14 DAY TRIAL // Web presentations can be managed using various desktop or web based applications. For example, Microsoft Office or Open Office suites provide you tools to create and publish presentations on your desktop computer or online. On the Internet, there are many free or commercial services that allow you to interact with various types of presentations.
Google Docs represent a web-based alternative for presentation management. You are allowed to import Microsoft Power Point documents (presentations) or templates in a simple to use presentation editor. This application is compatible with various web browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozzila, Firefox and Netscape.
The Google presentation editor contains default themes that you can use in your slides, but also you are able to define your own templates. The main disadvantage is that you cannot insert animations inside your presentation such as slide transitions or images and text effects. You will be able to format text, upload images, clone slides and preview the presentation.
The save or export options are also limited. The presentations cannot be saved or exported as .PPT (Microsoft Power Point) document or PDF (Portable Document Format), just only as zipped HTML. But the Google presentation editor provides many collaboratory tools. The presentation can be sent by email, shared or published on the Internet. You are allowed to share your presentation with other people online, after you specify their email addresses. You could also grant them the rights to edit the presentation. The document modifications can be syndicated through RSS feeds.
The presentation may be published as a standalone static HTML page. It will receive automatically an URL, where you can redirect the intended audience. The Google Docs presentation editor seems to be a reliable tool that will help you rapidly create, edit and publish simple presentations online. The main advantages are represented by the presentation independence of the operating system, because it will run in a web browser and the multiple collaboratory options for presentations sharing and publishing.