How to Group in Google Slides (and Why It Greys Out)

Grouping stops a carefully lined-up set of shapes, icons and text boxes falling apart the moment you move one of them. It's one of the quickest ways to make slides easier to edit, and it's especially useful for diagrams, logos made from several pieces and anything you'll copy onto other slides.

How to group objects in Google Slides

1. Click the first object.
2. Hold Shift and click each of the other objects you want in the group.
3. Right-click one of the selected objects.
4. Choose Group.

Or, with the objects selected, press Ctrl, Alt and G on Windows or Chromebook, or Command, Option and G on a Mac. You can also use the Arrange menu and choose Group.

Select lots of objects at once

Instead of Shift-clicking, click on an empty part of the slide and drag a box around everything you want. Every object fully inside the box is selected. It's faster for diagrams with many pieces, but check you haven't caught a background shape by accident.

How to ungroup

1. Click the group to select it.
2. Right-click and choose Ungroup.

The shortcut is Ctrl, Shift, Alt and G on Windows, or Command, Shift, Option and G on a Mac.

Edit one item without ungrouping

You don't have to ungroup to change one piece. Click the group once to select it, then click again on the item you want. You can now edit its text, colour or size while the rest of the group stays put. Click outside the group when you're done.

The catch: some things can't be grouped

Can be grouped	Can't be grouped
Shapes and lines	Placeholders from the theme layout
Text boxes you've added	Items on the theme or master slide
Images and icons	Objects on different slides
Word art	Video players with some settings

If the Group option is greyed out, the usual reason is that one of your selected items is a layout placeholder, such as the title box that came with the slide. Copy its text into an ordinary text box, delete the placeholder, then group again.

Grouping on your phone

In the Google Slides app, select the objects, then tap Group. To split them, select the group and tap Group again. It's fiddlier on a small screen, so for complex diagrams it's easier on a computer.

Why grouping is worth the habit

• Move diagrams in one go without nudging every piece back into line.
• Resize together, so text boxes and icons keep their proportions.
• Copy to other slides as a single unit.
• Animate as one, so a whole diagram appears at once rather than piece by piece.
• Stop accidental edits to a layout you've spent time aligning.

Align before you group

Grouping keeps things together, but it doesn't line them up. Select the objects, then use Arrange, then Align and Distribute to space them evenly first. Then group them. A diagram that's both aligned and grouped stays tidy however many times you move it.

Grouping and animations

If you animate objects one by one and then group them, the separate animations are replaced by one for the whole group. That's useful when you want a diagram to appear at once, but annoying if you'd set up a careful sequence. Decide how you want things to appear before grouping, or keep the pieces ungrouped and animate them individually. You can't animate one piece inside a group on its own.

Grouping to build reusable pieces

If you use the same arrangement on many slides, such as a logo with a strapline or a numbered step with an icon, build it once, group it, and copy the group wherever you need it. Every copy keeps its spacing. For something you'll reuse across decks, save the grouped piece on a spare slide at the end of your template so it's always there to copy. It saves rebuilding small layouts from scratch each time, and keeps every presentation looking consistent.

Locking a layout in place

Google Slides doesn't have a lock for objects on normal slides, so grouping is the closest you'll get to protecting a layout from stray clicks. For anything that should never move, like a logo or a footer, put it in the theme instead with Slide, then Edit theme. Items there can't be selected on ordinary slides at all.

Nested groups

You can group groups. For example, group each icon with its label, then group all the labelled icons into one diagram. When you ungroup the outer group, the inner groups stay intact, which makes complex slides much easier to rearrange. It's a good habit for anything with repeated units, like a row of team photos with names or a set of steps.

If you're building slides to present, my guide to handling stage fright covers the delivery side.

My verdict

Shift-click your objects, right-click and choose Group, or press Ctrl, Alt and G. Align everything first, edit single items by clicking twice instead of ungrouping, and if Group is greyed out, look for a layout placeholder in your selection. It's a small habit that saves a lot of nudging. For more on presentations that work, see how to brief a speaker.

Frequently asked questions

What's the shortcut to group in Google Slides?

Ctrl, Alt and G on Windows or Chromebook, or Command, Option and G on a Mac.

How do I ungroup in Google Slides?

Right-click the group and choose Ungroup, or press Ctrl, Shift, Alt and G.

Why can't I group objects in Google Slides?

One of the selected items is probably a layout placeholder, which can't be grouped.

Can I edit one object in a group?

Yes. Click the group, then click the object again to select just that one.

Can I group objects on the Google Slides app?

Yes. Select them and tap Group. Tap Group again to separate them.

Can I group text boxes and images together?

Yes. Text boxes you've added, shapes, lines and images can all be grouped.