The Google Slides App

The Google Slides app turns a presentation into signage content: the deck plays through its slides on its own, and when someone edits the presentation, the screens pick up the change automatically. It's a great fit for menus, welcome screens, and announcements — anything a team already maintains in Slides.

This page covers the Google Slides specifics. For what all apps share — connecting accounts, playlists, reconnecting — see Apps & Integrations.

Connect your Google account

Connect the account on the Integrations page (Settings → Integrations) using Connect Google — see Connecting an account for the full flow, department scoping, and who can connect. The same Google connection also serves Google Drive imports.

The connection can't browse your Google Drive. It can open only:

• presentations that have been allowed for the app — once per presentation, as described below, and
• presentations published to the web.

Bohemica Signage only reads these presentations; it never changes them. On Google's consent screen, this per-file permission is described in Google's own standard wording — leave it allowed, otherwise the account can't be connected.

Add a Google Slides playable

1. In the Playables section, click Add new playable, choose the App type, and pick Google Slides.
2. Paste the presentation's link — the address-bar link while the deck is open, the link from Share, or a Publish to web link.
3. For a private deck, choose the connected Google account below the link. If your department has only one active Google account, it's already selected. A published deck needs no account.
4. If the dashboard says the presentation isn't shared with the app yet, allow access to it first. Once the dashboard has found the presentation, its title appears and is pre-filled as the Name — keep it or change it.
5. Set the Slide duration — how many seconds each slide stays on screen. The default is 10 seconds; anything from 3 seconds up to an hour works.
6. Click Create app playable.

The slide duration can be changed later on the playable's page by a department Admin or Organization admin.

Allow access to a private presentation

The first time a private presentation is used with a connected account, the dashboard tells you that the file isn't shared with the app yet. To allow it:

1. Click Allow access via Google Drive. A Google window opens, showing that presentation.
2. Click Select.
3. The link is checked again, and the presentation's title appears — you can continue creating the playable.

Instead of pasting a link, you can also click Choose from Google Drive and pick one of your presentations — that allows and selects it in one step.

The permission is remembered for that Google account: the next time anyone uses the same presentation with that account, it's recognized right away, without the Google window. If you close the window without clicking Select, nothing is allowed — just open it again.

On screen

For a presentation used through a connected account:

• Each time the playable comes on screen, the presentation starts from the first slide and advances at the interval you set.
• Edits show up on their own. The presentation is checked for changes about once a minute, so an edit usually reaches the screens within a minute or two after it's saved — no re-uploading, no re-publishing.
• Slides are shown as good-quality still images prepared by Google — not at the screen's full native resolution, so very small text may look a little soft on large screens. A short crossfade separates the slides; Google's own slide transitions, animations, and embedded video or audio aren't played. Decks with one clear message per slide work best.
• If the deck's aspect ratio differs from the screen's, the slides are letterboxed (black bars at the edges) rather than stretched or cropped.
• The device needs an internet connection at play time — see How app playables work.

Public links

A deck published with File → Share → Publish to web plays without any connected account. It runs in Google's own presentation viewer with your slide duration applied and loops when it reaches the end. How the deck looks, how quickly published edits appear, and whether it starts from the first slide every time are then up to Google. The playable's page shows the Public link status, and the library shows a generic icon instead of a thumbnail. Keep in mind that a published deck can be opened by anyone with the link — see the note on public links.

Limitations

• PowerPoint files stored in Google Drive aren't supported. Open the file in Google Slides, use File → Save as Google Slides, and use the new deck instead.
• Only Google Slides presentations can be used — links to Google Docs, Sheets, or other files in Drive aren't presentation links and are refused.
• Slide transitions, animations, and embedded video or audio aren't played — each slide appears as a still image.
• One duration applies to all slides — individual slides can't have their own timing.

FAQ

How quickly do edits appear on screen?

A: For decks used with a connected account, usually within a minute or two of saving. Published decks are refreshed by Google and can take longer.

Can each slide have its own duration?

A: No — one interval applies to the whole deck. An administrator can change it at any time from the playable's page. If some content needs to stay up longer, split it into a playable of its own.

The dashboard won't accept my presentation link.

A: Check what the dashboard tells you:

• The file isn't shared with the app yet — click Allow access via Google Drive and then Select (administrators only; other members can ask an administrator or use a published link).
• The Google window asks you to sign in or doesn't load — allow third-party cookies for google.com, or use Chrome.
• Still no access after selecting the deck — the connected Google account can't open the presentation. Ask its owner to share it with that account.
• The link looks private, but you shared it as Anyone with the link — that isn't public; connect an account and allow the deck, or publish it to the web.
• It's a PowerPoint file — convert it with File → Save as Google Slides and use the new deck.
• The link isn't recognized at all — make sure it points at a Google Slides presentation, not a Doc, Sheet, or other Drive file.

I don't see Allow access via Google Drive or Choose from Google Drive.

A: Those buttons are only available to department Admins and Organization admins, and only once a Google account is selected below the link.

Does the deck continue where it left off?

A: No — for decks used through a connected account, every airing starts from slide 1, so viewers always see the deck from the beginning. Published decks play in Google's viewer, where this isn't guaranteed.

What happens when the presentation is deleted or no longer shared?

A: The playable stays in your playlists, and its slot shows a notice on screen that the content is temporarily unavailable while it keeps retrying. The dashboard doesn't warn you about this — the connection still shows as Active and the thumbnail keeps its last picture — so if a screen shows the notice, check the deck in Google: does it still exist, and can the connected account still open it? Restore or re-share the deck, or remove the playable. See also When a connection needs attention.

Need help?

Stuck getting your presentation on screen? Contact our support team and we'll be glad to help.