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How to Create a Microsoft Sway Presentation

Create and share interactive reports, stories, presentations, and more

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What to Know

• Go to Sway online or to the Sway desktop app. Select Create New . Enter a title on Title card. Select Backgrounds to add a background.
• Select + to add a Text, Media, or Group card, and add content to the card. Repeat for additional cards.
• Rearrange cards if needed. Select Play to view.

This article explains how to create a Microsoft Sway presentation using the the Sway desktop version in Windows 10 or the online version of Microsoft Sway. Additional information for using templates, adding text and images, and sharing and collaborating on the Sway is included.

You can create an array of content types using Microsoft Sway, the digital storytelling app available online or with Microsoft 365 . While there are some differences between the versions, making a basic presentation is essentially the same whether you use Microsoft Sway on your desktop or online.

Once you log in to or open the Sway app, you can start from scratch or base your design on one of the many templates provided.

Go to sway.office.com and log in with your Microsoft account to use Sway online. Type sway into the Windows Search box and select the Sway app to open Sway on your desktop if you have it installed.

Select a template that corresponds with the presentation you want to make, such as Business Presentation . Then choose Start Editing This Sway . A new presentation template opens.

Alternatively, select Create New to open a new, blank Sway.

Work With Cards in the Storyline

The Storyline is what makes Sway unique. Unlike other Office applications, Sway uses cards in which you create or import a variety of content. A card is a container that holds content within a Sway presentation, similar to a placeholder in PowerPoint.

The arrangement of the cards determines the appearance of your Sway presentation. You can easily rearrange the cards whenever you want to modify the way your Sway looks.

Open Sway and select Create New .

Enter a title into the Title card.

Select Backgrounds to add a background image.

Select the + button to add a new card.

Select the type of card you want to add. Options include Text , Media ,  or Group .

Choose the subtype of the card to add, such as Heading , Image , or Grid . Sway also suggests cards.

Add content to the new card. Continue adding cards and content until you have completed your Sway.

Select a card to see more options. For instance, on some cards, you can select focus points. On others, you can set the emphasis for the entire card.

Rearrange cards if desired. Select a card and drag it to the position you want it to appear.

Select Play to view your Sway at any time.

Use Templates in Sway

Like other Microsoft applications, Sway offers built-in templates you can use to make polished presentations quickly.

Open Sway and select a template under Start from a Template .

Select Start Editing This Sway . Wait for the template to prepare. It opens as a new Sway with sample content in place.

Select the Design tab in the upper-left corner and then choose Styles in the upper-right corner.

Change the Sway layout by choosing between Vertical , Horizontal , and Slides in the right pane.

Choose the Customize button to select custom colors, typography, or textures.

Select an alternative style or variation at the bottom of the Styles pane.

Select the Remix button at the top of the pane to let Sway change the design and layout for you. Keep selecting Remix to view more options.

Select the Undo button or press Ctrl + Z to go back to a previous option.

View or share the Sway when you're ready.

Text and Images

Enter the text and photos or graphics you want to use to create the bones of your Sway presentation. You can enhance your Sway by incorporating a range of content types from numerous sources.

Select the template title and replace it with the title you want to give your Sway presentation. The title you give your Sway is the first thing others see when you share your presentation.

Select the + button at the bottom of any card to add content such as text, images, or videos.

Select the Background area of a card to open the content pane. Search for public domain images and videos to insert in your presentation.

Alternatively, select the Insert tab in the upper-right corner to find content.

If you use Sway as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, you see additional options in the content pane, such as OneDrive.

Rearrange cards by dragging and dropping a card.

Preview and Edit

Give your Sway presentation a good look before you share it with others. Customize the appearance further by changing the style.

Select the Design tab to preview your Sway presentation.

Select Play in the upper-right corner to preview how it will appear to others.

Select the Settings icon in the upper-right corner to choose a different layout.

Select Edit to return to the Storyline.

Choose Styles to view alternate styles. Select a style to apply it to your presentation.

Share Your Sway

You can share your design with others on a variety of platforms using numerous methods.

Select Share in the upper-right corner to view sharing options, including:

• A shareable link.
• A visual link with a preview of the Sway.
• Direct share to Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or LinkedIn.
• An embed code.

Collaborate on a Sway Presentation

Microsoft Sway is ideal for collaborative designs. Whether you need to pitch in with classmates on a school project or work with colleagues on a company report, everyone involved can work together on a Sway presentation. It doesn't matter where they are located, provided they have internet access.

One of the sharing options is to Add an Author . When you use this feature, Sway generates a unique link. You can share this link by email, social media, or any other way you want with the people you want to collaborate with on the presentation. They can view the Sway using this link, and they can edit the file.

Suppose you change your mind. You can manage editing permissions on any Sway presentation.

Open the Sway presentation on which you want to collaborate with someone else.

Select Share in the upper-right corner.

Select the Edit button next to Invite People to. Sway generates an edit link.

Select More Options .

Choose Require a Password to View or Edit This Sway if you want to protect the presentation with a password.

Select Viewers Can See Share Buttons if you want other users or viewers to be able to share the Sway.

When you want to revoke access to your Sway, select Reset the Share Settings in the Share menu. The web address of your Sway is permanently changed, so the link you shared previously won't work for anyone. You can create a new link to reshare with whomever you choose.

Other Sway Presentation Features

Microsoft Sway isn't just another version of PowerPoint or Google Slides . PowerPoint is best suited for offline, static content such as graphs, flowcharts, and bullet points. Sway is ideal for dynamic, online content.

Like Google Slides, Sway lives online. But unlike Google Slides, Sway allows you to embed other Office files, such as Word , Excel , and PowerPoint documents, and individual charts and tables from Excel. 

Sway has other features and tools that might be beneficial when you want to enhance a presentation.

• Record narration or other audio to any Audio card. Select the Record button and give Sway permission to use your microphone to begin recording. Press the Stop button when done and then choose to Add an Audio File .
• Access Navigation View by selecting the Navigation button in the lower-right corner while in Design view.
• Autoplay for users with a Microsoft 365 subscription. Select the ellipses in the upper-right corner of the window and choose Settings for This Sway to turn on Autoplay.

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The 8 Best Features of Microsoft Sway for Creating Interactive Reports and Presentations

Want to create stunning presentations, websites, or creative canvas on any device? Here's how Microsoft Sway can help!

Sway is a web-based Microsoft app that enables you to create personal stories, presentations, and interactive reports. You can include your own texts, images, and videos or search for related content online right from the Sway app.

Sway lets you present information or ideas in an interactive, appealing, and modern way without any design skills. You can also share your creative content securely with the masses.

This article introduces you to the vital Sway features that you can use to go creative with Sway.

1. Multiple Document Layouts & Styles

Your creative content doesn’t need to follow the styles and layouts of the tool on which you create. Sway lets you create your presentations, newsletters, or stories in three different layouts, like Horizontal, Vertical, and Slideshow. You can change the layout anytime during creation or even after publishing the content.

Related: The Best Free Email Template Builders for Freelancers

Sway content layouts are also compatible with left-to-right or right-to-left languages. Sway’s intelligent design program automatically adjusts the text alignment depending on the language.

Sway also has seven preset styles that you can apply in your slideshows or websites. The styles give you various designs for content layout, decorative elements, color, textures, and image captions.

For example, you might use the second style if you prefer elegance and cleanliness in your creative content. Select the fifth style if you want rich background textures and a bold design attitude.

2. Style Customizations and Remix

You can customize Sway content styles to enhance the visual quality of your creative content. You’ll see the Customize button once you choose a preset style from Sway.

The customize pane lets you change several attributes of the style. For example, you can modify the Font Choices , Color palettes , and Color inspiration . You can also change the Text size and Animation emphasis of some of the styles.

If you’re looking for quick content, Sway has just the right tool. Sway's automatic styling and layout feature keep offering you various content designs.

Add your texts, videos, images, and links, and then hit the Remix! button on the Design tab. Do you see anything you like? Keep that and publish your work. It’s that simple.

3. Live Content and Rich Visuals

Sway has in-built apps that feed relevant images, videos, and social media content. You can fetch third-party content from Flickr , Bing Images , YouTube , Pickit , and Twitter . You can also upload your own images or videos from OneDrive or local drive.

The following are the file size guidelines for Sway:

• Up to 20 MB of PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, or Word file.
• Up to 100 MB of a compatible audio file.
• Not more than 768 MB of video content.
• Images should be within 256 MB.

4. Edit the Grid for Image Groups

If you’re creating a Sway page with many photos or photo albums, you can make use of its photo grid or groups feature. You can choose from three groups: Automatic , Stack , and Grid .

There is a special option that turns your photo album into a slideshow. You can choose from three different styles of slideshows.

In the Storyline tab, add multiple images to see the card selection option. The Group menu will show up if you select more than one image card.

5. Simple Text Formatting

Sway offers simple text formatting options. Therefore, you don’t have to invest time in complex settings. You can introduce beautiful styling by using the style remix feature.

For the Heading Card, you get formatting options like Emphasize , Accent , and Link . Emphasize gives you a bold font, while Accent italicizes the text. You get a bit more text formatting choices for the Text Cards.

In addition to Emphasize , Link , and Accent , you get Bullets and Numbers . Therefore, you’ll find it easy if you need to list items for your services or portfolio websites.

The Link button lets you add Display Text and Web Link . You can modify the content style from the Design tab to change the font.

6. Various Text Placement Styles

Sway enables you to place the texts beside images, videos, or GIFs the way you want. It offers 360 degrees of text placement options like left-aligned, right-aligned, scroll texts over an image, and so on.

Sway also has intelligent text placement programming. Let’s say you need to add a long text with many paragraphs and a relevant image in a vertical layout content. Sway will automatically pin the image on the right side.

Now, if you scroll the website, the texts will scroll while the images will stay fixed in one place. Here, you can also get the text scrolling over an image effect if you choose Intense emphasis on the Image card.

7. Custom Backgrounds for Heading

Sway lets you customize your heading background the way you want. Let’s consider that you need more focus on the heading of your website or presentation in Sway.

To achieve that, add a solid color background behind the heading. Choose a contrasting color for effortless visualization of texts. You can upload or find a solid background image online on Sway.

Related: The Best Features of Prezi to Create Meaningful Presentations

You can also make more impact on the audience by adding high-resolution images as heading backgrounds. Choose an image with enough negative space so that the heading text stays visible.

Images as a website or report heading are perfect for branding a product or service that you offer.

8. Responsive and Interactive Online Document

Sway pages are responsive for most devices, like desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. You can email the link to the Sway page to your mobile or tablet to see how it looks. Another way is to resize the website browser on which you’re working.

Sway will automatically adjust the website to best fit as you minimize or maximize the browser window.

You can also embed live Power BI charts and graphs in your Sway presentation or reports. Interactive charts and tables visualize the same way in Sway as they do in Power BI.

Flaunt Your Creativity With Sway

You can create amazing presentations, stories, websites, newsletters, reports, and photo albums by using the above-mentioned features of Sway. You can also easily brand your content the way you like it.

Sway helps you take your brand to the global audience effortlessly for free. Before portraying your stories on Sway, you can take some help from storyboarding apps to get them right.

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Benefits of a Boarding School Education: Everything You Need to Know

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Microsoft Sway is a powerful presentation tool that allows you to create engaging and interactive presentations quickly and easily. Whether you’re creating a presentation for work, school, or personal use, Sway makes it easy to create dynamic, visually stunning presentations that are sure to impress your audience.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the step-by-step process for creating a Microsoft Sway presentation.

Step 1: Sign in to Sway

First, you’ll need to sign in to your Microsoft account and navigate to the Sway website. If you don’t already have a Microsoft account, you can create one for free.

Step 2: Choose a Template

Once you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to choose a template for your presentation. Sway offers a variety of templates to choose from, including business, education, and personal themes. Once you’ve selected your template, you can start customizing it to fit your needs.

Step 3: Add Content

With your template selected, it’s time to start adding content to your presentation. Sway makes it easy to add text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements to your presentation. You can also add interactive elements, such as quizzes, polls, and surveys, to engage your audience.

Step 4: Customize the Design

Once you’ve added your content, you can customize the design of your presentation to make it look exactly the way you want. Sway offers a wide range of customization options, including fonts, colors, and layouts. You can also choose from a variety of pre-made design styles to give your presentation a professional look and feel.

Step 5: Preview and Share Your Presentation

Once you’ve finished creating your presentation, it’s time to preview it and make sure everything looks the way you want. When you’re ready, you can share your presentation with others by sending them a link or embedding it on your website or blog.

Creating a Microsoft Sway presentation is a simple and straightforward process that anyone can do. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Sway is a great tool for creating engaging and interactive presentations that are sure to wow your audience. Give it a try today and see how easy it is to create a stunning presentation with Sway!

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8 Best Ways to Use Microsoft Sway

Namrata Gogoi is an author covering Buying Guides and device-related tips and tricks. She loves learning and writing about gadgets and accessories that are functional, innovative, and have a positive impact on people's lives. Since 2016, she has covered smartphones, computer accessories, household electric appliances, and any product that helps bring convenience to one's life. Previously, she worked as an IT Analyst at TCS but found her calling at Guiding Tech.

Microsoft Sway can be termed as the newer and friendlier alternative to PowerPoint. This cloud-based app brings a fresh new perspective to PowerPoint . Using it, you can easily create a newsletter or your resume with minimum efforts. All you need to know is your way around this tool, and you’ll be a power user in no time.

So, if you are thinking of getting the most out of Microsoft Sway, the following guide will help you make the best use of it.

Let’s get started.

Who Can Use Sway?

Microsoft Sway is free. Yep, you heard me right. As long as you have a Microsoft account, you can use Sway. Or if you have an Office 365 subscription, you can enjoy some more benefits like password protecting your files and documents.

The bottom line is, as long as you have a functioning Microsoft account, you can create Sway documents.

When it comes to apps, you can get the Windows 10 version from the Microsoft Store. Or else, you can simply log in at sway.office.com website.

Since it’s mostly an web app, there’s no fuss of setup and other such things. Similar to Google Docs , all you need to do is sign in and access the various templates.

If you do install the Windows 10 version of Sway, let me tell you that accessing it is exactly the same as the online version.

1. How to Create Sways

Yep, Sway files are called Sways. Now that we have settled it let’s see how to create Sways. When you log in, you will find a bunch of templates on the home page. Pick one that matches your work. In my case, I picked up the Business Presentation template.

You’ll be redirected to the preview of the Sway. You can click on the right and left arrows to navigate through the slides. Or you can simply see the overview of the file by clicking on the Navigate button.

To start editing the Sway, click on ‘Start editing this Sway’ and you’ll be redirected to the Edit view.

Now, all you need to do is add the content.

2. How to Add Content

Adding content to Sways is a child’s play, for every little tool and feature, is so neatly arranged. Plus, the large fonts and the intuitive interface makes it a straightforward affair.

Simply click on a header (or the text/image) on any card that you want to change. Below each card, you’ll find a Plus icon that lets you add any content.

At the time of writing, Sway allows to add images, audio, video and even embed URLs and groups cards. Naturally, you can also add content from your PC.

Unsure about how the document is turning out? Click on the Design tab to see a preview of the current Sway.

3. Get a Hold of the Editing Tools

For adding images, click on the image holder and a panel will open on the right side. The good thing is that Sway will auto-suggest you pictures based on your theme.

All you need to do is click on the suggestions, to open the window to more options. Select one and hit the Add button at the top.

The same is true for video. Plus, you can always add content from your PC or OneDrive account .

And as far as changing text styles is concerned, you can make a text bold or italics, or even add a link. All these formatting options sit at the top ribbon.

4. How to Set Focus Points

An interesting feature of Sway is the Focus Point. You can point out the areas of a picture where you’d want to focus on with it.

To use it, click on an image and select the Focus point option. Next, touch the areas that you want to focus on. Interestingly, if the whole frame is important, you can always select the checkbox below the image.

5. Get Your Way Around Templates and Styles

Annoyed that Sway has limited templates? Well, let me tell you that this cloud-based service has a variety of styles for a particular template. To change the style, open a template and go to its Design mode.

Next, click on the Styles icon at the upper-right corner, and bingo!

Pick one from the dozens of different styles, and you should be sorted. The thing about Styles is that the color palette and the font are built-in. Hence, when you pick a style, make sure that it sits with our theme.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end here. Sway lets you customize the design of your document, thus giving you the independence to choose your font, animation emphasis, color palette, and the size of the text.

In a mood for fun? Tap on the Remix! button and witness the magic unfold.

6. Create your Custom Sways

Apart from the templates and different styles, you can also make Microsoft Sway build you a template of a topic of your choice.

For instance, if you want a template for a project related to technology, Sway does its best to gather all the information regarding the topic and puts them in a nice template.

All you have to do is go to the Sway home page, and select Start a Topic.

Add your interest and wait for a couple of minutes while Sway churns out a story line for you.

7. How to Share Sways

Alright, you have picked the style, created a Sway, now what? Share the Sway, of course.

Click on Share at the top-right corner and copy the link. Other than the plain link sharing, Sway also bundles a couple of other sharing options . For example, you can share the visual link directly on your emails.

Visual links give a preview of the header image along with the title. That way, users would be more inclined to click on it.

Apart from that, you can share Sways directly to your Facebook and Twitter account. You can also copy the embed code.

8. Collaborate Smartly

Collaboration is the key theme to any online service, be it Dropbox Paper or Google Docs . Akin to these services, you can also invite your colleagues to collaborate on the same.

To invite your colleagues, click on Share, and select the edit option. Once done, share the link.

Sway Your Way In

That’s how you could, showcase your impressive ideas using Microsoft Sway. Not only does it make your portfolio, presentation or resume to stand out, but it also makes sure that you do not spend many restless nights while creating them.

Next up: Managing emails can be a tough business. Thankfully, it can be made simpler via rules. Learn how to create rules through the post below.

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Last updated on 13 July, 2021

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

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How to use Microsoft's Sway presentation program to tell a better story

Do you have a story to tell? Microsoft Sway is a versatile presentation program. Let Sway bring your story to life through beautiful, visual storytelling.

Microsoft Sway turns the information you want to share into a website that your viewers can to visit. Sway provides a visually appealing means to help get your message across while also providing a measure of interactivity for your audience. It's your personal story in their personal viewing experience.

Sway is beneficial for experienced and novice presenters alike. If you have a difficult time communicating your message, using Sway to provide additional ways to convey the details helps to ensure the story doesn't get lost. And you may find it easier to use than PowerPoint.

How to access Sway

• Creating a Storyline
• Add media to a card
• Embed content in a Sway
• Sharing your Sway

Option No. 1

• Log into your Office 365 account.
• Click on the App Launcher .
• Select and click on Sway from the list of app tiles.

Option No. 2

• Navigate to https://sway.office.com/ .
• Click on Sign in at the top right of the menu bar.
• Enter your company's email account, or a Microsoft account and password.

The Sway home page offers a simple interface. This makes sense because the company claims you can create a story in three minutes.

The main screen gives you several ways to let you begin capturing your story. The bar near the top gives you a few options:

• Create New — Allows you to create a Sway without any predefined setup.
• Start from a Topic — Populates cards with content provided through search results.
• Start from a document — Extracts information from files and adds it to cards for you.

Further down the page, Sway offers assistance by giving you a list of templates to start with, including newsletters, DIY project recaps, and student reports. Another section serves to inspire you by featuring existing Sways. To begin, let's look at starting a Sway from scratch.

Creating a 'Storyline'

All of the components of a Sway are given unique names, so it's helpful to know them to understand the process.

A "Storyline" is a place where you will compose your work. Each item created is applied to the Storyline, much like adding subcategories to a category. The content that is applied to the Storyline lives within Cards. These cards appear in consecutive order and house all items that appear in your story. In the edit screen, the Storyline section is on the right side, while card options are on the left by default. Keep in mind that the order of the cards can always be sorted based on your needs.

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Create a title card

• Click Create new from the home page.
• On the automatically generated card, input a title in the Title your Sway field.
• Choose to bold or italicize the title or add a link. (optional)
• Click on Background to select a background image.
• You can also enter search terms in the search field to display image results from Bing. Click on an image and then click add to insert or click and drag the image onto the card.
• Click on the + icon at the bottom left corner of the card to complete working on it and begin another.

Create a content card

Below each card, Sway will display additional options for the new card, including:

• Heading — Creates another title card, used to indicate the beginning of sections. It can also give a header for a card containing content.
• Text — Creates a card to display information.
• Image — Allows you to insert an image into a card.
• Insert from my device — Enables images and other files to be uploaded.

Add text to a card

• From the previous card, click on the + .
• Click on text .
• Type in the text that you want to display or copy and paste from another source.
• Use the editing items in the toolbar above the text entry field to emphasize (bold), accent (italicize), convert to bulleted or numbered list, or add a link (either the actual link address or hyperlinked text displayed).
• Click on the + icon to create a new card.

For easy text input options, you can use the "Insert from my device" option to upload the text from a Word document into a new card. The document name is automatically added as a header or title, and the remaining text is added to the text card.

Adding media to a card

The process and results of adding media to a card are different than adding a background image. The impact that this media makes is also different. You can select the type of media you want to add from the Card column and then choose from Image, Video, Audio or Embed. Clicking on a media type generates a card in the Storyline.

To add an image, video or audio file

• Select Image , Video or Audio from the Card column.
• Add a media file by clicking on the Add field or click and drag the file to the Drag (media type) here field.
• Use the text entry field to the right of the Drag an image here field to enter in a caption.

Media cards can also be grouped together, allowing for multiple files to appear at the same time. By doing so, you can create a message with more impact, having video or music playing to compliment powerful imagery. By using the Group section in the Cards column, you can create various layouts, such as a slideshow, side-by-side comparisons or a grid view.

Embed content in Sway

You may choose to embed many different files, charts or social media posts directly into your Storyline. If you decide to embed a URL into your Sway, keep in mind that it will only work if you use the https:// secure prefix. Sway allows content to be embedded across a variety of apps and services from Microsoft, Google and other companies. An example of this is using Microsoft Forms to embed a form into your Sway. By doing so, your audience can partake in a survey, leave feedback or even take a quiz.

It's also possible to embed a Sway within a Sway, providing a means to share more in-depth content in a contained space.

How to embed a Sway within a Sway

• Locate and open the Sway to be embedded.
• Click the Share icon found in the navigation bar at the top.
• Click on Get embed code .
• Copy the generated code found in the displayed field.
• Navigate to the Sway that required the embedded content.
• Click on Cards .
• Choose Embed from the Media section in the left column.
• Paste the embed code in the card that appeared in your Storyline.

How to embed content

• From the source, copy the embed code for the necessary content.
• Head back to Sway and click on Cards .
• In the media section, click on Embed .
• Paste the code into the new card.

Preview and share

Once you have captured the story that you want to tell, you can choose to preview it as well as share it with others. Both of these options can be found in the top navigation bar.

How to preview your Sway

• Click on Play to begin the preview session.
• Click on the navigation icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen to move to a different section.
• Click on the Settings icon in the top-right menu tray to manage autoplay settings.
• Use the speed bar to alter the transition speed between three and 60 seconds.
• Choose to have the Sway continuously loop.
• Choose from three different transition type between sections.

While the Sway is in presentation mode, the pause and play, stop and settings icons are displayed on the bottom-right corner, allowing viewers to view the Sway how they see fit. An edit icon at the top-right corner returns you to the Storyline view, in case you need to make any adjustments.

To share your Sway

• Click on the Share icon on the top right corner of the navigation bar in Storyline mode.
• Specific people — Allows you to enter names or email address for a targeted audience.
• Those in your organization with the link — Generates a web link that can be copied, embedded or published on Docs.com.
• Anyone with a link — Allows the link to be published, embedded or copied, but also provides quick links to Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.
• Choose if you wish to invite people to view only or permit them to edit as well.
• Choose if viewers are required to enter a password to view the Sway.
• Choose if viewers can see Share buttons to further spread the Sway.

You now have the basics to get your story across to your audience. Sway is a creative way to do it and could allow you to make a lasting impression. It's not just about the information you share, after all, it's also how you share it.

Have you used Sway before? Did it help tell your story? Let us know in the comments

You can also visit our Office 101 help hub for more related articles.

• Microsoft Office 101: Help, how-tos and tutorials

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• Tips and guides
• Microsoft 365

Sway design tips and new templates

• The Microsoft 365 Marketing Team

Sway just passed its one-year mark, and we are very inspired to see millions of users from all over the globe using Sway in their work and personal lives. We hope to serve even more people by delivering on our promise to make it effortless to create and share content with colleagues, family and friends.

First, let’s begin with our new Portfolio template as a sample Sway. Sway templates start you off with a color palette, layout and sample content. If you like the first combination you see, you can move on to the other tips below. But if you were looking for something different, click the Remix button on the top navigation bar and Sway will give you various combinations to select.

Here is a sample of different combinations you can get by pressing the Remix button a few times:

As you can see, the color scheme, font and layout all dynamically change and the differences become more apparent when you scroll through the Sways. The idea here is similar to having a designer by your side who whips up various styles options without you having to do a lot of work on your part.

If you want to be more deliberate in the way you change your Sway’s style, you can also click the Design button on the top navigation bar. This opens up a Design pane that shows you a preview of the various style combinations you can select. Styles in the same row differ in small ways, like font and background, while styles in different rows change more substantially, such as in layout and structure.

Customize (in Design)

Once you find a style that works for you, the Customize button in the Design pane offers you the ability to fine-tune specific elements in your Sway. For instance, you can change just the color palette—keeping the rest of the Sway format intact. You can also customize font styles, font size and degree of animation.

The last major style element you can modify is your Sway’s layout. The Portfolio template we started from employs a Vertical layout, where the document moves from top to bottom, much like how most web pages work today.

You can easily switch the way your Sway flows. Simply select Layout on the top navigation bar and then select either vertically scrolling layout (top icon), horizontally scrolling layout (middle icon) or screen-by-screen, optimized for presentation layout (bottom icon).

Here is how the same Sway looks in Horizontal layout:

As with all the other functions, Sway makes it easy for you to change your Layout in just a few clicks. The app does all the work of reformatting everything else—so you won’t need to spend hours moving around your sections, text boxes, images and other content.

Undo/Redo and Duplicate

As you work on getting to your ideal Sway, don’t forget to use the Undo and Redo buttons on the top navigation bar in case you change your mind about some style changes. And if you want to use a particular style for all your Sways, you can use the Duplicate this Sway function in the … section to create a copy for future use.

As a bonus, these last few tips are easy ways to make sure your photos show up great. First, you can set how Sway displays your photo by clicking on the image or image card, selecting Focus Points and then selecting the parts that are most important to you.

You can mark specific areas in the photo that you want Sway to highlight or select The entire image is important checkbox. Sway automatically adjusts how your photo shows up and emphasizes certain areas based on your selection.

Second, you can select different sizes for your photos by clicking the image card and then selecting either Subtle , Moderate or Intense . Subtle will use the smallest image size, Moderate the medium image size and Intense the largest image size that will still look good with the rest of your Sway.

Lastly, you can Group your text, photos and other Sway cards when you want them to show up together in specific ways. In the example below, we first picked the photos we wanted to group together by selecting the checkboxes at the lower right of the cards. Next, we clicked the Group button, which opened up the Group Type pane, and selected the second Slideshow from the pane. The Sway preview shows you how the photos are instantly grouped together in a left-to-right Slideshow, with a preview bar at the bottom.

New Sway templates

We recently released several new templates to help you get started on your Sway. They’re currently available on the My Sways page in the Sway web app. Some of our favorites are featured on our new Land your dream job site. We partnered with careers expert Maxie McCoy to create free resume, portfolio and blog post templates to help aspiring job hunters, artists and writers land their dream jobs—or simply have another great way to showcase their work.

We hope you find our tips useful and have learned a bit more on how to make the most of your Sway.

—The Sway team

What is Microsoft Sway? How to use the powerful presentation program, and how it differs from PowerPoint

• Microsoft Sway is a presentation program that lets you create slideshows, newsletters, resumes, blogs, and more.
• You can also share your Microsoft Sway projects online with friends or co-workers.
• Sway has templates you can use to start your projects, but you aren't limited to those.

Microsoft has spent decades as both a hardware and software juggernaut. And when you look at their products, it's not hard to see why — nearly every PC user on Earth has used Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365 at some point.

And although we tend to think of Office as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, there are actually a lot more programs out there.

One of the most useful is Microsoft Sway. Sway is a presentation making app that can can be accessed at sway.office.com for free as long as the user has a Microsoft account . For those with a  Microsoft 365 subscription , Sway offers more features than the free version.

What is Microsoft Sway?

Microsoft Sway is similar to PowerPoint in that both can be used to create eye-catching and informative presentations . But while PowerPoint centers around the slideshow format, Sway's applications are more varied. 

With Sway, you can create anything from newsletters and resumes to portfolios and blogs. You can start from scratch if you have a specific design in mind, or you can upload images, documents, and YouTube videos, and Sway will design something for you around that. 

Additionally, Microsoft Sway is hosted entirely online, making it easy to access and share your finished work anywhere with an internet connection.

How to use Microsoft Sway

To get started on Microsoft Sway, you need to choose one of three options from the application:

• "Create New" will enable you to create a Sway project from scratch.
• "Start from a topic" will let you search specific topics and create an outline for your presentation based on that topic.
• "Start from a document" will prompt you to upload a document, which Sway will adapt into a presentation draft.

You can also click on one of the available templates for an instant outline. 

There are two main components to Sway's interface: the Storyline tab and the Design tab. The Storyline is your dashboard for organizing the presentation's content, while the Design is where you'll see how the presentation actually looks. To put it more simply, you create the presentation in the Storyline tab, and people who view it will see the Design tab.

If you've ever created a blog using Wordpress, that's a good reference point for how Sway's Storyline works. The Storyline breaks up individual paragraphs, images, and videos into "cards" so that they're easy to keep organized, move around, and tell the story you're trying to communicate with your presentation. As you move items around on your Storyline, the Design tab will reflect those changes.

Once you're ready to share your Sway, click the "Play" button in the upper-right corner to see how it looks, then click "Share" to send the finished Sway to whoever you want. 

As with most creative endeavors, the easiest way to start putting together amazing Sways is to play around with it and see what works best for what you're trying to do.

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April 9, 2024

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Converting a Sway to Powerpoint?

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Replies (6) 

• Article Author

I've only played with Sway briefly. I did do some research on it recently and in none of my readings did I see mention of that ability.  The closest function I saw was being able to import an Outline created in Word into Sway to create the framework of a new Sway (yes, that is not at all close).

There is at least one person on the Sway team watching this forum. Maybe they will be able to provide a better answer.

2 people found this reply helpful

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• Microsoft Agent |

Sway does not have a way to export to applications like PowerPoint or Word right now, only import.  I'd love to hear any feedback you have if something in Sway isn't working that is causing this request.  I know it may not help you in this case, but feel free to add a suggestion to this forum if this is functionality you would like:  http://sway.uservoice.com/forums/264674-sway

17 people found this reply helpful

If the file is not big, create screen shots and embed in slides. At least that is what I did.

This came from here:

https://sway.com/eAzMreBCxhUS2rGf

I tried to use Sway for a White Paper communication. However, the medium isn't pervasive enough to rely on for internal company communications. People aren't willing to go through the learning curve. 

I was hoping to use Sway for the creative design and then export it to something more accepted. However, it has no compatibility with other Office tools like PowerPoint and Word. It doesn't even appear to allow cut/copy of text out of the application. Why would MS do something like this? I just wasted a lot of time trying to use something new.

I can't believe they would disable the ability to cut/copy text. That is nuts!

12 people found this reply helpful

4 people found this reply helpful

Sway now supports export to Word and PDF (it's on the ... menu under Export).  You should be able to cut/copy text out of it.  If it is not working for me, include an example Sway and let me know what browser you're using and I'll investigate it.

9 people found this reply helpful

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Create an Effective Slide Deck

A great presentation depends on more than the high-quality information you’re sharing. Here are some essential principles to help you create a memorable slide deck. Choose the right fonts. Use sans serif fonts like Helvetica or Arial for a minimal look and better readability. Stick to two font styles throughout your presentation—one for headings and another […]

A great presentation depends on more than the high-quality information you’re sharing. Here are some essential principles to help you create a memorable slide deck.

Source: This tip is adapted from “How to Make a ‘Good’ Presentation ‘Great’” by Guy Kawasaki

Partner Center

How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.

• Write great papers Article
• Captivate the class Article
• Stage your story Article

Captivate the class

Captivate the class with a narrative in sway.

Ever have a report that you need to present? Or How about a portfolio? Want to make your presentations more interactive? Sway has you covered.

What is Sway?

Sway is a new way to make a presentation. While slides can be great for certain projects, sometimes you want a little more flexibility when designing how you want to present your hard work and creativity. Sway can make your presentations fun and interactive as you and your classmates present big ideas, small group projects, portfolios, and more—the possibilities are endless.

Plus, Sway is entirely web-based, making your creations easier to share.

Let’s begin by selecting New blank Sway .

We call this view the Storyline view. Here, we can view anything we‘ve made so far in the Sway. Go ahead and add a title and background, then select the + to add content.

Let’s begin by adding Heading 1 . Here, you can add any text you would like as the heading of the section, plus an image to fit. We’ve made our Sway about ocean currents:

Now, let’s start adding text. Select the + , then choose Text to add your body text. You can create bold text by using the Emphasize function, and italic text using the Accent function.

Next, let’s add a slideshow of photos. To do so, select + , then Group . Choose the type of slideshow type you would like to use, then select Add Content to load photos, text, videos, or anything else you may want to add to your story.

Once you’ve inserted your content, you can design your Sway to make it truly yours.

Let’s begin by selecting the Design tab in the ribbon. You should now see your Sway in the default design setup. Select the Styles option in the ribbon.

The Styles section allows you to customize the design of the Sway and change its scrolling orientation from Vertical , Horizontal , or Slides view. You can also use the Remix! option for a surprise design.

Microsoft Word for the web’s Transform feature automatically converts your document into a Sway. To transform your work in Word for the web to a Sway creation, go to File > Transform , choose the design, and then behold your awesome new Sway page.

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