Waffle Bytes

A menu change happened for me this morning in Google Slides (on just my work account, not on my personal account yet).  The addition of both turning on/off a ruler, and adding guides onto the slide to help with placement if you are varying from the pre-built theme layouts. Here is the menu change showing the additional options - RULER The ruler works as you would expect it to.  When you select it from the View menu, it displays a horizontal and vertical ruler at the top and left of the side - When you are moving an object on the slide, you will see blue lines marking the location of the ends and middle of the object on both toolbars - GUIDES When you select to view the guides, you see the midpoint guides on the slides -  Guides do have some more flexibility as you can add additional guides on the slide, and drag them to the location of your choice - There is also the option to "Edit guides" and enter them in a window, as well -

You have the ability to comment on an object within a slide in Google Slides, rather than just a general comment attached the the whole slide.  This can be very useful, especially on a collaborative presentation, where tasks need to be assigned or you have a question specific to that object.  There are 3 ways you can add a comment to an object. For all methods, first select the object (by clicking on it).  Then use one of these methods to add the comment - 1. Click on the comment icon 2. Right click on the object and select Comment from the pop-up menu 3. Go to the Insert Menu and select Comment Any of these methods will tie the comment to the object - as long as the object is selected first . You can tell that it is connected to the object as when you either mouse-over or click on the comment the object is then outlined in yellow. If you want to add a general comment to the slide, make sure that nothing on the slide is selected before adding your com...

Recently there was an update making it easier to add Images in Google Docs, Slides and Drawings.  Here are some screenshots of the new drop-down menu and what each option results in. Upload from computer When you select this: You get the standard pop-up window where you can select the image from a location on your computer. Search the web When you select this: A sidebar opens on the right side of the window, with a search bar at the top for you to find an image without leaving your document/drawing/slideshow.  Drive When you select this: You again get a sidebar in the right side of the window with direct connection to your Google Drive, so you can easily find and use the image.  Photos When you select this: You again get a sidebar in the right side of the window with direct connection to your Google Photos, so you can easily find and use the image. By URL When you select this: You get a pop-up window where you can paste in th...

It's worth noting a new option in Slides - the ability to add some template Diagrams!  It is a fast way to get a great looking diagram in your slideshow.  There are several options, and you have the ability to edit it to suit your style/needs. Here's how to use it - 1. You will find this option under the Insert Menu: 2. When you select it, it will open up your options in a drawer on the right-hand side.  There are 5 different types of diagrams you can create: 3. When you choose which type, you then get additional options in how that type of diagram is displayed: 4.  There is also an option for how many steps/layers/levels are a part of the diagram: 5.  Once you click on the template diagram, it will load onto your current slide: 6.  You can customize the diagram by clicking on various parts of it: 7.  Occasionally a couple parts are grouped together.  In my example the line on the color bar and the corresponding text are...

I have several slideshows that I use for different audiences.  In the past, I've had to copy one in order to remove a few slides so that the presentation matched the current audience makeup.  No more!  A feature I've long been waiting for is finally here - the ability to skip a slide. You can do this two different ways.  Method 1: Go to the Slide Menu and select Skip slide Method 2: Right-click on a slide and select Skip slide An icon of a closed eye will display on the slide so you know that it will be skipped when playing your slideshow -

This is actually a feature I have requested, so I'm very happy to see it integrated into Google Slides! You can now view your slides in Grid View, allowing you to easily re-arrange them by dragging and dropping.  You have three methods for this - Method 1 - Go to the View Menu and select Grid View:   Method 2 - Use keyboard shortcuts of Control+Option+1 (Command+Option+1 for Macs) Method 3 - Go to the icons at the bottom left of the window and click on the Grid View Using any of these methods, you can view your slides in the grid view - which will let you drag and drop the slides into your preferred order:

There are many times I have to share the same information to 2 different audiences, which means I spend time copying and pasting slides from one slide show to another. Now, with Google Slides, you can actually "share" a slide from one show to the other...so when you update the information on that slide, it can be simply refreshed on the other slides shows.  This is slick!  Additionally, you get the option as to if the connected slides match the theme on your original show OR match the theme in your current show. Here's how - Copy the slides on your existing show (control+C on PC or command+C on Mac): Go to the slideshow that you want to add the slides to - if it already has multiple slides, click where you want to add the slides: Paste the slides in (control+V on PC or command+V on Mac).  When it pastes it in, you will have the link options pop up - decide if you want the slides linked (so it can be updated when editing the original slides) or not linke...

Google Keep just keeps getting better!  You can now add notes from your Google Keep by dragging & dropping.  How cool is that!  So the drawings, hand-written items, screenshots, etc from my tablet can now be very easily used in my slide shows.  To open Keep when in Slides, go to the Tools Menu and select Keep notepad: Your notes stored in Keep show up in a drawer on the right side of the browser: You can grab, drag and drop them onto the slide:                 Another method to add them, is to click the "do more" menu and select Add to slide: A great way to get exactly what you want in your slideshow!