Google Slides Link That Opens in Present Mode (and the Setting to Check First)

Q: How do I share a Google Slides link that opens in present mode?

Copy the share link, change /edit at the end to /present, and test it in a private window. Set the deck to Viewer in the Share dialog first. The /present ending is not an official Google feature, so check it before you rely on it.

Q: What is the difference between /present and /preview?

/present is meant to open the deck as a full-screen slideshow. /preview opens a clean, read-only view you can scroll through. Try both on your deck, since they can behave differently depending on the browser and account.

Q: How do I make a Google Slides link that plays automatically?

Use File, Share, Publish to the web and turn on the option to start as soon as the link loads. Anyone with the published link can view the deck.

To share a Google Slides link that opens in present mode, copy the deck's share link, change the /edit at the end to /present (or /preview for a calmer read-only view), and paste the result into squish.to to get a short link like squish.to/q4-pitch. Set the deck to Viewer first, so nobody can change it by accident. Google does not document these endings, so open the link in a private window before you send it.

The rest of this post covers which ending to pick, the sharing settings that matter more than the ending, and a way to get a deck that auto-plays.

Why bother changing the ending

A normal Slides share link opens the editor: toolbars, filmstrip, speaker notes and all. That is fine for a collaborator. For a client, a class or a conference audience, it is a lot of clutter, and it invites someone to click into the deck and start editing.

A link that lands straight in the slideshow (or a clean preview) gets people to the content faster. Since a short link is chosen once and reused, you can set the ending when you create it and everyone gets the same first view.

The three endings worth knowing

Start with your normal link, which ends in /edit, possibly followed by extra bits like ?usp=sharing. Then try:

/present opens the deck full screen as a slideshow. It is the closest match to "open it in present mode".
/preview opens a clean, read-only view with the editing menus removed. It is a good fit for a deck people will read at their own pace.
/pub?start=true&loop=false belongs to the published version of a deck (see below) and starts playing as soon as the link loads.

A few honest limits. The /present and /preview endings are conventions that people have used for years, not something Google documents, and Google could change them. Guides online do not always agree on which one does what, so test both with your own deck. And these endings are about convenience, not security: anyone can edit the address bar, and a signed-in person with edit access may still be able to get into the editor.

The setting that matters more: who can open it

The link ending changes what people see first. The Share dialog decides who can see it at all.

Open the deck and click Share.
Under General access, choose Restricted (only people you add by email) or Anyone with the link.
If you chose Anyone with the link, set the role to Viewer.
Click Copy link, then change the ending.

Viewer is the right role for almost every deck you send out. Commenter lets people leave notes, and Editor lets them change slides. A detail worth knowing: a person's own permission can be more generous than the link's. If you added a colleague as an Editor by email, they can edit even though the link says Viewer.

If the deck is sensitive, keep it Restricted. A short link only points at the Google URL, so Google's settings still decide who gets in. For more on that, see how to shorten a Google Drive link.

Want it to play by itself? Publish to the web

If you want a deck that starts automatically and moves on its own, such as a kiosk screen or a loop at an event, use Google's own feature instead of a URL trick:

In Slides, choose File, then Share, then Publish to the web.
On the Link tab, pick how long each slide shows, and whether the show starts as soon as the link loads and restarts after the last slide.
Click Publish and copy the link.

Two things to know. A published deck is visible to anyone who has the link, so it is not for anything private. And on work or school accounts, an admin may limit publishing to people inside your organization. You can stop publishing at any time from the same menu.

Turn the long link into one people can read

Google's link is a long string of characters. In a calendar invite, a slide footer or a text message it looks messy, and nobody can say it out loud. Paste your finished link, with the ending you want, into squish.to and choose your own ending. Custom endings use letters, numbers and hyphens, from 3 to 30 characters.

Do this last, once the role and the ending are settled, so the short link always matches what it opens. Good endings read like the title:

squish.to/q4-pitch
squish.to/club-welcome-deck
squish.to/acme-proposal

Every squish.to link also gets a QR code, which is handy if the deck is for a room full of people. If you will say the link on a call, see how to build a short link you can say out loud.

See whether the link is being used

The squish.to stats page for your short link shows total opens, the last 7 days, your busiest day, a 14-day chart, and recent opens with source and country. It counts visits to the short link, so it cannot see inside Google Slides, and stats are per link, not per person. Link previews and email scanners can also add opens that no human made.

If you want to know which recipient opened what, make one short link per recipient, all pointing at the same deck, and compare the stats.

A two-minute routine

Name the deck like something a stranger would understand in a browser tab.
In Share, pick Restricted or Anyone with the link, and set Viewer.
Copy the link and change /edit to /present or /preview.
Paste it into squish.to and choose a readable ending.
Open the short link in a private window to see what a stranger sees.
Put the short link in the invite title or the slide footer, not just the body.

FAQ

How do I share a Google Slides link that opens in present mode? Copy the share link, change /edit at the end to /present, and test it in a private window. Set the deck to Viewer in the Share dialog first. The /present ending is not an official Google feature, so check it before you rely on it.

What is the difference between /present and /preview? /present is meant to open the deck as a full-screen slideshow. /preview opens a clean, read-only view you can scroll through. Try both on your deck, since they can behave differently depending on the browser and account.

How do I make a Google Slides link that plays automatically? Use File, Share, Publish to the web and turn on the option to start as soon as the link loads. Anyone with the published link can view the deck.

Will a short link change who can open my slides? No. A short link just points to the Google URL. Google's sharing settings still decide who gets in.

Do I need an account to use squish.to? No. Paste the link, choose an ending and share it.