Going Chromebook: Learn To Master Google Slides

Brian Schell

GOING CHROMEBOOK: LEARN TO MASTER GOOGLE SLIDES

Copyright 2021 by Brian Schell.

All Rights Reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or in any means – by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without prior written permission.

Google Docs, Google Workspace, Google Sheets, Google Slides, G Suite, Gmail, Google Calendar, and other products mentioned within are trademarks owned by Google, Inc. This book is not affiliated in any way with Google LLC.

Written and designed by Brian Schell

brian@brianschell.com

Version Date: March 15th, 2021.

ISBN: 9798722049308

Printed in the USA of America

Contents

Introduction

Why Do This?

Cloud or Desktop?

What Do You Need?

Paid or Free?

Quick Overview of Google Drive and File Handling

I. Google Slide Commands and Menus

The Top Section of the Google Slides Interface

Special Icons

The Menus

File Menu

Edit Menu

View Menu

Insert Menu

Format Menu

Slide Menu

Arrange Menu

Tools Menu

Add-ons Menu

Help Menu

Google Slides Toolbar

Global Toolbar Options

When a Slide is Selected

When a Text Box or Shape is Selected

II. Google Sheets Tips and Workflows

Presentation Mode

Presentation Menu

Advanced Usage

Format Pane

Google Slides Tips and Workflows

Internal Links

Exporting and Getting Documents Out of Google Slides

Side Panel Apps

Super-Quick New Document Trick

Not Just a Slidehow

Master the Master Slide

Use YouTube

Use Your Own Themes

Take Advantage of the Dictionary

Chromecast and Apple TV

Do It Old Style (Printouts)

Forgot to Save?

Using Google Sheets and Google Docs within Slides

Embedding a Spreadsheet within Docs or Slides

Fullscreen Mode

Top Ten Add-ons for Google Slides

Insert Icons for Slides

Slide Randomizer

Clipboard Image, Screen Capture to Drive

Equation Editor for Maths

Remote Control for Slides

Unsplash Images Library for Slides

Sorc’d for Slides

Advanced Find & Replace

LucidChart Diagrams

Flat for Docs & Slides Music Notation

Slides QR Codes

Pear Deck for Google Slides

Keyboard Shortcuts

Can You Do It?

Visual Basic and Coding

Ugly Themes

Google Drive Limitations

Legal Restrictions

About the Author

Also by Brian Schell

Introduction

Note: At the time of this writing, Google’s GSuite was being renamed Google Workspace and had already once been known as simply Google Apps. In this book, all of these terms refer to the same thing, Google’s Office in the Cloud, consisting of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and a few other apps.

Google Apps was the first successful Office in the cloud. It’s not the only online office suite, but it was the first, and in many ways, still the best. Google Workspace is the all-inclusive name for all Google’s online office apps, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Forms, and a handful of other apps. With roots as far back as 2005, it’s an evolved and mature product today, with both free and paid levels of service.

The Google suite is, without question, the most popular office product in schools today, surpassing the Apple products that had been the de facto computer system in schools for so many decades. More and more offices are switching to Google Workspace (which is being renamed from GSuite as I type this) as their office solution. It’s maintained for them, updated automatically, backed up instantly, and is far more secure than storing files locally.

In this book, we’re going to be focusing on Google Slides, the presentation solution that Google includes as part of Google Workspace. The closest competitor to Slides is Microsoft PowerPoint; how do they compare? Can you switch from PowerPoint to Slides?

Why Do This?

There are numerous benefits to choosing Google Slides over other presentation systems. First, it’s part of the Google ecosystem, and if you’re a heavy user of other Google apps, then you already know how to use many parts of it.

It’s easily the best system in the world in the area of collaboration features. Two or more people can type and edit each other’s work at the same time while watching each other do it. Although other competing products now have this kind of collaboration, they are still playing catch-up in this area.

It’s free! There are paid options to get more document storage, but that’s usually not necessary unless you get really heavily invested in storing your documents in the cloud.

It’s expandable. You can start with the free version of Google Drive, and later, add additional storage space if or when needed, and even upgrade to Google Workspace, the professional level of the suite. Many people choose to stay on the free tier forever; it’s up to you.

It runs almost everywhere. Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone, tablets, and most other Internet-enabled devices can either run Google Slides in a browser window or in a dedicated app.

It’s powerful and easy to learn. Used in schools, businesses, and homes around the world, Google Slides is reliable enough for offices, hobbyists, and professionals.

An entire class of computers, the Chromebook, has been developed around it. You don’t have to use a Chromebook to use Google Slides, and you don’t have to use Google Slides on a Chromebook, but they do go together exceptionally well.

It really just works without issues. I have taught English, Algebra, and Computer topics (office apps, for example) using slideshows made with Google Slides. I can turn on my projector at school, log into Google, and all my teaching material is right there.

It’s available everywhere there is Internet access. You can use it on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or even carry it with you on your phone.

You’re probably familiar with some other office products that are on the market, so let’s compare a few facts about those.

Office Suites Compared

The only point at which Google Docs/Sheets/Slides doesn’t win is in the Features category. Microsoft Office, at least on the installed desktop version of their suite, does have some features that Apple and Google haven’t implemented yet, and these really could be deal-breakers if you truly need those things. Still, these features are very specific and aren’t needed by most people, so unless you specifically know of some way that your work depends on it, you can most likely get by just fine with Google Slides. Even then, the extra features Microsoft offers are only available in their desktop software; their cloud-based web apps are far more limited than Google’s.

If you are using some kind of free office solution, such as LibreOffice, your features and benefits are going to be very similar to Microsoft Office, just without the purchase price. The real choice, in that case, is whether you want to install office software on your computer that needs updates or if you want to use cloud-based apps which update behind the scenes. Another thing to consider is safety. Installed software can be affected by failing hardware and computer viruses and malware, while cloud-based apps are immune to all that.

Cloud or Desktop?

One of the first questions that usually come up when deciding to use Google apps or not is whether you want to use cloud software or desktop software. Apple and Microsoft offer excellent office suites that run on their respective computers. They also both offer cloud-based versions of those same suites, but in both cases are very feature-limited compared to what you can do on the desktops. Google offers no desktop version of