Troubleshooting
Why an export looks different from the editor
In short
A PDF, PNG or JPG from Slaide looks like the editor. PowerPoint and Word files are rebuilt in the other program's way, so differences have a few causes, in this order of frequency: a missing font, charts that arrive as shapes or an image, effects that become pictures, Word reflowing text, animations that play differently, an imported deck that was redrawn, and the free-plan mark. Check the cause below and write to info@slaide.de if the difference remains.
Where do I start when an export looks different?
Slaide draws PDF, PNG and JPG files itself with the fonts you see in the editor, so they match it on every device; only very long PDFs can differ slightly. PowerPoint and Word files are different: Slaide rebuilds the page as objects of that program, and the program draws them with its own engine and its own fonts.
Step 1: Export the same document as PDF
If the PDF matches the editor, the pages are fine and the difference comes from how PowerPoint or Word shows the file.
Step 2: Find your symptom below
The sections follow the usual order: fonts first, then charts and effects, Word pages, animations, and imported or free exports.
Step 3: Test on the right computer
Open the file on the computer you present or print from. A font that exists on your own computer may be missing there.
Why is the font different?
This is the most common cause. A PowerPoint or Word file names the font and does not embed it. If the computer that opens the file does not have that font, the program replaces it, and the text can run wider or narrower and wrap differently.
- Click a text and read the font name in the Font box on the Home tab. Compare it with the font in Slaide.
- Install that font on the computer, or choose a font that computer has.
- Prefer Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, Cambria, Courier New or Georgia for files that go to people you do not know. Fonts in exports explains the options, including your own fonts.
Why can I not edit a chart as a chart, or why is part of a slide a picture?
Slaide draws charts itself. In PowerPoint they arrive as editable shapes or as an image, in Word as an image, never as PowerPoint chart objects, so there is no data sheet behind them. Change the numbers in Slaide and export again.
Effects that PowerPoint cannot draw are exported as a picture of that element: blur, blend modes, clipped shapes, inner shadows and rotated text. If a whole slide cannot be rebuilt reliably, it arrives as one picture. Click the element: if PowerPoint selects a picture, this is the cause.
On page 4, remove the blur and the blend mode and use plain colors and shapes instead.
Why do the page breaks in Word differ?
Documents in A4 or portrait formats export to Word as a real Word text flow: headings, paragraphs, lists, tables and images. Word paginates the text itself, so page breaks and line lengths can differ from the pages in Slaide, and text flows on as you type.
Why do the animations look different in PowerPoint?
- PowerPoint plays a slide's animations after its transition, not during it. A stagger that starts while the transition runs begins when the transition ends.
- Blur, color, filter, shadow and size changes and animations that make elements leave a slide play only in Slaide.
- A table is one PowerPoint object, so its row animations fade the whole table in.
- Check animations in Slide Show mode. The normal editing view does not play them while you click through the slides.
What exactly comes along is listed in What stays editable in the PowerPoint export.
Why did my imported deck or free export change?
- Imported from PowerPoint, paid plan or a document bought individually: slides you did not change are normally taken unchanged from your original file, and slides you changed are drawn anew and lose their original animations. If the original file is no longer attached, every slide is drawn anew.
- Imported from PDF, or on the free plan: every slide is drawn anew, so small deviations in spacing, tables and fonts can appear.
- Free plan: every export carries a small Slaide mark. Paid plans and documents bought individually export without it.
Import a presentation explains what an import keeps, and Plans and pricing lists what each plan includes.
What do I send to support if nothing helps?
- The email address of your Slaide account.
- The export format and the program that opened it, with its version, for example PowerPoint 365 on Windows.
- The page number or numbers that look wrong.
- A screenshot of that page in Slaide and of the same page in the exported file.
- The font name that PowerPoint or Word shows for the text that looks wrong.
- Whether the document was imported from PowerPoint or PDF.
Write to info@slaide.de. Never send your password: Slaide never asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the PDF look right but the PowerPoint does not?
PDF, PNG and JPG are drawn by Slaide itself with its own fonts. A PowerPoint file is rebuilt as PowerPoint objects that name their fonts, and PowerPoint draws them with its own engine. Fonts, charts, effects and animations are where the two can differ.
Which export is always identical to the editor?
PDF, PNG and JPG. They are drawn from the same pages and fonts as the editor, so they look the same on every device, apart from small differences in very long PDFs.
Can I get my chart as a real PowerPoint chart?
No. Slaide draws charts itself, so they arrive as shapes or as an image, not as PowerPoint chart objects. Change the numbers in Slaide and export again.
Why does Word break the pages in different places?
Word paginates the text itself. A document in an A4 or portrait format becomes a real Word text flow, so page breaks and line lengths can differ from the pages in Slaide. For exact pages, send the PDF.
Why is there a small Slaide mark on my export?
Exports from the free plan carry a small Slaide mark. Paid plans and documents bought individually export without it. See Plans and pricing.