In Google Slides, how to show and hide slides?

There may be slides in a slideshow that you don’t want to showcase but don’t necessarily want to eliminate either when you make or import it. Sometimes all you need to do in a Google Slides presentation is to temporarily hide a slide.

A slide can be hidden and later shown again, a capability that is not immediately apparent.

How to make a Google Slides slide hide

You can use the Skip slide function in Google Slides to hide a slide after you log in and launch your slideshow. And you can do it from any viewpoint.

Step 1: Select the slide you want to hide.

Select the slide to be highlighted in the Filmstrip, which displays thumbnails of the slides on the left side.
Select the slide to highlight it in Grid view, which displays thumbnails of the slides in a grid style.
Press the Up or Down arrow on your keyboard, scroll with your mouse, or use your trackpad to navigate until you arrive at the slide in standard mode, which only shows one slide at a time.

Step 2: Go to the Slide tab.

Step 3: Choose Slide is skipped.

Step 4: As an alternative, you can use the Shortcut menu by selecting Skip slide when you right-click a slide in the Filmstrip or Grid view.

An icon of an eye with a line through it appears on the slide when it is skipped, hiding it from the audience.

If you skip a slide in a slideshow, you can still edit or modify it. By doing this, you can keep it out of the presentation and still edit it.

How to hide several slides

You can skip multiple slides at once if you have more than one slide you want to remove from your presentation. You can avoid manually skipping each slide by doing this.

Step 1: Select Grid view from the View menu or see the Filmstrip by selecting View > Show filmstrip.

Step 2: Choose the slides you wish to highlight in order to hide.

Select the first slide, hold down the Shift key, and select the last slide to select the neighbouring ones.
Select the first slide, hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac), and select each subsequent slide to select nonadjacent slides.

Step 3: Select the Slide tab.

Step 4: Select Skip slides.

Step 5: As an alternative, you can use the Shortcut menu by right-clicking on one of the slides and selecting Skip slides.

The icon with the eye and line will then appear on each slide you missed. When you deliver your slideshow, some slides are not visible.

How to show a slide in Google Slides

You can use the same procedure as above to unhide the slides you’ve hidden or skipped when you’re ready to present them.

Step 1: Choose the slide or slides that you want to display.

Step 2: Select the Slide tab.

Step 3: To remove the checkmark, choose Skip slide(s).

Step 4: Alternatively, to remove the checkmark, right-click a slide or collection of slides in the Filmstrip or Grid view and select Skip slide(s) from the shortcut menu.

The icon is then taken out of the slide or slides and shown in your presentation as a result.

How to show a slide when presenting

It’s possible that you’ve hidden a slide and later decide to present it. When using Google Slides’ Presenter View, you might see a skipped slide.

Step 1: When you are prepared to present, choose Presenter view from the Slideshow drop-down menu in the top right corner of the screen.

Step 2: The slideshow will then appear in your primary browser window, along with a smaller window that gives you control over the presentation.

Step 3: In the control window, choose the drop-down menu that lists the slide numbers in the top left corner. Your concealed slides will be displayed, each bearing the recognisable icon of an eye with a line through it.

You can choose the skipped slide you want to display in your presentation.

Step 4: After you’ve finished presenting that slide, choose the subsequent one from the drop-down box and carry on with the slideshow as usual.

Unfinished slides or slides you’re keeping for a different audience can be concealed, and you can reveal them later. Utilize this function of Google Slides!

To learn more, check out our guides on using Google Slides to draw or to add music or video to your presentation.