Guides are great in Google Slides, and they have many uses. They can help you display text, format your charts, or show the reader where to look next in your slideshow presentation. You can add guides from the View menu and you’ll see that there are four types of guides to choose from; Horizontal guide, Vertical guide, Alignment guide, and Text box guide. Which one you choose depends on the situation, but we’ll talk about how to use them all anyway. How to Create Useful Guides in Google Slides
Choose Your Slide
Table of Contents
A great way to start creating a helpful guide is by choosing your slide carefully. Try not to overstuff your slide; it may end up being difficult for users to digest. If you want people reading your guide on mobile, choose an image-heavy slide and try to keep bullet points or text as minimal as possible. Alternatively, if you want users reading your guides on desktop, consider using a table with information organized into rows and columns. This can help present information logically and attractively.
Edit > Slide Layout
This menu allows you to choose from pre-set slide layouts or create your own. You can even share your new slide layouts with other people or use them for all of your slides. This layout is much simpler than having two separate layout options.
New Guide
Select Insert. This opens a sidebar where you can choose from many types of presentation components. On this slide, I’ll select Create a new guide. A box will appear with more options: I’ll choose Marker guides, which allows me to draw my own guides on each slide. Then I will select at least one point on my first slide and move it around until I like how it looks. And that is how to create useful guides in Google slides!
Set Origin To Center
To position an item at a fixed point on your slide—and keep it there as you move other objects around it—turn on Origin To Center, which is available by selecting More and then clicking Arrange. Once turned on, click-and-drag an object. A white X will appear at its center. As you move or resize, its center point will remain in place no matter where it’s moved or how big it becomes.
View > Guides > Lock Guides
The easiest way to create a guide is by using Lock Guides. Simply click on View > Guides > Lock Guides and drag your cursor along any guides you want to use as boundaries for your new one. As you do, they’ll turn into dashed lines. When you let go of your mouse button, your new guide will appear. Use it!