Why your PowerPoint looks different in Google Slides

You built the deck in PowerPoint, uploaded it to Google Drive, and now the headings wrap onto two lines, a text box overflows, and the animation you rehearsed has changed. Here's what usually causes it, and how to fix each one before you present.

1. Fonts: the most common cause

Google Slides can only use fonts from the Google Fonts library and a handful of standard ones such as Arial and Times New Roman. You can't upload your own. Any other font in your deck is shown in a substitute, and because the substitute is a slightly different width, lines break in different places and text can spill out of its box.

Fix: before uploading, switch to a font both apps have. Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Georgia and Verdana are safe in both PowerPoint and Google Slides. If you want something more distinctive, pick a Google Font and install the same font on the computer where you edit in PowerPoint.

2. “Shrink text on overflow” works differently

PowerPoint can shrink text automatically to fit a box. Google Slides does its own version of this, so the same text can end up a different size, or overflow.

Fix: set those text boxes to “Do not autofit” in PowerPoint and choose the font size yourself.

3. Animations and transitions

Google Slides has a much smaller set of effects than PowerPoint: animations such as appear, fade, fly in and out, zoom and spin, and transitions such as dissolve, fade, slide, flip, cube and gallery. Effects outside that set are converted to something simpler or dropped, and motion paths aren't supported. If you reveal points one at a time, the order or style can change.

Fix: for anything you rely on during the talk, use Fade or Appear, and click through the deck in Google Slides before presenting.

4. Video

Google Slides plays videos from YouTube or Google Drive. Video embedded inside a PowerPoint file often doesn't come across.

Fix: upload the video to Google Drive and insert it from there (Insert › Video). Bring a copy of the file too, in case the venue's internet is slow.

5. Charts, SmartArt and equations

These are usually kept so they look right, but often as pictures you can't edit, and complex equations can come out garbled. Check each one, and paste anything important as a picture if it doesn't survive.

6. File size

Google Drive converts presentations of up to 100 MB to Google Slides. If yours is bigger, compress the pictures in PowerPoint (Picture Format › Compress Pictures) or move long videos to Drive.

Why not just send a PDF?

A PDF keeps the layout, but it removes animations and transitions, shows video as a still picture, and drops your speaker notes. If your talk depends on any of those, fix the deck instead.