Opening a deck from Slides puts you in the deck editor. This page tours the screen once: the top bar, the slide rail, the canvas, the panels on the right and the notes. The tools themselves live on the pages linked along the way.
Click a deck card on the Slides page, or create a deck with New presentation. The deck opens in the editor.
While it loads, the editor shows a placeholder layout of the same shape, so the screen does not jump when the deck arrives. Screen readers hear Loading deck editor.
If the deck cannot be opened, the editor shows This deck could not be opened, with the reason from the server or The deck is missing or you cannot access it. when there is none, and a Try again button that reloads the deck. See Slides troubleshooting for this message and others.
The top bar carries everything that applies to the whole deck.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Back arrow | Leaves the editor. The tooltip names the destination, for example Back to Presentations. The editor returns to wherever you opened the deck from. A deck link you pasted or bookmarked goes back to the Presentations list. |
| Title | Shows the deck name. Double-click it, or focus it and press F2, to rename it. Enter saves the new name and Escape abandons it. A single click opens the Presentation options popover instead. |
| Save chips | The two chips under the title show the save state and the autosave setting. Click them to open the Presentation popover, which holds the save panel and the deck's own actions. See Saving and version history. |
| Export | Downloads the deck as PowerPoint, PDF, notes pages, slide images or a deck file. See Export and import. |
| Subscribe | Emails the deck as a PowerPoint file on a schedule. It appears only if your roles allow subscriptions. See Email subscriptions. |
| Publish | Shares the deck with users and roles outside its workspace. It appears only if you can edit the deck. See Publish and share. |
| Undo and Redo | Step through your edit history. Their tooltips show Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Shift+Z. They appear only if you can edit the deck. |
| Version history | Opens the list of saved versions. See Saving and version history. |
| Present | Starts the show from the selected slide. The tooltip reads Present from this slide, with the key chip Shift F5. It is greyed out while the deck has no slides. See Present. |
| Area | What is there |
|---|---|
| Slide rail, on the left | The slides as thumbnails, under a Slides header with the slide count. Add new adds a slide after the current one. |
| Canvas, in the middle | The slide you are editing, with the insert tools floating over its top. Click a thumbnail to switch slides. |
| Footer, under the canvas | The Notes toggle and the zoom controls: Zoom out, the zoom percentage, Zoom in and Fit slide to view. Click the percentage to reset the zoom to 100 percent. |
| Right panels | Properties, for the deck and for the selected element, and the AI panel. The AI panel appears only if you can edit the deck and your roles include Use Slides AI. |
| Speaker notes | Opened with Notes, and shown under the canvas. |
See Edit slides and elements for building on the canvas and using the Properties sections, Design a deck for the deck's look, and Write slides with AI for the AI panel.
Every seam drags: between the rail and the canvas, beside each right panel, and between the canvas and the notes. You can also fold a right panel away: click its header to fold it, and click the narrow rail it leaves behind to open it again. A folded panel is 40 pixels wide.
| Area | Range | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Slide rail | 11% to 30% of the editor width | 16% |
| Properties | 16% to 38% of the canvas area | 22% |
| AI panel | 20% to 45% of the canvas area | 26% |
| Speaker notes | 12% to 55% of the centre column's height | 26% |
The canvas keeps at least 34% of the editor width, so the slide always has space to work in. When the Properties panel is narrower than 240 pixels, its side-by-side fields stack into a single column.
On a first visit, the notes panel is closed, Properties is open and the AI panel sits folded to its rail. After that, each panel follows your last choice, and your choices follow you into every deck you open.
Panel memory is kept in your browser, for you alone. A colleague's editor can be arranged differently from yours. If the browser does not let the editor remember, the defaults above apply each time.
See Slides permissions and Publish and share.
Some places in the editor say what is missing:
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| The canvas, with no slide open | No slide is open. |
| The Properties panel, before a deck is open | No deck open. |
| The notes panel, with no slide selected | Select a slide to write notes. |
| The company logo block, with no logo uploaded | No company logo has been uploaded yet. An administrator can add one in System configuration. |
Tools that load their own content have their own loaders: Loading the asset manager and Loading deck assets while the deck assets open, and Loading the query binding while a chart's query opens, with Could not load the assets when the image list fails. See Images, video and deck assets and Fill slides from your data.
The editor loads its own screen first, then the deck. While it works, it shows a placeholder layout of the same shape, so nothing jumps when the deck arrives. The placeholders are replaced as soon as the deck is ready. If the deck cannot be opened, the editor shows the deck error instead.
Click the back arrow at the left of the top bar. The tooltip names the destination, for example Back to Presentations. The editor returns you to wherever you opened the deck from, such as the Slides page or a workspace in its panel. A deck link you pasted or bookmarked goes back to the Presentations list. See Workspaces, folders and your decks.
Fold a panel you are not using, or drag the seam beside it. Click a right panel's header to fold it, click its folded rail to open it again, and drag the seams of the slide rail and the notes panel like any other. The limits are listed on this page under Fold and resize the panels.
Yes. The notes panel, Properties and the AI panel each follow your last choice, and the choice follows you into every deck you open in this browser. On a first visit, the notes panel is closed, Properties is open and the AI panel is folded to its rail.
Undo and Redo appear only if you can edit the deck, and they grey out when there is nothing left to undo or redo. Ctrl+Z undoes your last change, and Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes it.
Open the notes panel with Notes in the footer. The panel shows the notes of the slide you are on, with the reminder Only you see these while presenting. Type in the box; an empty box invites you with What you want to say on this slide., and without a slide it reads Select a slide to write notes. Notes are saved with the deck like any other change. During a show, they appear in the speaker view. See Present.
Each one appears or runs only when your roles carry the matching permission.
You can read it, open Version history to preview earlier versions, and start a show with Present. You cannot change anything. To edit, ask the deck's owner for Can edit, or an administrator for an edit permission on your role. See Slides permissions.