The scribble tool on Google Slides allows you to freely draw lines, shapes, and annotations directly onto your slides. This handy tool makes it easy to point out important elements in your presentation or add some creative flair.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about using the scribble tool in Google Slides, including:
What is the Scribble Tool in Google Slides?
The scribble tool acts as a virtual pen or highlighter. When selected, your mouse cursor changes to a plus sign. You can then click and drag to draw freehand on your slides.
The scribble tool is great for:
- Annotating key points on your slides
- Drawing attention to specific elements
- Adding creative doodles and illustrations
- Collaborating with others by marking up slides
Unlike other shape tools in Google Slides, the scribble tool allows you to draw any shape or line instead of being limited to pre-defined geometrical shapes.
How to Access the Scribble Tool
Accessing the scribble tool is easy:
- Open your Google Slides presentation
- Select the slide you want to draw on
- Click on Insert > Line
- Select Scribble from the drop-down menu
Your cursor will now change to a plus sign, indicating that the scribble tool is active and ready for drawing.
Using the Scribble Tool to Annotate and Draw
With the scribble tool selected, simply click and drag your mouse to start drawing. You can create both straight lines and freehand scribbles.
Some tips for using the scribble tool effectively:
- Draw attention to key elements – Circle, underline or point arrows to important text, images, or chart elements
- Annotate with text – Write short descriptive labels, notes or commentary
- Use different colors – Change line color to coordinate with your theme
- Draw shapes and illustrations – Get creative by sketching related graphics and doodles
When you release the mouse button, Google Slides will smooth and straighten your scribbled lines into neat shapes.
Customizing and Formatting Scribble Drawings
The scribble tool doesn’t just let you draw – it also provides options for customizing your drawings:
- Change line color and style – Match colors to your theme, make lines dashed/dotted
- Alter line thickness – Thin lines for subtle marks or thick lines for impact
- Add arrow heads – Useful for pointing out specifics and leading the viewer’s eye
- Fill shapes – Color the inside of enclosed scribble drawings
- Group drawings – Combine multiple scribbles into one moveable object
You can access these options through the toolbar that appears once a scribble shape is selected.
Collaborating with the Scribble Tool
The scribble tool makes it easy for multiple people to annotate and mark up the same slides. When collaborators open your presentation, they will see any existing scribble drawings.
Collaborators can also add their own scribbles, allowing teams to brainstorm ideas together directly in your deck.
Using different line colors helps differentiate each person’s contributions when co-editing.
Scribble Tool Limitations
While handy for quick drawings and annotations, the scribble tool does have some limitations:
- Basic shapes only – You can’t draw complex multi-part illustrations
- Limited customization – Fewer formatting options compared to other drawing tools
- No layers – Scribbles sit on top of slide content rather than being layered
If you need more advanced illustration and graphic design capabilities, you may want to create your drawings in a separate graphics program and import them into Google Slides.
Scribble Tool Alternatives
If the scribble tool’s capabilities don’t meet your needs, here are a couple alternatives:
The Google Drawings Add-On
Google Drawings is a free web-based drawing tool that is integrated with Google Drive. The Google Drawings add-on lets you create drawings and diagrams in Google Drawings that can then be inserted directly into your slides.
Google Drawings provides more advanced illustration features like shape libraries, Bezier curves, text boxes, etc.
The Annotate Extension
Annotate for Google Slides is a Chrome extension that adds robust annotation capabilities – including handwriting recognition and touch compatibility.
With Annotate you can draw, type, highlight, and comment on your Google Slides with a mouse, touchscreen or stylus.
Quick Summary
- Access the scribble tool from Insert > Line > Scribble
- Click and drag to freely draw lines and shapes
- Customize color, thickness, ends, and fill
- Annotate and collaborate with team members
- Move beyond basic shapes using Google Drawings or Annotate
So next time you’re creating slides, give the scribble tool a try as an easy way to annotate and draw attention to key ideas in your presentation!
