With over 1 billion users, PowerPoint is undeniably the most used presentation software in the world. While PowerPoint presentations are an essential part of every business, creating an eye-grabbing slide deck can take hours. That’s because most of its basic functions require multiple mouse clicks, typing, and manual reformatting that end up wasting a lot of time. Plus, PowerPoint presentations can be a snooze if they lack the visual elements that keep the audience glued. The good news is there is a vast range of tools you can use to speed up your presentation-making process and add flavor to your slides. iSlide is one such tool that can help to bring your slides to life. We had the privilege to test iSlide, to provide this review.
What is iSlide?
iSlide is an all-in-one Powerpoint add-in that helps you create professional PowerPoint presentations and add functionality to your slides. iSlide is not your ordinary PowerPoint add-in. It comes bundled with a swathe of features designed to take your PowerPoint game to the next level. As a professional PowerPoint add-in, iSlide offers a huge library of templates, icons, themes, vector diagrams, charts, pictures, and stunning color schemes.
Best of all, iSlide lets you do more in less time. It lets you apply parameterized settings and PPT design elements that suit your needs in just a few clicks. Here’s an overview of the main features that make iSlide stand out from the competition.
1. Diagram Library
With over 7,000 PowerPoint diagrams that are constantly updated, the iSlide diagram library provides powerful resources to help you add a striking look to your slides.
Whether you want to insert a pyramid vector, a hierarchy diagram, or a matrix to explain a process, iSlide will have them for you in just a single click. Better still, each diagram automatically adapts to PowerPoint theme colors and layout rules.
2. Design Layout
With iSlide, manual copy and rough alignment will become a thing of the past. All you need to do is select a graphic and let iSlide assist you in a one-click matrix or circular duplication. iSlide design layouts will help you simplify the process and make a great deck in the shortest time possible.
3. Icon Library
Icons in PowerPoint make the information more intuitive and easy to understand. With over 100,000 non-picture vector format icons to choose from, your presentations will no longer be a snooze to your audience. iSlide has also made it super-easy to find the icons related to your content via keyword search.
4. One-Click Optimization
Diverse styles and irregular layout often make your PPT presentation unprofessional or messy. iSlide’s one-click optimization lets you unify the text format of the entire presentation in just one click. This way it helps you establish a uniform standard of PowerPoint text so you can make a professional report.
5. Smart Diagram
Unlike the mediocre traditional charts, the smart chart presents data in a more intuitive and professional way. Boasting of flexibility and maximum editability, Smart Diagram lets you change the icons and data values at any time.
6. Picture Library
The human brain understands visuals better than text. That’s why diagrams in PowerPoint presentations make the information more meaningful.
The iSlide photo gallery offers over 9,000 free, high-quality images via the Creative Commons protocol, so you’ll never have to worry about copyright issues.
7. Join Images
Want to create prototype images without the use of Photoshop? iSlide has you covered. The Join Images feature allows designers to combine images to create one long image with just one click.
The User Experience
When it comes to usability, iSlide doesn’t disappoint. Every aspect of this tool has been designed with the user in mind. From installation to subscription and creating your first powerpoint presentation, you can be sure of a seamless experience.
Download and Installation
To download and install the add-in, head over to the company’s official site and click on the “Download” button. At only 11.7 Mbs, the tool is small in size and will take you less than five minutes to complete the download and installation processes. Once the download is complete, double-click the .exe file to launch the iSlide setup wizard.
Click “Next” to continue the installation.
Once iSlide has finished extracting files, click “Next” to finish the installation. Then click the “Finish” button to exit the installation wizard.
PowerPoint will load automatically with the iSlide add-in.
This tool integrates itself seamlessly at the PowerPoint tabs bar (see above) such that a novice PowerPoint user would be forgiven for thinking it’s one of PowerPoint’s built-in features.
Creating Your First PowerPoint Presentation with iSlide
Creating a PowerPoint presentation with iSlide is simple and involves just three steps: To unlock all the features, you’ll need a subscription. Currently, you can get the Premium Membership at a discounted price of $4.95 per month or $29.95 per year.
Step 1: Select a Theme
Click the iSlide tab, then click on the “Theme Library” on the iSlide ribbon. This will open up a huge library of themes to choose from.
Click on your desired theme, then wait patiently for it to be applied to your slides. After applying the theme, a series of slides will appear to the left side in a vertical alignment, all with your theme color.
Step 2: Insert Diagrams
Next head over to the “Diagram library,” and click on it. Select your desired diagram and click on it to have it downloaded to one of the slides.
A right-click will insert the diagram to the current slide (highlighted). If you want the diagram to be inserted in a new slide, do a left-click instead. You can insert the diagrams and edit each slide individually. Alternatively, you can first insert your desired diagrams to all the slides, then add text later. You may also want to add smart diagrams to your presentations. Once you’ve inserted a smart diagram, click on the “editor” button at the top of the smart diagram box to adjust the parameters of your charts.
With the diagrams inserted and all the parameters adjusted, your slides will now have a more striking look, which is more intuitive to read.
You can also replace the bullets with stunning icons from the icon library.
Step 3: Change the Colors
Once you have all the slides ready, complete with diagrams, vectors, and texts, you will want to apply uniform colors that will reflect the tone and message of your presentations. Click on the “Color library” to select your desired color combinations.
You can choose to either apply your desired color combination to select slides or to all the slides at once.
Pros and Cons
Here are the pros & cons we found with the iSlide add-in.
Pros
Easy to use with a clean interface Competitively priced Huge library of templates and pictures to choose from Over fifteen tools to enhance every element of your PowerPoint presentation
Cons
Most of the features can only be unlocked with a premium subscription There are no tutorials offered on the company’s website, and it can be confusing to a novice user.
Final Thoughts
iSlide may not be a standalone application, but its ability to add a lovely, yet professional, touch to your PowerPoint presentations speaks for itself. Having performed an in-depth review of this add-in, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a tool to spice up their PowerPoint presentations. iSlide
