An online version of PowerPoint was introduced in 2010, a few years after the Google Docs release, which came out as early as 2007. Over the years, the product, along with other Microsoft Office apps, underwent major changes, making it more user-friendly and feature-rich for end users.
Given the rise of inter-device connectivity and cloud support, tools like Microsoft 365, particularly its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint web-based counterparts, have considerably increased their capabilities, matching the performance of desktop versions. In this article, we will talk about PowerPoint Online, also called PowerPoint for Web, and how it can help presenters craft presentations and access them on the go wherever they log in.
Table of Contents
- What is PowerPoint Online
- Advantages of PowerPoint Online
- Getting Started with PowerPoint for the Web
- How to Create a PowerPoint Online Presentation
- Collaboration and Sharing
- Saving and Exporting
- Tips for Creating High-Quality Slides in PowerPoint Online
- Troubleshooting Common Issues in PowerPoint Online
- Conclusion
What is PowerPoint Online
PowerPoint for the Web, which was previously called PowerPoint Online, is a web-based version of PowerPoint that enables creating, viewing, editing, and sharing PowerPoint presentations online. Unlike Google Slides, PowerPoint for the Web provides better native support for PowerPoint files. It makes it possible to seamlessly work with PowerPoint files and features through a web-based browser, with OneDrive support to share and store your data. PowerPoint for the web is free to use but has limited features. However, if you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you can get better features when using the web-based version of PowerPoint.
Advantages of PowerPoint Online
PowerPoint for the web provides the same benefits as the desktop version of PowerPoint, with the added advantage of accessing these features anywhere using an Internet browser. Below is a list of advantages of using PowerPoint Online.
Easy Accessibility
You can access PowerPoint features anywhere using an Internet-connected browser without installing the PowerPoint app on your device. Furthermore, you can also upload and access files from your device anytime, anywhere, via the web.
Support for Native PowerPoint Features
Be it online collaboration, cloud storage, or access to version history, you can get native PowerPoint features via a web-based version of PowerPoint without the need to worry about compatibility issues. Furthermore, unlike Google Slides or other web-based variants of PowerPoint, PowerPoint for the web helps access native PowerPoint features without causing compatibility issues such as incorrect display of certain themes or support for various animations available in the offline version.
OneDrive Integration
The integration of PowerPoint for the web with OneDrive allows instantly storing, sharing, and accessing different versions of a file using the cloud storage support of OneDrive.
Easy Sharing
The OneDrive integration enables the online version of PowerPoint to be used for instantly sharing presentations online using a link with a specific access level (view only or editing privileges).
Online Collaboration
While PowerPoint’s offline version also provides collaboration features, using PowerPoint for the web can provide a smoother experience when looking for real-time changes to a PowerPoint file.
Version History
PowerPoint files saved with the web version come with a version history, where you can access older file versions to restore according to need. This feature is also available for the offline version, which you must turn on upload to OneDrive. In other words, version history is only supported for PowerPoint files that are saved online.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Since you only need a web browser and a Microsoft account to access PowerPoint Online, there are no issues with having a compatible device to use the app. This means you can access PowerPoint Online using any device that can run a modern Internet browser.
Accessibility Features
PowerPoint for the web is among the few platforms that provide accessibility features for persons with disabilities, such as image ALT text and support for screen readers.
Updates
PowerPoint for the web is regularly updated, providing access to the latest features for end users.
Getting Started with PowerPoint for the Web
To get started, go to Office.com or powerpoint.office.com and select the PowerPoint icon to access PowerPoint for the web. You will require a Microsoft account to log in.
Once logged in, you can create a new PowerPoint presentation or upload one from your device. All you need for accessing the web version of PowerPoint is a modern Internet browser and a device that can support it. This web-based version of PowerPoint works with all commonly used browsers and their variants, including Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and others.
How to Create a PowerPoint Online Presentation
From Office.com, you can create new PowerPoint presentations from scratch or via a template, upload new ones, or open an existing one saved to OneDrive.
Create a New Presentation with PowerPoint for the Web
Click Create or use a PowerPoint template from the options to create a new PowerPoint presentation. You can start with a specific theme or use a blank template. You can also browse through themes via Office.com to find one that best suits your needs.
Upload a PowerPoint Presentation
To upload a PowerPoint presentation, click Upload after logging into Office.com and select a file from your device.
Open an Existing PowerPoint Presentation Online
All PowerPoint presentations saved from a device are automatically uploaded to OneDrive and can be accessed via PowerPoint’s online version. As mentioned earlier, you can upload and save presentations and access them anytime.
Adjusting the Ribbon Menu Layout
You can toggle between the classic and single-line ribbon interface to suit your preferences. The Ribbon menu can also be adjusted to stay available or hidden periodically.
Naming Your Presentation
It is best to name your presentation to ensure it is easy to search and open later via OneDrive. Otherwise, a generic name will be assigned to the presentation (e.g., Presentation 1). To name your presentation, click on the generic name at the top and type in the new name.
Formatting and Design
As you start formatting your slides, the Designer feature will provide you with options to create layouts for your slides. You can optionally use this feature to get started with the basic design for your slides or use the Design tab to select design elements.
Like the desktop app, the Design tab in PowerPoint Online provides access to themes, background and slide size adjustment options, and theme variants to help you design your slides.
Adding Content
The Insert tab provides all the necessary options to add new slides, tables, pictures, shapes, icons, SmartArt, text boxes, audio, video, cameo to insert Live camera feed, and other options.
Formatting Pictures
Like the desktop version of PowerPoint, pictures can be added from your device, stock images, or via Bing search. The Picture tab can be used to format added pictures after selecting them. Various options in this tab allow you to crop, add a picture frame, and adjust the picture on the slide.
You can also access Format Options via the right-click menu.
This will open a sidebar providing options to adjust the selected image’s width, height, angle, shadow, reflection, and text margins.
Formatting Videos
PowerPoint for the web allows formatting videos via the Shape tab and Format Options via the right-click menu. The Shape tab can give a frame or shape to the video, adjust the outline, manage how it is displayed on the slide, and adjust the size of the video. Sometimes, the Shape tab might be replaced with the Video tab to show editing options. This change is particularly visible if the user is not logged in and is editing the presentation as a Guest user. The Format Options enable editing the video’s width, height, angle, text margins, shadow, and reflection.
Formatting Audio
Two major options for formatting added audio clips include the Playback tab and Audio Format tab. The Playback tab can adjust the volume, playback trigger, and other related options.
The Audio Format tab includes picture styles for the audio icon, border stylizing, rotation, and other formatting options to adjust how the audio clip appears on the slide.
Annotation Options
The Draw tab gives various tools like pens and highlighters to annotate slides or draw on the screen. Other tools include an eraser, lasso, draw with touch, and stencil.
Transitions and Animations
Like the desktop version of PowerPoint, the Transitions tab for the web version gives transitions to use for your slides. You can adjust the effects of added transitions and duration once you have added a transition for a slide.
The Animations tab can be used to apply standard transitions and adjust effects, triggers, and duration for the animations according to need.
SlideShow, Review, and View
The SlideShow tab is used to start the SlideShow from the beginning of the current slide or to initiate a Live presentation with a QR code and link for viewing the presentation Live. You can also use Rehearse with Coach, use subtitles, and edit subtitle settings. You can also learn more about some of these features from our post about how to present a PowerPoint Online.
If you are searching for the features to check spelling and grammar, comments, changes, and accessibility options, head to the Review tab.
Most PowerPoint users know that the viewing options are available at the bottom of the PowerPoint interface. However, you can also access them from the View tab in PowerPoint. The same features are available for PowerPoint for the web. This includes options like switching between Slide Sorter, Immersive Reader, and Normal View and access to Notes, Zoom, and Fit to Window options.
Collaboration and Sharing
To share your PowerPoint presentation, click Share from the top left corner of PowerPoint Online. You can create a sharing link according to specific settings, copy the existing link, link to a slide, or view and manage access to the presentation.
Collaborators can be invited via email or link by adjusting whether a user has view-only or editing privileges.
Once the settings have been configured, a link can be generated to copy and share with users. When configuring settings, you can also directly send the link with a message to an end user.
Users collaborating on the slide deck with their names are shown at the top. A generic name is assigned to the collaborator if it’s a guest.
You can see the comments added by collaborators on the presentation by going to Comments.
Next to the Comments button is the Catch-up button that tracks and shows the changes made by real-time collaborators as you work on the presentation.
You can also access sharing options via File -> Share. You can open sharing options or generate an embed code for the presentation from here.
When generating an embed code, you can adjust the width, height, and slide advancement options and generate a code for a website.
To switch between viewing modes, you can change to view only and editing options as you collaborate or open the presentation in the desktop app. These options can be helpful for you to adjust how you wish to work or review the presentation.
Saving and Exporting
To save your presentation, go to File -> SaveAs to save a copy to OneDrive, download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, rename the file, or download the file in an alternative format such as PDF, ODP, or image.
When saving a copy of the presentation on OneDrive, you can select an existing folder or create a new one to select the file location.
Tips for Creating High-Quality Slides in PowerPoint Online
You can consider the tips below to create visually appealing slides with PowerPoint Online.
Focus on Design Consistency
Use a consistent design with a color scheme, fonts, alignment, and graphics tailored to a specific format. Don’t use too many changes that might make the content appear muddled.
Avoid Heavy Multimedia
Since PowerPoint for the Web is an online platform, not everyone might have the required Internet bandwidth or hardware to run heavy presentations smoothly. Using multimedia content in moderation can help avoid such issues.
Uncluttered Slides
Cluttered slides on an online interface will likely cause compatibility issues for some viewers or the slides might not appear properly on some browsers and devices. To avoid this, try to create uncluttered slides. Using minimalist slides might just be the best way to go.
Even the Distribution of Slide Elements
By evenly distributing slide elements with proper alignment, you should be able to create online slides that are easy for the eyes to follow.
Choose Imagery Carefully
When selecting icons, graphical elements, and pictures, try not to use imagery that is too flashy and might cause issues when opened across different browsers and devices. You can use icons from the built-in icons library in PowerPoint and select pictures that don’t visually overpower the viewer.
Get Design Ideas
You can get design ideas using PowerPoint Designer to adjust your design for visual appeal and design consistency.
Productivity Shortcuts
PowerPoint for the web primarily provides most of the features in the desktop app. Below are some tips and tricks for productivity when using the web version of PowerPoint. For some shortcuts listed below, PC users must use CTRL, whereas Mac users will use Command.
- Insert New Slide using CTRL+M hotkey (Command+M for Mac)
- Use F5 to start the slideshow and Esc to end the slideshow
- CTRL+D duplicates the slide (Command+D for Mac)
- CTRL+Shift+D deletes the slide (Command+Shift+D for Mac)
- Use CTRL+S to save slide (Command+S for Mac)
- Use CTRL+W to close the presentation (Command+W for Mac)
- To open printing options, use CTRL+P (Command+P for Mac)
- Zoom in with CTRL+Plus button (Command+Plus button for Mac)
- Zoom out with CTRL+Minus button (Command+Minus button for Mac)
- Insert a table with CTRL+T (Command+T for Mac)
- Insert a hyperlink with CTRL+K (Command+K for Mac)
- Align text with CTRL+L for left, CTRL+E for center, and CTRL+R for right (Replace CTRL with Command for Mac)
Troubleshooting Common Issues in PowerPoint Online
Screen Freezes When Working with PowerPoint for the Web
If your screen freezes while you’re working, the web version of PowerPoint is likely encountering an issue when saving the file, showing elements, or inserting content. You can wait a while, and the issue should be resolved. Also, check your Internet connection to see that you are connected. You might want to close additional tabs and review your system usage to see if your hardware is overwhelmed due to resource-intensive apps or multiple browser tabs.
Slide Elements Don’t Appear Properly
If your browser isn’t compatible or uses a browser plugin that blocks slide elements, you might encounter issues viewing slides. Use a compatible browser and turn off any plugins that might interfere with PowerPoint’s online interface.
File Upload or Download Issues
When you are unable to upload or download files, it is likely that your Internet connection is unstable or disconnected. Check your connection to resolve the issue.
Unable to Login
This is likely caused by incorrect credentials or a recent change in credentials, such as a password. If you cannot log in despite no apparent issues, try to clear your browser’s cache or switch to another browser to see if you can log in.
Conclusion
PowerPoint for the web provides most features available for the desktop version and some sharing and collaboration features that require uploading the file online for use. You will notice that some of these features are smoother when used with the online version compared to the desktop version. Furthermore, the online version of PowerPoint provides access regardless of whether you have PowerPoint installed on your device. If you are someone who does not have a Microsoft 365 subscription and needs to access a PowerPoint file, you can log in for free with a Microsoft account with limited features. Alternatively, if the online version is not an option for you, you can still learn how to create a PowerPoint presentation in the installed version of Office.
