Create your first presentation

A presentation, or deck, is a set of slides that you edit on a canvas and present full screen. Use this page to create your first deck, add slides and start the show.

Create a deck

Open Slides and click New presentation.
In the New presentation dialog, pick one of the five sources:
- Blank gives you an empty deck with one slide, in the theme you already use.
- The built-in template gives you a ready-made sample deck you can change like any other.
- From an existing deck starts from any presentation you can already open.
- Import from file loads a .datamindslides file. Click Choose file and pick the file.
- Import from PowerPoint takes a .pptx file, converted right in the browser. Click Choose file and pick the file.
Check the Title. It starts as Untitled presentation. An imported file brings its own title. You can change it either way.
For Blank, pick a Slide size.
Under Workspace, pick where the deck lives. Optionally, pick a Folder. The default is Workspace root.
Click Create. The deck opens in the editor.

What a new deck starts with

A deck created from Blank holds one empty slide. Its title is the one the dialog showed, Untitled presentation by default.
Copies, the template and imports bring their own slides.
A new deck follows the app theme, so its colours and fonts track the app until you freeze a theme of its own. See Design a deck.

Add slides and present

Double-click an empty part of the canvas to add a text box, or use the insert tools at the top of the canvas.
Click Add new in the slide rail header to add a slide.
Click Present in the editor's top bar, or press Shift+F5, to start the show from the slide you have selected. Press Esc to end the show.

Note

New decks save on every change by default. To change how often a deck saves, see Saving and version history.

Settings in the dialog

Setting	What it does	Default
Title	Names the deck.	Untitled presentation
Slide size	Sets the slide dimensions. Shown for a blank deck only.	16:9 (1280x720)
Workspace	Sets where the deck lives.	The workspace you started from, when there is one. Otherwise none.
Folder	Places the deck in a folder of the workspace.	Workspace root

The slide size choices are 16:9 (1280x720), 16:10 (1280x800), 4:3 (1024x768), A4 (1123x794) and 1:1 (900x900). Point at a size to see its full name with dimensions, for example Widescreen 16:9 - 1280x720.

Copies and imports keep the slide size of their source, so Slide size appears only for Blank.

Who can create a deck

You need the Add Deck permission to create a deck or import one. You also need to be able to see the workspace you pick. You cannot create a deck in another user's personal workspace, even when you can view that workspace. To start from an existing deck, you must be able to open that deck. For the full list, see Slides permissions.

Limits and messages

Create stays greyed out until the deck has a Title, a workspace you can use and the source it needs: a deck picked under From an existing deck, a valid file, a loaded built-in template or a converted PowerPoint file.
Until you pick a workspace, the Folder list shows Pick a workspace first. A workspace that cannot take the deck stays in the list, greyed out, with its reason under its name and again under the picker.
Every time the dialog opens it starts fresh: the source is back on Blank, and the title is back to Untitled presentation.
Present stays greyed out while the deck has no slides.
A file that is not a .datamindslides file shows That file could not be imported, with "<file>" is not a .datamindslides file.
Before you pick a file, the row reads No file chosen yet. A PowerPoint file converts as soon as it is picked, and the row shows Converting presentation... while that runs. A conversion that fails shows That file could not be converted with the reason, then Choose another file, or start from a blank deck instead. For what the conversion keeps and drops, see Import from PowerPoint.
If the deck cannot be created, a toast reports Presentation not created with Could not create the presentation. An import that fails reports Presentation not imported with Could not import the presentation.
If the built-in template cannot load, the dialog shows an alert. Its message is Refresh and try again, or start from Blank. Refresh the page, or choose Blank.

Where to go next

The deck editor: the top bar, slide rail, canvas, panels and notes.
Edit slides and elements: add and arrange slides, text, shapes, charts and tables.
Design a deck: set the theme, fonts, company logo and page numbers.
Fill slides from your data: bind charts, tables and text to live queries.
Write slides with AI: draft and rework slides with the AI panel.
Present: use the speaker view and move through the show.
Export and import: download a deck or import one.

Questions, answered

Which slide size should I pick?

Pick 16:9 for most screens. It is the default. 4:3, 16:10, A4 landscape and square are also available. You can change the size later in the deck settings, under Deck > Size. See Design a deck.

Why is From an existing deck greyed out?

You have no other presentation that you can open yet. The card shows You have no other presentations yet. It becomes available when at least one deck is open to you.

Does a deck made from an existing deck stay linked to the original?

No. It is a separate presentation with its own version history. Changes to the copy do not affect the original, and if the original had charts or tables bound to live queries, the copy keeps those bindings.

Why can't I pick a workspace?

A greyed-out workspace shows the reason under its name. Common reasons are another user's personal workspace, or a role workspace that the deck's live queries do not allow. See Workspaces, folders and your decks.

Why does my new blank deck already show a logo?

New decks start with the company logo on, at the bottom right of each slide. To remove it, turn off the switch in the Company logo section of the Properties panel. A deck imported from PowerPoint starts without a logo.

What does Uploading image mean in the dialog footer?

When the images of an imported deck are being stored, the dialog footer shows Uploading image N of M... with the count of images so far. Then it shows Finishing import.... Wait for it to finish; the deck opens in the editor when the import is complete.

Can I change the title later?

Yes. Double-click the title in the editor, or press F2 while it is focused. Type the new title and press Enter. Clicking away also saves it.

What is in the built-in template?

A ready-made house deck of eighteen slides you can change like any other: a title and an agenda, three sections, chart slides for the major chart kinds, a table, comparison and drawing-kit slides, type specimens, a quote and a close. Its colours follow your theme, and its sample figures are marked Illustrative data. Choosing the built-in template card creates your own copy.

Why does my new chart show Q1 to Q4?

A new chart opens with example data so you can see it render before your numbers arrive: one series called Series 1 over sample categories Q1 to Q4. Replace the values in the chart's data grid. A new table opens with 3 columns and 4 rows to fill in. See Charts and tables.