- What a looping Google Slides deck needs
- Setting Google Slides to advance by itself while you present
- Publishing a looping Google Slides link for an unattended screen
- Using the Google Slides loop on a shop or event screen
- Who can see a published Google Slides loop
- If your Google Slides won't keep looping
- Looping Google Slides versus presenting live
- Frequently asked questions
To loop Google Slides, publish the deck with File, then Publish to the web, set a time under Auto-advance slides and look for a restart tickbox in that dialog. Google's help describes auto-advance but doesn't document a loop setting, so confirm it on your own screen.
A deck that plays on its own is handy for a shop window screen, a stand at an event, a waiting room or a reception display. Nobody wants to stand there clicking Next all day, so people go looking for a loop button.
Here's the honest bit up front: Google's help pages explain auto-advance clearly, but they don't describe a loop setting in the text I could read. I'll show you the routes Google does document, point you to the place where a restart option has appeared in the publish dialog, and tell you how to check it on your own screen.
What a looping Google Slides deck needs
Two things have to happen for a deck to loop: the slides must move on by themselves, and the show must go back to slide one when it reaches the end. Google's help covers the first part in detail. The second part is where menus vary, so treat anything I say about it as something to confirm in your own dialog box.
| What you want | Where Google's help puts it |
|---|---|
| Slides that move on by themselves | Auto-advance, for a live show or a published link |
| A link anyone can open | File, then Publish to the web, then Link |
| A deck inside a web page | File, then Publish to the web, then Embed |
| Going back to slide one at the end | Look for a restart tickbox in the publish dialog; the help text doesn't spell it out |
Setting Google Slides to advance by itself while you present
According to Google's help, you can set slides to play automatically when you present them. The route on a computer is short:
- Open your presentation in Google Slides.
- Click Slideshow in the top right. Google recommends Chrome for the best results.
- Click Options at the bottom of the slideshow window.
- Choose Auto advance options and pick how long each slide should stay on screen.
Google also advises re-setting the auto advance options each time you present. So if you open the deck tomorrow and it sits on slide one, that's why. For an unattended screen that's a nuisance, which is the main reason people prefer the published version below.
Publishing a looping Google Slides link for an unattended screen
The published route is the one I'd pick for a screen nobody is watching, because the settings travel with the link. Google's help says to do this:
- Open the presentation and click File.
- Choose Publish to the web.
- Pick Link if you want a web address, or Embed if you want the deck inside a page on your own site.
- Under Auto-advance slides, choose how much time you want between slides.
- Look through the same dialog for a tickbox about restarting the slideshow after the last slide, and tick it if you can see one.
- Click Publish and confirm.
Step five is the one I can't back with a Google help sentence, which is why I've phrased it as 'look for'. The restart option has been reported in that dialog by guides outside Google, but I'd rather you trust your own screen than my memory. If the box is there, tick it. If it isn't, use the fallback in the next section.
Using the Google Slides loop on a shop or event screen
Once you've published, open the link in a browser on the display computer and use the browser's full screen control to hide the toolbars. A few practical points for small-business displays:
- Use the published link rather than editing mode, so nobody can nudge the deck by accident.
- Keep the slide count modest and the text large. A passer-by gives you a few seconds.
- Set the browser start page to the link so it comes back after a restart.
- If the deck updates, remember that published decks refresh when you edit the original, so tell the person looking after the screen.
If you're still choosing the tool, my roundup of other presentation apps you could use instead of Google Slides covers options with built-in kiosk modes.
Who can see a published Google Slides loop
This matters more than people expect. Google's help says that after you publish a presentation, anyone with the link will be able to see it. If you use Slides through work or school, you may only be able to share the link with people in your organisation, and an administrator may have switched publishing off altogether.
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So don't publish a deck with client names, launch plans you haven't announced or anything confidential. Put only what you'd happily show on a street-facing window into the looping version.
If your Google Slides won't keep looping
Work down this list in order:
- Check you opened the published link, not the editor. Auto-advance for the editor has to be set again each time you present.
- Open File, then Publish to the web again and check the auto-advance time is still set.
- Look for the restart tickbox. If your dialog doesn't show one, the show will end on the last slide.
- Fallback: add a last slide that says 'Starting again' and refresh the page from a scheduled browser reload, or ask whoever manages the display computer to set that up.
- If you're on a work or school account and Publish to the web is missing, ask your administrator, because Google says publishing can be turned off.
Looping Google Slides versus presenting live
People mix these up. Presenting live is about you standing there with the clicker, and my notes on calming nerves before you present are for that situation. A loop is for a deck that talks to nobody in particular, so each slide has to make sense on its own without you narrating it.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a loop button in Google Slides?
Google's help pages describe auto-advance but don't describe a loop setting in the text I could read. Open File, then Publish to the web, and look in that dialog for a tickbox about restarting the slideshow after the last slide.
How do I make Google Slides advance automatically?
To advance while presenting, click Slideshow, then Options, then Auto advance options. For a published link, click File, Publish to the web, choose Link or Embed and set the time under Auto-advance slides.
Do I need to set auto-advance every time?
For live presenting, yes. Google advises re-setting the auto advance options each time you present. Published links keep their settings.
Can anyone see a published Google Slides loop?
Yes. Google says anyone with the link can see it once published. On a work or school account you may be limited to your organisation, and an administrator may have turned publishing off.
Can I loop Google Slides on my phone?
Google's iPhone and iPad presenting steps don't mention auto-advance, so I can't confirm it there. Set the loop up on a computer, then open the published link on the screen you want.
