Stressed presenters can breathe a sigh of relief. A new function called “Transform” automatically converts documents in Word to PowerPoint slides.
Microsoft is introducing a new feature called ” Transform ” that allows Word users on the web to turn a text-based document into a PowerPoint presentation with a design theme.
Transform Word to PowerPoint
The new command Transform can be found in Word Online under the menu items File> Transform> Transform into PowerPoint Presentation. Users need to open a Word document to convert the file into a PowerPoint presentation. Transformation of documents in Word to PowerPoint presentation is currently available in web version only.
After choosing Transform, Word users must choose a design theme for the presentation and then review the result in PowerPoint for the web. The new PowerPoint slides are saved in the user’s OneDrive folder.
The transform function is currently only available to users in the Office Insider Program and is associated with a number of restrictions. However, once it’s done, she promises to use Microsoft’s AI to create a PowerPoint presentation based on all of the summarized sections of the document with images, icons, videos, themes and fonts.
Microsoft recommends that Office users test its functionality by opening a Word document that is mostly text and then looking at what the AI suggests for a visual presentation after clicking Transform.
Transform is currently only available in English and will not work in Internet Explorer or Apple’s Safari browser. It probably works in Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser.
“We only support text content for conversion into a presentation, support for other media content is currently not available. You can add your own media to the presentation after converting your Word document, ”explains Mohit Anand, a program manager on the PowerPoint team. While the new feature is now only available to insiders, Anand writes that it will be rolled out to all users on the web shortly.
Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn’t provided a demonstration of how the feature turns a text-heavy Word document into a PowerPoint presentation with AI-selected digital assets.
Researchers at Microsoft-funded OpenAI published Dall-e in January, a neural network that can generate a variety of images from text-based descriptions. Microsoft has made increasing use of AI in PowerPoint slides in recent years. In 2019, the PowerPoint Designer feature was updated to give users suggestions for building slides around a photo, making text easier to read, and adding icons to presentations.