How to Convert Google Slides to a Video or GIF

While it’s easy to share Google Slides via a link or post it to the web, you might want a single non-editable file that you can share privately. By converting the slideshow to a video or GIF, your visitors can view it the way you intended. Here are three methods to try.

Convert with PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint offers both video and GIF export. So if you have PowerPoint, you can open the Google Slides presentation in it and create the video or GIF from there.

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Open your Google Slides presentation and go to File > Download. Choose Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) from the pop-out menu.

Go to your Downloads folder and click or double-click the file to open it in PowerPoint.

Go to File > Export. Then select “Create Video” or “Create Animated GIF”.

When you select a video you can then use the drop down boxes to select the quality and whether you want to include recorded timing and comments. You can also set the duration per slide. Click “Create Video”.

When choosing a GIF, you can choose the quality, make the background transparent, set the duration per slide, and only include specific slides if you want. Click “Create GIF”.

For both video and GIF, you will then be prompted to choose a save location, optionally change the name, and click “Export” when done. Then grab your video or GIF and share it wherever you want.

Record with your screen recording tool

If you have a screen recording tool like Game Bar on Windows, Screenshot Utility on Mac, or a third-party application, you can record your slideshow as it’s playing. Then save the video file to share or convert it to a GIF using an online tool.

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Prepare your screen recording tool and select the Slideshow dropdown box at the top of Google Slides and select “Start from scratch”.

To make sure you don’t see your mouse pointer in the recording when you scroll through the slides, you can set it to play automatically.

When the presentation is in full screen, click the three dots to the right of the floating toolbar, switch to Auto-Play and select the time per slide.

Then start recording with your screen recording tool and stop when the slideshow is over. You can then edit or share your video.

In addition, you can use a file converter to get another video file format or convert the video to a GIF. You can use some free online tools including Cloud Convert, Convertio or Zamzar.

Use a Google Slides add-on

Another way to turn Google Slides into a video or GIF is with an add-on. There are a few Google Slides add-ons that you can try by browsing the Google Workspace Marketplace.

One that works well and allows you to create a video or GIF for up to five slides for free is Slides to Video.

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Slides to Video works with Google Chrome using the same Google account as Google Slides. If you use a different browser, there are other add-ons like Video and GIF From Slides and Creator Studio that each offer a free trial.

Once you have the add-on installed, open your presentation and go to Add-ons in the menu. Hover your cursor over Slides to Video and choose Create Video from the pop-out menu.

When the sidebar opens, you can choose a duration per slide at the top, or a default value for all slides. Then use the Choose your export type drop-down box to select MP4 or GIF. Click “Create Video”.

You’ll see the progress as your video or GIF is being created. When you’re done, you’ll receive an email to your Gmail account and you’ll also see a link to download the file in the sidebar.

Until Google Slides offers the export option to create a video or GIF, these workarounds may help you get the job done.

Learn more about how to add a YouTube video or other types of videos and customize how they play in Google Slides.