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How To Outline Text in Google Slides in 2 Minutes

Adding outlines to text in Google Slides can greatly enhance the visual impact of your presentations, making your text stand out and grab your audience’s attention. Whether you want to emphasize key points, create a stylish title, or enhance the readability of your content, outlining text can be a powerful tool.

You have two main options to outline text in Google Slides: Using the “Text Box” or “Word Art” feature. Both methods are straightforward and can be accessed through the Insert menu in Google Slides.

In this guide, we’ll teach you how to outline text in Google Slides, allowing you to add a professional touch and make your slides more engaging.

What Are Text Outlines in Google Slides, and Why Do We Need Them?

Text outlines are the exterior borders of characters in your Google Slides presentation. The outline can be customized in terms of color, thickness, and style to suit your design preferences and the overall theme of your presentation.

Here are some benefits of outlining text in Google Slides:

  • Enhanced readability and visibility: Text outlines make the text more prominent and easier to read, especially when the background or image behind the text is complex or colorful.
  • Emphasis on important points: Outlining the specific text makes your presentation’s key points or important information stand out and stick in your audience’s memory.
  • Customization options: Google Slides offers a variety of customization options for text outlines, including different colors, thicknesses, and styles. This flexibility allows you to tailor the outlines to match your presentation’s branding or visual theme.
  • Accessibility: For individuals with visual impairments or reading difficulties, text outlines can provide additional visual cues and make the text more accessible.

How To Outline Text in Google Slides

There are two ways to outline text in Google Slides:

Let’s take a closer look at each of them and choose the one that suits your needs and preferences.

Method 1: How To Outline Letters in Google Slides Using Word Art

In Google Slides, “Word Art” refers to a feature that allows you to apply artistic and decorative effects to your text. Here’s an easy, step-by-step guide on how to outline letters using Word Art.

To create or open a Google Slides presentation, follow these steps:

  1. Open Google Slides and create a new presentation or open an existing one.
  2. Click “Insert” in the menu and select “Word Art.” This action will open a text box on your currently selected slide.
How to outline text in Google Slides—Where to find Word Art feature in Insert menu

 

  1. Type or copy your text into the text box, and press “Enter” when you’re done.
Input text using Word Art

 

Note: If you want to create a new line within the text box, press Shift + Enter.

On your current slide, it should appear like this after hitting “Enter.” This text is still editable. Just click on the text and start editing like you would edit normal text.

What default text looks like using Word Art

 

To edit or design the Word Art, you can use the various tools and options available:

  • Format options: Use this feature to customize the size, rotation, position, drop shadow, and reflection of the Word Art. Select “Word Art” and click “Format options” in the toolbar to access Format options.
  • Animate: You can also apply animations to the Word Art to make it more engaging.
  • Text editing tools: The toolbar provides basic text editing options, such as font selection, emphasis (bold, underline, italicize), fill color, border color, and border weight.

In this part of the guide, we’ll use “Format options,” where you’ll find Size and Rotation, Position, Drop Shadow, and Reflection options.

Google Slides toolbar

 

  1. To start editing using the Format options, select the Word Art to be edited, then click “Format options” in the toolbar.
Where to find Format options in the toolbar to edit Word Art

 

  1. To add reflections, select Word Art and go to the “Format options” pane that will appear on the right-hand side of your Google Slides window. Then, enable “Reflections” by ticking the box beside it. Once enabled, you can adjust the reflection settings to your liking.
  2. Under the “Reflection” settings, you can adjust Opacity, Distance, and Size using the sliders. Click and drag the sliders to adjust the “Reflection” settings.
Slider settings in the Format options pane

 

  1. To add “Drop shadow,” go to the “Format options” pane that appears on the right-hand side of your Google Slides window. To enable drop shadow, tick the box next to “Drop shadow.” Once enabled, you can adjust the “Drop shadow” settings to your liking.
  2. Under the “Drop shadow” settings, you can adjust the Opacity, Angle, Distance, and Blur Radius using the sliders. Click and drag the sliders to adjust the Drop shadow settings.
Slider options in the Format options pane

 

To add an outline to the text:

  1. Select the text again and click the “Fill” icon in the toolbar.
  2. Choose a fill color for the text.
Changing Word Art color using the Fill color feature in the tool bar

 

  1. To make the text border for Google Slides stand out, select a contrasting color for the border by clicking on the “Border color” icon in the toolbar.
Changing border color on Word Art using the Border color feature in the toolbar

 

  1. Increase the thickness of your text outline by selecting the “Border weight” icon in the toolbar and choosing a suitable thickness.
Setting border thickness of Word Art using the border thickness tool in the toolbar

 

After all the editing’s done, you should have text that looks like this:

Word Art with fill color and 4px border weight

Method 2: How To Add Outline to Text in Google Slides Using Text Box

Outlining text using a Text Box works similarly to using the Word Art feature, the main difference being the fancy text design. When using a Text Box, you will be using the default normal text, and you’ll need to manually set the font, font size, and font color for a more sophisticated look.

Here’s how to outline text using a Text Box in Google Slides:

  1. Click on the “Insert” menu and select “Text Box.”
Where to find Text Box feature in Insert menu

 

  1. Then, you will be prompted to draw a text box. Simply select a starting point on the currently selected slide where you wish to place the text box, then drag until you achieve the size you want.
  2. In the text box, write the text you want to display on your slide. Then, click inside the box and start typing. Press “Enter” to create a new line, and click anywhere outside the box to stop interacting with it.

When using the Text Box method, you can also use formatting options. Follow these steps to format your text:

  1. Click on the text box and select “Format options” in the toolbar.
Using Format options in the toolbar to edit text in the textbox

 

  1. To enable Drop shadow, tick the box next to the Format options pane.
Checkbox for Drop Shadow settings in Format options pane

 

  1. Once enabled, you can adjust the “Drop shadow” settings using the slider settings. Click and drag the sliders to adjust the drop shadow to your preference.
Drop shadow slider settings in Format options pane

 

  1. Similarly, you can enable and adjust the “Reflection” settings to create reflections for your text.
Reflection slider settings in Format options pane

 

To add an outline to the text:

  1. Select the text in the Text Box.
  2. Click on the “Fill” icon in the toolbar to choose a fill color for the text.
Changing Word Art color using the Fill color feature in the tool bar

 

  1. To make the text border pop, change it to a contrasting color. In the toolbar, click on the “Border color” icon. Then, select a color that contrasts your text’s fill color.
Changing border color on Word Art using the Border color feature in the toolbar

 

  1. Increase the thickness of your text outline. In the toolbar, click on the “Border weight” icon. Then, select a thickness that will emphasize your text’s outline better.
Setting border thickness of Word Art using the border thickness tool in the toolbar

 

The result you’ll get using the Text Box method will look like this:

Text box with green fill color and thick black border

How To Use Borders in Google Slides

Borders, just like text formatting, aren’t only for aesthetics. They can be used to emphasize specific information, create sections in your presentation, and make your slides look more professional and polished.

To add a border to your slide in Google Slides, simply follow the steps below:

  1. Click on the “Insert” menu and select “Shape.” This will give you four additional options. To find shapes commonly used as borders, click on “Shapes.”
Where to find Shapes in Insert menu

 

  1. Choose one that suits your slide’s design from the selection of shapes. The rectangle shape is commonly used as a border, so let’s use that for this guide. Click on the rectangle shape.
  2. Click where you want your border to start and drag it to where you want it to end. The rectangle shape will create a border around the selected area. It should look like this:
Drawing a rectangle in Google Slides

 

  1. To remove the fill color of the rectangle shape and make it transparent, click on the “Fill color” icon in the toolbar, then select “Transparent.”
How to make rectangle shape transparent using Fill tool

 

Now that you have a proper border, you can change its color and thickness. Here’s how:

  1. To change your border color, select the “Border color” icon in the toolbar and choose your preferred color.
Changing border color using border color tool in toolbar

 

  1. Select the “Border thickness” icon in the toolbar to make the border more visible, and choose a thickness that suits your needs.
Using a rectangle shape with black borders and transparent fill color to make a border

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Outline a Text Box in Google Slides?

To outline a text box in Google Slides, select the text box and add a border weight. In the toolbar, you’ll find the “Border weight” icon next to the “Fill” and “Border color” icons.

Click on it and choose the desired thickness. This will add a border to your text box in the default black color. To change the color, click on the “Border color” option and select the desired color.

How To Remove Outline on Text Google Slides?

To remove the outline of a text box in Google Slides, simply click on it and change the border color to transparent.

Can I Add Drawings to Google Slides and Wrap Text Within It?

Yes, there is no “Wrap text” option in Google Slides that automatically wraps text around an inserted image.

However, you can achieve a similar effect manually by resizing text boxes and positioning them so they don’t overlap with the images, creating a visually appealing composition.

Can I Add Bold Shadows to Text in Google Slides?

Yes, decreasing the “blur radius” and setting “Opacity” to the maximum will make your shadows darker.

How Can I Add Borders to My Google Slides Presentation?

One of the easiest ways to add a border to your Google Slides presentation is by adding a rectangular shape to your slide and setting its fill color to transparent.

How Do You Place Text Above a Shape in a Google Slides Document?

Text in Google Slides can be easily repositioned. The easiest way to place text above a shape in a Google Slides document is by clicking and dragging the text box on top of the shape.

Final Thoughts

And that’s how to outline text in Google Slides! Formatting your text, adding outlines and borders, changing your fonts, and other design elements may require time and effort, but the results are often worth it. A Google Slides presentation incorporating these elements is much more visually appealing and professional than a plain one. It demonstrates your commitment to creating engaging content and shows that you value your audience’s time and attention.

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