letter spacing, Colour and Align
Appearance	Fill: a colour, a gradient or a photo. Opacity, Corners, Border and its colour
Effects	Shadow

The Text section of the properties, light theme

The Text section of the properties, dark theme

Font lists Google Fonts, each marked sans, serif, mono or script. The menu next to the size picks how bold the text is.

The font list with Google Fonts, light theme

The font list with Google Fonts, dark theme

The weight list with Light, Regular, Medium, Semibold and Bold, light theme

The weight list with Light, Regular, Medium, Semibold and Bold, dark theme

Double-click a text, or choose Edit text (Enter), to type in it right on the slide.

The title in text editing mode on the slide, light theme

The title in text editing mode on the slide, dark theme

Fill, gradient and photo

Fill has three kinds. Colour is one colour. Gradient is linear or radial, with an angle and colour stops you can add, move and remove. Photo fills the element with a picture you upload.

The Appearance section of a selected card, light theme

The Appearance section of a selected card, dark theme

The gradient editor with Linear, Radial, the angle and the colour stops, light theme

The gradient editor with Linear, Radial, the angle and the colour stops, dark theme

The Photo fill with an Upload button, light theme

The Photo fill with an Upload button, dark theme

Layout of a container

A container lays out what is inside it. With Column chosen, Align sets where the items sit from left to right, Distribute how they share the height, and Gap the space between them.

The Layout section with Column, Align, Distribute, Gap and Padding, light theme

The Layout section with Column, Align, Distribute, Gap and Padding, dark theme

Element actions

⋯ at the top of the properties, or a right-click on the element, opens its actions:

Action	Shortcut
Edit text	Enter
Select parent: the container it sits in	⇧Enter
Cut, Copy, Paste	⌘X, ⌘C, ⌘V
Duplicate	⌘D
Bring to front, Send to back	], [
Group, Ungroup	⌘G, ⇧⌘G
Wrap in a row, Wrap in a column, Wrap in a grid: put it in a new container
Insert component…: place another artboard of the document here as a component. See Components
Delete	⌫

The element menu opened by a right-click, light theme

The element menu opened by a right-click, dark theme

With several elements selected, the panel says how many. Change their properties one at a time; group, wrap or delete them together from the menu.

Two selected elements and the 2 selected panel, light theme

Two selected elements and the 2 selected panel, dark theme

Layers

Layers in the toolbar shows everything on the slide as a tree. Click a line to select that element; the arrows fold and unfold containers.

The Layers panel with the tree of the cover slide, dark theme

Add things

The toolbar adds new elements: Rectangle (R), Oval (O), Line (L), Text (T), Frame (F) for a container, and Image for a picture you upload. Select (V) goes back to selecting. ⌘Z undoes, ⇧⌘Z redoes.

Present

Present starts from the slide you are on (⌘Enter). The arrow next to it has more ways:

Choice	What it does
From the start	Presents from slide 1
From this slide	Presents from the current slide (⌘Enter)
Presenter view	Opens your view with notes and a timer (⇧⌘Enter)

The Present menu with From the start, From this slide and Presenter view, light theme

The Present menu with From the start, From this slide and Presenter view, dark theme

The slides fill the screen. →, Space, Enter or N go forward; ←, Backspace or P go back; F toggles full screen; Esc ends the presentation.

Presenter view

The presenter view is for you: the current slide, the next one, your notes, the clock and a timer since you started. A− and A+ change the size of the notes; the timer can be paused and reset. Open audience window opens a second window with just the slides, to put on the projector or share in a call. End finishes.

The presenter view with the current and next slide, notes and the timer, dark theme

Look without editing

With editing turned off by the Edit button, the tools, the zoom and the buttons of the strip go away: you can go through the slides and present, and nothing moves by accident. Edit turns it back on.