Many people utilize Google Slides, a practical and user-friendly presentation tool. Slides will also be an application that many people are acquainted with because of its design, similar to PowerPoint. Today, we’ll address a particular text-related problem. Stay tuned.
Some Google Slides users have recently voiced complaints about jumbled or overlapping content. When they tried to put text into a slide, everything seemed to be on the left side of the page.
Various chat rooms and forums tried to solve this bothersome problem. Just that, temporary remedies. Users would make improvements, only to discover that their software had returned to its previous behavior.
Thankfully, it seems that this issue has a remedy. But before we discuss how to fix overlapping text, we must understand a few things about Google Slides.
An Overview of Google Slides
Along with Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Slides is a component of Google’s online office suite. This software for making presentations is free. It has two versions: a mobile app and a desktop program for Chrome OS.
Similar to PowerPoint in operation is Google Slides. The former, however, is a superior choice for producing great presentations due to a few quirks. Working with several people on the same file in real-time is one of the most delicate features of Google Slides. Like PowerPoint, Google Slides enables users to edit pre-designed themes with texts, timelines, uploaded images, line graphs, and other effects, or you may ultimately construct presentations from scratch. Additionally, you may decide whether you will make the Google Slides presentation base you want out of premium or free templates.
Google Slides offers its customers many fresh, innovative features thanks to frequent upgrades. Introducing the Explore option, which gives you access to a library of layouts and graphics that you may use for your presentations, is one of the most recent improvements. The Action items feature, which enables you to delegate tasks to your team members, is also included in the most recent edition of the program.
The software’s creators aim to enhance Google Slides further so it can compete well with PowerPoint. However, a lot has been accomplished. We will go through each of Google Slides’ critical features so you can quickly build great presentations.
So, now that we understand what Google Slides is and when you can use it, let’s delve deeper into our original problem: Fixing overlapping text.
Overlapping Text in Google Slides: How to Solve the Problem
Overlapping text in Google Slides may seem like magic for many people. Even more, the issue can waste much of your precious time wondering how your content appears.
Luckily, there is a quick fix for how to solve overlapping text on Google Slides like a pro.
1. Solving Text Overlapping using Incognito Mode
Users with text overlapping difficulties are advised to log in to Chrome and operate in Incognito Mode. Thanks to this functionality, users may surf using Google Chrome without Chrome recording their browser history, website data, cookies, or data type into informative fields.
Additionally, Incognito seems to be the only solution for overlapping text in Slides at this time.
In Google Chrome, look for the three vertical dots symbol in the top right corner to launch an incognito window. The phrase “Customize and control Google Chrome” appears when you hover your cursor over the sign. Press the three-dot icon.
There will be alternatives for Chrome in a drop-down menu. Users may retrieve past downloads, scale the page view in or out, and check their internet history. You may notice New Incognito Window in the three lines below.
A new window will open incognito when you click this button. This page will let you know whether you’re in incognito mode.
Additionally, this emblem in the page’s top right corner reminds you that you are in incognito mode.
Visit a website once you’ve launched an incognito window. You may enter “Google,” for instance. You’ll be sent to a page with search engine results. There is a chance for you to sign in to your Google account right here.
Open Google Slides after entering private mode. The text should type without any overlapping concerns. Additionally, you ought now to be able to start generally working while still in incognito mode and save your work before returning to it.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Here are a few keyboard shortcuts you may use in Chrome to quickly launch new tabs or windows, both in conventional and incognito.
- Command + N to open a new window
- Shift + Command + N to open a new incognito window
- Command + T to open a new tab.
2. Other fixes worth trying
You may discover further alternatives suggested on the Google support forum if the incognito mode technique doesn’t work for you for whatever reason.
These are worth attempting if you need a fix since some have been reported to work while others are potential reasons for this strange problem.
- Switch to another browser, such as Edge or Firefox.
- Disable all extensions; maybe one of them interferes with Google Slides.
- Turn off Grammarly since some people experience issues using it.
- Ad blockers are another potential source of issues, so try disabling them if you have one (please don’t use an ad blocker; ads are what make publishing quality content sustainable and prevent the use of automatically generated content that is produced at a lower cost or fabricated reviews that are written solely to earn affiliate commissions).
- Restart Chrome after clearing its cache.
3. Google troubleshooting tips
One of the concerns concerning text that overlapped in Google Slides included issues with certain font styles not loading and an error message popping up.
Despite its apparent simplicity, closing the software, waiting five minutes, and re-loading it is one of Google’s most popular troubleshooting suggestions.
Due to the online-based nature of Google Apps, there are instances when the web network you’re using won’t be able to complete the job you’ve given. Your computer, the network, or a combination of the two may blame for this problem.
Gremlins sometimes put forth additional effort.
The next time you encounter a problem, consider this repair or one of these other troubleshooting ideas.
4. Online technologies
The applications and tools used by web-based technology and SaaS (software as a service) are not installed on your machine. They are instead made available by the SaaS server. In this case, Google is using the Chrome browser to power and make available all of its many applications. Slides and other Google applications are accessible from any Chrome-running machine.
With that, let’s see how overlapping comes about using Google Slides. Besides, the knowledge is essential and helps you understand the earlier noted problem of fixing text overlapping.
How to Overlap Text in Google Slides
In Google Slides, you must type text into distinct text boxes for it to overlap. You can see how Google Slides handles objects if you imagine each text box as a sticky note. Although you can make many objects that may overlap, you cannot overlay text inside the same item. You can insert text into text boxes and WordArt boxes in Google Slides. Shapes, charts, and graphs may all be filled with text. For all objects, overlapping functions are the same.
- Select “Text Box” or “WordArt” from the “Insert” option on Google Slide. If you choose Text Box, click and drag to design the box’s location on the slide.
- Enter the text you wish to appear in the bottom layer. Repeat the procedure to add a second text or WordArt box and input text to cover the original text.
- In the Microsoft Office ribbon, choose the “Format” tab. If you don’t see the Drawing Tools portion of the ribbon, click on the second box that you wish to overlap the other to choose it. The tab won’t be displayed if you don’t have the text box or WordArt chosen.
- Select “No Fill” from the Shape Styles section’s “Shape Fill” button. This makes sure that a backdrop color won’t obscure the text behind your overlapping text box.
- Drag the text box or WordArt by clicking on its edge and dragging it over the other text. When you are close to the edge, your mouse cursor will change to a cross with arrows.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Google Slides issues and their diagnostics:
1. How can I fix overlapping text in Chrome?
There are many potential reasons and remedies, as with most computer issues. Here are the actions I would suggest taking to solve this issue:
- Verify that Zoom is set to 100 percent by clicking the hamburger menu (three dots stacked on top) in the upper right corner of your Chrome window. (I don’t think this is the problem, but you may check!)
- Select Settings from the hamburger menu in the Chrome window’s upper right corner. Click on Customize Fonts under Appearance and go through the options. For a starting point to compare against, see the screenshot at the end of my response for my settings.
- Select More Tools from the hamburger menu in the upper right corner of the Chrome window before selecting Extensions. Disable every Chrome app and add-on you have installed. Your add-ons or programs are the problems if this step fixes your problem. Reactivate each one separately to identify the offender.
- If none of these suggestions work, let me know, and I’ll look for any additional options.
2. How to wrap text in Google Slides
- Include your photo on the slide.
- Modify the image’s dimensions and placement to suit your tastes.
3. Can you save a Google Slides presentation as a PowerPoint file?
You may download a Google Slides presentation as Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx). Additionally, a presentation may be downloaded as a PDF, ODP, or plain text file. The speaker notes and the text from the slide are included in the plain text file.
4. How to Outline Text in Google Slides
Use the WordArt tool to play around with the text a little if you get tired of reading plain text.
- Select “Word art” from the drop-down menu under the “Insert” menu.
- Enter your text in the dialogue box that appears. To add several lines, use Shift + Enter.
- To save, press Enter.
You may now experiment with the text’s color, contour, line thickness, and addition of dotted lines.
5. In Google Slides, is it possible to adjust an image’s shape?
Some forms, including a circle, may be substituted for an image’s default rectangular shape. To achieve this, choose the picture from the toolbar and then select the Mask option. The Mask menu choice is the down arrow to the right of the Crop symbol.
6. How to make text boxes in Google Slides
- Select “Drawing” from the “Insert” menu.
- To obtain a text box, use the Text Box command and drag it to the drawing area.
- Enter your text in the text field after you let go of the mouse.
7. Can you include the video in Google Slides?
Any slide may have a video added to it by choosing a video from the Insert menu after clicking on it. You may include YouTube videos. The same is true for files in video format that have been saved to Google Drive.
8. How to curve text in Google Slides
- From the “Insert” menu, choose “Drawing.”
- Select “Curve” by clicking the arrow to the right of the “Line Tool” symbol.
- Create a curve that you like.
9. Can you add charts and spreadsheet data to Google Slides?
You can copy a group of cells from a Google Sheet and then paste them as a table in a PowerPoint. You may connect the spreadsheet range and the table. An Update button will appear on the presentation whenever one or more cells in the field are updated. A slide in Google Slides may include any Google Sheets chart.
10. How to rotate text in Google Slides
A simple solution is:
- Select the “Format” option.
- Select “Text orientation.”
Conclusion
For many folks, Google Slides’ text overlapping feature works like magic. Furthermore, the problem might spend much of your time wondering why your material is showing up. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to handle this issue expertly. Utilize the advice above to save time and money while working on other worthwhile projects.