You can captivate your audience by adding GIFs to your Google Slides presentation. GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It is a bitmap file format designed to display simple images and animations. This tutorial shows you how to insert an animated GIF in a Google Slide.
4 Steps to insert a GIF in a Google Slide presentation:
- Open your Google Slide presentation
- Insert a GIF
- Position and resize the GIF
- Set the GIF format options
Let us begin.
Step #1: Open your Google Slide presentation
You can either access an existing presentation or open a new one.
To create a new presentation:
Click the colorful cross on the Google Slides home screen at slides.google.com to create a new blank presentation
Or
Select a template from the template gallery to create a new presentation based on a template.
Or
You can also create and open a new blank presentation from the URL: https://slides.google.com/create.
Step #2: Insert a GIF
In the left pane, navigate to the slide where you want to insert a GIF.
Click in Insert in the Main Menu.
From the dropdown menu that appears, click on Image or hover your mouse on it for further options.
Select one of the following options to insert your GIF:
- Upload from computer
- Insert from Google Drive
- Insert by URL
Option #1: Upload from the computer
This is the most straightforward option for inserting a GIF into a Google slide.
Click Insert -> Image -> Upload from computer.
In the Open dialog box that appears, navigate to the folder that stores your GIF file.
Select the GIF file by clicking on it, and click the Open button.
Tip: You can also double-click on it to open it directly, without having to click the Open button.
The GIF is inserted into the Google Slide.
Option #2: Insert from Google Drive
Use this option if the GIF you want to use is stored or shared with you on your Google Drive.
Click Insert -> Image -> Drive.
Locate the GIF file you want to insert under the Recent tab, My Drive tab, or the Shared with me tab. You can also search for it by clicking on the magnifying glass icon and typing keywords in the search box.
Click on the GIF file you want, and click the Insert button.
Tip: You can also double-click on it to open it directly, without having to click the Insert button.
The GIF is inserted into the slide.
Option #3: Use a URL
Use this option if you prefer using GIFs online instead of downloading them.
Search the internet for the GIF you would like to add to your Google Slide presentation.
Then click the Share button as in the example below:
Note: Ensure that you have permission to link to and use an external GIF file before you insert it.
Click the Copy GIF link button that appears to copy the URL.
Switch to your Google Slides presentation and click Insert -> Image -> By URL.
Press Ctrl + V (Command + V on Mac) to paste the URL of the GIF in the Insert image dialog box.
Click the Insert button.
The GIF is inserted into the slide.
Step #3: Position and resize the GIF
Positioning:
Hover the mouse pointer over the GIF and see the cursor turn into a four-headed arrow.
Click with your mouse on the image. While holding the button down, drag the GIF to your desired location on the slide.
As you drag the GIF, red guidelines appear to assist you in centering the GIF within the slide.
Resizing:
Click on the GIF.
Small blue boxes will appear on the outside border of the GIF.
Click on one of these boxes, and drag while holding down the mouse button. This will resize the GIF.
Tip: Only use the corner boxes when resizing the GIF to avoid distorting the image.
Step #4: Set the GIF format options
The appearance and behavior of the GIF in your presentation depend on its settings.
In the Format options pane on the right side of the slide, there are six settings to adjust:
Option #1: Size and rotation
Use this option to change the size and orientation of the GIF.
Click the toggle arrow next to Size and rotation to open the settings.
Here you can change the size and scale of the GIF, flip the GIF or even rotate it.
All the settings are intuitive and are best understood by testing each option.
Still, first check the Lock aspect ratio checkbox. This is to ensure that the shape of your GIF is not distorted by adjusting the settings.
Click on the toggle arrow next to the option to close it once you are done adjusting the settings.
Option #2: Position
Use this option to change the position of the GIF on the slide.
Click the toggle arrow next to Position to open the settings.
You can change the vertical (x) position and/or the horizontal (y) position of the GIF on the slide.
You can use either the Top left or Centre of the GIF as the starting point or origin.
Click the toggle arrow to close the option.
Option #3: Re-colour
Use this option to change the color of the GIF.
Click the toggle arrow next to Re-colour to open the settings.
Click the Re-colour drop-down control and select the color you want:
Click the toggle arrow to close the option.
Option #4: Adjustments
Use this option to adjust the transparency, brightness, and contrast of the GIF.
Click the toggle arrow next to Adjustments to open the settings.
Adjust the Transparency, Brightness, and Contrast settings to your preference levels.
Click on a blue dot, and slide it left or right to decrease or increase a setting.
If you do not like how the GIF looks after the changes, you can click the Reset button to go back to the default settings.
Click the toggle arrow to close the option.
Option #5: Drop shadow
Use this option to add a floating effect to the GIF.
Click the arrow next to Drop shadow to open the settings.
Select the checkbox next to Drop shadow to enable this feature.
You can adjust these settings to add a shadow effect to the frame of the GIF.
You can adjust its color, transparency, angle, distance, and blur radius. This gives the GIF a floating effect.
Click on a blue dot, and slide it left or right to decrease or increase a setting.
Option #6: Reflection
Use this option to add a reflection and mirror effect to the GIF.
Click the toggle arrow next to Reflection to open the settings.
Adjust the transparency, distance, and size settings. This adds a reflection and mirror effect to the GIF.
Note: We recommend not adding too many effects to your GIFs to avoid them crashing.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have shown you how to add animated GIFs to your Google Slides presentation. This will enhance the quality of your presentation and captivate your audience.