How To Change Google Slides From Landscape To Portrait (step-by-step Guide)
Okay, let's talk about Google Slides. We all use it, right? For work presentations, school projects, or maybe even just to show off your amazing vacation photos to your Aunt Carol. It’s a pretty great tool. Most of the time, anyway. But then there’s that moment. That little flicker of panic when you realize your masterpiece is… well, it’s wider than it is tall. Landscape, my friends. And you, my dear presenter, need it to be portrait. Like a tall, elegant scroll. Or a very enthusiastic text message.
Now, some people might tell you this is impossible. They might sigh dramatically and suggest starting over. "Just make a new presentation!" they'll chirp, all sunshine and rainbows. But we're not those people, are we? We’re the problem-solvers. The can-do-it-attitude types. The ones who refuse to be defeated by a little digital orientation.
Consider this my slightly rebellious, totally unscientific, but remarkably effective guide to flipping your Google Slides from the usual landscape to the less common, but often necessary, portrait. Think of it as giving your presentation a swift, but gentle, yoga pose.
Step 1: Embrace the Confusion (It's Okay!)
First things first. Take a deep breath. It’s just a setting. Google Slides isn’t judging you. You haven’t broken anything. You’re just… exploring the less-trodden path of presentation dimensions. So, locate your presentation. Open it up. Stare at it. Notice its horizontal-ness. Yep, that’s the one.
Step 2: The Secret Door (Shhh!)
Now, we need to find the magic button. It’s not hiding behind a secret lever or guarded by a grumpy dragon. It’s actually quite simple, if you know where to look. Head up to the menu bar. You know, the one with all the words like File, Edit, and View? We’re going to be interested in File. Give File a little click.
See that list of options that pops down? Don’t get overwhelmed. We’re looking for something that sounds like… changing the page setup. Ah, there it is! Page setup. Give that a gentle tap.
Step 3: The Grand Reveal
A new little window will appear. This is where the transformation truly begins. You’ll see a dropdown menu. It usually defaults to “Widescreen (16:9).” This is our nemesis, our landscape lover. We need to break up with it. Click on that dropdown menu.
Now, you'll see a few options. There’s “Standard (4:3),” which is a bit more square-ish. And then, drumroll please, there’s “Custom.” This is where the real fun begins. We are going to choose Custom.
Step 4: The Precision Moment
Once you’ve selected Custom, a couple of little boxes will appear, asking you for the width and height. This is where we tell Google Slides exactly how we want our portrait. We’re going to swap the numbers. Yes, you heard me. Swap them!
Let’s say the default width is 33.33 cm and the height is 18.75 cm (or inches, depending on your settings, don’t worry about the units too much). For portrait, we want the height to be the bigger number and the width to be the smaller number. So, if the width was 33.33 and height was 18.75, we’ll change the width to 18.75 and the height to 33.33. It’s like giving your presentation a friendly hug, making it stand up tall and proud.
You can play around with these numbers a bit. The key is to make the height value significantly larger than the width value. Think of it as the difference between a wide, flat pancake and a tall, fluffy stack of pancakes. We want the stack.
Step 5: The Grand Finale (Click 'Apply'!)
You’ve done it! You’ve entered the magical numbers. Now, all that’s left is to commit to your vision. Look for the button that says “Apply.” Give it a satisfying click. And then… voilà!
Your Google Slides will, with a little bit of digital magic, reconfigure themselves. They will now be in portrait orientation. Your once wide-eyed presentation is now standing tall and ready to impress.
Now, a little confession. This isn’t always perfectly seamless. Sometimes, images might get a little squished, or text boxes might decide to take a tiny vacation to another page. It’s like when you try to fold a map and it never quite goes back to how it was. But, 9 times out of 10, this method gets you exactly where you need to be. You might just need to do a little tidying up. Adjust a few pictures. Nudge some text. It’s the price of creative freedom, my friends.
So, there you have it. You’ve conquered the landscape-to-portrait dilemma. You’re a Google Slides ninja. You’ve defied the odds. And Aunt Carol will be so impressed when she sees your vacation photos arranged perfectly for her phone screen. Go forth and present, you magnificent portrait-loving legend!