Canva offers many robust features for creating slideshows, but sometimes you might need your presentation in Google Slides instead. Maybe you’re more familiar with the presentation tools in Slides or need to collaborate with another Google user.
Canva provides several ways to export, download, or save your documents in other locations. Here, we’ll show you how to convert Canva to Google Slides as well as offer an alternative for using Plus AI to create your presentation with less hassle.
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Method 1: Download and upload
You can download your Canva presentation and then upload it, or import it, directly to Google Slides. From there, you can make additional changes, share the slideshow, or present as you normally would.
Download the Canva presentation
Visit Canva.com, sign into your account, and open your presentation.
- Select Share on the top right and choose Download.
- Below File type, pick PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint document).
- Below Select pages, you can pick All pages or mark the boxes for those you want and click Done.
- Optionally mark the box to save your download settings and click Download.
Upload the Canva presentation to Google Slides
Once you have your Canva presentation, you can open your default Downloads folder and check for the file to be sure it downloaded successfully.
Visit Google Slides and sign in with your Google account if necessary.
- Select Blank presentation at the top or use the plus sign on the bottom right to pick Create new presentation.
- Open the File menu and choose Import slides.
- Go to the Upload tab to import your downloaded Canva presentation.
- Either use the Browse button to locate and select the file or drag the file onto the pop-up window.
- Once the file successfully uploads, choose Select all slides or pick the individual slides if you want only certain ones.
- Optionally check the box to Keep original theme and click Import slides.
You’ll see your presentation appear in Google Slides and can rename it on the top left if you like.
You can then use the editing tools in Google Slides as you normally would.
Common issues with importing Canva presentations
Have you ever created a document using one application only to find it that looks or behaves differently when you open it in another? For instance, maybe you set up a presentation in Keynote on Mac, but when your coworker opens it in PowerPoint on Windows, it doesn’t look the same.
There’s almost always risk involved when converting a document. This can happen when you use fonts, formatting, or features in one application that aren’t available in the other. The result is a lot of wasted time trying to fix the problem.
Here are just a few common issues:
Shapes and icons may become blurry. You can see the difference here with the check mark icons; Canva on the left and Google Slides on the right.
Fonts may appear differently, and text may be misaligned. You can see below that the contact details floated to the top of the orange enclosures, and the text on each line is different because of different font rendering.
Images can be skewed or out of place. Here, the images on the right and left of the slide moved and became distorted.
As you can see, downloading your Canva presentation as a PowerPoint file and then reuploading it into Google Slides introduces multiple points where you might run into conversion issues.
Method 2: Use an AI presentation maker
If you’d prefer to create a new slideshow that is a native Google Slides presentation to avoid formatting issues, you could also try using an AI presentation maker like Plus AI.
When you create your presentation with Plus AI in Google Slides instead of converting it from Canva, you can eliminate the risks of odd-looking elements and features that are unavailable in one application.
With Plus AI for Google Slides, you just provide instructions and let the tool build the presentation for you. From text to design, you can save time by letting Plus AI create your slideshow.
Visit Google Slides, sign in, and create a blank presentation.
- Open the Extensions menu, move to the Plus AI add-on, and pick New presentation with Plus AI.
- Choose an option on the left to create the slideshow. You can select Start from scratch, Text to presentation, or Slide by slide.
- As an example, we’ll pick Start from scratch, select the General presentation type, and enter a description. Hit Generate Outline to see your slide titles.
- You can edit a title, remove a slide, or rearrange the slide order. When you’re ready, click Generate Slides.
- Select a theme for your presentation from several options including light, dark, and vintage, and pick Next.
Now Plus will create your slide deck, and you can review the presentation or make changes as needed. You can use the editing tools in Google Slides as normal or better yet, continue with Plus AI.
Edit your slide deck with Plus AI
Using Plus AI, you get all of the features of Google Slides, plus the ability to use AI to edit and reformat your slides.
To use Plus AI to insert another slide, rewrite text, or remix the layout, select Extensions > Plus AI > Edit with Plus AI from the menu.
When the sidebar opens on the right, choose a tab at the top and then complete the details beneath.
With a supercharged jumpstart on creating your presentation using Plus AI, you’ll have more time to focus on presenting your main objective.
Tips for converting presentations
With all of the above in mind and to make the process a little smoother, here are a few tips to make your slides look good while converting presentations
Use common font styles. Many applications provide original fonts, or you may install a font style in one application that doesn’t work in another. By using the most common font styles, you can make sure that the text of your presentation looks the same after you convert it. Plus, you can always change the font style once it arrives in its final application destination.
Save media separately. You might include an illustration or video clip in your presentation that doesn’t look or work as expected after you convert the file. If you have those types of media saved to your device, you can upload them to the new presentation location and then format them there if there’s a problem.
Limit transitions and animations. If you know from the start that you’re going to convert your presentation to another application, limit or eliminate transitions and animations. You may like the bouncy slide transition in one application, but what happens when that transition isn’t available in the second application? Similar to the above suggestion for font styles, wait until your slideshow is in its final spot to apply these types of effects.
Review, review, and review again. After you convert your slideshow, don’t assume everything is ready to go and begin presenting. Review each slide, text block, image, and other element to make sure nothing changed during the conversion. And be sure to give yourself enough time to review and make adjustments if needed before presentation time arrives.
FAQs
How do I convert PPTX to Google Slides?
You can convert a PowerPoint slideshow (PPTX) to a Google Slides presentation by importing it to Google Slides.
Open a blank presentation in Google Slides and select File > Import slides. Use the Upload tab to locate your file or drag the PPTX file into the window. Choose the slides you need and click Import slides.
How do I connect Canva to Google Drive?
If you plan to regularly export your Canva documents for use in Google’s apps, you can connect to Google Drive for a quicker export process.
In Canva, select Apps in the left-hand menu and pick Google Drive on the right. Then, simply follow the prompts to sign in, grant access, and connect your Google Drive account.
Once you save your presentation to Google Drive and open it in Slides, you can convert it to a Google Slides document by selecting File > Save as Google Slides.
How do I export from Canva to Google Docs?
You can either download your Canva document and then upload it to Google Docs or use the steps directly above to connect to Google Drive and send the file there directly.
If you’ve already connected to Google Drive, click Share>More and choose Google Drive. Select the location within your Drive and pick Save. Then, select the document in Google Drive to open it in Google Docs.
