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Google Slides adds an annoying amount of compression on my imported images. I want to avoid compression so I want to upload my schematics in a vector format. I can basically export to any vector format possible.

How do I do this in Google Slides?

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10
  • I can't get any vector formats to work - tried SVG, and EMF, but Sheets only seems to only support png, gif, and jpeg. Try exporting your graphic as a PNG, and use that. PNGs are lossless, so compression shouldn't be an issue.
    – Billy Kerr
    Oct 8, 2018 at 10:53
  • .PNG doesn't seem to look any better unfortunately :(
    – Gerlof Leuhof
    Oct 8, 2018 at 14:07
  • I just noticed a mistake. I confused Slides with Sheets, I'm talking about Google Slides. Sorry for the confusion
    – Gerlof Leuhof
    Oct 8, 2018 at 14:16
  • Apparently you can import a emf to google draw and then move that to Slides
    – joojaa
    Oct 8, 2018 at 14:25
  • 1
    @Billy thanks for the insights, unfortunately that is not an option since our business is required to use Google Slides. Thank you anyway for this option
    – Gerlof Leuhof
    Oct 9, 2018 at 7:03

5 Answers 5

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25

This method works flawlessly for me.

  1. Upload your images/icons to Google Drive

  2. Open it with CloudConvert

    • Choose export format : vector / emf.
    • Make sure that you have the checkbox to save the converted file to your Google Drive enter image description here
    • Click on button Start conversion.

  3. Open emf file with Google Drawing

  4. Copy/paste SVG icon into your Slides.

    • you can modify the colors as you wish, add or remove shapes

enter image description here

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  • 1
    Thanks! Are you sure it's not pasted as a bitmap? Even when more complex schematics with a font are pasted?
    – Gerlof Leuhof
    Oct 10, 2018 at 11:49
  • 12
    Thank you for this very detailed and useful technique. Embarrassing that Google Slides still doesn't natively support SVGs in 2019, but at least there is this workaround.
    – Dan Kohn
    Apr 20, 2019 at 1:24
  • 2
    This trick does not seem to work anymore ...
    – Arkeen
    Jun 29, 2019 at 15:09
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    The method works flawlessly, I just did it. Make sure you login to your google drive account in cloudconvert.com/svg-to-emf As soon as the file is ready, click on "Show File" and in the GDrive preview window choose Google Drive. Presto.
    – MaDDoX
    Oct 29, 2019 at 3:55
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    3. Convert the vector graphic using CloudConvert, download it and reupload it to Google Drive. Inspecting the downloaded file, CloudConvert also uses Inkscape to convert the file. However, Google Drive only provides the option to open it with Google Drawing for a file that was placed in your drive by CloudConvert!
    – f0k
    Nov 28, 2019 at 10:29
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As of Apr 4th 2020, I just found an easier offline solution for this issue, especially if you have the shape already in PowerPoint.

  1. Just copy the shape(s) to a new PowerPoint presentation and save it as a .ppt file.
  2. Upload it to Drive. The uploaded file will open in Slides and the shape(s) will maintain their vector properties.
  3. Copy the shapes from the new Slides document into the one you were working on.
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  • 1
    This method would have worked fine back in 2018 in fac it would have worked earlier too.
    – joojaa
    Apr 6, 2020 at 13:10
  • 4
    As of June 2021, this is the only method worked for me. SVG/EMF/WMF all failed due to "Unsupported image format".
    – xmo
    Jun 8, 2021 at 22:57
  • Does this method only work with .ppt and not .pptx? .pptx seems to have rasterized the vector in Slides.
    – Tom Roggero
    Jan 11 at 23:25
2

As of Nov 25th 2020, I just tried the old way to open a .ppt with Google slides and the .SVG will become a .jpge in Google slides. Somehow I cannot convert .svg into smart shapes in PowerPoint, and that's why it won't work in google slides.

I find another way, which is to upload the target SVG file to Google Drive, as a regular file. Install "CloudConvert" into Google Drive, and give it permission to read all your documents (scary! Click on the SVG file, and right-click to send to CloudConvert. Convert to "EMF" format and (this is crucial) save back to Google Drive, and open EMF to Google Drawings. And select the target in Google Drawing and copy it into Google Slides.

I think for now this is the only way to insert svg into Google slides.

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  • 4
    Is 2022 and to be honest, I would be embarrassed to work for the team that does the slides. Not supporting the safe and standard SVG is mindblowing.
    – sorin
    Sep 16, 2022 at 16:18
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As of 2023 nothing of this works. If you can create a PPTX file, you can put your SVGs inside and open it with Google Slides. Then copy-paste the images in your own presentation.

I used FreeOffice, Libreoffice file didn't work.

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1
  • Thanks for taking the time to contribute!
    – Zach Saucier
    Jun 27 at 16:52
0
  1. Download inkscape
  2. Convert the svg to a png: inkscape in.svg --export-type=png -o out.png -h HEIGHT -w WIDTH
  3. Drag and drop the png into the slide

Note: I have only tested the command provided on linux, not sure about Windows or other Unix based OS

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2
  • png is not a vector format.
    – Konrad Höffner
    Jun 13 at 11:12
  • @KonradHöffner Most of the times I just needed the svg to be imported into slides, mainly icons. You can set the width and height of the png to a crazy amount and scale it down in google slides, with no noticeable loss in resolution unlike those online svg2png converters, which dont allow you set a height resulting in a very noticeable resolution drop off. If you really want an SVG I am sure you can follow the other answers, albeit with more hassle
    – Anm
    Jun 14 at 9:20

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