Google Apps Administrator Guide (Bonus Chapter 11)
by David W. Boles
Google finally added "Presentations" to their Google Docs application. There isn't a Dashboard component that is "Presentations" specific, so you create a new Presentation by clicking on the FILE button and picking "Presentation" from the drop-down menu:
Then you just start clicking in the text box and start typing the information you wish to appear in your a slide in your presentation:
If you don't like the look and feel of your presentation, you can pep it up by clicking on the "Change Theme" icon in your command bar; then you can scroll through all your options, and when you find a theme you like, click on it to take that look live:
In the following image you can see I chose the apply the "Chalkboard" theme to give my Boles University presentation that Old School look and feel -- and note I edited by "GUide" typo above to read "Guide" correctly below:
If you make a mistake, or want to track the changes you make, click on the "Revisions" tab to see the history of your edited Presentation:
Adding another slide to your Presentation is easy and fun! Just click on the "New Slide" icon in your command bar and a layout template will automatically pop up for your choosing. I like the "Two Columns" look for my next slide and I'll click on that layout to create a new slide:
The new slide and layout will inherit the look and feel of your active template. Then you just begin filling in the text boxes:
When you're finished creating your Presentation, click on the "Start Presentation" icon in your control bar and the Presentation will load. You can share a presentation online with others or you can use your computer to connect to the internet so you may give a live presentation to an in-person audience.
Presentations is a fine addition to Google Apps and here are a few issues and conditions you should keep in mind while using the application:
1. You can "Drag and Drop" slides to reorder them.
2. You can collaborate on any Presentation by clicking on the "Share" tab.
3. You can only import Microsoft PowerPoint projects that are under 10 MB in size.
4. You may only export a Google Docs Presentation in HTML.
5. Inserted images cannot be larger than 2 MB.
6. There is no support yet for: Transitions, Sounds or Open Document format.