Uploading PowerPoint to Google Docs

Google Docs and Cloud Computing

Since Google Docs can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, it is said to be “in the cloud.” As more information gets put into the “cloud,” that frontier which soley rests online, more people are interested in getting their work “up there.” Access in the cloud allows users the flexiblity of having much of their work at their fingertips.

In many professions, PowerPoint presentations accessable in the cloud offer a dependable way of having them when you want without carrying around a DVD or flash drive and without using special programs to email large files using sites such as yousendit.com.

How to Upload a PowerPoint Presentation to Google Docs

PowerPoint projects are easily put into the cloud using Google Docs. If you have a slidshow with images and text, the job of putting it online

rests in a set of easy directions: sign in (or sign up) to Google Docs; click on Upload>Files; locate the file you want to upload; click on Start Upload. In the dialog box that comes up, check Convert documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and drawings to the corresponding Google Docs format and Confirm settings before each upload. If you don’t check the former, you won’t be able to make changes to your presentation.

In a few moments your PowerPoint presentation will be converted to an editable Google Docs presentation with an link placed Google Docs Home Page. If you don’t check “Convert documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and drawings to the corresponding Google Docs format” your presentation will remain in an uneditable PowerPoint format.

Limit File Size

When you click on the name of the presentation file on the Google Docs Home page, it will open. After it does you can edit the text and images.

Sound and video files will not work. They should be deleted before uploading so you keep your file size low, as there is a 10 MB limit to the size of the file that you can upload.

Also, note the number of presentations you are saving in Google Docs. The free plan allows only 1GB of storage. You’ll have to fork out $5 a year if you want 20GB and $100 for 400GB. Any more than that and you’ll be paying some pretty hefty prices.

Public vs Private

One convenient aspect of uploading PowerPoint presentation to Google Docs is that you can make your presentations available for anyone to view or keep them private. The default setting is “Private.”

To set the option to “Public on the web,” click on “Settings” in the Sharing menu, which is located in the bottom right part of the Home Page. A “Sharing settings” dialog box will appear. Click on the “Change” link on the right side of the dialog box. You can click on one of three choices: “Public on the web,” “Anyone with the link,” or “Private.” To make the presentation available to anyone on the Internet, click on “Public on the Web.”

If you want only people you select to have access, then click on “Anyone with the Link” and send them the link in an email or IM. Note that if you select “Anyone with the link,” Google won’t index the link, which will cause it not be listed in a Google search.

Below the three accessiblity choices, there is the option “Allow anyone to edit.” It’s best to leave that unchecked if you want your presentation to remain in your control.

Email Notification

Another plus for Google Docs is that you can automatically send email notifications for people to access your presentation from the dialog box. In order to do this, click “Settings,” just as you would to make the presentation public. This time, though, don’t click on “Change.” Instead, type the email addresses you want to send the presentation to.If an address is recognized from your gmail account, it will appear, so you can click on it, instead of typing it in.

In the box below the list of email addresses, there is an message box so that you can send a message with the link to the presentation. When you use this method to send your presentation to specific people, no link is given that you can send to people in your own email or IM.

Accessing the PowerPoint Online

When people click on the link to your PowerPoint or Google Doc presentation, it comes up on a screen where they can change slides by clicking on forward and backward facing arrow icons. They will not be able to alter your presentation because you had sent it in an uneditable form.

If you have made the presentation public, people will be able to type in its title into the Google searchbar and, if the topic is popular with not much of anything like it already on the Internet, there is a possiblity that it could come up in the first page of a Google listing.

References

Screenshot provided by author

Getting to Know Google Docs–Size Limits, https://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=37603

Uploading Files and Folders Into Google Docs, https://docs.google.com/support/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1247871&rd=1

Author’s Own Experience