# General Translation Knowledge Base: How do I translate Google Slides? URL: https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-google-slides.mdx Docs index: https://generaltranslation.com/llms.txt Description: Copy the deck once per language, replace the text in every text box, table cell and speaker note, and resize text that overflows. General Translation's Google Drive integration writes each language to its own copy alongside the source and runs a formatting pass to fit the new text to each slide. Category: Translation Last updated: 2026-10-21 Authors: Kevin Liu, Kevin Wu Published: 2026-10-21 To translate a Google Slides presentation, you copy the deck once per language and replace the text in every text box, table cell and speaker note with its translation. It's tricky because translated text rarely takes up the same space as the original (a short English label can run much longer in German, as the W3C's guide to [text size in translation](https://www.w3.org/International/articles/article-text-size) shows), so text overflows its box or leaves gaps that someone has to fix slide by slide. Each copy also goes out of date as soon as someone edits the source deck. ## Video The video is narrated in English, with English captions. [How do I translate Google Slides?](https://caxecubb9c64cezv.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/films/kb-translate-google-slides.mp4) (50 secs) General Translation lets you choose languages in the Locadex add-on and click Sync and apply. With Google Drive connected to General Translation, open Extensions, then Locadex, choose German and the other languages, and click Sync and apply. ## Ways to translate a presentation | Approach | What it does well | Where the translation ends up | What it leaves to you | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Translating a copy by hand | A translator sees each slide and can shorten text to fit | A copy you make and name for each language | Every text box, table cell and speaker note in every language, and finding what changed after each source edit | | Document translation in Google Translate or DeepL | Translates a whole `.pptx` file in one upload | A downloaded `.pptx` that you convert back to Slides as a separate presentation | Checking every slide after the conversion, including text that no longer fits, and repeating the round trip after each edit | | A script on the Google Slides API with an AI model (OpenAI API, Claude API) | Takes your glossary and tone rules in the prompt, for teams that already script their decks | Wherever your script writes it | Rewriting text in shapes, table cells and speaker notes without losing its styling, refitting text that grew or shrank, and rerunning after edits | | General Translation (Google Drive integration) | Translates text in shapes, table cells and speaker notes, keeps the source's styling, links and lists, and runs a formatting pass, billed per slide, that fits the new text to each slide | A separate presentation per language in the source's folder, with images, videos and charts left as they are | Checking slides where text now overflows or wraps differently, and running **Apply changes** after the source changes | Use a hand-translated copy when one deck goes into one or two languages and a translator can fit each slide. Use document translation when you only need to read a deck in another language, and a script only when you already automate decks through the Slides API. Use General Translation's Google Drive integration when decks change and go out in several languages, so every copy has to keep its layout and follow the source. ## Translate a presentation with General Translation General Translation's Google Drive integration translates presentations from the Dashboard and requires a Starter or Enterprise plan. 1. Open **Project > Integrations > Catalog** and click **Connect** on **Google Drive**. 2. Click **Connect account** and sign in to Google. 3. Click **Add files** and select the presentation. 4. Check its **Source** language and choose languages under **Translate into**. 5. Click **Translate**. ## Update translations after the source changes After you edit the source, **Apply changes** rebuilds each copy, reuses translations whose source text hasn't changed, and keeps your edits to a copy where the source text still matches. In General Translation, the same Context Group (a Glossary and Custom Prompts) can guide your decks, app, website and docs, so a product name is translated consistently across all of them. The [Google Drive Quickstart](/docs/integrations/google-drive/quickstart) has the full steps. ## Related questions - [How do I review and edit translations?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/review-translations.mdx): Compare each translation with its source and the other locales, and fix anything that doesn't read right. With General Translation, you edit translations on the Dashboard's Translations page and track review with labels and comments, and the next translation run by Locadex, its AI agent, brings the edits into a pull request. - [How do I translate content in Sanity?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-sanity-content.mdx): Store each language as its own document or as a value per locale in each field, then translate the source into every target locale. General Translation's gt-sanity plugin adds a Translate action to Sanity Studio and, by default, imports each translation as a draft you review and publish. - [How do I translate content in Storyblok?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-storyblok-content.mdx): In Storyblok, add your target languages to the space and give each translatable field a value per language. General Translation's Storyblok integration fills those values from the Dashboard with Sync and apply, as drafts you review and publish in Storyblok. - [How do I translate a Mintlify docs site?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-mintlify-docs.mdx): Write a translated copy of every page in a folder per language and add each language to the docs.json navigation. General Translation's AI agent, Locadex, opens a pull request that adds the translated pages and per-language navigation, then translates later changes. ## Previous and next questions - Previous question: [How do I translate content in Storyblok?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-storyblok-content.mdx) - Next question: [How do I translate strings outside JSX?](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/translate-strings-outside-jsx.mdx) ## Sitemap See the [Knowledge Base sitemap](https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/kb/sitemap.md) for every article.