Google Slides is a presentation app often seen as a free alternative to PowerPoint. Just like PowerPoint templates, Google Slides templates provide a variety of slide designs and layouts that can help create professional presentations. However, unlike PowerPoint, you might find extracting images from Google Slides a little tricky. This is because, unlike PowerPoint, Google Slides does not directly enable saving images to a device via the right-click context menu.
How to Download Images from Google Slides
Since Google Slides does not enable directly downloading or saving images via the right-click context menu, you can use several other methods to save images from Google Slides. Below are a few methods that can be used for downloading, copying, and converting Google Slides to save images.
Method 1: Save and Download using Google Keep
Google Keep is a note-taking service that enables saving not only text-based notes but also attachments, including images. Since Google Keep comes integrated with the Google Suite, Google Slides can save images directly to Keep using the right-click context menu. Right-click and select Save to Keep to save an image from Google Slides.
This will save the image to Google Keep and allow you to add text to describe the image with a note optionally. This will be saved as a note online and synced across all devices where you have Google Keep installed. You can also access the image and note anytime by visiting keep.google.com and logging in with your Google account.
Once saved, the image can be accessed either from keep.google.com or the Google Keep app for your device (e.g., Android phones), or you can simply download it instantly from the right-sidebar in Google Slides via the Save image option available via the right-click menu.
The images saved to Google Keep can be easily saved to any device and extracted in their original format (e.g., JPEG or PNG).
Method 2: Copy Image from Google Slides to Another App
While you can’t directly download and save images from Google Slides, you can copy them to a compatible app such as PowerPoint. Simply select the image, followed by Copy via the right-click menu, or use CTRL/Command+C to copy the image.
Once copied, open another app, such as PowerPoint, and paste the image using the right-click menu or CTRL+Command+V.
Depending on the options available in the destination app, once pasted, you can adjust the image using drag and drop to resize it according to need.
Method 3: Download Google Slides to Another File Format
To extract and manipulate images from Google Slides or to use the slide in its standalone format, you can save it to another file format via File -> Download. Google Slides provides various formats for converting and downloading slides, including PowerPoint, ODP Document, PDF, JPEG, PNG, and SVG formats.
Google Slides to Image File Conversion
The below image shows an example of a slide from Google Slides saved in PNG image format, opened via an image viewing app. Using image editing applications, you can manipulate these images by cropping them, converting them to other file formats, and adding annotations.
Google Slides to Scalable Vector Graphics Format Conversion
The Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format is an XML-based format used in graphic design. SVG images are easy to scale according to need using high-end graphic design applications such as Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw. By converting your slides to SVG format, you can easily extract and manipulate images using these applications.
Google Slides to PowerPoint
One of the most commonly used formats for converting Google Slides files is the PPTX-based PowerPoint file format, which is compatible with the latest version of PowerPoint. You can download your Google Slides files to PowerPoint and easily extract images via the right-click menu or use them for PowerPoint slides.
Google Slides to PDF File Format
Another option to convert files to a supported file format is the print-friendly PDF format, which is easy to print documents and is commonly used for sharing files via email.
Method 4: Take a Screenshot or use a Screenshot App
Another method for quickly grabbing an image from Google Slides is to take a screenshot using the native screenshot options for your operating system or a screenshot tool.
Default Screenshot Options
Below is a list of default screenshot options for various devices:
- Windows and Linux: By default, you can take a screenshot using the Print Screen option in Windows or Linux and paste the screenshot into an app like Microsoft Paint, a Word processing app, a presentation app, etc.
- Mac: You can use the Shift+Command+3 hotkey on your Mac to screenshot your screen.
- ChromeOS: Press Shift+CTRL+Show to take a screenshot using ChromeOS.
- Android: Depending on your Phone’s settings, you can use the Power + Volume down buttons together to take a screenshot.
- iOS: If you’re using an iOS device such as an iPhone, you can take a screenshot of the top button to take a screenshot.
Note: Different operating systems and devices provide various hotkey options for taking screenshots of the whole screen, the active window, or a part of the screen.
Third-party Screenshot Apps
There are a number of third-party apps that can be used to take screenshots across different devices. Some famous apps include the following:
- Greenshot (Windows and Mac)
- Snagit (Windows and Mac)
- Shotty (Windows)
- Lightshot (Windows and Mac)
- Flameshot (Linux)
- Scrot (Linux)
- Screenshot Touch (Android and iOS)
- ScreenMaster (Android)
- Screenshot Easy (Android)
- Screenshot PRO Screenshots App (iOS)
Frequently Asked Questions
Downloading images from Google Slides can have a number of benefits, such as reusing them in other projects or documents, high-quality access to extracted images for use in other presentations, the ability to use images offline, to edit an image, to share the image with someone else, and to archive the image for official use.
Google Slides does not allow direct downloading of images using a native feature; however, you can save files and download them from Google Keep.
You can save files from Google Slides by saving and downloading them from Google Keep, copying files to another app such as PowerPoint, taking a screenshot, or converting and downloading Google Slides documents to another file format to extract images.
Google Slides provides file conversion and download in PPTX, JPEG, PNG, SVG, TXT, ODP, and PDF format.
Yes, images downloaded using Google Keep via Google Slides retain image transparency.
No. Annotations added to images will not be available when downloading them via Google Keep since the note-taking app might not recognize the additional element on top of the image (e.g., a text box). However, you can download images with annotations by converting them to another format or by taking screenshots.
No, multiple images cannot be downloaded from Google Slides simultaneously, as each image must be individually selected to be saved to Google Keep. However, you can convert files to another format, such as PowerPoint, or take screenshots to extract multiple images from Google Slides.
Image quality can be reduced for screenshots taken from Google Slides. This is why extracting images via Google Keep can be a better option to retain better image quality.
Suppose you are downloading an image via Google Keep. In that case, it will download the image in its original file format, whereas taking a screenshot will convert it to the supported image format by your device or screenshot tool. Similarly, images extracted via third-party apps might extract the image in its original file format (e.g., Google Slides to PowerPoint) or enable you to convert the downloaded file to another format (e.g., SVG to JPEG via Adobe Illustrator).
Final Words
At times, it is necessary to extract and save images from a presentation file. Many presenters need to extract diagrams and images for use in reports and other official documents, whereas extracting high-quality images can also be helpful in different presentations. Similarly, some presentation photos might be worthy of archiving for official records, where no other image record might be available. Similarly, one might need to extract images from Google Slides to share them with someone or make them available offline.
Unlike PowerPoint, saving images from Google Slides isn’t all that straightforward and requires a few workarounds. Nonetheless, Google Slides provides a few handy options for downloading pictures from slides. This includes saving them to Google Keep before downloading them, converting images to another file format, and copying them to paste the image to another app such as PowerPoint. You can also take screenshots using your device’s default screenshot key combination, built-in screenshot tool, or a third-party screenshot app.
