✅ Free · 🔒 Private · 🚫 No sign-up
Presentation Studio: the complete guide
Cromagnon Presentation Studio is a free online slide maker and PowerPoint editor. Create 16:9 decks with themes, layouts, pictures, shapes, tables, charts, diagrams, equations and video, add transitions and animations, present full screen with presenter view, and export to PowerPoint (PPTX and PPSX), PDF, images or video.
Your slides stay on your device: decks are created, opened and exported in your browser and never uploaded. There is no sign-up, no watermark, no limit on slides and no paid plan. Up to five decks can be open at once.
This guide explains every tool, with step-by-step tutorials, tips for better talks, the keyboard shortcuts and answers to common questions.
- 100% free
- Open and save PPTX
- Animations and transitions
- Presenter view
- No watermark
- Slides stay on your device
Features
Everything you can do in Presentation Studio
Build slides
Layouts and themes
Title, title and content, two columns, section headers and more, with themes for colours and fonts.
Text formatting
Font, size, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, highlight, colour, bullets, numbering, indent and line spacing.
Pictures, icons and video
Insert pictures with crop and soft edges, icons, and video clips.
Shapes and connectors
Shapes, lines and connectors with arrows at either end.
Tables and charts
Tables with a header row, and bar, line and pie charts with labels and legends.
Diagrams
Turn a list into a process, timeline, hierarchy, matrix or Venn diagram.
Equations
Type maths in LaTeX and place it on a slide.
QR codes
Add a QR code for a link so the audience can open it on their phones.
Photo album
Make a slide per picture, or several pictures per slide, in one go.
Arrange
Selection pane
Every item on the slide: select, rename, hide, lock and reorder.
Layers and grouping
Bring forward, send backward, group and ungroup.
Align and distribute
Line items up and space them evenly.
Rulers, gridlines, guides and snap
Place things precisely.
Position, size, rotation and opacity
Exact numbers in inches, rotation in 15° steps with Shift.
Format painter
Copy one item's look to another.
Sections
Group slides into named sections and move whole sections at once.
Motion
Transitions
Choose how each slide enters, its duration, and whether it advances by itself.
Entrance, emphasis and exit animations
Animate any item on click, with the previous one, or after it, with a delay.
Animate text by word or letter
Bring text in all at once, word by word or letter by letter.
Present and share
Full-screen slide show
Present from the start or from the current slide.
Presenter view
See your notes, the next slide and a timer while the audience sees the slide.
Present in a window
Present inside the browser window with a small control bar, handy for video calls.
Loop, kiosk and custom shows
Loop until stopped for a stand or a screen, or show only chosen slides.
Comments and links
Leave review comments, link text to web pages or to other slides.
Alt text
Describe pictures for screen readers.
Files and export
Open PowerPoint files
Open PPTX decks and keep editing.
Export PPTX and PPSX
Save a PowerPoint file, or a PPSX that opens straight into the slide show.
Export PDF and images
A PDF handout, or PNG pictures of each slide.
Export video
Record the deck with its transitions as a video file.
Translate slides
Translate a whole deck into another language, on your device.
Five decks at once
Work on up to five presentations in tabs.
Tutorials
Step-by-step how-to guides
How to make a presentation online for free
- Press New and pick a theme.
- Add slides with a layout (title, content, two columns…).
- Type your text and add pictures, charts or diagrams.
- Press Present to rehearse, then export to PPTX or PDF.
How to edit a PowerPoint (PPTX) file without PowerPoint
- Press Open and choose the PPTX.
- Edit text, pictures and slides.
- Export as PPTX to get a PowerPoint file back.
How to add animations to a slide
- Select a text box or picture.
- Open Animations and choose an entrance effect.
- Set when it starts (on click, with previous, after previous) and any delay.
- Preview the slide.
💡 Tip: Fewer animations look more professional. Use them to reveal points one at a time.
How to present with speaker notes
- Type notes under each slide.
- Start the slide show in presenter view.
- Put the audience window on the projector and keep presenter view on your screen.
How to turn slides into a video
- Set transitions and how long each slide stays.
- Open Export and choose video.
- Wait while the deck is recorded, then download the file.
How to save a presentation as PDF handouts
- Open Export.
- Choose PDF.
- Share or print the PDF.
How to make a diagram from a list
- Type the steps as lines in a text box.
- Select it and open Diagram.
- Choose a diagram type and turn the text box into the diagram.
How to loop a presentation on a screen
- Set every slide to advance by itself after a few seconds.
- Open the loop and kiosk options and choose Loop until stopped.
- Start the show; it repeats until you press Esc.
Tips and tricks
Get more out of Presentation Studio
One idea per slide
Short titles that make a point ("Sales doubled in May") work better than labels ("Sales").
Use sections for long decks
Group slides into sections to move whole parts of a talk around in one go.
Lock the background
Lock logos and background shapes in the selection pane so you don't move them by accident.
Rehearse in a window
Present in a window during video calls so you can still see the chat.
Add alt text
Describe pictures for people using screen readers; it also helps when the deck is shared as PDF.
Share a QR code
Put a QR code on the last slide so people can open your link or slides on their phones.
Work faster
Presentation Studio keyboard shortcuts
Shortcuts don't fire while you are typing in a text box, except Ctrl + S. On a Mac, use ⌘ instead of Ctrl.
Privacy
Private by design: your files stay on your device
Slides often contain unreleased plans, pitch numbers and class material. Presentation Studio creates and exports decks inside your browser; they are never uploaded to Cromagnon.
Decks are kept in your own browser storage so you can come back to them, and you can delete them any time.
Even translating a deck into another language happens on your device, so the text of your slides is not sent anywhere.
Comparison
Presentation Studio compared with typical online tools
| Cromagnon Presentation Studio | Typical online slide makers | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ✅ Free, every feature | Free with limits, premium templates paid |
| Account | ✅ Not needed | Required |
| Open and save PowerPoint (PPTX) | ✅ Yes | Often import only |
| Animations, transitions, presenter view | ✅ Yes | Yes |
| Export to video | ✅ Yes | Often paid |
| Watermark or branding on exports | ✅ Never | Sometimes on free plans |
| Where slides are kept | ✅ On your device | On their servers |
Made for everyone
Who uses Presentation Studio?
Teachers
Lessons with diagrams, equations and step-by-step reveals.
Students
Class presentations, posters and project pitches.
Founders
Pitch decks that stay private until you share them.
Office teams
Reports and meeting decks saved as PowerPoint.
Event organisers
Looping kiosk slides for screens and stands.
Speakers
Presenter view with notes and a timer.
Troubleshooting
Common problems and how to fix them
Fonts look different from PowerPoint
Fonts not installed on your device are replaced by close matches. Use common fonts for decks you share.
The video export is slow
Video is made on your device, so long decks take time. Shorter slide durations and fewer animations make it quicker.
Some PowerPoint effects are missing
Rare effects and embedded objects from PowerPoint may be simplified when opening a PPTX. Text, pictures, shapes and slides are kept.
The slide show starts on the wrong slide
Use F5 to start from the beginning and Shift + F5 for the current slide.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Presentation Studio free?
Yes. Every feature, with no watermark, no sign-up and no paid plan.
Can I open and edit PowerPoint files?
Yes. Open PPTX files, edit them and save PPTX again.
Can I export to PDF or video?
Yes. Export PDF, PNG images of each slide, PPSX and video.
Does it have animations and transitions?
Yes. Entrance, emphasis and exit animations, text by word or letter, and slide transitions.
Is there a presenter view with notes?
Yes. See notes, the next slide and a timer while presenting.
Are my slides uploaded?
No. Decks are created and exported in your browser.
Can I loop a presentation?
Yes. Use loop and kiosk mode with slides that advance by themselves.
Can I work on several decks?
Yes, up to five presentations open at once.
How do I start the slide show?
Press Present, or F5 from the beginning and Shift + F5 from the current slide.
Does it work on a tablet?
Yes, in a modern browser. Building slides is easiest with a mouse or trackpad.
Ready to try Presentation Studio?
It's free, private and needs no sign-up.
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