Choosing multiple slides for efficient batch editing is key in Google Slides. This guide covers simple techniques to select several slides at once in your presentation, enabling convenient actions like mass-formatting or deleting groups of slides together. You will learn to select consecutive slides using Shift, individual ones with Ctrl/Cmd clicks, and visually pick slides in Normal view on desktop and mobile for quicker editing, copying or deleting than changing slides one by one.
How to Select Multiple Slides in Google Slides (Quick Ways)
Selecting multiple slides in Google Slides is key for efficient editing. Here are two quick methods to choose several slides simultaneously in your presentation.
Method 1: Use the Shift or Ctrl/Cmd Key
Step 1: Open your Google Slides presentation and switch to Normal view.
Step 2: Click on the first slide you want to select to highlight it.
Step 3: Hold the Shift key on your keyboard. Then click on the last slide in the group you want to select. This will highlight all the slides in between.
Alternatively, you can hold the Ctrl key (Cmd on Mac) and click on individual slides to select them.
After applying this method several times, you will find it incredibly quick and easy to implement. The ability to toggle the selection on or off for specific slides grants you the flexibility to apply changes only to the desired slides.
Tips:
Be cautious to refrain from deselecting the slides while scrolling through them unintentionally.
Method 2: Select all slides
Step 1: Click on any slide on the Slides panel.
Step 2: Go to Edit > Select all, or press Ctrl + A (or Cmd + A on MacOS) on the keyboard.
With this method, the user can easily and quickly choose all of the presentation slides at once, making it much more efficient to make any necessary adjustments.
How to Select Multiple Slides in Google Slides on Mobile
Unlike the desktop version, the Google Slides mobile app currently does not support selecting specific or non-contiguous slides.
By the time this article was written, you could only select and perform batch actions on all the slides using the mobile app. Follow these steps on Android or iOS:
Step 1: Launch Google Slides on your phone and open a presentation.
Step 2: Tap on the 3-dot menu in the top-right corner and turn off “Stream view”.
Step 3: Tap and hold a slide on the Slides panel.
Step 4: Tap the “Select all” button on the top-right corner.
Now, all the slides are selected.
How to Copy, Paste or Delete Multiple Slides in Google Slides
After selecting multiple slides using the methods above, here are the steps to copy, paste, or delete them in bulk:
Copy Multiple Slides
Step 1: Select all your desired slides using Shift/Ctrl/Cmd clicks.
Step 2: Click Edit > Copy from the Google Slides menu bar (Ctrl/Cmd + C). Alternatively, right-click and select Copy.
Step 3: Select the slide after which you want to paste the copied slides.
Step 4: Click Edit > Paste (Ctrl/Cmd + V) or right-click Paste.
This neatly pastes all selected slides after the current slide. It is very useful for duplicating slides while maintaining their sequence.
Delete Multiple Slides
Step 1: Select the slides you wish to remove using the selection methods above.
Step 2: Press Delete on your keyboard. Alternatively, right-click and select Delete slides.
All selected slides will be immediately deleted. This is perfect when you must mass-remove unwanted slides from inherited presentations.
Being able to copy-paste or delete several slides together saves much time compared to doing it individually. Double-check which slides are selected before pasting or deleting them to avoid accidentally overwriting slides.
Best Free Alternative - WPS Presentation
If you work with presentations regularly but find Google Slides limiting, try WPS Presentation instead. Developed by Chinese software giant Kingsoft, WPS Office is a free, fully compatible alternative to Microsoft Office.
What is WPS Office?
WPS Office consists of a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software with all the essential tools for daily office work. Some key features:
100% compatibility with Microsoft Office formats like .docx, xlsx and pptx. Easy collaboration across Office users.
Clean, intuitive interface optimized for Windows PCs. Limited bloat compared to heavyweight Office.
One of the features of AI technology is its ability to enhance the editing process, making it more efficient and effective.
Supports cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive and more for opening and saving files.
Packed with handy features like cross-platform compatibility, PDF conversion, document encryption, and more.
Completely free for personal and commercial use without limits, subscriptions or ads.
Thanks to Kingsoft's decade-long focus on office software, WPS Office offers a reliable, fast alternative to Microsoft Office and Google Workspace for your productivity needs.
Select Multiple Slides in WPS Presentation
Just like Google's tool, selecting various slides for batch editing is simple in WPS Presentation:
Step 1: Go into “Normal view” in your WPS Presentation.
Step 2: Click the first slide you want, then hold Shift while clicking the final slide to select the range. Alternatively, use Ctrl+click individual slides or Ctrl+A to select all slides.
WPS Presentation perfectly mirrors Microsoft PowerPoint functionality in a free package. With a streamlined Ribbon interface and classic toolbars, it is optimized for quickly managing presentations.
How to Download WPS Office
Getting the full-featured WPS Office suite with presentation software is easy:
Step 1: Go to the WPS Office download page at https://www.wps.com/download/
Step 2: Download for Windows or Mac OS by clicking “Free Download”.
Step 3: Open the WPS installation file and click "Install Now" to begin.
Step 4: After the installation, the WPS Office suite will automatically open up on your desktop.
Step 5: (Optional) Login with a WPS account to sync documents across devices.
And that's it! The installation process takes just minutes, making WPS Office accessible for any user level. Give WPS Presentation a try today for all your slideshow projects, school, work, or personal use. It offers a no-frills Microsoft PowerPoint alternative with all core functionality covered.
FAQs
What is the Slide Sorter view, and how can it help with slide selection?
The Slide Sorter view provides thumbnail previews of all slides within a Google Slides presentation. This bird's eye visual overview allows easy selection of multiple slides through their tickboxes. It is useful for quickly finding and selecting specific slides, even in huge decks.
How do I manage slide selection in a collaborative environment?
Google Slides has built-in support for simultaneous multi-user editing. Multiple collaborators can independently select and edit slides without override. Changes are synced for everyone in real time. Selecting slides will not disrupt other users. Strong collaborative abilities make Google Slides suitable for team projects.
Can I select slides across multiple Google Slides presentations at once?
Google Slides can't select multiple slides from different presentations at once. But, you can copy and paste slides from one file to another by opening them in separate browser tabs.
Summary
This tutorial covered simple methods like Shift selection and Slide Sorter view to choose several slides simultaneously on both desktop and mobile. Utilize batch editing features like copy, paste, and mass deletion on the selected slides to save hours when working on team presentations. For a full-featured yet free alternative, WPS Presentation offers exceptional compatibility with PowerPoint and multiple slide selections in a fast desktop app.
