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How To Import PowerPoint Slides Into Canva Tutorial For Beginners

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How To Import PowerPoint Slides Into Canva

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Welcome to our FAQ Section on Importing PowerPoint Slides into Canva

Navigating new software can often be a daunting task, especially when it involves integrating work from other platforms. That’s why we’ve compiled a detailed and beginner-friendly FAQ section to guide you through the process of importing PowerPoint slides into Canva. Whether you’re a seasoned professional looking to add a creative twist to your presentations or a newcomer eager to explore the realms of digital design, these FAQs are tailored to provide you with step-by-step instructions, practical tips, and real-life examples.

In this section, you’ll find answers to a wide range of questions, from basic procedures like uploading and editing your slides in Canva, to more advanced techniques such as customizing with animations, maintaining brand consistency , and collaborating effectively with your team. Each FAQ is designed to not only give you the information you need but also to inspire you to explore the full potential of your presentations in Canva’s dynamic and user-friendly environment.

Remember, every great design journey starts with a single step. So, whether you’re encountering Canva for the first time or looking to refine your existing skills, these FAQs are here to assist you every step of the way. Let’s dive into the world of creative possibilities together!

Answer: To begin importing PowerPoint slides into Canva, first, you need to have an account on Canva . If you don’t have one, simply visit Canva’s website and sign up for free. Once you’ve logged in, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Homepage : On the Canva homepage, you’ll find various design options. Look for the “Create a design” button, usually located at the top right corner.

Choose a Design Type : Since you’re working with PowerPoint slides, select a design type that matches your content. For typical slides, “Presentation” is a good choice. Clicking on it will open a new design page.

Upload Your PowerPoint File : On the new design page, locate the “Uploads” tab on the left-hand side panel. Click on it, and then select the “Upload an image or video” button. From here, you can upload your PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx).

Example : Imagine you have a PowerPoint presentation on ‘Healthy Eating Habits’. After selecting ‘Presentation’ as your design type, you upload your PowerPoint file. Once uploaded, you will see your slides appear in the uploads section.

Adding Slides to Your Design : Drag and drop each slide onto your canvas. You can edit, resize, or embellish them with Canva’s editing tools.

Real-Life Example : Let’s say you have a PowerPoint presentation on ‘Gardening Tips’. After uploading your file, you see your slide about ‘Seasonal Planting’ in the uploads panel. You drag it onto the canvas and decide to add some flair with Canva’s graphics and text styles, making your slide more visually appealing.

Answer: Editing imported PowerPoint slides in Canva is straightforward and offers a range of creative possibilities. Here’s how you can do it:

Select the Slide : Once you’ve imported your PowerPoint slides (as mentioned in FAQ 1), click on the slide you want to edit on the canvas.

Edit Text : Click on any text in the slide to edit. You can change the font style, size, color, and alignment using the text editing toolbar at the top.

Add Elements : To add more flair to your slides, explore Canva’s “Elements” tab. You can add shapes, lines, icons, or even animations to make your slide more engaging.

Adjust Background : If you wish to change the background, click on the background and select a new color or pattern. Canva also offers a range of preset backgrounds that you can use.

Example : You’re working on a slide about ‘Watering Plants’. You decide to change the font to something more playful, add an icon of a watering can from the Elements tab, and change the background to a light green to complement the gardening theme.

Use Templates for Inspiration : If you’re unsure how to start editing, browse through Canva’s vast library of templates for ideas.

Real-Life Example : Imagine your slide on ‘Herb Gardening’ looks a bit plain. You decide to add a border from the elements section, change the font to ‘Poppins’ for a modern look, and replace the background with a herbal pattern from Canva’s library, transforming the slide into a visually appealing masterpiece.

Answer: Once you’ve finished editing your PowerPoint slides in Canva, saving and sharing your work is a breeze. Follow these steps:

Save Your Design : It’s crucial to regularly save your work. Canva autosaves your design, but you can also manually save it by clicking on “File” and then “Save” in the top menu.

Download the Presentation : To download your presentation, click on the “Download” button in the top right corner. You can choose different formats like PDF, JPG, or PowerPoint (PPTX). For compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint, select PPTX.

Share Directly : Canva also allows you to share your designs directly. Click on the “Share” button, and you can share via email, get a shareable link, or even present your slides live.

Example : After finalizing your presentation on ‘Indoor Plants’, you click on “Download” and select PPTX format. This allows you to open and present it in Microsoft PowerPoint if needed.

Collaborate with Others : If you’re working in a team, use the “Share” button to invite others to view or edit the presentation. You can set permissions for each collaborator.

Real-Life Example : Suppose you’re working on a project about ‘Urban Gardening’. After completing your slides in Canva, you share the presentation with your team members for feedback. You send them a link with edit permissions, allowing them to add their input directly in Canva.

Answer: Importing specific slides from a PowerPoint presentation into Canva requires a small workaround since Canva does not directly allow selective slide imports. Here’s how you can do it:

Prepare Your PowerPoint File : Open your PowerPoint presentation and choose the slides you want to import. You can save these specific slides as a separate PowerPoint file.

Upload to Canva : Follow the upload process as described in FAQ 1. Instead of uploading the entire presentation, upload the file containing only your selected slides.

Editing and Use : Once uploaded, these slides can be edited and used just like any other image or graphic in Canva.

Example : You have a 20-slide presentation on ‘Basic Photography’ but only want to import slides 5, 6, and 7 about ‘Camera Settings’. Save these slides as a separate file and upload this file to Canva.

Real-Life Example : Imagine you’re preparing a presentation on ‘World Cuisines’ and only want to include the Italian cuisine slides from a larger deck. Save the Italian cuisine slides separately, upload them to Canva, and then integrate them into your new Canva design .

Answer: Maintaining the quality of PowerPoint slides when importing them into Canva is crucial for a professional-looking presentation. Here are some tips:

Use High-Quality Images : Ensure that the images in your PowerPoint slides are of high resolution to avoid pixelation when uploaded to Canva.

Proper File Format : Save your PowerPoint slides in a format that preserves quality, like PNG or PDF, before uploading to Canva.

Avoid Over-Editing : While Canva provides various editing tools, over-editing can sometimes reduce the quality of your slides. Use edits sparingly and focus on enhancing rather than completely altering.

Example : If your slide on ‘Basic Yoga Poses’ includes high-quality images, ensure they are saved in a high-resolution format before uploading to Canva to maintain clarity.

Real-Life Example : Consider a PowerPoint presentation on ‘Space Exploration’. To maintain the quality of your detailed images of planets, save the slides in PNG format before uploading to Canva. This ensures that the images remain crisp and clear in your Canva presentation .

Answer: Yes, you can enhance your imported PowerPoint slides with Canva’s vast library of design elements. Here’s how:

Import Your Slides : Follow the steps from FAQ 1 to upload your PowerPoint slides into Canva.

Access Design Elements : Click on the “Elements” tab on the left-hand side of the Canva interface. Here, you can find a variety of graphics, shapes, icons, and even videos.

Drag and Drop Elements : Simply drag and drop any element onto your slide. You can resize and position these elements as per your design needs.

Blend with Existing Design : You can make these elements blend seamlessly with your slide’s existing design by matching colors and styles.

Example : On a slide about ‘Renewable Energy’, you might add an icon of a wind turbine from Canva’s elements, placing it next to your existing content to emphasize the point.

Real-Life Example : If you’re working on a presentation about ‘Healthy Eating’, you can import your slides and then use Canva’s elements to add colorful icons of fruits and vegetables, making the slides more visually engaging and informative.

Answer: Optimizing PowerPoint slides for Canva’s format ensures that your presentation looks great and is compatible with Canva’s design capabilities. Here’s how to do it:

Standardize Slide Size : Before importing, ensure your PowerPoint slides are in a standard size compatible with Canva, such as 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio.

Reduce Text Overload : Canva is visual-focused. If your PowerPoint slides are text-heavy, consider condensing the text or breaking it into smaller, more visually digestible chunks.

Use High-Resolution Images : Ensure all images in your PowerPoint are high resolution to avoid pixelation when viewed on Canva.

Simplify Complex Charts or Graphs : If your slides have complex charts or graphs, consider simplifying them or using Canva’s elements to recreate them for better visual appeal.

Example : For a slide with a complex bar graph on ‘Market Trends’, you might recreate the graph using Canva’s chart feature, making it more visually engaging and in tune with your design’s overall aesthetic.

Real-Life Example : Imagine you have a presentation on ‘Global Tourism Trends’. Before importing to Canva, adjust the slides to a 16:9 aspect ratio, simplify detailed graphs, and ensure all images are of high quality to ensure a smooth transition into Canva’s format.

Answer: Adding animations to PowerPoint slides in Canva is a great way to make your presentation more dynamic and engaging. Here’s how:

Upload Your Slides : After importing your PowerPoint slides into Canva (as detailed in FAQ 1), select the slide you want to animate.

Choose Animations : Click on any text box or element you wish to animate. Then, click the “Animate” button on the top toolbar to see a range of animation options.

Apply and Customize Animations : Choose an animation style and apply it to your text or elements. You can also adjust the duration and intensity of the animation.

Example : For a slide about ‘Healthy Eating Habits’, you might add a subtle ‘fade’ animation to the text and a ‘rise’ animation to an image of fruits and vegetables, bringing the slide to life.

Real-Life Example : Suppose you’re enhancing a slide about ‘The Water Cycle’. You could apply a ‘pan’ animation to the background to create a sense of motion, and a ‘pop’ animation to text boxes to draw attention to key facts.

Answer: Collaboration is one of Canva’s strengths, and it’s straightforward to collaborate on presentations that include imported PowerPoint slides. Here’s how:

Upload and Design Your Slides : After importing your PowerPoint slides into Canva, proceed with any edits or additions as required.

Invite Collaborators : Click on the “Share” button in the top right corner of the Canva interface. Enter the email addresses of your collaborators or copy the shareable link.

Set Permissions : Choose whether collaborators can view or edit the presentation. This is important to control the level of access each collaborator has.

Collaborate in Real-Time : Collaborators can add comments, make edits, and even design simultaneously if they have editing permissions.

Example : If you’re working on a slide about ‘Sustainable Living’, you can invite team members to add their input, suggest design changes, or contribute additional content directly in Canva.

Real-Life Example : Imagine preparing a presentation on ‘Innovations in Technology’. You can collaborate with colleagues who may add slides on different innovations, provide feedback, or enhance the design, all within Canva’s platform, streamlining the workflow.

Answer: Combining multiple PowerPoint presentations into a single Canva design can be a great way to consolidate information. Here’s how to do it:

Upload Multiple Presentations : Following the steps from FAQ 1, upload each PowerPoint file you wish to combine into Canva.

Create a New Canva Design : Choose a suitable design type in Canva (like “Presentation”) to serve as your base for the combined slides.

Drag and Drop Slides : From the uploads section, drag and drop slides from your various presentations onto your Canva canvas. You can arrange them in any order you prefer.

Edit and Integrate : Once all slides are on the canvas, edit them for consistency in style, fonts, and colors to ensure a cohesive design across all slides.

Example : If you’re combining presentations on ‘Fundamentals of Marketing’ and ‘Digital Marketing Trends’, import both presentations and then arrange the slides in a logical order, editing for style consistency.

Real-Life Example : Suppose you’re creating a comprehensive guide on ‘Personal Finance’. You can import slides from separate presentations on budgeting, saving, investing, and retirement planning into Canva, and then integrate them into a single, cohesive presentation.

Answer: Proper text formatting is key to ensuring that your imported PowerPoint slides look professional and are easy to read in Canva. Here are some best practices:

Consistent Font Use : Stick to 2-3 fonts throughout your presentation for consistency. Canva offers a wide range of fonts to choose from.

Hierarchy and Size : Establish a clear hierarchy in your text (headings, subheadings, body text) and adjust the size for readability.

Contrast and Color : Ensure there is good contrast between your text and the background. Use colors that complement your overall design and are easy on the eyes.

Spacing and Alignment : Use appropriate spacing and alignment for a clean and organized look. Canva provides alignment tools for precise positioning.

Example : In a slide about ‘Effective Communication Skills’, you might use a bold font for headings, a contrasting color for key points, and align your text left for a professional and clear layout.

Real-Life Example : For a presentation on ‘Healthy Eating’, you can format the titles in a bold, eye-catching font, use a softer color for body text, and ensure each slide is uniformly aligned to create a visually appealing and informative presentation.

Answer: Maintaining your brand’s consistency when importing PowerPoint slides into Canva is crucial for a professional appearance. Here’s how to achieve this:

Use Brand Colors : Canva allows you to add custom colors. Ensure you use your brand’s color palette for text, backgrounds, and elements.

Incorporate Logos and Watermarks : Upload your brand’s logo and use it on each slide. You can also create a watermark for added brand presence.

Consistent Fonts and Styles : If your brand uses specific fonts, try to find similar ones in Canva or upload custom fonts if you have a Canva Pro account.

Templates and Themes : Utilize templates and themes in Canva that resonate with your brand’s aesthetic. You can customize these to better fit your brand.

Example : For a company presentation on ‘Innovative Business Solutions’, use your corporate colors, add your logo in the corner of each slide, and choose a template that reflects a modern, innovative style.

Real-Life Example : If your business specializes in eco-friendly products, you can import your PowerPoint slides into Canva and then adjust the design to include your green and earthy brand colors, add your logo, and use a clean, nature-inspired template for consistency.

Answer: If you need to convert your Canva presentation back to a PowerPoint format after editing or combining slides, follow these steps:

Complete Your Design : Make sure your presentation is finalized in Canva, with all edits and additions completed.

Download in PowerPoint Format : Click on the “Download” button at the top right corner of the Canva interface. From the dropdown menu, select the PowerPoint format (PPTX).

Check the Downloaded File : Open the downloaded file in Microsoft PowerPoint to ensure all slides and elements have been correctly converted and are displaying as intended.

Example : After finalizing a presentation on ‘Global Warming’, download it in PowerPoint format to share with colleagues who might prefer viewing it in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Real-Life Example : Suppose you’ve created a training presentation in Canva with interactive elements and custom designs. When you need to present it in a setting that requires PowerPoint, simply download the Canva presentation in PPTX format, ensuring all your creative efforts are preserved in the conversion.

Answer: Yes, Canva allows you to enhance your PowerPoint slides with multimedia elements such as video and audio. Here’s how to do it:

Import Your PowerPoint Slides : Once your slides are uploaded to Canva, select the slide you want to enhance.

Add Video or Audio : Click on the “Uploads” tab and upload your video or audio files. Then, drag and drop them onto the selected slide.

Customize Media : Resize and reposition your video or audio player on the slide. You can also trim video clips directly in Canva.

Example : For a slide on ‘The Evolution of Music’, add a short video clip of a famous music concert or an audio snippet of a classical composition to make your point more impactful.

Real-Life Example : Imagine enhancing a presentation on ‘Modern Architecture’ with a time-lapse video of a building construction. This multimedia addition can make your slide more engaging and provide a real-world context to your topic.

Answer: Creating interactive elements in Canva for your PowerPoint slides can greatly increase engagement. Here are some steps to do so:

Import Slides and Select : After importing your PowerPoint slides into Canva, select the slide you want to make interactive.

Use Hyperlinks : Canva allows you to add hyperlinks to text or elements. This can direct viewers to external resources for more information.

Incorporate Questions or Polls : Although direct interactivity like quizzes isn’t natively supported in Canva, you can design slides with questions or polls and manually navigate them during a presentation.

Example : On a slide about ‘Nutritional Diets’, include a hyperlink to a detailed article or a designed question for audience interaction during a live presentation.

Real-Life Example : In a business strategy presentation, you could create a slide with a question like “Which market should we target next?” and include hyperlinked options. During the presentation, clicking these links could reveal more information or market analysis.

Answer: Canva’s templates can be a great starting point or enhancement for your imported PowerPoint slides. Here’s how to utilize them effectively:

Choose a Template : After importing your PowerPoint slides, browse Canva’s template library. Select a template that aligns with the theme or style of your presentation.

Apply Template to Slides : You can apply the template to your entire presentation or select individual slides. Drag and drop elements from the template onto your imported slides.

Customize the Template : Adjust the template elements – like colors, fonts, and images – to match the style of your PowerPoint slides for a cohesive look.

Example : If your PowerPoint presentation is about ‘Art History’, choose a template with a classic or artistic theme and apply these design elements to your slides.

Real-Life Example : For a corporate presentation on ‘Business Growth Strategies’, select a professional-looking template from Canva and apply its style elements (like icons, color schemes, and text boxes) to your PowerPoint slides to enhance their visual appeal.

Answer: While importing PowerPoint slides into Canva offers many creative possibilities, there are some limitations to be aware of:

Animation and Transition Limits : PowerPoint-specific animations and transitions may not be preserved or available in Canva.

Font Compatibility : Some custom fonts used in PowerPoint may not be available in Canva, requiring substitutions.

Slide Aspect Ratio : Canva may not support all PowerPoint slide sizes, potentially requiring adjustments to the slide layout.

Interactive Elements : Advanced interactive elements like embedded quizzes or complex hyperlinks in PowerPoint may not function identically in Canva.

Example : If your PowerPoint slide has a complex transition effect, it might not be replicated in Canva and may need a simpler alternative.

Real-Life Example : In a PowerPoint presentation with custom fonts and intricate animations for a product launch, these elements might need adjustments or alternatives when imported into Canva to maintain the presentation’s effectiveness.

Answer: Importing custom fonts from PowerPoint to Canva can be done, but it requires a few steps:

Check Canva’s Font Library : First, see if the font used in your PowerPoint is available in Canva’s extensive font library.

Upload Custom Fonts : If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload custom fonts. Go to the “Brand Kit” section and upload your font files.

Apply Fonts to Slides : Once uploaded, these fonts can be applied to your text in the imported PowerPoint slides.

Example : If your PowerPoint uses a specific font for branding purposes, upload that font to Canva (provided you have the rights and a Pro account) to maintain brand consistency.

Real-Life Example : For a marketing agency presenting a branding strategy , maintaining brand consistency with specific fonts is crucial. By uploading these custom fonts to Canva, you ensure that your presentation remains on-brand even after transitioning from PowerPoint.

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Home Blog Design How to Use Canva and PowerPoint for Presentations

How to Use Canva and PowerPoint for Presentations

Creating the perfect presentation design is a challenge that speakers often aim to achieve, only to find themselves lacking graphic design knowledge. Although high-tier options like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator help users worldwide to put their ideas into pixels, the reality is they are not user-friendly interfaces for people outside the graphic design industry, namely business professionals, marketers, and educators. Hence, the need to find an alternative for making powerful graphics to use in our presentations – and here’s where Canva comes into the picture.

This web-based graphic design tool has quickly become the preferred choice of teachers, social media influencers, and small business owners due to its free-tier plans and pro plans at a convenient subscription-based fee. 

In this article, we will see how to use Canva presentation in PowerPoint and how to export Canva to PPT, to create visually appealing presentations.

Table of Contents

Canva vs. Microsoft PowerPoint: Pros and Cons for Presenters

Designing with canva, how to export a canva presentation to powerpoint, how to use canva-made graphics in powerpoint, final words.

Although presenters often see Canva as an alternative to PowerPoint, the reality is that they differ in one single aspect: Canva is a graphic design tool, whereas PowerPoint is a presentation design software. Some of the tools available in PowerPoint are not there in Canva, and vice versa.

Going into more technical aspects, here are the Pros and Cons of working with either software as a presenter.

Pros of Canva as a Presentation Tool

User-friendly interface.

Canva’s drag-and-drop feature makes it easy for non-designers to create presentations by using its library of shapes, graphics, text styles, and other resources.

Wide Range of Templates

It offers a vast library of Canva templates, which can be easily customized in their online editor, saving time on design. There’s a con associated with this point, which we shall discuss later.

Magic Studio for Canva was released mid-Q3 this year with the idea of powering designs with AI tools. This tool is available in Canva search features and in the editor at the bottom right corner, which features the list options:

• AI text generation
• Suggested graphics to match your design
• Suggested photos to match your design

Collaboration Feature

Allows multiple users to simultaneously work on the same presentation, which is great for small team projects. Compared with PowerPoint, it does not require all users to be Premium to collaborate online.

Web-Based Platform

Being an online platform, it allows users to work from any device with Internet access without needing software installation. This particularly helps users with legacy computers who cannot install current versions of Microsoft Office. 

Integrated Stock Library

Provides access to a broad selection of stock photos, illustrations, and icons within the platform. Just like with the Canva templates, there’s also a con to this point.

Customization Options

Users can upload images and fonts, enabling brand consistency across presentations. Note: The upload fonts feature is only available for Canva Pro users.

Photo Editing and Animation Features

Canva lets users tweak their graphics with simple-to-use controls. These options help us to adjust opacity, apply photo filters, add animation effects, add bevels and shadows, and more.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Can export presentations to various formats (as a PDF document, as a video presentation in MP4 format, or even as images), making them viewable on different devices and platforms. The export options allow us to post directly into social media, create printables, post to the web, etc. While some export formats require an upgrade to a Canva Pro subscription (like the ability to export to SVG format), the basic export features are enough for simple presentations and beginners.

Cons of Canva as a Presentation Tool

Limited offline functionality.

Requires an internet connection for full functionality, which can be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity, for business people working on an airline flight, while using Airplane mode, or for people traveling in other zones without Internet access.

Fewer Animation and Transition Options

Unlike PowerPoint, the available options for animations and transitions are limited. Users can find this reiterative, which may be unappealing to using these effects in our presentations. 

Premium Content

Although the Canva library is extensive in terms of assets, the reality is that most of these elements are only available for premium users. This applies to templates, shapes, images (mostly), and exporting options. Resizing the graphics you create in Canva to repurpose your design is only available to premium users.

Template Overuse

Popular templates can be overused, making presentations look similar to many others. This is of particular interest to business professionals, as people tend to easily associate some designs as being made with Canva.

Design Decisions

Unlike using a PowerPoint template , you have to work your way with Canva content, as the PPT templates tend to be quite generic and do not offer tools for data representation. Consequently, you have to know how and where to introduce those elements on your own rather than working with a presentation template that already assigned the space for such graphics.

Lack of Advanced Multimedia Integration

Integrating complex multimedia elements like videos is not as seamless as in some desktop applications. You won’t find options to link to source elements; you need to upload the content to your personal Canva library and manually add the resource to the slide. Presenters can also lose third-party integrations via plugins for some multimedia resources.

Pros of PowerPoint as a Presentation Tool

Widespread use and familiarity.

PowerPoint is the leading market tool for presentations, making most audiences and presenters are familiar with it at a basic operational level. This can help us to outsource technical issues quickly rather than aiming to use web-based interfaces to share Canva-created content.

Offline Access

PowerPoint can be used offline, which is ideal for people traveling, areas where the Internet connection is unreliable, or simply because we want to focus on creating the slides rather than facing distractions via the Internet.

Integration with Other Microsoft Office Tools

Seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products like Excel and Word, making it easy to import data and documents. This is ideal for creating complex graphics for data representation, where the content can be synced, importing databases, working with Gantt Charts in software like Microsoft Project, and more.

Also, Microsoft PowerPoint has the same text editing capabilities as Microsoft Word – a striking contrast with Canva’s limited features.

Templates and Design Options

This is PowerPoint’s forte: the capability of using third-party presentation templates, like the ones provided by SlideModel . Users can buy pre-designed slide decks from professional vendors and ease the need to make design-related decisions. On top of that, Microsoft already includes some basic templates with its 365 subscription.

Advanced Features

Offers a broad range of features, including detailed animations and transitions, which can enhance presentations. For example, the ability to work with SVG graphics allows presentation designers to make pixel-perfect presentations without losing image quality. This is available to all users, unlike Canva, which requires a subscription to unlock certain elements.

Multimedia Capabilities

Supports embedding of various multimedia elements like audio, video, and images directly into presentations. You can use hyperlinks to embed content or work with third-party plugins for specific tasks.

Extensive Support and Resources

As a long-established tool, users can find tutorials everywhere, support communities, and additional resources available online.

Cons of PowerPoint for Presenters

Some features can be complex to use, and the interface may be overwhelming for new users. In particular, this is linked to editing PowerPoint Shapes and graphs, working with Slide Master , applying advanced animation effects and so on.

Unlike Canva or Google Slides, PowerPoint requires purchasing Office 365 or a standalone license.

Heavy Files

PowerPoint files, especially those with multimedia content, can become large and difficult to share via email. As a side effect, those heavy files can be complicated to handle in computers that lack sufficient RAM and processing power. Moreover, they require significant free disk space on your PC.

Time-Consuming

Creating a high-quality presentation with custom animations and graphics can be time-consuming. That’s the reason why we highly recommend users work their way with PowerPoint templates, and mix and match designs to create a unique slide deck .

Learning Curve

Users need to invest time in learning the software to fully utilize its advanced features. This applies to both acquiring the knowledge and practicing the skills you learned. And still, for some users, it feels frustrating not to achieve results relatively quickly. 

In this section, we will learn how to use Canva to create graphics for a product presentation. The idea is to create placeholder graphics containing images of a product; then, we will export that content to continue creating our presentation in PowerPoint.

After creating our Canva account, we find ourselves at the Home screen. Go to Templates, and you will see something similar to this UI. 

We can go straight to the Presentations (16:9) option or use the search bar to locate the template we want. In this case, we will opt for that scenario and search “Product.”

The images that show a little crown at the low right corner are premium templates, which means we cannot use them with a free account. We will pick a template that fits the needs of our presentation by clicking over it. At the contextual window that opens, select Customize this template .

The Canva builder may take a bit to load, especially if your internet connection is slow. You will find yourself with a window like this one, opened at the Design tab, which offers alternatives for other templates similar to the one you chose.

The Styles tab allows us to quickly change the layout, altering color themes and fonts. Sometimes, that can suit our needs immediately; sometimes, it requires extra work to customize to our preferences.

We can click on any element in this design and customize its content. Depending on the element type, the options are available for us. For this presentation, we will change the text and images, and alter font color at the button to make it stand out.

Next, it’s time to replace the images. We can drag and drop the image into Canva, or we can go to the Uploads button and add the content from there.

In this case, we’re using DALL-E-generated images for this product presentation, you can also use illustrations, photos, videos, or Midjourney illustrations . Once the images are uploaded, drag and drop them to replace the images in the placeholder areas. To complete this design, we removed the shape that came with the template – you can add a new shape by going to Elements > Graphics .

Learning how to use Canva for PowerPoint is pretty straightforward. Download your Canva design as a PowerPoint presentation, which you can do by accessing your design and going to the top-right corner to locate the button Share . Click on it, and then click on Download .

Under File Type , we will select PPTX , as it’s PowerPoint’s native format. Click on Download , and wait for the process of downloading the file to be completed. Depending on the graphic assets included, it can take a while.

At this point, don’t be surprised if you’ll be prompted to upgrade your Canva plan (if you don’t have a premium account). The reason is that Canva will charge you for exporting what they call premium graphics, and since most of the Canva presentation templates use premium graphics, this will be a limitation when exporting your Canva slides to PowerPoint. 

A simple workaround is removing the premium graphics before exporting from Canva to PowerPoint. Although, take in mind this may affect the overall design of your presentation.

As you can see below, the PowerPoint file is entirely editable. Something to consider is that unless you have the font installed on your computer, PowerPoint will reassign to a generic font.

Remember the design we created before? Well, it’s time to use that image as part of a marketing deck presentation , which will represent a social media post to be used by the marketing team to promote the brand.

The first step is to download the design we created as PNG. We can close Canva after that.

We opened our PPT template, which is the Annual Marketing Plan PowerPoint Template , and customized the PowerPoint theme colors . Go to Insert > Pictures > This Device .

Select the image we created in Canva and upload it here. We will add some image shadow effects via Shape Format, and a textbox below that describes what the image is about.

And that’s how easily we can use graphics from Canva in our PowerPoint presentations. Remember, it’s best to work with PNG images rather than JPG to reduce file size and preserve image quality.

You can invite others to collaborate on your design by sharing a link to the editable design or by adding them via email as team members on your Canva account.

Canva uses standard cloud storage security measures to protect your data, but like any online platform, it’s important to use a strong password and follow good security practices.

There are two methods for this. You can upload a PPT template into Canva via the Canva Homepage by clicking on Projects , and then go to the Uploads folder. Drag and drop or click on Upload, as we’ve seen before. Once imported, you must click on that file to open it in the Canva editor. The second method is on the editor: go to the Uploads button and upload your PPT file as if it were an image or another media asset.

Yes, you can use SlideModel presentation templates in Canva. As a SlideModel subscriber, you can download .pptx files to import into Canva presentations. This way, you can enjoy the creative slide templates and graphics provided by SlideModel in your Canva presentations

Unfortunately, no, as Canva doesn’t have the same toolset to enable editing functions. That also applies to changing color, so we highly recommend you work with a final PPT file before switching to Canva.

Objects like charts, SmartArt, 3D objects, and WordArt aren’t supported in Canva and won’t be rendered if you upload a slide that contains them.

Yes, all users can download Canva presentations to PPTX format. In case the original Canva design isn’t a presentation file, like a banner or social media post, you won’t be able to resize for that output unless you have a premium account.

Yes, the file must be smaller than 70 MB, and you can import up to 300 slides.

Canva and PowerPoint can collaborate as complementary tools to help presenters overcome the limitations of each individual tool. It takes a while to create your desired workflow, but once that’s accomplished, you can elevate the quality of your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentations with Canva. 

We don’t advise using Canva as an alternative to PowerPoint as the current state-of-the-art indicates it won’t support data representation or other PowerPoint stellar tools that make part of most PPT templates. 

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How to Import PowerPoint to Canva

Home » Blog » How to Import PowerPoint to Canva

Founder of CanvaTemplates.com & Professional Graphic Designer

Jake Tucker

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Importing PowerPoint presentations to Canva is a great way to enhance your design skills and create eye-catching visuals. Canva allows users to import their PowerPoint presentations for editing, without the need to recreate them from scratch. This feature is currently only available on canva.com via your desktop browser.

To import a PowerPoint presentation into Canva, simply drag and drop the .ppt or .pptx file into the browser window and wait for it to upload. Once the slide deck is done uploading, you can open it and edit it slide by slide in Canva’s presentation editor. This process is simple and easy, and it saves you a lot of time.

Canva’s PowerPoint import feature is a game-changer for anyone who wants to create professional-looking designs quickly and easily. Whether you’re a marketer, a student, or a business owner, this feature can help you create stunning presentations that are sure to impress your audience. With Canva, you can take your PowerPoint presentations to the next level and create designs that stand out from the crowd.

Understanding PowerPoint and Canva

PowerPoint is a presentation software developed by Microsoft. It is commonly used by businesses, educators, and individuals to create slide presentations for seminars, lectures, and other events. On the other hand, Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create various types of visual content, including presentations, social media graphics, and marketing materials.

While PowerPoint is primarily used for creating presentations, it has limited design capabilities. Canva, on the other hand, is a design-focused platform that provides users with a wide range of design tools and templates to create stunning visual content.

To import a PowerPoint presentation into Canva, users have several options. They can drag and drop the PowerPoint file directly into the Canva editor, upload the file using the upload button, or use the PowerPoint import feature in Canva. Once the file is uploaded, users can edit the presentation slide by slide in Canva’s presentation editor.

Overall, Canva is an excellent tool for creating visually appealing presentations with ease. Combining the strengths of both platforms can result in an impressive presentation that effectively communicates the intended message.

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Why Import PowerPoint to Canva

Canva is a popular graphic design tool that enables users to create stunning designs for various purposes, including presentations, social media graphics, posters, and more. However, if you already have a PowerPoint presentation that you want to enhance, you might be wondering why you should import it to Canva. Here are a few reasons why importing PowerPoint to Canva is a good idea:

Access to more design elements : Canva offers a vast library of design elements, including templates, illustrations, icons, and more. By importing your PowerPoint presentation to Canva, you can easily add these elements to your slides and make them more visually appealing.

Collaboration : Canva allows multiple users to collaborate on a design project, making it an excellent tool for team projects. By importing your PowerPoint presentation to Canva, you can easily share it with your team and work on it together.

Ease of use : Canva is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for anyone to create professional-looking designs. By importing your PowerPoint presentation to Canva, you can take advantage of this ease of use and create a more polished presentation.

Flexibility : Canva allows users to export their designs in various formats, including PDF, PNG, and JPG. By importing your PowerPoint presentation to Canva, you can easily convert it to a different format and use it for different purposes.

Overall, importing your PowerPoint presentation to Canva can help you create a more visually appealing, collaborative, and flexible presentation.

• Benefits of Using Canva Templates
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Preparing Your PowerPoint for Import

Before importing your PowerPoint to Canva, it is important to ensure that your presentation is properly formatted. Here are some tips to ensure a smooth import:

Simplify your design : Canva has a wide range of design elements and templates that you can use to enhance your presentation. However, it is important to simplify your design before importing it to Canva. This will help you avoid cluttered and confusing designs.

Optimize your images : If you have images in your PowerPoint presentation, it is important to optimize them before importing them to Canva. This will help you avoid blurry or pixelated images.

Check your fonts : Canva has a wide range of fonts that you can use to enhance your presentation. However, it is important to ensure that the fonts you use in your PowerPoint presentation are available in Canva. If not, you may need to consider changing the fonts in your presentation.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is properly formatted and ready for import to Canva.

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Steps to Import PowerPoint to Canva

Canva is a popular graphic design platform that allows users to create stunning designs, presentations, and much more. If you have a PowerPoint presentation that you want to edit or enhance in Canva, you can easily import it to the platform. Here are the steps to import PowerPoint to Canva.

Accessing Canva

First, open the Canva website and log in to your account. If you don’t have an account, you can create one for free. Once you’re logged in, you’ll be taken to the Canva homepage, where you can access all the tools and features.

Navigating to Import Option

Next, click on the “Create a design” button located on the top right corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear, and you should select “Presentation” from the options. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be taken to the presentation editor. From here, click on the “Uploads” tab located on the left-hand side of the screen.

Uploading PowerPoint File

Now, click on the “Upload an image or video” button, and select the PowerPoint file that you want to import. Canva will automatically convert the PowerPoint slides into individual image files, which you can now use in your presentation. You can also drag and drop the PowerPoint file directly into the editor.

Editing Imported Slides

Once the PowerPoint slides have been imported, you can edit them as you would any other design element in Canva. You can add text, images, shapes, and much more to enhance the overall design. You can also change the layout, color scheme, and font style to match your brand or personal preferences.

That’s it! You’ve successfully imported your PowerPoint presentation to Canva and can now edit and enhance it as needed.

• How to Upload a PDF to Canva
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Troubleshooting Common Issues

Importing PowerPoint to Canva is usually a seamless process, but sometimes issues may arise that prevent users from completing the task. Here are some common issues and their solutions:

1. Can’t upload PowerPoint file

If you can’t upload your PowerPoint file to Canva, try converting it to a PDF file first. Canva supports PDF files, and this should make it easier to upload your presentation.

2. Can’t edit the imported PowerPoint file

If you’re having trouble editing the imported PowerPoint file, make sure that you have the latest version of Canva installed. If you’re still having issues, try converting the file to a different format, such as JPEG or PNG, and then importing it into Canva.

3. Canva is slow

If Canva is running slowly, it may be due to the size of the PowerPoint file you’re trying to import. Try reducing the size of the file by compressing images or removing unnecessary content. You can also try clearing your browser cache and cookies, or using a different browser altogether.

4. Can’t log in to Canva

If you’re having trouble logging into Canva, it could be due to a number of factors, such as incorrect login credentials or a problem with your internet connection. Try resetting your password, or contacting Canva support for assistance.

By following these troubleshooting tips, you should be able to import your PowerPoint file to Canva without any issues.

• Why Can’t I Login to Canva? Causes of Canva Login Errors
• Why Is Canva Being So Slow? Tips to Improve Performance

Optimizing Your Canva Presentation

Once you have successfully imported your PowerPoint presentation into Canva, it’s time to optimize it for the best results. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your Canva presentation:

1. Use Canva’s Design Tools

Canva offers a range of design tools that can help you create beautiful and professional-looking presentations. You can use these tools to add images, text, shapes, and other design elements to your presentation. Canva also offers a range of templates that you can use to get started quickly.

2. Customize Your Presentation

Customizing your presentation is key to making it stand out. Use Canva’s design tools to change the font, color scheme, and layout of your presentation. You can also add your own images and graphics to make it more personalized.

3. Keep It Simple

While it’s important to make your presentation look good, it’s also important to keep it simple. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text or too many images. Stick to a few key points per slide and use visuals to help illustrate your message.

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How to Create Presentations in Canva

Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

Canva recently introduced new tools to create docs, whiteboards, videos, websites, and presentations. As such, you no longer need to rely on traditional software solutions like Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Keynote to create an upcoming business presentation. You can easily create presentations in Canva using its familiar suite of editing tools.

Canva offers real-time collaboration, several export options, a present tool, AI add-ons, and much more to make a professional PPT. Canva also lets you make instant presentations with pre-filed slides. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Pick Up an Aspect Ratio and Template

Before you start, make sure to pick a relevant aspect ratio for your presentation. If it’s a traditional PPT, go with a 16:9 aspect ratio. If you plan to show your PPT on mobile, use the 9:16 aspect ratio.

Tablet users can start with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Canva also offers some ready-to-use templates to get started. We highly recommend starting with a template to save some time.

You can also filter templates via style, theme, feature, and color. For example, you can check company, marketing, corporate, marketing, school, and other templates. Most templates are free to use, while some may require a Canva Premium subscription.  

Under templates, you also find an option to create instant presentations. You can enter a prompt and check Canva’s suggestions to get started.

Customize a Page With Editing Features

Once you pick up a template, you have the option to add all pages to your presentations. You can click ‘Apply all pages’ and check every slide at the bottom. You can always select a slide and hit delete to remove it from your presentation.

Canva lets you change every aspect of the template with different text styles, filters, and image editing tools. You can change color, tweak transparency, copy style, and more.

We suggest spending some time with editing tools to customize your Canva presentation and add some personal touches.

Add Graphics, Stickers, and Images

Your presentation will not seem as interesting without graphics, stickers, images, and videos. Unlike Google Slides or PowerPoint, you don’t need to import media files to Canva to complete your slides. You can easily add relevant elements from the sidebar.

Step 1: Open a slide in your Canva presentation.

Step 2: Select Elements from the sidebar. Add graphics, icons, stickers, tables, videos, and more.

Step 3: You can explore the AI image generator and turn your creative ideas into images and videos with a single click.

You can add simple descriptions and even turn generated images into videos. Canva also offers a long list of graphics packs in several categories. The possibilities are endless here. It’s up to you to make a compelling slide using useful tools.

Tweak Page Animation

Once you create a page, tweak its animation to make a smooth transition between pages.

Step 1: Select a slide in Canva.

Step 2: Click Animate at the top.

Step 3: Check basic, exaggerated, photo movement, and other animation types from the left sidebar.

You can also tweak the animation intensity, which is great.

Add Presenter Notes

Do you plan to present your Canva PPT on a video conference? You can add notes to each slide so they appear during the Presenter view (more on that later).

When you create a PPT, select a slide and hit Notes at the bottom. Enter your notes that you want to remember or talk about during a video meeting.

Collaborate and Edit in Real Time

Similar to Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva lets you share and edit a presentation in real time. You can take inputs from your colleagues and create a share-worthy presentation in no time.

Step 1: When you are done making changes to your presentation, click Share at the top.

Step 2: Enter people, groups, or your team. Expand the collaboration link menu and select Anyone with the link.

Step 3: Expand the permission menu and select Can edit.

You can also share a link with view or comment-only permission. Select the Copy link and share it with your co-workers.

Enable Presenter View

Presenter view is a thoughtful touch from Canva to give presentations over a Google Meet or Teams call.

You can open a presentation in Canva and select Present at the top. Click Presenter View and check two windows opening up on your computer.

One window shows your presentation with notes open on the sidebar. Another window displays the current slide you are sharing with others over a call.

Download and Share Your Presentation

As expected, Canva gives several options to share and export your presentation. When you complete your presentation, click Share in the top-right corner and expand Download.

You can convert a presentation to PDF, PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint compatible), MP4, JPG, PNG and SVG formats. Check our dedicated post if you wish to print your Canva presentation .

Use Canva Like a Pro

Canva has done a solid job, granting users access to rich tools to create a convincing presentation. We can’t wait to see how the Australian startup enhances our PPT experience with AI features in the future. Speaking of which, we would love to see a feature similar to ‘Design Ideas from Microsoft PowerPoint’ on Canva. Do let us know if you use Canva for presentations in the comments below.

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Last updated on 07 January, 2024

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

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How To Make a PowerPoint in Canva? (Step-By-Step Guide)

Are you looking for an easy and cost-effective way to create stunning presentations? Look no further than Canva! Canva is a powerful design platform that makes creating professional-looking presentations a breeze – and in this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you just how easy it is to create a beautiful PowerPoint in Canva.

From exploring the benefits of using Canva, to customizing the design, adding text, images, and other elements, and exporting the presentation – we’ll cover it all! So let’s get started and make a presentation you’ll be proud to share.

Table of Contents

Short Answer

Creating a PowerPoint in Canva is easy and straightforward.

First, log in to your Canva account and select the “Create a Design” option.

Choose the PowerPoint icon and select a template that you want to use.

Add text, images, shapes, charts, and other elements to your presentation.

When you’re finished, click “Download” to save the PowerPoint to your computer.

Benefits of Creating a PowerPoint in Canva

Creating a PowerPoint presentation in Canva has a number of advantages.

For starters, Canvas user interface is intuitive and easy to use, making it simple for anyone to quickly create a presentation that looks professional and polished.

Additionally, Canva has a wide selection of templates to choose from, allowing users to create presentations that are tailored to their specific needs.

Furthermore, Canva makes it easy to add text, images, and other elements to further enhance the presentation.

And lastly, the ability to export the presentation as a PDF or PPT file makes it simple to share with others.

With Canva, creating a stunning presentation is a breeze.

Overview of Canva

Canva is an online platform for creating stunning visuals quickly and easily.

It has an intuitive user interface and a wide selection of templates for creating professional presentations.

With Canva, you can create high-quality presentations in minutes, with no prior design experience needed.

Canva offers a range of editing tools, including text, images, shapes, and more, which can be used to customize your presentation to your exact needs.

You can also access a library of royalty-free images and graphics to make your presentation truly unique.

Once youve finished your presentation, you can easily export it as a PDF or PPT file to share with your audience.

With Canva, creating a professional presentation has never been easier.

Choosing a Template

When creating a PowerPoint presentation in Canva, the first step is to choose a template.

Canva offers a wide selection of templates to choose from, ranging from classic and professional designs to more modern and creative layouts.

No matter what type of presentation youre creating, theres a template to match it.

Each template offers a variety of customization options, allowing users to make the presentation their own.

For instance, users can choose their own colors, fonts, and backgrounds to suit their needs.

Plus, if youre feeling extra creative, you can even upload your own images and logos to make your presentation truly unique.

Once youve chosen your template, its time to start customizing.

Canva makes it easy to add text, images, and other elements to your presentation.

You can customize the design to your liking, or use the pre-designed elements to create a professional-looking presentation in minutes.

Now that youve chosen a template, youre ready to start creating your PowerPoint presentation in Canva.

With its intuitive user interface and wide selection of templates, Canva makes it easy to create a stunning presentation in no time.

Customizing the Design

When it comes to creating a PowerPoint presentation in Canva, customizing the design is the key to making a great presentation.

Canva offers a wide range of templates that can be customized to your liking.

You can choose from a variety of layouts, fonts, colors, and graphics to make your presentation unique.

You can also add text, images, and other elements to further enhance the design.

To make the most of this feature, you can experiment with different combinations of layouts, fonts, colors, and graphics until you find the perfect combination for your presentation.

Once youve found the perfect design, you can save it and use it for future presentations.

Canva also makes it easy to adjust the size of elements within your presentation.

You can select an element and drag it to make it larger or smaller.

This allows you to adjust the size of graphics, text, images, and other elements to create a seamless look throughout your presentation.

Additionally, you can adjust the opacity of an element or the background color to make your presentation stand out.

By being creative with the design elements of your presentation, you can create something truly unique and eye-catching.

Adding Text

Adding text is one of the key elements of creating a PowerPoint presentation in Canva.

Canva makes it easy for users to add text to their slides, with a wide range of fonts and font sizes to choose from.

Additionally, users can customize the color, alignment, and other aspects of the text to make it stand out.

To add text to a slide, users can either type it directly into the slide or use the text box tool to create a text box.

The text box tool allows users to adjust the size and position of the text box, as well as the font and font size.

Additionally, users can adjust the color of the text and the background of the text box using the color picker tool.

Once the text is in place, users can further customize it by adding effects such as shadows, outlines, and gradients.

These effects can be used to make the text stand out and draw the viewer’s attention.

Additionally, users can add animations to the text, such as fade-ins and fade-outs, to make the presentation more engaging.

Adding Images and Other Elements

Adding images and other elements to your presentation is a great way to make it more engaging and interesting.

With Canva, you can easily search for and add images directly from the platform.

You can also add charts, diagrams, and other elements to further enhance the presentation.

To add an image, click on the Uploads tab and select Upload Image.

Alternatively, you can search for images from the Search tab or browse the library of free images.

To add an element, click on the Elements tab and select your desired element.

You can also customize the size, orientation, and color of the element.

Once youre done, click on the Done button to save the changes.

Finally, you can add text to your presentation by clicking on the Text tab and selecting your desired text.

You can customize the font, size, color, alignment, and other text settings to make it look just the way you want.

With Canva, adding images and other elements to your presentation is a breeze.

Exporting the Presentation

Creating a stunning PowerPoint presentation is now a breeze with Canva.

Exporting the presentation is the final step in the process.

Once you have completed the design of your presentation and are happy with the results, its time to export it.

Canva allows users to export their presentation as a PDF or PPT file.

Exporting is simple and straightforward.

To export, simply click on the Download button on the upper right-hand corner of the Canva page.

A drop-down menu will appear with the option to export as a PDF or PPT file.

Choose the desired format and click on Download.

When you export as a PDF, Canva will generate a high-quality PDF file that can be printed or shared electronically.

The PDF file will include all of the elements of your presentation, such as images, text, and graphics.

When you export as a PPT file, Canva will generate a PowerPoint file that is compatible with both Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides.

The PPT file will also include all of the elements of your presentation.

Once you have exported the presentation, you are ready to share it with your audience.

No matter which format you choose, your presentation will look professional and polished.

With Canva, creating a PowerPoint presentation is now quick and easy.

Final Thoughts

Creating a PowerPoint presentation in Canva is a great way to make a professional-looking presentation quickly and easily.

With its intuitive user interface and wide selection of templates, users can customize and enhance their presentations with text, images, and other elements.

Exporting the presentation as a PDF or PPT file is also simple.

With Canva, making a presentation is a breeze.

So don’t wait – get started on your own presentation today with Canva!

James Wilson

James Wilson has extensive knowledge in the information technology industry.His second love, besides dealing with computers, is smart home technology. He is continually updating information to better comprehend this problem and has a deep understanding of the apartment’s support system.

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Canva vs PowerPoint (2024) — Which is Better?

Our content is impartial, but funded in part by affiliate commissions (at no extra cost to our readers). Learn more .

Written by Chris Singleton | Researched and reviewed by Matt Walsh

In this Canva vs Powerpoint shootout, we compare an established presentation app (PowerPoint) with a cloud-based app that promises to make graphic design in general easy for everyone (Canva). Which solution comes out on top? And which one is best for your business?

Well read on, because we’re going to do a deep dive into both tools, and help you answer these important questions.

But first…

What’s the main difference between Canva and Microsoft Powerpoint?

Although Canva and PowerPoint can both be used to create attractive presentations, the two tools are quite different in nature.

While PowerPoint is a tool that has been specifically designed to let users create presentations , Canva is a multi-purpose tool that lets you design a huge range of visual assets — social media graphics, simple videos, presentations, slides, posters and even websites.

Another key difference to note between the two tools is that Canva only works if you are online .

This is because all your designs are saved in the cloud, as are all the templates, images and other visual elements the platform uses. Although a desktop app and a mobile app are available for Canva, these only work if an Internet connection is present, and in truth the best way to use Canva is probably via a web browser.

By contrast, PowerPoint can be used offline, via the desktop and mobile versions of the app.

Now, given that this is a Canva vs PowerPoint comparison, I’m going to largely focus on how good both tools are for creating presentations.

So, let’s move on and do that, starting with a look at the templates available for both Canva and PowerPoint.

Templates are the starting points for presentations — you pick one, tweak some colors, add your content and then present the results.

So what’s the template offering from Canva and PowerPoint like?

Well, in terms of quantity , it’s a clear win for Canva . Out of the box, Microsoft PowerPoint gives you just 70 or so templates to design with; and although you can download an additional 300+ free and premium templates from the Microsoft site, this total pales by comparison to Canva’s offering of 26,000+ ready-made presentation templates.

The quality of templates in Canva is better too; the templates are more varied in nature and are often bundled with more individual slide types.

In terms of aesthetics, I feel that Canva’s templates definitely have the edge. Many of the PowerPoint templates look quite dated (having in my view quite a 1990s look to them), employ very corporate fonts and scream ‘Microsoft’ at you.

By contrast, the Canva templates look really contemporary, make use of a wide range of interesting typefaces and are simply more ‘fun.’

Templates are just the starting point for a design of course — they can be brought to life and made much more appealing when customized.

So how easy is it to customize designs in Canva and PowerPoint?

Customizing presentations

Once you’ve picked a template in either PowerPoint or Canva, the next step is to customize it and make it your own.

Canva and PowerPoint let you do this by adding a variety of elements to a template and then positioning and resizing them. Let’s look at both processes — and how they differ — in turn.

Adding elements to a template

In Canva, you add elements to a template using a vertical menu on the left hand side of the screen (see screenshot below).

As you can see, this lets you add the following to your template:

• graphic elements (icons, photos, images, clip art, graphs)
• content you’ve uploaded to Canva
• backgrounds

If you’re on a ‘Canva Pro’ plan, this menu also lets you apply brand styles (more on using your own branding in Canva and PowerPoint shortly).

The best thing about the process of adding elements to a presentation in Canva is the simplicity: you simply pick the item you’d like to add and drag it onto your design. This makes for a really quick and smooth workflow.

Adding elements in PowerPoint involves a clunkier process. First, you need to click the ‘Insert’ option in the main menu.

You’ll then see a ‘ribbon’ menu that gives you the option to add items into your template (some of these are shown in the screenshot below).

Unlike in Canva though, there’s no drag-and-drop facility — you’ll need to click on the item type, browse the available elements, and then click an ‘insert’ button to add it to your presentation. And doing so will place it in the middle of your presentation, rather than the position you might have envisaged for it (not the end of the world, however as you can reposition it easily — more on doing this in a moment).

The assets you can add in PowerPoint are similar to those available in Canva, but there are two extra elements available from PowerPoint that are worth dwelling on for a moment.

3D models, as their name suggests, are 3D images that you can rotate to meet your requirements. Quite a lot of them are available, and they can help bring a presentation to life, or illustrate a point (see screenshot below for an example of a PowerPoint 3D model being manipulated).

Although there are a variety of 3D graphics available in Canva, you can’t rotate and customize them to meet your needs the same way as you can in PowerPoint.

(It’s also harder to find them, because there’s no dedicated option for displaying them — you’ll just have browse Canva’s image library and try to spot them).

As for equations, PowerPoint gives you the option to insert and edit them easily into presentations, thanks to its aptly named ‘Equation’ feature.

While at first glance this might strike you as a bit of a ‘niche’ feature, it’s actually quite an important one — there are a lot of math and science teachers out there who will find it extremely useful.

Positioning and resizing elements

Once you’ve added an element to a Canva or PowerPoint presentation, you’ll usually need to move or resize it.

The process of moving elements around a presentation in Canva and PowerPoint is very similar — a drag-and-drop process, where you simply click on the the item and move it where you want it to go, applies in both tools (see screenshot below).

Similarly, both tools let you specify which element should go in front or behind others via ‘bring forward’ and ‘send to back’ tools.

Resizing things involves a fairly similar process in both tools too — you click on an element, a container box appears around it, and you extend or reduce the edges of that container to resize the item (see screenshot below for a demonstration of this).

However, when it comes to resizing text, Canva takes a different approach to PowerPoint. Resizing text in Canva works exactly the same way as resizing an image — you extend or shrink the text’s container box to adjust its size, as demonstrated below.

But with PowerPoint, this automatic resizing of text doesn’t always happen; it depends on how much text you’ve got in a container.

If you’ve got a large block of text (i.e., several bullet points or paragraphs), PowerPoint will resize it as you adjust the container edges.

But for small blocks — single words, short sentences etc. — you’ll nearly always have to use a font dropdown menu to manually specify the font size (much as you’d do when formatting text in Microsoft Word). This makes for a more inconsistent and clunkier workflow.

It’s worth pointing out that Canva gives you fine grain control over font size too, if you want it — you can adjust font size manually in a similar way via a dropdown menu. This gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to formatting text.

Overall, the processes involved in adding, positioning and resizing elements in Canva and PowerPoint are fairly similar, but I find Canva’s approach a bit slicker and one that leads to a more efficient workflow.

Background removal

Both PowerPoint and Canva give you easy-to-use background removal tools: you just hit a suitably named ‘remove background’ (PowerPoint) or ‘Background remover’ (Canva) button to extract the image of a person from a busy background.

This is useful for creating headshots for your presentation, as the example below demonstrates, or placing different background colors behind a photograph of a person.

However, in my tests I found that the Canva background tool was the better one, especially when dealing with images where it was hard to distinguish the background from the person in the photograph. While Canva consistently managed to remove backgrounds from photographs in a way that left the person in the image ‘intact,’ PowerPoint consistently struggled to do this.

Here’s an example of the same image being used to test both tools’ background removal tools. In the case of Canva, I encountered no problems at all when separating the person from the background.

But look at what happened when I use the same image to test the background removal feature in Powerpoint:

As you can see, the subject’s hat and feet were removed by PowerPoint!

Now, PowerPoint does give you some tools to improve the results — you can use a ‘mark area’ tool to highlight bits of the image that you don’t want removed. But this is a bit fiddly to use; and ultimately, while Canva’s background removal tool just works out of the box, you’ll usually end up doing more manual tidying up with the PowerPoint one.

Ensuring brand consistency in Canva and PowerPoint

A key part of designing presentations for use in a corporate context involves branding — you usually need to stick to strict brand guidelines.

You can do this easily enough in Canva and PowerPoint, but the process differs for both products.

In Canva, you work with ‘brand kits’ that let you specify your brand colors, define your brand font, upload a brand logo and add other brand assets such as photos, graphics and icons. These can then be applied to anything you design using the platform.

In PowerPoint, you don’t get a similar brand kit tool — it’s a case of creating a template that adheres to your brand guidelines and re-using it.

You can also take the latter approach in Canva if you like, creating a branded template that serves as the starting point for your design.

So overall on the branding front, it’s a win for Canva , simply because it gives you two ways to create on-brand presentations, while PowerPoint only offers you one.

Royalty free images, videos and audio

Earlier I looked at how you can add elements to PowerPoint or Canva — but didn’t discuss what you can add.

On this front, both tools give you access to libraries of royalty free images and video; Canva goes one better and gives you free audio clips as well.

In terms of the quantity of multimedia files available, Canva is more generous: while Microsoft states that ‘thousands’ of royalty free images and videos are available for PowerPoint (so long as you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber), Canva gives you millions .

You might not think that this disparity would necessarily have a huge impact on presentation design or content — surely access to thousands of images is enough? — but it does, as a little test I ran showed quite quickly.

As part of our work in ecommerce, we create a lot of content about ecommerce companies such as eBay ; occasionally we need to create presentations about these platforms too.

Now, if I enter the phrase ‘eBay’ into PowerPoint’s image search, here’s what I get:

But look at the results offered by Canva for the same query:

So in this example, Canva gives me immediate access to the images I might need for my eBay presentation, while PowerPoint forces me to look elsewhere.

To be fair, it’s easy to grab images from royalty-free media sites (for example Unsplash or Pexels) or a Google image search. But this involves using other tools or add-ons, saving files locally, and then inserting them manually into your presentation — all of which can end up being a time-consuming process.

PowerPoint does try to make things a bit easier on this front, by giving you a facility to search for images online. However, you won’t necessarily have the rights to use the images you identify with it.

By contrast — and this is a key selling point of Canva in general — you are licensed to use all the images it gives you access to.

It’s a similar situation with videos in Canva and PowerPoint: although some stock videos are provided by PowerPoint, the range on offer is nowhere near as wide as Canva’s.

So, all in all, when it comes to providing access to royalty free videos, images and audio, it’s a clear win for Canva .

Apps and integrations

So far in this comparison we’ve looked at what PowerPoint and Canva can do ‘out of the box.’ But what about integrating them with other tools, or adding functionality?

Well, both Canva and PowerPoint give you access to a library of apps that let you do this.

Canva gives you around 250 apps and integrations to play with in its ‘app directory’; this can be accessed on the left-hand side of the Canva dashboard via an ‘Apps’ link.

The apps on offer include integrations with well-known social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc.) and marketing tools (like Mailchimp, LinkedIn and Hubspot); you’ll also find apps in the directory that add bits of functionality to Canva — for example image enhancement tools; frame tools; mockup tools and more.

As for PowerPoint, a wider range of add-ons is available — around 320 of them. A ‘get add-ins’ button in the PowerPoint ribbon menu lets you browse these.

However, while the Canva apps are quite broad in terms of their features and purposes, the ‘add-ins’ available for PowerPoint are essentially to do with presentation-related functionality.

(This is fair enough really, given that PowerPoint is a tool that has been designed for creating presentations and Canva is a multi-purpose graphic design app.)

You’ll find lots of PowerPoint add-ins to help you embed content from other services into your presentation; there’s also quite a few apps for sourcing stock images and icons for them. But you won’t find any official integrations between PowerPoint and social media apps, and there’s no add-ons for integrating PowerPoint with popular marketing tools either.

Accessing free trials of Canva and PowerPoint

If you’re interested in trying out all the features of Canva and PowerPoint, free trials are available for both. For a limited time only, you can avail of a 30-day free trial of Canva by clicking here .

As for PowerPoint, you can use it for free for 30 days as part of the Microsoft 365 free trial .

Creating charts

Both Canva and PowerPoint give you access to tools that let you create graphs and charts and add them to your presentations.

PowerPoint is the more generous tool in terms of the range of chart types that you can add to your presentations, letting you choose from around 60 chart designs — each of which come in a number of variants — to Canva’s 18.

The process for creating these graphs is much easier in Canva, however — while PowerPoint forces you to link an Excel spreadsheet to your graph, Canva just lets you enter the relevant data for the graph directly within the tool. This makes for a much easier workflow.

(And if you do want to use Excel as a source of data, this is possible too, via CSV file upload; you can also use Google Sheets as a source of data for your graphs).

But overall, PowerPoint is the more powerful tool when it comes to charts — while the customization options in Canva are fairly limited, you can edit just about any aspect of a chart created in PowerPoint.

There is one catch with the PowerPoint chart creation functionality however: it can only be used in the desktop version of PowerPoint — the online version doesn’t let you create charts.

Working with video

Both Canva and PowerPoint let you add video content to your presentations easily.

However — and in keeping with the fact that Canva is a ‘multi-purpose’ tool and PowerPoint is a ‘presentation-only’ one, the options for manipulating your video content in Canva are much more extensive.

This is because Canva includes a video editor in its feature set. While it’s not going to compete with the likes of Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro any time soon, it’s nonetheless very usable and very handy for creating simple videos that you can drop into your presentations. You can split, trim and create transitions between clips with ease; you can also remove backgrounds from them really easily too.

With PowerPoint, you can trim video content — so theoretically you can do some basic editing, by trimming a clip into different versions and inserting those into different slides.

But realistically, if you want to edit video for use in a PowerPoint presentation, you’re probably better off using a separate tool. So a win for Canva here .

Presenting tools

Creating a presentation is one thing; giving it is another! So how do Canva and PowerPoint shape up when it comes to the ‘presenting’ part of the equation?

Well, it’s fair to say that PowerPoint wins here, by giving you a host of tools for presenting your content exactly the way you want to.

Not only does PowerPoint give you lots of ways to present your slides, it gives you different ways to rehearse your presentation too. These even include an option to rehearse with a virtual ‘coach’ that assesses your performance — after you’ve given your presentation, your coach will give you a report containing information about your pace, length of presentation and suggestions on how to improve your performance.

The presentation options in Canva, by contrast, are pretty basic: you get just three ways to present — via a ‘standard’ presentation, a ‘present with notes’ option and an option to record your presentation.

On the subject of recording presentations, this works in a similar way in both tools: you can record your presentation with audio and video (i.e., your webcam). When finished, this can be exported as a video file.

Exporting and sharing your presentation

Once you’ve finished creating your presentation, you’ll want to share it with others. So what exporting and sharing options do Canva and PowerPoint offer?

Exporting presentations to different file types

When it comes to outputting presentations into different file formats, both tools let you export your content into a wide range of file types, although the options available differ.

Canva lets you export your presentation (either the whole thing, or individual slides) into the following file types:

• SVG (vector graphics file)
• PPTX (PowerPoint)

To export your Canva presentation into most of these formats, you simply click the share button above it, followed by the ‘download’ option.

Exporting to PPTX in Canva involves a slightly odd process however — this format isn’t included in the platform’s default export options. To save a file in PPTX format you have to install a dedicated app for doing so, then click the ‘Share’ button followed by ‘More…’ to access the PowerPoint export option. This is a bit convoluted.

As for PowerPoint, some of the formats it lets you export to includes:

If you’re unfamiliar with these file types the basic point I’d make is this: if you need your presentation in super high quality photographic or video format, then PowerPoint takes the win (thanks to the option to let you export your files in TIFF and MOV format).

However, if you want to export your presentation as vector graphic files (SVG), then Canva has the edge.

Sharing your presentations

When it comes to sharing your presentations with others, an easy sharing option is just to download your presentation as files which you then send to colleagues or clients.

However, both Canva and PowerPoint let you share your presentations in more sophisticated ways.

Canva is particularly flexible here, giving you a multitude of ways to share your presentation. For example, you can share it as a URL; embed it on a website; or create a QR code to share it to mobile phones.

There’s also the option of sharing presentations with colleagues for collaboration purposes. You’ll need to be on a Canva for Teams plan to do this; this allows you to create and share folders and files that can be accessed by multiple users.

(More on Canva plans and pricing shortly).

As for PowerPoint, the sharing options aren’t quite as extensive — you can share a link to a presentation, or enable multi-user access on the file. These options are probably fine for most applications, however.

(It’s important to note that if you are an existing Microsoft 365 user, PowerPoint slots much more neatly into that environment. You can pull in data from other 365 document types; make use of Microsoft 365 team collaboration features; and share your presentations on OneDrive easily.)

What about importing PowerPoint files in to Canva?

Canva recently released an import feature that lets you import PowerPoint files into Canva. However, depending on the fonts and layouts used in the original presentation, imported presentations may not always be faithful to the PowerPoint original.

Plans, pricing and value for money

It’s a bit tricky to compare the fees for Canva and PowerPoint, as two different pricing models are involved. But let’s do our best!

Let’s start with Canva .

Canva pricing

There are three versions of Canva available:

• Canva for Teams

As its name suggests, Canva Free is an entirely free plan. It doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles of the paid-for version of Canva — key omissions include the option to create a brand kit, use the background removal tool and access to premium content (i.e., the full library of stock photos, audio and images).

Despite this, it is still a highly functional tool that lets you create attractive designs and presentations easily.

Moving onto the premium plans, Canva Pro costs $14.99 per month and gives you access to the full range of Canva features and image/video libraries. However it can only be used by one user.

Canva for Teams starts at $29.99 per month. For this, 5 users get access to all the Canva features and libraries, plus a range of collaboration features (including the ability to set user permissions and lock custom templates). If you need to add more users to your account, the monthly price will increase — you can calculate the pricing for your team on the Canva website.

(Please note that in some regions, pricing for ‘Canva for Teams’ is based on a flat fee for each team member — this fee can range from $11.99 to $14.99 per team user per month, depending on your location).

Note : for a limited time only, Canva has made a 30-day free trial available. This gives you access to the full suite of premium Canva features and assets for several weeks. You can access this here .

As for PowerPoint pricing, as mentioned above, the app comes as part of a wider package of Microsoft tools. There are a multitude of pricing options available, which range from $6.99 per user per month to $54.75 per user per month, depending on whether you need a basic business package or an enterprise one. A 30-day trial of Microsoft 365 is also available.

(For full details of the main pricing options for Microsoft 365, please read our Microsoft 365 versus Google Workspace comparison ).

In all cases, the key thing to remember about buying PowerPoint is this: you won’t just get PowerPoint, you’ll have access to a host of other Microsoft apps too — like Word, Excel and Outlook.

In a sense however, this is also the case with Canva: when you subscribe to it, you’re not just getting a presentation-making tool but a video editor, image editor, stock photography library, social media scheduler, basic website builder and more besides.

So in truth, both tools give you a lot of bang for your buck — and it will boil down to how much you value getting your hands on a range of Microsoft products as part of a subscription, or the simple ‘all-in-one’ approach taken by Canva.

Canva vs PowerPoint conclusion

So which is better for your project, Canva or PowerPoint?

For me, there are three main arguments for using Canva over PowerPoint. Most importantly, ease of use — Canva is an absolute breeze to use, and considerably better than PowerPoint in the user-friendliness stakes. Second, Canva’s library of stock images and videos is huge — for the price of a single iStock or Getty picture, you get access to millions of multimedia items per month with Canva. Although PowerPoint does give you access to some stock photography and videos, the choice available on both fronts is much more limited. And finally, there’s the fact that unlike PowerPoint, Canva does so much more than presentations — it’s a video editor, poster designer, website builder and much more besides.

PowerPoint is a better choice for some users, however — particularly those who have invested heavily in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, or need to work with other businesses who routinely use Microsoft products. And buying PowerPoint means you end up getting a host of other useful industry-standard apps, like Word, Excel, Outlook and Publisher.

Below you’ll find a summary of the relative pros and cons of Canva and PowerPoint.

Reasons to use Canva instead of PowerPoint

• It’s a much easier-to-use product.
• It gives you access to a much bigger range of images, graphics and videos than PowerPoint.
• The bundled range of templates is much larger than PowerPoint’s.
• Its background removal tool is significantly better than PowerPoint’s.
• Working with video is significantly easier in Canva.
• Canva is not just a presentation-creating tool: it’s is a photo editor, an image enhancer, a screen recorder, a website builder and much else besides.
• There are more ways to share Canva creations than PowerPoint ones, particularly where social media is concerned.

Reasons to use PowerPoint instead of Canva

• When you buy PowerPoint, you’re actually subscribing to Microsoft 365 — and getting access to a host of really useful Microsoft products in the process.
• PowerPoint integrates much better with other Microsoft apps and services than Canva does.
• A significantly wider range of add-ons is available for PowerPoint.
• There are dedicated tools for working with 3D models and equations in PowerPoint — this is not the case with Canva.
• PowerPoint lets you output your presentations to a wider range of formats than Canva, including higher-res image and video formats.
• You can create more sophisticated graph types with PowerPoint.
• PowerPoint gives you more ways to rehearse your presentation.

Key alternatives to Canva and PowerPoint

Canva and PowerPoint are by no means the only tools for creating presentations.

When it comes to ‘all-in-one’ design apps like Canva, Visme, VistaCreate (formerly Crello) and Adobe Express are probably the main competitors. You can learn more about these products in our Canva vs Visme comparison , our VistaCreate (Crello) vs Canva comparison and our Adobe Express vs Canva shootout .

As for direct alternatives to PowerPoint, Google and Apple provide the main competition, in the form Google Slides (part of the Google Workspace suite) and Keynote (an iWorks product) respectively. We have yet to review Keynote or iWorks, but we do have a Microsoft 365 vs Workspace comparison available.

In certain contexts, Adobe Photoshop can be used as an alternative to Canva, but it’s not really a direct competitor to PowerPoint. Check out our Canva vs Photoshop comparison for more details on the key differences between this app and Canva.

Now…over to you!

Got any thoughts on PowerPoint vs Canva? Or any questions you’d like to ask? Do leave them in the comments section below — we read all comments and do our best to answer all visitor queries.

Canva vs PowerPoint — FAQ

Can i use canva and powerpoint for free.

In the case of Canva, a free version is available, or alternatively, you can make use of a 30-day trial of Canva Pro . PowerPoint can be tried for free for 30 days as part of a Microsoft 365 trial .

Is Canva better than PowerPoint?

It’s better in some ways — it’s easier to use, gives you more stock photography to play with, and gives you built-in video editing tools that are not present in PowerPoint. However, PowerPoint beats Canva when it comes to integrating with Microsoft 365 apps, giving you ‘niche’ tools for working with 3D models and equations, and being more flexible when it comes to creating graphs.

Can you create professional presentations in Canva?

Yes — you can create extremely professional presentations in Canva that make sophisticated use of audio, images and video; you can also export them to a wide range of formats.

Can I import PowerPoint presentations into Canva?

Yes. Canva recently released an import feature that lets you import PowerPoint files into Canva. However, depending on the fonts and presentation layouts involved, imported files may not always be faithful to the PowerPoint original.

About the author

Chris Singleton

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Chris Singleton is the Editor of Style Factory.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, he is now London-based.

Since graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 1999, Chris has advised many businesses on how to grow their operations via a strong online presence, and now he shares his experience and expertise through his articles on the Style Factory website.

Chris started his career as a data analyst for Irish marketing company Precision Marketing Information; since then he has worked on digital projects for a wide range of well-known organizations including Cancer Research UK, Hackney Council, Data Ireland and Prescription PR. He founded Style Factory in 2009 as a way to share his expertise with a wider audience.

He is also the author of a book on SEO for beginners, “Super Simple SEO.”

You can connect personally with Chris via Twitter (X) or LinkedIn .

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When I download my canva video presentation that i made it turns a little bit pixeled. Do you know why that happens?

The main culprit might be if your video involves footage that has been blown up too much — but it could theoretically be a Canva bug too. If you suspect the latter is at the root of the problem, I’d suggest trying a re-export, and having a word with the Canva support team if the issue persists.

You cannot print in Canva from the web — Canva files have to be always downloaded in some format, then printed. This is a bad process. There is no offline access either.

Canva is great, yes.

However, I find MS PowerPoint to be much more effective than Canva in producing graphical artwork from the bottom up for the following reasons:

(1) MS PowerPoint gradients are simply better. (2) Canva lacks indispensable vector-type tools like ‘Freeform’, ‘Curve’ and ‘Scribble’ that are present in MS PowerPoint and other Microsoft programs. (3) MS PowerPoint ‘Autoshapes’ and ‘Merge Shapes’ feature sets are lacking in Canva and are also quite indispensable for more complex graphical artwork/design from ‘scratch.’

Very thoughtful and helpful review. I am an advanced PPT user, and I started looking into Canva based on some recommendations. My first question was, hey, how does this compare to Powerpoint. Your review was excellent. Thank you!

How To Export Canva Presentation Slides To PowerPoint

Here’s how to make awesome twitch emotes with canva in your browser..

Canva is an incredible online design software that allows you to create many things including stunning presentations.

But if you’re a PowerPoint user you might be wondering how to export your Canva slides as a PowerPoint presentation?

In this article, we’ll take you through the process step by step, including how to keep your animated elements from Canva.

Let’s dive right in.

Jump to a specific section:

Step 1: Download your Canva slides

Step 2: open the .pptx doc in powerpoint, step 3: copy or add animation.

If you haven’t created your presentation in Canva yet – check out these incredible Canva presentation slide templates to get started.

If you have, open up your Canva slides document, and once you’ve made all your updates and you’re happy with it you can now download it.

You can download as a PDF file, or publish it online, or if you want to export it as a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) you can do that too. Here’s how:

Go to the ‘Share’ button at the top right and click ‘More’:

Scroll down to the ‘Save’ options and choose ‘Microsoft PowerPoint’:

Choose the slides you want to download, and hit the download button:

You will now have a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) file in your downloads folder that you can open up.

The next step is to check if everything in your presentation was exported from the Canva slides to a PowerPoint presentation correctly.

In the past, elements such as the text fonts, graphs, videos, and some graphics didn’t export correctly but Canva has mostly fixed these issues so your export will likely be completely fine.

It’s worth checking though!

As an example, our .pptx export contained a couple of videos in one of the slides. One of the videos remained in that format:

Whilst the other one was converted into an image element:

Most of the elements will be converted properly but as you can some elements such as animations and videos might not convert correctly.

There is a workaround for this, which we’ll cover in the next step.

To convert Canva slides with animation into PowerPoint presentation slides here’s what you have to do:

First, go back to your Canva presentation, and download the pages with animation as GIFs. Simply, go to ‘Share’ then ‘Download’ and select the page or pages that you want to download:

Then, select GIF as your file type, and hit the download button:

The last step is to add a blank slide in your PowerPoint presentation, upload the downloaded GIF image into that new blank slide and adjust it to cover the PowerPoint page and that’s it!

You’ll now have an animated slide in your PowerPoint presentation.

Adding animations in PowerPoint

You can also simply download the full Canva presentation and convert it to a PowerPoint presentation and then add animations within PowerPoint instead.

Here’s a great video showing you how to add animations in PowerPoint:

Related articles

If you’re new to Canva, here are some other articles that might be of interest to you:

• How to use Canva: Beginners tutorial
• Canva tips and tricks
• How to draw on Canva

Wrapping things up

So, there you have it, that’s how you can quickly and easily convert your Canva presentations into PowerPoint presentations, including how to keep your animations.

We hope this tutorial was helpful for you!

Enjoy creating! If you have any questions or suggestions leave a comment below.

Written by Sam McCraw

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How to Use Canva: Tutorial For Beginners

How To Create A 3D Pop Out Effect in Canva

© 2024 by Design Hub

How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.

5 Free Alternatives To Microsoft PowerPoint

M icrosoft PowerPoint has always been the default choice for creating professional meeting briefs or fun little project demonstrations in schools. Its inclusion as a free service for students or working professionals makes it a no-brainer to use. However, for the general public, it can get quite expensive to pay for a subscription just to be able to create simple presentation slides. Although you can subscribe to Microsoft's Office Suite and get more bang for your buck, the pricing still doesn't hit the affordable range for most. 

Fortunately, completion has been growing, and a sea of strong contenders offer similar services to PowerPoint. After considering feature sets, here are five of the best free alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint. At the end of the article, you can find a detailed explanation of why we've chosen the services, alongside useful comparisons that may help you make your decision easier.

Read more: The 20 Best Mac Apps That Will Improve Your Apple Experience

When it comes to productivity apps, Zoho makes some of the better ones in the market. Zoho Sheet, for example, is one of the best Microsoft Excel alternatives out there  —  owing to its extensive product catalog, there is a great way to view and edit presentations. The aptly named Zoho Show lets you design and demonstrate professional-looking slides, all without having to download the program.

Zoho takes a minimal approach to most of its services, and its PowerPoint application is no different. You'll find that most menus are contextually aware of what tasks you're currently performing, which helps keep unnecessary tools out of the way and bring the important ones in focus. There is also a huge library of customizable templates you can choose from, making it easier to kickstart your presentation work. 

Zoho Show is completely free to use for individuals and offers unlimited cloud storage. No features are locked behind a paywall, and rest assured, you can fully rely on this online presentation-making tool for all your needs, be it for school or work. 

Canva is a service that can easily climb up to becoming everyone's favorite once they start using it. While most applaud it for its graphic designing prowess, there are many other things Canva can do that you probably aren't aware of . Among them is the ability to craft beautiful slides for your presentations and projects. 

By creating a free account, you can access thousands of templates on Canva. You can filter these by use case—maybe you need one for a professional business briefing or a casual one explaining why your pet dog is the best canine. There is a whole section of ready-to-use templates dedicated to mobile-friendly viewing as well, which is something you don't usually find to be as accessible with other tools. 

Like most presentation apps, Canva lets you collaborate with your team members and work across devices seamlessly. The Canva app for mobile also lets you control your slides remotely during your presentation. Some menus also feature AI-featured tools to add one-click enhancements to your slides -- unfortunately, these are locked behind premium subscription tiers. However, for the cent percent of the population, Canva can be used without spending a dime to meet a plethora of creative needs. 

Apple takes great pride in developing in-house solutions to meet every user requirement. While most of its products dominate the competition in popularity, the same cannot be said for Keynote , the company's version of Microsoft PowerPoint. The program was first released in 2003 with macOS Big Sur and has largely remained one of those icons you glance over and forget about. 

However, recent versions of Keynote have made it a compelling alternative to PowerPoint. Not only is it pre-installed on every Apple device, including your iPhone, but it also works best with the iPad touchscreen. Keynote has a largely clean and professional approach to the built-in templates, but nothing is stopping you from going creative. Animations are one of Keynote's strongest suits, allowing you to create near cinematic-looking presentations with just a few clicks. 

While you can still use Apple Keynote through iCloud on Windows devices, this alternative is clearly meant for people surrounded by the walled garden of Apple technology. It makes use of features like AirDrop, Live Photos, and VoiceOver  — all of which are technologies available across Apple devices. Using Apple Keynote is completely free, and the app has easy exporting tools that make working with Microsoft PowerPoint less of a hassle.

WPS Presentation

WPS Office makes some of the best solutions for creating and editing documents on smartphones , but their service offerings extend to Windows, macOS, and even Linux. WPS Presentation is perhaps the closest you'll get to Microsoft PowerPoint in terms of the user interface and how most tools are bundled in familiar locations.

This PowerPoint app offers real-time collaboration where you can invite your team members and work on the same document remotely. Like most collaboration tools, users can leave comments to suggest changes or add information for other people on the team.

WPS Presentation is not the only free product; you can utilize every app in the WPS Office suite. Unlike most competitors, you don't need to download or use a separate mini-app to make presentations. WPS Office has a document editor, PowerPoint creator, spreadsheet manager, and other tools all within its umbrella. Premium plans for this service exist, but they mostly cater to unlocking features for editing PDFs. 

Google Slides

As a netizen, you most likely already have a Google account. Not only is it required to make any meaningful use of your Android phone, but popular services that we take for granted, like Gmail and Drive, all fall under Google's umbrella. One such free service that the tech giant has at its disposal is Google Slides . While the barebones UI might seem lackluster at first, Slides has nearly the same level of functionality as Microsoft PowerPoint and can even be supercharged by add-ons. 

All of Google's workspace apps, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides, provide an intuitive way to work in a team. You can add comments, use annotations, and share the presentation with limited access to others. You can use one of the many predesigned Google Slides templates for simple presentations , or browse for templates that cater to specific needs. Being part of a bigger service catalog has its obvious advantages, such as seamless integration with Google Meet, Gmail, and other products from Google that you already use. 

We recommend Google Slides to anyone who needs to create and edit PowerPoint presentations on the go and can't be bothered with working in a complicated environment. The service is also available as an app for Android and iOS, and you can export your presentations in a wide range of formats, including PPT, PDF, or PNG for individual slides. 

To Pay Or Not To Pay?

You'll notice that all the services we've mentioned on this list are free to use. In fact, you can use Office 365 apps online for free   — including PowerPoint, which makes purchasing a standalone subscription to the Microsoft PowerPoint app quite redundant. However, nearly every free alternative here short of Keynote also offers premium plans, but should you consider buying one?

For the vast majority of people who are looking for a robust software to create, edit, and share presentations with  —  these free options deliver exceptionally well in every aspect. Some apps like Google Slides and Apple Keynote let you work in smaller teams with the free tier as well. Apps like WPS Office and Canva tend to lock new and exciting features like AI tools behind a paywall, and while these are nice to have, you definitely can do without them. 

If you're looking for a presentation tool for a company with multiple people, you can scale up using any of the alternatives mentioned on this list. Both Google Workspace and Zoho offer reliable and enterprise-level plans you can upgrade to. For everyone else  — enjoy creating and demonstrating your PowerPoint presentations for free.

Read the original article on SlashGear .

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