Converting Keynote to Google Slides to get a link? Compare first
Many people move a Keynote deck into Google Slides for one reason: Slides gives you a link anyone can open. If that is your reason, the conversion costs more than it looks. If your team needs to keep editing the deck in Google Workspace, it is the right move. Here is how to tell which case you are in.
How the conversion works
Google Slides imports PowerPoint and OpenDocument files, not .key. So the route is two conversions: in Keynote, File → Export To → PowerPoint; then upload the .pptx to Google Drive and open it with Google Slides.
What changes on the way
- Transitions: Google Slides has a short list. Magic Move and most of Keynote's object and 3D transitions have no equivalent and are replaced or dropped.
- Builds: simplified to the animations Slides supports; check every slide that reveals something.
- Fonts: anything not available in Google Slides is substituted, and text reflows.
- Video and audio: Slides inserts video from YouTube or Google Drive and audio from Drive, so embedded clips may need to be added again.
When Google Slides is the right call
Several people will edit the deck, some without Macs. Comments and version history inside Workspace matter more than motion. The deck is mostly text and charts. In those cases convert once, fix the slides, and work in Slides from then on.
When you only need the link
Keep building in Keynote and host the HTML export instead: File → Export To → HTML…, drop the folder on linkdeck.me, send the link. Nothing is converted. Apple's own player runs in the viewer's browser, so the deck plays as you built it.
Side by side
| Google Slides link | Linkdeck link | |
|---|---|---|
| Keynote transitions and builds | Converted, some lost | As built |
| Fonts | Substituted if not available in Slides | As designed in our exports |
| Others can edit | Yes | No, view only |
| Viewer needs an account | No, with 'anyone with the link' | No |
| Per-slide time for each viewer | No | Keep or Pro |
| Password on the link | No; access is by Google account | Keep or Pro |
| Price | Free with a Google account | Free 3 days; €9 per kept deck; €12 / month Pro |
Questions
Can Google Slides open a .key file?
No. Google's list of importable presentation formats covers PowerPoint and OpenDocument files, not Keynote. Export to PowerPoint from Keynote first.
Does Linkdeck convert Google Slides or PowerPoint?
No. Linkdeck hosts Keynote's HTML export and nothing else. That is what lets it play the deck without converting it.
Can I keep editing after I send a Linkdeck link?
Yes, in Keynote. Export again and, on a kept deck or Pro, replace it in place; the link you sent plays the new version.
Skip the conversion
Export to HTML, drop the folder, send the link. The first deck is free.
Free for 3 days. €9 once keeps one deck for good; €12 a month keeps every deck. See pricing