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Entrepreneurship

The 15 Best Free Online Web Presentation Software Tools for 2024

Are you running a small business, and now you need to give a sales presentation? Maybe you're a student and your assignment is to create a slideshow.

Either way, you probably don't have much to spend on a web presentation software tool. At some point or another, most of us need to create a slideshow.

If you need a tool to help you create web presentations, but you're on a limited budget, you may think you're out of luck. Fortunately, there are quite a few good free presentation tools for you to consider.

In this post, we'll share 15 free presentation tools. We'll describe each and point out key features. We'll also explain what to look for when choosing your online presentation software.

Finally, we'll share resources you can use with some online presentation software .

What to Look for in Free Online Presentation Software

It's important to use a good web presentation tool when showcasing it. Many free online presentation tools have all the features you need. Create a top-notch web presentation with presentation websites for free .

Here are some things to look for when selecting online presentation software:

Ease-of-use. You don't want to spend hours and hours learning how to use the web presentation tool. Good online presentation software should be easy to learn and have plenty of training resources available.
Import/export features. Your presentation software tool should be compatible with popular file formats. Also, keep in mind that at some point you may want to export your presentation into another tool.
Real-time collaboration . Teamwork has become increasingly important in today's professional environment. With the right web-based tool, you and a teammate can work together on a presentation project.
Cloud access and storage. It used to be that when you were away from your computer, you couldn't work on your project until you came back. With a cloud-based tool, that's no longer a problem. Access your work anywhere there's an Internet connection.
Audio/video capabilities. Multi-media has become the norm for slideshows. If you want your presentation to really stand out, consider adding an audio or video component.
Good technical support. What are you going to do if something goes wrong while you're creating your presentation? Look for quality support resources such as third-party tutorials and a strong online help section

When choosing an online presentation software tool keep in mind your future needs. Consider starting with presentation websites for free. Then work with the premium version of the presentation software tool of your choice.

Free Online Presentation Software Tools—Well-Known Tools (2024)

Looking for free presentation websites? Now you know what to expect from a free presentation software. We made a selection of free presentation websites for you.

Let's examine some of the most popular options. Look at the free versions of some of the most popular online presentation tools:

1. PowerPoint Online

Many people don't realize that there's a free version of PowerPoint available . This free presentation tool i s a great choice for students who need to make a presentation once and can't afford a Microsoft Office subscription.

Microsoft products are widely used. Because these online presentation tools are so popular, many people are familiar with the software layout and commands. That helps make PowerPoint Online easy to learn to use. Plus, you can upgrade to the premium PowerPoint tool if you need more features.

The online presentation software, PowerPoint Online, includes many of the features of its premium counterpart. Format text, use animations, and include other graphic elements. Since it's web-based, there are also collaboration features and cloud storage.

There are some limitations of this free presentation tool . For example, you can't use PowerPoint Online unless you've got Internet access. Some views aren't available. You're limited to built-in themes, although you can import a presentation with a third-party theme. And you can only insert audio and video files through YouTube. There are other differences as well.

PowerPoint provides many help documents and articles to its users. O nline presentation tools like this one includes online help in the form of the Tell Me tool. Plus, you can find lots of third-party articles and resources on PowerPoint, such as this Tuts+ tutorial:

2. Google Slides

Next up on our list of free presentation tools in Google Slides. Even though it's free online presentation , Google Slides' features rival those of premium presentation software tools. It's real-time collaboration tools make it ideal for times.

Google Slides is also a great option if you intend to publish your presentation online. Plus, even though Google Slides is a cloud-based tool, you can change the settings to use it while you're offline .

Considering using Google Slides? These articles explain how it compares to more expensive tools:

Google's office suite is increasing in popularity. And you can upgrade to a premium version of the office suite if your needs grow.

This free online presentation is also easy to learn. Google has helpful online documentation within each office tool, including Google Slides.

Check out our tutorial on how to use Google Slides:

Make your Google Slides presentation stand out. Yse a professional template like the ones available on Envato Elements . For a peek at some of the best Google Slides presentation themes, look at:

3. Keynote

Keynote is another one of the many free online presentation tools available. If you've purchased a Mac computer lately, it probably came with Apple's Keynotes software already loaded. It's also available to download for free for iOs devices from the iTunes App Store. PC users can now view or edit Keynote presentations online with the iCloud website.

If you've got a Mac, you'll probably find Keynote easy to use. It's well-integrated with the Mac platform, which makes it easy to add images and multimedia into your presentation. A recent upgrade added better collaboration features to Keynote.

Coming from Apple, Keynote is well-documented. There's good technical support and other resources from both Apple and third parties. To learn more about this online presentation software , read this Tuts+ article:

Produce a professional slideshow quickly and easily through a third part template such as those available through Envato Elements .

Here's a look at some popular Keynote presentation templates:

4. Prezi Basic

Prezi is a popular free online presentation tool known for its graphic interface. It has a non-linear approach to presentations.

The zooming tool is impressive in this online presentation software . Plus, there are tutorials and other aids to help you learn how to use it.

Its popularity is growing, which means there's also a growing number of third-party resources available.

Try Prezi for free by using either the basic version or by signing up for Prezi basic, or for a free trial of one of the other versions.

5. SlideShare Scribd

SlideShare Scribd isn't a presentation authoring software tool, but rather a free presentation sharing software tool. If you need to get your slideshow in front of a large professional audience, then this online presentation software is worth knowing about.

Currently, there are millions of users on this best free presentation software , many of whom are business professionals.

This best free presentation software is easy to use and there's some help available within the tool. Since SlideShare is growing in popularity, there are also a growing number of third-party resources and tutorials. To learn more about SlideShare, study:

Canva is most know as an online graphic design tool. However, this software has presentation software. It allows users to create beautiful slides online with free custom presentation templates and a massive media library. It offers some of the best-looking templates around.

It has drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy to add your own content and visual assets, or users can pick from an extensive library of free photos and graphics.

Best Free Online Software Presentation Tools—Other Tools

The free online presentation tools below may not be as famous as others listed above. But many have features similar to their well-known counterparts.

Many of these free interactive presentation tools are limited in features at the free level. Some free tools may display ads or require that your presentation include their logo or company name on it.

Let's take a closer look:

1. Zoho Show

Zoho Show is part of a popular office productivity suite. According to the website, the free version of this office suite is available for teams of up to 5 users. The free version also offers some nice extra features for teams such as secure file collaboration and in-app chat.

Zoho Office Suite offers quite a bit of support, with a knowledge base, articles, and more.

2. FlowVella

FlowVella (formerly Flowboard) was designed to work online with mobile devices. But there's also version available for the Mac. Easily incorporate multi-media and other online content into your presentation. The newest version also includes drag and drop. Presentations are also easily shared through URL links.

FlowVella is a strong presentation tool choice with company support and help. Currently, there aren't a lot of third-party resources. The free version limits you to four public flows (presentations). The presentation size is limited to ten slides.

3. LibreOffice Impress

Impress is part of LibreOffice (based on OpenOffice), which is free and open source software. There's no premium version available for this free online presentation tool . This might not be a problem for you because Impress compares favorably to many pricier alternatives.

When LibreOffice 5.3 was released in 2017, LibreOffice also made LibreOffice online available. To use it you'll need to install it on your own server.

As might be expected for open source software, LibreOffice has a sizeable community. This means that there are several third-party resources and tutorials available for this free online presentation tool .

A promising new best free presentation software tool is Ludus. It's designed with creativity and the web in mind. So, you can easily integrate content from other web services like YouTube, Vimeo, DropBox, GIPHY, and more. It's also got some nice design tools including the ability to upload fonts, blend colors, use overlays, and more.

Because Ludus is so new, there aren't a lot of third-party resources, such as articles and tutorials. But the main site includes helpful videos that illustrate how to use some of the main features that should help new users get up to speed.

You can get a free trial of any of their versions. With the free trial version of the Solo level, one user can create unlimited presentations for free with access to all the features. When the trial ends, you'll need to decide if you want to buy one of the premium versions.

5. PowToon

Next up on our list of best free presentation software is PowToon. PowToon gives you the option to create an animated video instead of a more static, slide-based presentation. Even at the free, basic level you get access to some nice features. Free users get up to 100 MB of storage and can create a video of up to three minutes. With the free version, your video will have the PowToon branding.

The PowToon site includes help articles and tutorials to help you learn to use this tool quickly. Plus, there are plenty of third-party tutorials available.

6. Speaker Deck

Speaker Deck is a free tool owned by GitHub. While it's not a presentation authoring tool, upload your presentations as a PDF file and it'll convert them to slideshow format. You can then share your presentation through the Speaker Deck site or embed it into another website.

The Visme website includes many resources such as tutorials and a helpful knowledge base.

This free interactive presentation tool is a multi-faceted online presentation software. Not only can you create presentations, but you can also make infographics, charts, and social graphics. Add video or audio or animate an object in your presentation to make it more interesting. With the free version of Visme, create up to five projects and you also get 100 MB of storage. You can download your project as a .jpg file.

8. WPS Presentation

WPS Presentation is part of a free office suite that also includes Writer and Spreadsheets. If you choose this option, you'll find it to be very comparable to more popular office productivity software such as MS Office. Even with the free version you get 1G of cloud-based storages. You can also use it on up to three devices (one desktop device and two mobile devices).

This free interactive presentation tool includes a searchable online help, a useful blog, and other helpful resources.

9. Genially

This online presentation software specializes in letting you create interactive content. It also features many animation effects. You use Genially to create online presentations, create infographics, and other interactive projects.

Most people should find this software easy to learn. The website includes a frequently updated blog with some helpful tips. I was also able to find some third-party tutorials for this presentation software tool.

10. Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck is an easy-to-use presentation software that focuses on simplicity and clarity. It offers a range of stylish templates and high-quality images that you can use in your presentations. The tool also provides various font and filter options to help you customize your slides.

The free version of Haiku Deck only gives you certain features and limits the number of presentations you can create.

Emaze is an online presentation tool that enables you to create impressive presentations with its wide range of templates, 3D effects, and video backgrounds.

It also allows you to easily share your presentations online and view them on any device. The free version comes with limited storage and access to a select number of templates.

12. SlideDog

SlideDog lets you combine different types of media into a seamless multimedia presentation. You can mix PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, Prezi presentations, movie clips, web pages, and more to create an interactive viewing experience for your audience.

The free version comes with SlideDog branding and does not include some advanced features like interactive elements.

13. Animaker

Animaker is a do-it-yourself video animation software. While it's primarily used for creating animated videos, it can also be used to make animated presentations. It offers a variety of features, including a wide range of characters, props, and backgrounds, as well as the ability to add voiceovers and special effects.

14. Microsoft Sway

Sway is a digital storytelling app from Microsoft that's perfect for creating presentations, newsletters, personal stories, and more. It has a simple interface that allows you to add various types of content.

It automatically takes care of the design aspect, creating a polished, cohesive look for your presentation.

15. Slidebean

Slidebean offers a unique approach to presentation creation by focusing on design. You input your content, and Slidebean automatically formats it into a visually appealing presentation.

This can be a great option for those who want to create professional-looking presentations but may not have a lot of design skills or time. Slidebean also offers collaboration features, allowing multiple people to work on a presentation together.

5 Quick Tips for Making Great Online Web Presentations in 2024

We'll help you create the best possible online web presentation. Here are five quick tips that you can use in your free interactive presentation tools :

1. Simplicity Is Key

Free interactive presentation tools have many advanced features, allowing you to personalize your slides. A header text plus no more than four bullet points and graphics is more than enough to create a powerful presentation.

2. Timing Is Everything

If you create a presentation that's too short, your audience will feel like you didn't put enough effort into the presentation.

If you create a presentation that's too long, you run the risk of confusing and boring your audience. Aim to create no more than 17 slides and have each slide take no longer than four minutes.

3. Use Graphics

To make your presentation more engaging and connect with your audience, include graphics on some slides.Make sure to include graphics that are relevant to the subject of the slide that you're on and that helps you illustrate your point.

4. Speak in a Clear and Expressive Voice

How you speak during your presentation will make or break the presentation.

Speak in a clear, strong, and expressive voice. This type of voice will capture the attention of your audience and make the entire presentation much more appealing to watch.

5. Ask Your Audience to Take Part

Presenting online has many advantages. One advantage is being able to send messages during the presentation without disturbing the speaker.

This opens up a great opportunity for you to encourage questions and comments. This will help engage your audience but also help them learn the material you are trying to present more effectively.

Premium Templates Help You Create Powerful Online Presentations in 2024

If you're new to making slideshows and on a budget, focus on design. As a business owner or student, a professional-looking presentation helps create a good impression.

You can find templates for many online presentation tools at a much lower cost than hiring a professional designer.

Presentation templates on Envato Elements

Get a professional template for your PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote presentations on Envato Elements . All for a low monthly payment.

The unlimited downloads that Elements offers lets you download anything in the Envato library. Not only can you access all these presentation templates, but you get access to photos, videos, fonts, and many other resources that could be helpful to you.

The presentation templates that Elements offers include a variety of features:

modern and engaging designs
completely customizable slides
gallery and portfolio slides
free fonts and icons

Take advantage of this offer on Envato Elements today!

Have a look at some of the best-selling PowerPoint presentation templates below:

1. Permanent Keynote Template

This eye-catching Keynote features 32 masters and two slide sizes. It'll allow you to choose the flexibility to choose a layout that'll work for you.

Find matching charts, diagrams, and tables in this template that'll make your presentation stand out. If you're looking for a versatile template that works well for a wide variety of presentations, then this is the template for you.

2. Nextar - Multipurpose PowerPoint Template

This sleek, modern PowerPoint template is perfect for creative agencies, tech startups, and any finance-related presentation. All the elements are fully editable and can easily be customized.

Here's what to expect in this presentation template:

30 unique slides
12 PPTX files
3 premade colors theme
widescreen & standard
easy to change colors

3. Expert PowerPoint Template

The Expert template will make you look like an expert. This presentation template offers a whopping 620 unique slides, 100 color themes, and 24 templates.

The design of the template is very versatile making this a go-to template for any of your presentation needs. Don't be afraid to use this template for more than one presentation!

4. iEdu - Education Google Slides Template

The iEDU template gives you a contemporary and minimal design that'll engage your audience. All the content on the design is well structured and flows nicely.

Here are a few of this template's main features:

30+ total slides
free web fonts
vector icons
100% fully editable
aspect ratio 16:9

Don't miss out on this high-quality presentation template !

5. Tech Corp - Modern Google Slides Template

This multipurpose presentation is ideal for many cases. These include internal meetings, investor pitch decks, weekly meetings, and much more. Every object in this Google Slides template is editable. So, customize the presentation to your specific needs.

Here are a few notable features of this presentation

30 unique slides in HD r
optimized and fully compatible PPTX
professional company profile slides
business reports slides

Discover More Presentation Templates for 2024

The templates outlined in this article are some of the best available. But this is only a small selection of the presentation templates that you can find on Envato Elements.

With the unlimited subscription on Envato Elements, you get to use all kinds of presentation templates .

Didn't find the perfect template for your presentation in this article? We have lots of high-quality templates for presentations:

Learn More About Making Stunning Presentations

Online web presentation tools come with a variety of features that can help you in creating a professional presentation.

Learn more great tips and tricks when it comes to free online interactive presentation tools. Check out our articles below:

Extra Resource: Free Presentation eBook Download ( PDF )

Download our new eBook on Making Great Presentations . It'll help you with the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully.

Get Started on Your Next Online Presentation

Don't let a limited budget keep you from creating the presentations you need. You're just learned about what to look for in an online presentation software tool.

We've also shared 15 free online presentation software packages. One of them is bound to be right for you.

Choose from the professional templates we shared for these online presentation makers. You can use them to make your presentation look great and leave a good impression.

Good luck with your presentation!

Editorial Note: This tutorial was originally published in December of 2017. It's been comprehensively revised to include new information—with special assistance from Daniel Strongin .

25 Tools for Creating and Delivering Amazing Presentations

Updated: August 10, 2022

Published: November 10, 2020

If you're in business, you need to know how to create captivating presentations. Whether you're trying to convince your boss to support a new campaign, talking with a prospect to close a deal, or building a new piece of marketing collateral, you need to know how craft a presentation that won't put people to sleep.

The best (and easiest) way to do that? Use the right tools to create and deliver your presentation.

If you're not sure which tools to use, look no further than this blog post. We’ve compiled our list of the top presentation tools for sales and marketing professionals. They’re listed below, in no particular order. But first ...

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Best Presentation Tools

Canva makes design easy -- even for marketers and salespeople who feel like they're design-challenged. The platform gives you a bunch of presentation templates to use right away, and it's very easy to customize them to your organization and presentation objective. Plus, a variety of apps that integrate with Google Drive, Instagram, and YouTube, to name a few.

Pricing : Free; Pro, $12.95/month for up to five people; Enterprise, $30/month per person

Often, being different is what attracts prospects, and Powtoon can help you do that in your presentations. Powtoon’s animation software lets you easily create videos with props, characters, and more -- which can help you differentiate your company when talking with prospects.

Pricing : Pro, $19/month; Pro+ $49/month; Agency, $89/month

3. PowerPoint

For years, PowerPoint has been the standard in presentation software, but it hasn’t remained static. PowerPoint is full of features to make sales and marketing presentations dynamic and engaging. ( Here are just a few ways you can do that .)

Pricing : Business Basic, $5/user/month; Business Standard, $12.50/user/month; Business Premium, $20/user/month

4. Slidesgo

Slidesgo is your creative companion in the world of presentation design. This website specializes in crafting visually stunning Google Slides and PowerPoint templates that breathe life into your ideas, making them shine on any screen. With a wide variety of templates ranging from business and marketing to medicine and education, Slidesgo empowers presenters of all backgrounds to engage, educate, and inspire their audiences.

Pricing: Free plan, $0; Premium, $4.99; Education, $2.99

A PowerPoint add-in, Oomfo helps sales and marketing pros create those oh-so-important interactive charts for presentations. Specialized charts, live charts from multiple files, data from cloud applications, interactive options, one-click conversions -- it’s all possible, and more, with Oomfo.

Pricing: Free

Apple’s Keynote allows users to work between their Mac and iOS devices, as well as with people who use Microsoft PowerPoint. With easy-to-use visual tools, drag and drop functionality, interactive charts, and more, Keynote is a popular choice among sales and marketing professionals.

Pricing : Free

7. SlideModel

SlideModel contains thousands of ready-made and 100% editable presentation templates to help any presenter save time creating engaging and aesthetically pleasing presentations. Their collection of presentation templates covers a variety of business purposes and even gets updated periodically to add new business and education templates. You can find a collection of visually appealing slides on the site including dashboards, creative infographics, editable Maps, funnels, timelines, mindmaps, and presentation slides depending on the need of your presentation. Their slides templates are easy to edit and are compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Pricing : Free plan, $0; One-Day Access, $24.50; Annual Unlimited, $199.90/year

8. Beautiful.ai

best presentation software: beautiful.ai

Create beautiful slides, pitches, and proposals without a team of designers. AI applies design rules in real time, and a library of free photos and icons are at your fingertips.

Pricing : Basic, $0; Pro, $12/month; Team, $38/user/month

9. Haiku Deck

Available for the web or iPad, Haiku Deck has become a favorite of sales and marketing pros. With Haiku Deck, professionals can quickly create presentations that can be "easily projected, shared, posted, embedded on a website or blog, or viewed on any web-enabled device." Though it's another tool that helps you create presentations from scratch, its ease-of-use sets it apart from the rest.

Pricing : Pro, $9.99 - $19.99/month; Premium, $29.99/month

Vyond is an online animation software that allows you to create animated videos for marketing campaigns, sales enablement, or even human resources. Use their library of customizable templates or create your own from scratch.

Pricing : Essential, $229/year; Premium, $649/year; Professional, $999/user/year; Enterprise, contact for pricing

11. Storydoc

With templates for all the most popular business use cases, Storydoc is an interactive presentation maker built to help sales teams and marketing professionals engage more prospects and boost conversion rates.

You can create amazing and engaging decks where you can embed video and social media content to tell your story the right way. Then, integrate your CRM into Storydoc decks, as well as calendars, sign-up forms, and other solutions that will make your presentation. Additionally, you have access to Storydoc's tracking analytics which shows who viewed your presentation and which components they interacted with the most.

Pricing : Free trial 14 days); Starter Plan, $40/month

Busy sales and marketing pros choose emaze because it makes creating amazing presentations quick and easy. The options abound with emaze: Choose a professionally designed template and then create a slideshow, video presentation , or 3D presentation.

Pricing : Business Plan, contact for pricing; Executive Plan, $40/month; Pro Plan, $13/month

13. Camtasia

TechSmith’s Camtasia is an amazing tool that helps you create professional videos. You can record screen movements, import HD video from another source, customize and edit the video, and then share the completed video presentation on practically any device.

Pricing : Individual, $249.99/user/year; Business $249.99/user/year; Education, $169.99/user/year; Government and Non-Profit, $223.99/user/year

14. SlideShare

SlideShare is a popular choice for sales and marketing professionals looking for a way to share their content publicly. Because it already has a built-in audience, you can easily distribute your presentation out to lots of people -- and those people can embed your SlideShares on websites and blogs, or share them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

15. SlideDog

Sometimes, sales and marketing professionals need to be able to move between presentation tools, but it’s not always possible because of their technical limitations. SlideDog is the solution, as it enables users to switch between PowerPoint, Prezi, PDF, web pages and others.

Pricing : Free; Pro, $99/year; Pro Event, $49 for one-time payment

16. Presentation Assistant

best presentation software: presentation assistant

Presentation Assistant lives up to its name: It assists professionals by enabling them to annotate, zoom, and more during a presentation. Sales and marketing professionals can clarify and emphasize points more clearly to their audience with Presentation Assistant.

Pricing : Presentation Pointer, $29.95; Presentation Screen Master, $29.95

17. authorSTREAM

best presentation software: authorstream

Sales and marketing pros choose authorSTREAM to make their presentations dynamic and engaging. authorSTREAM allows users to share their PowerPoint presentations publicly or privately, broadcast them, convert them to video, communicate and collaborate about them, and more.

Pricing: Free or paid plans start at $4.20/month

18. Zentation

With Zentation, salespeople and marketers combine video and slides into a simulated live experience. Presentations created with Zentation become webinars, webcasts, and virtual events for prospects and customers -- all great collateral for marketing and sales.

Pricing : Free; Premium, $10 - $45/month; White-Label, contact for pricing

Sales and marketing professionals love Prezi because it is cloud-based. Prezi makes creating, editing, and presenting from your browser, desktop, iPad, or iPhone possible anywhere, any time.

Pricing : Standard, $5/month; Plus, $15/month; Premium, $59/month

20. Brainshark

Sales reps and marketers often choose Brainshark, a cloud-based presentation tool, because it allows them to create and deliver presentations live or on-demand (even using their iPad or iPhone), use on-demand video content, polls, or surveys for increased engagement, and embed presentations in websites and blogs.

Pricing : Contact for pricing

Vcasmo is a unique presentation tool -- it's a multimedia solution that enables users to synchronize a video and slideshow, side by side. Sales and marketing pros love Vcasmo because it supports playback in three forms: browser, mobile, and iPad.

Pricing : Free; Standard, $10.99/month; Professional, $16.99/month

22. ViewletBuilder

best presentation software: viewlet builder

ViewletBuilder is a different presentation tool; it captures critical screen updates and cursor position changes so sales and marketing pros can create presentations detailing how their product or sites work. With a plethora of features, ViewletBuilder allows for editing and enhancing and includes a variety of publishing and sharing options, too.

Pricing : Pro, $399; Enterprise, $599

23. Zoho Show

Zoho Show is a top pick for sales and marketing pros because it lives online, making it possible to create, access, present, and more from anywhere, any time. The simple, intuitive interface and collaboration features are just two of its beloved benefits.

24. AhaSlides

Pricing : Free; Essential, $4.95/month; Pro, $15.95/month; Annual, Monthly & One-time plans available.

Visme is an all-in-one content creation platform with a vast library of professionally designed presentation templates, each tailored to your industry and specific proposal needs. Its beginner-friendly design platform allows you to drag and drop elements into place, use dynamic fields to update all your content in one place instantaneously and integrate your tools like Hubspot or Salesforce, and more to personalize each presentation.

Pricing: Free, Starter: $12.25/month, billed yearly, Pro: $30/month, billed yearly, Visme for Teams & Enterprises.

What are you waiting for? Pick a tool and start creating. Your prospects are waiting.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated for freshness and comprehensiveness.

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The best presentation software in 2024

These powerpoint alternatives go beyond the basics..

Hero image with logos of the best presentation software

The latest presentation apps have made it easier than ever to format slides and create professional-looking slideshows without giving off a "this is a template" vibe. Even standard PowerPoint alternatives have updated key features to make it easier than ever to collaborate and create presentations quickly, so you can spend more time prepping for your actual presentation.

If, like me, you've used Google Slides unquestioningly for years, it's a whole new world out there. The newest crop of online presentation tools go way beyond the classic slideshow experience, with new features to keep your audience's attention, streamline the creation process with AI, and turn slide decks into videos and interactive conversations.

I've been testing these apps for the past few years, and this time, I spent several days tinkering with 25 of the top presentation software solutions out there to bring you the best of the best.

The best presentation software

What makes the best presentation app, how we evaluate and test apps.

When looking for the best presentation apps, I wanted utility players. After all, slideshows are used for just about everything, from pitch decks and product launches to class lectures and church sermons. With that in mind, here's what I was looking for:

Pre-built templates. The best presentation tools should have attractive, professional-looking templates to build presentations in a hurry.

Sharing and collaboration options. Whether you plan to share your webinar slides later, or you just want to collaborate with a coworker on a presentation, it should be easy to share files and collaborate in real-time.

Flexibility and customization options. Templates are great, but top presentation apps should enable you to customize just about everything—giving you the flexibility to build exactly what you need.

Affordability. Creating compelling presentations is important, but you shouldn't have to bust your budget to make it happen. With capable free tools on the market, affordability is a top consideration.

Standalone functionality. There's no reason to use multiple tools when one can do it all, so I didn't test any apps that require and work on top of another presentation app like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Familiar, deck-based interface. For our purposes here, I only tested software that uses slides, with the familiar deck-based editor you expect from a "presentation" tool (versus, for example, a video creation app).

Beyond that, I also looked for presentation apps that brought something unique to the table—features above and beyond what you can get for free from a legacy solution like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Here's what my testing workflow looked like:

I went through any onboarding or guided tutorials.

I created a new deck, scanning through all available templates, noting how well-designed they were (and which were free versus paid).

I added new slides, deleted slides, edited text and images, and played around with other content types.

I changed presentation design settings, like color schemes and background images.

I reviewed and tested the sharing and collaboration options.

I tested out presenter view (when available).

After my first round of testing, I went back into the top performers to test any unique or niche features, like AI, brand settings, and interactive content. With that, these are the best presentation apps I found—each one really brings something different or radically easy to the table.

The best presentation software at a glance


	A free option	Free plan available; paid plans from $10
	AI-powered design	From $12/month
	Non-linear presentations	Free plan available; paid plans from $7/month
	Video presentations	Limited free plan available; paid plans from $15/month
	Collaboration	Free plan available; from $22/month for 2 users
	Conversational AI features	Free plan available; paid plans from $8/user/month
	Audience engagement	Free plan available; paid plans from $11.99/user/month
	Generative AI features	Limited free plan available; paid plans from $16/user/month

The best free presentation software

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Canva, our pick for the best free presentation app

Canva pros:

Excellent free plan

Tons of amazing templates for all use cases

Feature-rich

Canva cons:

The AI tools aren't groundbreakingly useful

Canva offers one of the most robust free plans of all the presentation apps I tested. The app delays account creation until after you've created your first design, so you can get started building your presentation in seconds. Choose from an almost overwhelming number of beautiful templates (nearly all available for free), including those designed specifically for education or business use cases.

Anyone who's accidentally scrolled too far and been bumped to the next slide will appreciate Canva's editor interface, which eliminates that problem altogether with a smooth scroll that doesn't jump around. Choose from a handful of preset animations to add life to your presentations, or browse the library of audio and video files available to add. And Canva also has a number of options for sharing your presentation, including adding collaborators to your team, sharing directly to social media, and even via QR code.

Present directly from Canva, and let audience members submit their questions via Canva Live. Once you share a link to invite audience members to your presentation, they can send questions for you to answer. As the presenter, you'll see them pop up in your presenter view window, so you can keep the audience engaged and your presentation clear. Alternatively, record a presentation with a talking head bubble—you can even use an AI presenter here—to share remotely.

Canva pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $120/year for 1 user and include additional features like Brand Kit, premium templates and stock assets, and additional AI-powered design tools.

The best presentation app for AI-powered design

Beautiful.ai pros:

True AI design

No fussing around with alignment

Still allows for customization

Beautiful.ai cons:

No free plan

If you're like me, editing granular spacing issues is the absolute worst part of building a presentation. Beautiful.ai uses artificial intelligence to take a lot of the hassle and granular design requirements out of the presentation process, so you can focus on the content of a presentation without sacrificing professional design. If I needed to make presentations on a regular basis, this is the app I'd use.

Many apps have recently added AI design features, but Beautiful.ai has been doing it for years—and they've perfected the experience of AI design, ensuring the tool's reign as the most streamlined and user-friendly option for AI design.

The editor is a little different from most presentation apps, but it's still intuitive—and you'll start off with a quick two-minute tutorial. When creating a new slide, scroll through "inspiration slides" to find a layout you like; once you choose, the app will pull the layout and automatically adapt it to match the design of the rest of your presentation.

With 10 themes, several templated slides, over 40 fully-designed templates, and more than 20 different color palettes to choose from, Beautiful.ai strikes a perfect balance between automation and customization.

While Beautiful.ai doesn't offer a free plan, paid plans are reasonably priced and offer sharing and collaboration options that rival collab-focused apps like Google Slides. And speaking of Google, you can connect Beautiful.ai with Google Drive to save all your presentations there.

Note: I re-tested the generative AI feature (called DesignerBot) this year. It's great for adding individual slides to an existing presentation—automatically choosing the best layout and matching the design to the rest of the deck—but as with most other apps, it struggled to pull in relevant images.

Beautiful.ai pricing: Plans start at $12/month for unlimited slides, AI content generation, viewer analytics, and more. Upgrade to a Team plan for $40/user/month to get extra collaboration and workspace features and custom brand controls.

The best presentation app for conversational presentations

Prezi pros:

Doesn't restrict you to standard presentation structure

Lots of customization options

Prezi Video lets you display a presentation right over your webcam video

Prezi cons:

Steep learning curve

Struggling to squeeze information into a basic, linear presentation? Give Prezi a try. Unlike nearly all other presentation apps on the market, Prezi Present doesn't restrict the structure of your presentation to a straight line. The editor focuses on topics and subtopics and allows you to arrange them any way you want, so you can create a more conversational flow of information.

With the structural flexibility, you still get all the same customization features you expect from top presentation software, including fully-editable templates. There's a learning curve if you're unfamiliar with non-linear presentations, but templates offer a great jumping-off point, and Prezi's editor does a good job of making the process more approachable.

Plus, Prezi comes with two other apps: Prezi Design and Prezi Video. Prezi Video helps you take remote presentations to a new level. You can record a video where the presentation elements are displayed right over your webcam feed. Record and save the video to share later, or connect with your video conferencing tool of choice (including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) to present live.

Prezi's generative AI feature works ok, but it's more useful as a wireframe. When I asked it to create a presentation about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, for example, the resulting content read a lot like a student writing a term paper in the broadest strokes possible to avoid doing any actual research.

The best presentation app for video presentations

Powtoon pros:

Timing automatically changes based on the content on the slide

Can toggle between slideshow and video

Can orient presentation as horizontal, vertical, or square

Powtoon cons:

Limited free plan

Powtoon makes it easy to create engaging videos by orienting the editor around a slide deck. Editing a Powtoon feels just like editing a presentation, but by the time you finish, you have a professional video.

You can edit your slides at any time, and when you hit play, a video plays through your deck—the feel is almost like an animated explainer video. Each slide includes the animations you choose and takes up as much time as is needed based on the content on the slide. Powtoon figures the timing automatically, and you can see in the bottom-right of the editor how much time is used on your current slide versus the total presentation. If you ever want to present as a slide deck, just toggle between Slideshow and Movie.

You'll likely need to subscribe to a paid plan to get the most out of Powtoon—like creating videos longer than three minutes, downloading them as MP4 files, and white-labeling your presentations—but doing so won't break the bank. Plus, you'll unlock tons of templates complete with animations and soundtracks.

One of my favorite Powtoon features is the ability to orient your video: you can choose horizontal orientation (like a normal presentation) or opt for vertical (for mobile) or square (for social media). When your presentation is ready, you can publish straight to YouTube, Wistia, Facebook Ads, and any number of other locations.

The best presentation app for collaborating with your team

Pitch, our pick for the best presentation software for collaborating with your team

Pitch pros:

Google levels of collaboration

Assign slides to specific team members

Excellent generative AI feature

Pitch cons:

User interface is a little different than you're used to

Need to collaborate on presentations with your team? Pitch is a Google Slides alternative that gets the job done. As far as decks go, Pitch includes all the beautifully-designed templates, customizability, and ease of use you expect from a top-notch presentation tool. But the app really shines when you add your team.

The right-hand sidebar is all about project management and collaboration: you can set and update the status of your deck, assign entire presentations or individual slides to team members, plus comment or add notes. Save custom templates to make future presentations even easier and faster.

You can also invite collaborators from outside your company to work with you on individual decks. And if you opt for a paid plan, Pitch introduces workspace roles, shared private folders, and version history.

Pitch also offers one of the most impressive generative AI features on this list. It still struggles to pull in relevant images, but I found the AI-generated written content and design to be top-notch.

The best presentation app for conversational AI

Gamma pros:

Creates fully fleshed-out presentations from a prompt

Conversational chatbot-like experience

Can still manually edit the presentation

Gamma cons:

Not as much granular customization

I tested a lot of apps claiming to use AI to up your presentation game, and Gamma's conversational AI features were head and shoulders above the crowd.

Simply give the app a topic—or upload an outline, notes, or any other document or article—approve the outline, and pick a theme. The app will take it from there and create a fully fleshed-out presentation. It's far from perfect, but Gamma produces a very useful jumping-off point. (Last year, it was by far the best, but this year, other apps are catching up.)

Here's the key: Gamma is much more geared toward the iterative, chatbot experience familiar to ChatGPT users. Click on the Edit with AI button at the top of the right-hand menu to open the chat, and you'll see suggested prompts—or you can type in your own requests for how Gamma should alter the presentation.

Once you've done all you can with prompts, simply close the chat box to manually add the finishing touches. While you do sacrifice some granular customizability in exchange for the AI features, you can still choose your visual theme, change slide layouts, format text, and add any images, videos, or even app and web content.

The best presentation app for audience engagement

Mentimeter, our pick for the best presentation software for audience engagement

Mentimeter pros:

Tons of audience engagement features

Simple for participants to interact

Mentimeter cons:

Less granular customizability

Bit of a learning curve

If you need to engage with an audience during your presentation, Mentimeter makes that easy. The app is designed around interactive elements like quizzes, surveys, Q&As, sliders, and more (even a Miro whiteboard!).

Each of these is included in a number of different, professional-looking templates, so you can build a fully interactive presentation super quickly.

When it's time to present, your audience members can scan the QR code with their phone cameras or type in the URL and access code to participate. There's one code per presentation (so they won't have to do this on every slide), which gives access to each slide as you move through the presentation.

There are two main drawbacks to this one, though. First, there's a bit of a learning curve and less familiar editing interface (but I found it pretty easy to learn with some practice). The other drawback is that you can't get as granular with the visual customization as you can with many other presentation tools.

The best presentation app for generative AI

Tome, our pick for the best presentation software for generative AI

Top-tier generative AI features

Simple, customizable templates

Intuitive doc-style editor

There's definitely a learning curve

Tome is one of the new additions to this list that I'm most excited about. If you're looking for generative AI that just genuinely works , it's definitely worth a look. The editor is a bit more stripped down than most presentation apps but intuitive nonetheless—it's almost a cross between your standard deck editor and a Notion-style doc.

To generate an AI deck, click Generate with AI in the top right, and either write your own prompt or choose from the example prompts that cover a handful of common use cases, like sales enablement and company pitches. Edit or approve the suggested outline, then generate the full presentation.

From there, you can edit each slide as a doc via the right-hand menu—without limits on how much information you can include. During the presentation, you simply size down any slides that take up more than the standard amount of space. It's super simple but somehow feels revolutionary in a presentation app.

What about the old standbys?

You might notice a few major presentation players aren't on this list, including OGs Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Google Slides. These apps are perfectly adequate for creating basic presentations, and they're free if you have a Windows or Mac device or a Google account.

I didn't include them on the list because the presentation space has really developed in the last several years, and after testing them out, I found these behemoths haven't kept pace. If they weren't made by Microsoft/Apple/Google, I might not even be mentioning them. They're pretty basic tools, they're behind the curve when it comes to templates (both quantity and design), and they don't offer any uniquely valuable features like robust team collaboration, branding controls, video, and so on.

In any case, if you're reading this, you're probably looking for an alternative that allows you to move away from one of the big 3, and as the presentation platforms featured above show, there's a ton to gain—in terms of features, usability, and more—when you do.

What about PowerPoint and Google Slides add-ons?

While I focused my testing on tools with full feature-sets—those that can serve as your sole presentation tool—there are a ton of add-on tools you can use atop big name tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides.

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Review: Top 5 Web-based Presentation Tools Compared

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Google Slides

Bottom line, frequently asked questions about web presentation tools.

Recently we looked at a few alternatives that can help you translate your raw data into some delicious visual goodness. Today I thought we’d talk about ways you might present it.

Most of us — at some point in our careers — need to present our ideas to an audience.

Maybe it’s a client pitch? Sometimes it might be for colleagues or even potential employers. Other times it might be for a bigger audience at a meet-up night or conference.

While your data may be easy to read and understand, applying it to some slides and adding some text can actually benefit you. Now, not everyone has access to the established desktop presentation applications such as PowerPoint or Keynote.

Happily, there are now some great online alternatives out there. And being ‘web-native’, means they’re not only better suited to social sharing platforms than their desktop brethren, but can be launched from ANY computer with a web browser — a huge relief during rare but inevitable hardware disasters.

Today I’m sharing my first impressions on five online presentation services that will keep your audience engaged without tapping your wallet.

This is where the fun part comes in. After choosing to “create a deck” I was taken to the very sleek editor workspace. While Slides clearly wants to make things as self apparent as possible, it does offer a nifty walkthrough tutorial — a thorough guide that shows you where everything is and the function such as the “Top Level Options”.

Slides is friendly enough that you’ll most likely quickly figure this out through trial and error, but it is nice to have an option.

Creating your slides is really an easy task. With ten default slides designs to choose from, you can do everything from upload background images, tinker around with your type and even add speaker notes.

Speaking of type, there are 12 distinct type options to choose from. If that’s not enough variety, you also have multiple color style choices to choose from as well as transitions.

All in all, I think Slides is a winner. However, if I were to have one complaint, it’s the fact that you have to go Pro in order to export your deck to either PDF or sync it to your Dropbox. Until then you’re only options are to export as an HTML doc or to embed it (and pray your WiFi doesn’t fail at the wrong moment).

View your slides either online or on the go via your mobile device
Control your presentations through the power of any touch enabled mobile device
The ability to present your slides live in real-time anywhere in the world
Variety of themes and transitions at your disposal
Teams can streamline their presentation workflow
Share and fork your presentations
Revisions are saved so you can always go back if you make a mistake
HTML ability allows you to edit your markup and customize your decks

First Impression : To get started on your first presentation with Zoho Docs, you do have to register for an account. Thankfully, if the last thing you need is one more login to remember, you can sign in via your Google, Google Apps, Facebook or Yahoo accounts.

Once that’s done it’s time to start creating. The workspace is rather attractive and user-friendly, guiding you along without actually forcing you into a structured tutorial from the get go. Presentation formats are broken up into three options: document, spreadsheet or presentation. Take each one for a test-drive by clicking the “Create” button on the left hand screen.

Creating a fresh presentation opens up a new tab to pull up Zoho Show. While this may not be appreciated by everyone, it does allow you to switch back to your Zoho Doc’s workspace whenever you need it without having to press the back button.

Right away you’re prompted to choose one of the 17 available themes as well as selecting a preferred aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3). This is a nice touch especially if you know you will be presenting on a wide-screen monitor or projection screen. I don’t believe any other tool offered this functionality

While choosing your theme, you can also decide your preferred color palette and font. From there you are taken through a thorough walkthrough of the creation process. There are tons of customization options plus you have four export options for your presentations.

Unlimited users with the Free Forever plan
Shared storage is more than generous even with a free account
Share your work through email, embed it into your sites or even publish it publicly
Word documents, spreadsheets and presentations can be easily created
History of your changes in documents are there for you if revisions are needed
Ability to sync right to your desktop
Enabled document and user management
Export your presentation as a PDF, PPTX, ODP or PPSX

First Impression : I must admit that I have used Google Slides once in my life, but that was for a film presentation during my last year of university. If you, like most people, have a Google account, you already have access to Google Slides ,so no registration is required.

To get started you only have to go to your Docs/Drive, open the hamburger menu to the left and click “slides”. Should you have no presentations already created, you only have to click the “+” in the bottom right corner to get started. As with Zoho, you’re immediately tasked to choosing your theme and aspect ratio.

While there are 20 available theme options, they are rather plain when compared to the templates offered by competing products .

While other apps do a good job at ‘prepping’ first time users, this is a case where Google won’t take your hand and walk you through you what Slides has to offer. This may not be a big issue for most, but is likely to discourage anyone who isn’t 100% confident with web apps.

That being said, the UX of Slides isn’t very different to the UX of other Google apps, so many users will feel a sense of familiarity from the start. Adding images and text or even aligning them, changing the type or color are all just a matter of a few button clicks. To add in a new slide you but only need to press the “+” button to the far left on the toolbox.

In order to change up your slide’s layout you need to click the “layout” button which is between “background” and “theme”. This will give you a few more options to choose from and add some dynamic to your final presentation.

As expected there are some transitions to make the slides run smoothly and a bit more options to get something you’re proud of before you share it.

Similar Google Docs layout makes using Slides relatively easy
6 available download formats including SVG, PDF and PNG
Edit and collaborate on your work in real-time
Chat and comment right there in your window
Changes are automatically saved as you work
PowerPoint compatible
Enabled offline editing for when you need it
Absolutely free

First Impression : Emaze prides themselves on allowing you to easily create your own presentations so that you can “emaze” everyone.

Once you register with e-mail address and password, you’re ready to start building your first presentation.

Of course you have to decide which plan you want: Free, Pro or Emazing. Choose and you’ll be immediately presented with an excellent selection of good quality templates — from fun to professional-looking.

Unlike some of the other presentation creators, these templates are thoughtfully categorized to make it easier for you to find the best fit for your presentation. Even though some categories only have one available color choice for that particular theme, there are still 34 themes to choose from.

Like Zoho, creating a presentation in Emaze pulls up a new tab to bring you to the workspace. Instead of the typical walk-through, Emaze uses animated arrows to show exactly where things are and what they do, which is a nice take on the general tutorial.

Because the templates are pre-conceived each new slide template already has a built in layout that only requires you to insert your desired graphics, video and text. Emaze has some cool features as well which include adding sections to your presentations and even adding effects to create motion to your objects.

Creating and editing your presentation with Emaze is rather simple and can be done relatively quickly if you know what you’re trying to achieve. Clicking on text will automatically open a text editor tool to allow you to change text sizes, color, as well as add effects.

There are some limitations to Emaze however. The preset font for your chosen template is the one you’re stick with, plus you have limited color palette to apply to your text. Also, as is often the case, free accounts are always publicly accessible. Not a big deal for many, but a consideration for some.

Automatic translation tool allows for your presentation to be seen by everyone
Multi-device compatibility lets you view and edit your work no matter where you are
3D effects can be added to your elements
Share and download your presentations
Cloud based and HTML5 enabled to allow for seamless and efficient workflow
A variety of pre-designed templates

First Impression : After getting yourself signed up with Visme you are thrown right into creating by first naming your project. Once you have your project named it’s time to decide whether you want to create a presentation, infographic, banner ad or a blank canvas.

The first thing you will notice is the comparitively low number of templates available to you when creating your presentation. There are 7 templates in total. Of course, you’re quite free to design your own layout by choosing a blank canvas, but it’s a little disappointing when Visme’s own marketing boasts about the ‘ tons of template and presets ‘ that are available to you.

The dashboard for your presentation is mapped out for you in your first go round, in a very similar method to Emaze’s approach.

The layout for creating is as simple as you can get so if you don’t need or want all the fancy effects and all that jazz Visme is definitely for you. While there isn’t anything amazingly new that Visme brings to the table, their presentation creator there are some nice touches.

The first thing worth noting is the thousands of free stock images that are available for you to use in order to make your presentation stand out. Simply search on a given topic and ninety percent of the time a viable result will seem to pop up. Photos aren’t the only visuals available — you’ll find hundreds of vector images too.

In my opinion, whatever Visme may lack in features, they certainly make up for with their easy-to-use editor and their large, free asset library. Visme also does allow you share, embed and download your presentation, but unfortunately you’re stuck with the branding and fewer options unless you upgrade.

Free templates and presets available to you from the start
Customizable assets
One-click security settings to keep your work hidden from the public
Pre-loaded fonts, images and vectors all for you to use
Share via social networks or URL links
Downloadable and embeddable for when you want to share offline or online
The ability to create anything from presentations to banner ads

While everyone is going to have different needs, I can tell you that these five should be high on your list to visit when choosing a solution. Each presentation builder offers something different but most of all they are all user-friendly.

If you’re looking for top-notch slide builder with an impressive, free option, I’d currently recommend Emaze and Slides. But don’t let that stop you from trying out the other three as well. This is a competitive sector with new features and improvements being rolled out regularly.

What are the key features to look for in a web presentation tool?

When choosing a web presentation tool, consider features such as ease of use, customization options, collaboration capabilities, and the ability to share presentations easily. Some tools offer interactive features, analytics, and the ability to embed videos or other media. The best tool for you will depend on your specific needs and the audience you’re presenting to.

Are there free web presentation tools available?

Yes, there are several free web presentation tools available. Some of these include Google Slides, Prezi, and SlideShare. However, keep in mind that free versions may have limitations or include watermarks on your presentations. For more advanced features, you may need to consider a paid version.

How can I make my online presentation more engaging?

To make your online presentation more engaging, consider incorporating multimedia elements such as videos, images, and interactive quizzes. Use storytelling techniques to connect with your audience and keep your content concise and focused. Also, consider using a tool that allows for real-time audience interaction, such as live polls or Q&A sessions.

Can I collaborate with others on my presentation using these tools?

Yes, many web presentation tools offer collaboration features. This means you can work on a presentation with a team, even if you’re not in the same location. You can share the presentation, make edits in real-time, and leave comments or suggestions.

Can I use web presentation tools on different devices?

Most web presentation tools are compatible with various devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This allows you to create, edit, and present from anywhere. However, it’s always a good idea to check the specific device requirements for the tool you’re considering.

How can I share my online presentation with others?

Most web presentation tools allow you to share your presentation via a link, embed it on a website, or download it as a PDF or other file format. Some tools also offer the option to present live online, allowing your audience to join from anywhere.

Can I track the performance of my online presentation?

Yes, some web presentation tools offer analytics features. These can provide insights into how many people viewed your presentation, how long they stayed, and which slides they interacted with the most. This can be useful for understanding your audience’s engagement and improving future presentations.

Can I customize the design of my presentation?

Yes, most web presentation tools offer a range of customization options. You can usually choose from a variety of templates, change colors and fonts, and add your own images or logos. This allows you to create a presentation that aligns with your brand and captures your audience’s attention.

Are there any limitations to using web presentation tools?

While web presentation tools offer many benefits, there can be limitations. For example, some tools may require an internet connection to access and edit your presentations. Also, free versions of these tools may have limitations on features or the number of presentations you can create.

How can I improve my presentation skills?

Improving your presentation skills involves practice, feedback, and continual learning. Consider joining a public speaking group, taking a course, or reading books on the subject. Also, take advantage of the features offered by web presentation tools, such as rehearsal modes and presenter notes.

Gabrielle is a creative type who specializes in graphic design, animation and photography.

10 Best Online Presentation Software & PowerPoint Alternatives

Edited by Kamila

We publish unbiased product and service reviews; our opinions are our own and are not influenced by our advertising partners. Learn more about how we review products and read our advertiser disclosures.

Comprehensive Review, Comparison & Features of Online Presentation Software To Help You Select The Best Free Presentation Tool or PowerPoint Alternative:

If you’ve been given the task of putting together a presentation, then you want to knock it out of the park and impress both your superiors and subordinates. You might be a phenomenal communicator and a cerebral strategist, but only personal skills are not enough. You also need a presentation tool that will help you design, present, and share your efforts effectively.

With heaps over heaps of presentation tools to choose from, it can be very difficult to land on the one that suits your needs and desires. Well, we are here to help you with that. We will introduce you to some of the most popular and efficient presentation apps available in the market beyond the familiar presence of PowerPoint.

In this article we are going to look at the presentation apps features, its price, whether it offers any free trial or not, its pros and cons, and finally present you with a well-rounded list of tools and PowerPoint Alternatives to choose from. The list is expansive, but don’t worry we will leave with some of our recommendations alluding to the best from the best.

Table of Contents:

Presentation Software Overview

Faqs for presentation apps, list of online presentation tools, #1) doratoon-video maker, #3) slidebean, #5) haiku deck, #7) google slides, #8) apple keynote, #10) zoho show, #11) custom show, was this helpful, recommended reading.

Presentation software enables users to create presentations with the aid of differing slides, text, graphics, images, and audio among other things. In short, it allows users to create professional sound and creative templates for their otherwise ordinary business presentations.

Pro Tip: Here are some factors to consider before choosing your desired presentation app or software.

It should have a vast design library containing a variety of templates, images, and other media.
It should be conveniently shareable across other media and platforms with other colleagues and users.
It should be simple enough for most users to use and operate.
It should fit well within your budget without compromising on quality.
It should be compatible with multiple devices.

Despite its obvious short backs, PowerPoint remains a major player in presentation software games, with over 86 % of market share as of 2019.

[image source ]

Q #1) How does presentation software work?

Answer: Different presentation software has a different appeal and way of functioning. They are loaded with their unique feature and can satisfy users on a variety of different levels. Most software works by selecting a template, adding text and images, editing text, inserting graphics, and adding slides in multiple templates if necessary.

Q #2) What are the benefits of Presentation Software?

Answer: A presentation software allows users to create robust and professionally sound presentations without much effort. A good app will allow its users to be flexible in their approach while editing a slide. It allows them to be creative by offering a plethora of graphics and images and helps create content that is visually arresting while being informative at the same time.

Q #3) Why should I pay for a Presentation Software when there are free options available?

Answer: It’s entirely your choice to use free presentation tools like PowerPoint to make your presentations. However, most paid apps come with the set of advanced features that are missing from free tools. Paid software gives you access to more premium graphics, images, and other audio-visual content that can substantially increase the quality of your presentation.

Doratoon-Video Maker
Google Slides
Apple Keynote
Custom Show

Comparison of Best Presentation Software

Best For	Deployment	Platform	Free Trial	Ratings	Fees
Creating Engaging Presentations with AI-Powered Text to Speech Features.	Web Based, Cloud	Windows, Mac	Lifetime	5/5	Available for Free $5/Month $19/Month
Creating presentations, infographics, social media graphics	Cloud Hosted	Windows, iPhone, iPad, Mac	None	4.5/5	: $99/month starts from $14/month – $75/month
Making presentation powered by AI	Web Based, SaaS, Cloud	Windows, Linux, Mac, Web Based	None	5/5	Free Version $8-$19/month
Creating animation and dynamic video presentations	Web Based, Cloud, SaaS	Windows, iPhone, iPad, Mac	14 Days	4/5	$39/month-$89/month
Creating presentations on Apple iOS devices exclusively.	iOS and SaaS, Cloud, Web Based	iOS and Mac exclusive	7 days	5/5	Free version, $5 – $100/month
Creation of conversational presentations for all platforms In-House SEO	Cloud Hosted	Windows, iPhone, iPad, Mac	14 Days	4.5/5	Free Version available, $5/month – $59/month

Review of Best Presentation Software

Best for creating engaging presentations using motion graphics.

Trial: Lifetime

Are you tired of using the same old presentation software and looking for something new and exciting?

Look no further than Doratoon. Whether you are a teacher looking to engage your students or a business owner looking to make a pitch, it has the tools to create dynamic and eye-catching presentations.

With an unlimited number of features and a template library to choose from, Doratoon has something for everyone.

Its easy-to-use interface makes animation a breeze, even for those who are new to the software. Plus, you can customize the features to fit your specific needs and create interesting presentations in the fields of education, marketing, business, and so on.

Massive Library of Presentation Templates
Stock Free Images & Videos
AI-Based Text to Speech
Animated Characters & Props
Some of the advanced templates offered by Doratoon are unavailable with the Basic plan.

Verdict: Doratoon is a powerful tool for creating interactive presentations for all relevant requirements. It is easy to use and doesn’t take much time to master. The free Basic Plan is a great way to get started, especially if you are a beginner. Overall, Doratoon is a good choice for those looking to add interactive elements to their presentations or videos.

Price: Free Basic Plan, Paid Plan starts from $5/month to $19/month.

Best for creating presentations, infographics, social media graphics, etc.

Trial: No free trial available.

Visme is a cloud-based presentation tool that allows both designers and non-designers to create presentations that are creative and visually absorbing. It comes with its vast library of stock images, photography, vector icons, fonts, and color themes. It helps users create beautiful slideshows with the help of pre-designed templates and themes.

What sets Visme apart from others on this list are the various interactive options it lays at your disposal. This includes hyperlinked elements, embed video, and audio upload with recording features.

Drag and Drop editor
Built-in library of icons, images, fonts, etc.
Animation and transition options
Brand kit feature to save your brand elements
Organize your work and collaborate with other team members
It can be complex for first-time users due to its vast amount of designs and slide layouts.

Verdict: Although this software seems complex for the first time, it is a great tool to create interactive content for your site. Its features are vast and it offers its users a free basic plan to allow them to explore the software. It is worth a try.

Price: Free Basic plan, Paid plan starts from $14/month – $75/month

=> Visit Visme Website

Best for creating presentations powered by artificial intelligence.

Trial: None

Slidebean is a web-based software that harnesses the power of AI to create visually engaging slides. If offers an easy user interface and convenient customization options. As it is cloud-based software, users can use it from any location and from any machine in the world.

Users can also easily export the slides from Slidebean into PPT or PDF format. It offers users a huge gallery of templates, designs, color palettes, fonts, and images. Slidebean also comes with tracking functionality and insights that allow users to track the reach of their content.

A rich gallery of templates, images, fonts, etc.
Sample decks
Convenient integration with websites
Can face stability issues with web browsers

Verdict: Slidebean is a wonder when it comes to presentation software. It has an intuitive AI-powered system that makes the task of making presentations 10 times easier. With a new revised affordable price, this software is worth every penny you spend.

Price : Free Basic version, $8-$19/month

Website: Slidebean

Best for creating animation and dynamic video presentations.

Trial: 14-day free trial.

Videos are known to be way more appealing and engaging than text. Likewise, Vyond is the perfect candidate to be on this list. It helps users create powerful and dynamic video presentations that can lighten up an otherwise dull business meeting. It provides users with the tools they need to create interactive media without any technical knowledge.

It allows you to create character-driven stories and visualize data to engage and inform your audience. Its novel animation features are motivational enough for you to invest in this software. Vyond can also help in creating GIFs that can be used to add some humor to your presentation.

Offers three different video styles with an array of stock characters, props, and more at your disposal.
It helps in animating and creating characters within minutes to tell a compelling story.
It allows multiple people to edit simultaneously.
Drag and drop editing.
Creates short clips and GIFs.
You can take a while to get used to the software.
The sound over videos can sometimes be shoddy.
Need to rely on your creativity.

Verdict: Vyond comes with all the features you would now have come to expect from a presentation software. Some customers have complained about its complexity and high premium price. However, its ability to create short video clips and GIFs gives it a special appeal.

Price: $39/month-$89/month

Website: Vyond

Best for creating presentations on Apple iOS devices exclusively.

Trial: 7 Day free trial.

This Apple-exclusive software helps users create beautiful and engaging presentations that can do wonders for your career. With a huge gallery of templates, designs, and fonts to choose from, Haiku Deck is fairly simple to use.

This software is hosted on the clouds and can save files automatically. It also allows users to download presentations in PPT format and also facilitate video presentations with audio narration. Apart from royalty-free images, you will also find graphs and charts to add that aesthetic charm to your presentation.

Huge gallery of images, templates, and fonts
Highly customizable
Simple easy to use layout
Design friendly tools
The free version has only limited features.
Not suitable for Windows and Android.

Verdict: Haiku Deck lays a huge gallery of fonts, images, templates at the disposal of its users. It is very simple to use but is only available for iOS devices. No other software has as vast a gallery of royalty-free images as Haiku Deck

Price : Free version, Premium – $5/month – $100/month.

Website : Haiku Deck

Best for the creation of conversational presentations for all platforms.

Trial : 14 Day free trial

Prezi launched itself in the market as a more creative alternative to the existing PowerPoint, and in many ways, it has held to its claims. It is more suited to users who want to create an organic and conversational presentation without breaking a sweat.

Prezi allows users to import PowerPoint presentations and transform them into their own little Prezi presentations. The content is imported without any hassle. The tool also offers analytics, so users can now analyze the performance of their published presentations.

Native Desktop Apps to provide online editing.
Easy user interface
Engaging design
Complete control of the size, shape, image, and font of presentation.
Essential features are only available with the most expensive plan.
The web-based and desktop app does not support internet explorer.

Verdict: Prezi is easy to use and can help users create mind-blowing presentations with the help of its huge gallery of templates, designs, and fonts. Although expensive, its amazing UI and expansive features are worth it.

Price : Free version, Premium – $5 – $59

Website: Prezi

Best For online cloud-based collaboration, creation, and editing of presentations.

Trial: 14 Day free trial

Google Slides offers excellent and convenient flexibility to its users who want to create engaging presentations. It is loaded with impressive features, themes, fonts, animations, and embedded videos. It allows multiple people to collaborate on the same video from a variety of different locations.

Suggested reading =>> How to add a voice recording to Google Slides

Although it is cloud-based, it offers offline editing and presenting as well. Users can download slide presentations in PPTX formats. For extra convenience, it provides users with chat, comment, and review features to facilitate real-time collaboration.

Cloud-Based
No additional software required
Multi-Browser support
Free Google Slides templates
Real-time collaboration on presentations
Users might face formatting issues while opening slides in PPTX and other formats.
Offline editing is only available on chrome browsers

Verdict: Google slides is widely popular, accessible, and free to use. It is great for students and novice users who want to try something other than PowerPoint, yet still, keep things simple.

Price: Free Presentation Software for G-mail and Google account users. Premium plan @ $6/month

Website: Google Slides

Best for creating presentations for Apple product users like Mac and iPhone devices.

Apple’s Keynote comes preinstalled in its Mac and iPhone devices. It has an intuitive interface that helps users create visually arresting and informative presentations without breaking a sweat. It offers live collaboration with multiple users through its chat feature. Keynote presentations can be controlled remotely through mobile devices like iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Comparatively, it also has a better transition and animation effects than most free presentation tools. Moreover, you can also use Apple pencil to create drawings on the tools with the help of your iPad. Apple’s Keynote offers real-time collaborative file editing to its users.

Presenter tools like ‘Voice-over Narration’.
A plethora of Slide Designs, icons, and animation graphics
Enables Powerpoint support
Cloud-based version to be accessible from any device in any location.
Cloud-based versions only accessible through the iCloud account.
Constant glitches while converting the file to PPT.

Verdict: Keynote is to Apple is similar to what PowerPoint is to Microsoft. It has all the features you would need to create a visually appealing presentation. However, it is only exclusive to Apple devices.

Price: Free Presentation Software for Apple product users.

Website: Apple’s Keynote

Best for cloud-based presentation management.

Slides is a software that offers users a platform to create beautiful presentations with the help of a very simple user interface and effortless collaboration. It facilitates cloud-based presentation management with great flexibility and convenience.

Slides can easily help users import PDF’s to be processed into slides presentations. It allows users to publish their presentations online so other users can have access to it too. It uses the power of two browser windows to provide features like a presentation view.

Moreover, slides also present users with the opportunity to broadcast their presentations live to remote audiences and also edit their presentation live while their online eyes watching. It also offers offline presentation as the file can be downloaded on PDF file, HTML, CSS, and JS bundle.

Easily accessible
Advanced features
Facilitated efficient collaboration
Functions run smoothly only with high-speed internet.
PDF and PowerPoint conversion may be shoddy.

Verdict: With its offer of live presentation broadcasting, Slides is a favorite of many employees working in managerial roles. It is also quite cheap, however, it does need high-speed internet to function smoothly.

Price: $7 – $18/month

Website: Slides

Best for creation, collaboration, and broadcast of published presentations.

Trial: None

Zoho Show is a web-based software that enables users to create, collaborate, broadcast, and publish presentations instantly from your web browser. Its best feature is its ability to be both highly flexible and customizable.

It facilitates direct integration of presentation with an existing website through an iFrame code snippet. It offers users the opportunity to publish their presentations internally for the entire organization or the general public.

It has an array of modern and sleek designs, templates, and fonts to choose from. You can also share presentations with non-Zoho users with its expirable URL sharing feature. It also has a dedicated IOS and Android applications to create presentations on smartphones and tablets. You can also live-stream your presentation online via Android TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast.

Dedicated application for Android and Apple
Seamless collaboration
Dedicated chrome extension
Facilitates PowerPoint import
A limited number of pre-designed templates.
Slow internet speed can lead to frequent page crashes.

Verdict: Zoho Show offers an affordable plan that facilitates the creation, sharing, and broadcasting of visually engaging presentation that seamlessly integrates across multiple platforms and browsers. However, a limited number of templates will be something that sticks out like a sore thumb for those who expect more.

Price: Free personal plan. $5 -$8/month– premium plan.

Website: Zoho Show

Best for Sales and Marketing teams to create design-focused presentations.

Custom Show is a robust design-focused presentation tool that is solely focused on meeting the demands of the marketing and sales teams. Marketing and sales professionals can create beautiful presentations using the tool.

It also seamlessly integrates with tools like SalesForce to allow users to track the progress of their presentation. The presentation created on Custom Show can be shared by multiple people at the same time. Users can also add music, videos, and other brand assets to their presentations while using Custom Show.

Highly engaging content creation
Easy access to Presentation online
Controls brand look
No search function within the library.
Speed can get affected if large size files are involved.

Verdict: This software is a boon for sales and marketing professionals, thanks to a simple UI and a system that allows them to track the performance of their presentation online. It is also great for personalized branding.

Price: Free version available, subscribers have to send an email to their team and they will revert with the quote for the premium version.

Website: Custom Show

#12) AhaSlides

Best for creating presentations that facilitate live interaction from your audience. Pricing: Trial – None. Free plan available.

AhaSlides is on a mission to make presentations less boring. It focuses on the power of interactivity between the presenter and the audience to create wonderfully exciting and engaging presentations for use at work, school or any social event.

Users get access to an ever-growing list of slide types, including multiple-choice polls, scale ratings, brainstorming sessions, and even fun quizzes and games, to create an interactive presentation.

The audience joins the presentation via their phones and can interact with each slide as the presenter presents it in front of them, making for a more involved, more invigorating experience for everyone.

18 slide types and growing.
Template library
Data export
Import from Google Slides and PowerPoint.
Audience-paced presentations for surveys and homework.
Free plan limits the audience to a maximum of 7 participants.
Lacks an in-built function to test a presentation before presenting.

Verdict: AhaSlides is a simple and super easy-to-use tool for anyone who wants to create more excitement in their audience. The free plan is quite generous, especially in comparison with other interactive presentation tools out there, and its wealth of features help you create a truly engaging dialogue with your audience within minutes.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans range from $1.95 p/mo for an educational plan, up to $49.95 p/mo for large events. One-time plans are also available from $2.95.

Presentation Software has evolved and can offer so much more than the days of creating simple PPT presentations. Managers and employees want to impress their colleagues and cement their position in the company they work for. The above-mentioned presentation tools can do the trick for you.

We have spent hours going through the intricate details of every software on this list. Their features, pros, cons, and their compatibility across browsers and platforms were all considered before shortlisting them. Only the most popular and best-reviewed PowerPoint alternatives were chosen to grace our list.

Now, if you are looking for an app that is affordable and easy to use, then we recommend you go for Google Slides.

If you consider yourself a pro in creating the presentation and want to create more compelling slides than we suggest you use Prezi or the AI-powered Slidebean. If you are Apple loyalist, then Apple’s Keynote and Haiku Deck’s exclusive features will be enough to satisfy your requirements.

We spent 7 hours researching and writing this article so you can have summarized and insightful information on what presentation software will best suit you.
Total Presentation Software Researched – 19
Total Presentation Software Shortlisted – 10
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Best free presentation software of 2024

Find an alternative to PowerPoint

A person doing a presentation on a whiteboard.

Best overall
Best for functionality
Best for collaboration
Best for speed
Best user interface
How we test

The best free presentation software makes it simple and easy to create professional presentations without a Microsoft subscription.

While PowerPoint is the market leader when it comes to presentation software, some people may be unwilling to subscribe to a Microsoft 365 subscription, especially if they don't expect to need to use it very often.

However, there are plenty of great alternatives to PowerPoint available for free that you can use. While these won't have the same advanced features as PowerPoint, they still offer a very competent platform to design most any presentation that you need.

To help you choose, we've listed below the best free presentation software currently available.

Add images to your presentations using the best free photo editor .

Google Workspace : Collaboration + productivity apps There are many different presentation software packages but Google Workspace formerly known as G Suite remains the original cloud office software and one of the best business office suites, offering a huge range of features and functionality that rivals can't match, especially when it comes to presentation software. Try it free for 14 days .

The best free presentation software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Best free presentation software overall

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

Prezi turns the traditional approach to presentations on its head. Instead of creating slide after slide, this presentation software gives you a single giant canvas. You can add blocks of text or images, or even create miniature slides. During your presentation, you can seamlessly fly around the canvas and zoom in to look at individual chunks of content.

For how complex Prezi seems, it’s impressively simple to use the platform. The only major divergence from Microsoft PowerPoint is that you need to add animated paths from one part of the canvas to another. The tools for this are fairly straightforward, especially if you’ve ever used an animation or video editing software.

Of course, this type of presentation structure isn’t always ideal. Prezi makes it hard to visualize structured data like financials, which can make it difficult to use in business applications. Some viewers also might not appreciate the fly-around animation style that’s inherent to the presentation software.

Read our full Prezi review .

^ Back to the top

Best free presentation software for functionality

2. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and it includes a Powerpoint equivalent called Impress with nearly all of the same functionality. The only big difference you’ll find between the two slideshow creation tools is the LibreOffice lacks some modern features like built-in collaboration and integration with Microsoft OneDrive.

However, Impress does have a few advantages of its own. The software can import files from Keynote, the default presentation software on Mac computers. Plus, there are hundreds of free templates that you can download for free. Even better, there’s no limit on what fonts you can use with Impress, so it’s easy to change the look of your presentation from what Powerpoint typically allows.

On the whole, LibreOffice Impress is about as close as it gets to simply replicating Microsoft Powerpoint for free.

Read our full LibreOffice review .

Best free presentation software for collaboration

3. Google Slides

Google Slides is part of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), and it does a nice job of matching a number of PowerPoint’s capabilities. This free presentation software supports embedding videos, creating diagrams, and adding animations to your slides. While the selection of templates is somewhat limited, you can easily import hundreds of additional templates for free or create your own.

Even better, Google Slides supports the collaboration tools users have come to expect from Google. Multiple people can work on a slideshow simultaneously, and there’s a built-in group chat so you can keep track of what everyone is doing. It’s also nice that you can play your presentation in presenter mode, which allows you to preview how it will look to your audience and rehearse timing.

The only downside to Google Slides is that bloated slideshows can experience some loading delays. Also beware that while you can move between Slides and Powerpoint, the conversion often messes with the layout of your slides.

Read our full Google Slides review .

Best free presentation software for speed

Canva is perfect for making speedy presentations right in your web browser. This software offers a handful of free layouts to help you get your slideshow started, and it’s easy to customize the templates to fit your needs. There isn’t a huge variety of content elements to add to your presentation, but Canva makes up for this with a searchable library of more than 1 million images you can use.

Your Canva presentations live online, which makes it extremely easy to collaborate. You can invite colleagues to edit your slideshow (although simultaneous editing is not supported) or seamlessly share your finished presentation. However, beware that Canva can’t import presentations from Microsoft Powerpoint or export finished work to a Powerpoint-editable format.

Read our full Canva review .

Best free presentation software for user interface

5. WPS Office Free

WPS Office Free is a Microsoft Office look-alike that fully support PowerPoint files without any layout issues during import. The WPS Presentation tool has all of the same capabilities of PowerPoint, including tons of animations, slide transitions, content effects, and video embedding. The selection of included presentation templates is also very impressive for a free software.

One of the best things about this presentation software is that the user interface will feel incredibly familiar if you’re coming from Microsoft. All of the tools are displayed in a top ribbon, with your slides shown on the left side of the screen for easy navigation. It’s simple to display your presentation right from WPS Presentation, which means there’s no unexpected troubleshooting when it’s time to show off your work.

There’s not much to dislike about WPS Presentation. However, keep in mind that the software is supported by ads. Some users find the ads annoying, but they’re not overly in the way.

Read our full WPS Office Free review .

We've also featured the best free office software .

Best free presentation software FAQs

Which alternative to powerpoint is best for you.

When deciding which alternative to PowerPoint to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require.

How we test the best free presentation software

To test for the best free presentation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

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Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His interests span a wide range from business technology to finance to creative media, with a focus on new technology and emerging trends. Michael's work has been published in TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Business Insider, Fast Company, Salon, and Harvard Business Review.

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The HTML Presentation Framework

Created by Hakim El Hattab and contributors

Hello There

reveal.js enables you to create beautiful interactive slide decks using HTML. This presentation will show you examples of what it can do.

Vertical Slides

Slides can be nested inside of each other.

Use the Space key to navigate through all slides.

Basement Level 1

Nested slides are useful for adding additional detail underneath a high level horizontal slide.

Basement Level 2

That's it, time to go back up.

Not a coder? Not a problem. There's a fully-featured visual editor for authoring these, try it out at https://slides.com .

Pretty Code

Code syntax highlighting courtesy of highlight.js .

Even Prettier Animations

Point of view.

Press ESC to enter the slide overview.

Hold down the alt key ( ctrl in Linux) and click on any element to zoom towards it using zoom.js . Click again to zoom back out.

(NOTE: Use ctrl + click in Linux.)

Auto-Animate

Automatically animate matching elements across slides with Auto-Animate .

Touch Optimized

Presentations look great on touch devices, like mobile phones and tablets. Simply swipe through your slides.

Add the r-fit-text class to auto-size text

Hit the next arrow...

... to step through ...

... a fragmented slide.

Fragment Styles

There's different types of fragments, like:

fade-right, up, down, left

fade-in-then-out

fade-in-then-semi-out

Highlight red blue green

Transition Styles

You can select from different transitions, like: None - Fade - Slide - Convex - Concave - Zoom

Slide Backgrounds

Set data-background="#dddddd" on a slide to change the background color. All CSS color formats are supported.

Image Backgrounds

Tiled backgrounds, video backgrounds, ... and gifs, background transitions.

Different background transitions are available via the backgroundTransition option. This one's called "zoom".

You can override background transitions per-slide.

Iframe Backgrounds

Since reveal.js runs on the web, you can easily embed other web content. Try interacting with the page in the background.

Marvelous List

No order here

Fantastic Ordered List

One is smaller than...
Two is smaller than...

Tabular Tables

Item	Value	Quantity
Apples	$1	7
Lemonade	$2	18
Bread	$3	2

Clever Quotes

These guys come in two forms, inline: The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from and block:

“For years there has been a theory that millions of monkeys typing at random on millions of typewriters would reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. The Internet has proven this theory to be untrue.”

Intergalactic Interconnections

You can link between slides internally, like this .

Speaker View

There's a speaker view . It includes a timer, preview of the upcoming slide as well as your speaker notes.

Press the S key to try it out.

Export to PDF

Presentations can be exported to PDF , here's an example:

Global State

Set data-state="something" on a slide and "something" will be added as a class to the document element when the slide is open. This lets you apply broader style changes, like switching the page background.

State Events

Additionally custom events can be triggered on a per slide basis by binding to the data-state name.

Take a Moment

Press B or . on your keyboard to pause the presentation. This is helpful when you're on stage and want to take distracting slides off the screen.

Right-to-left support
Extensive JavaScript API
Auto-progression
Parallax backgrounds
Custom keyboard bindings

- Try the online editor - Source code & documentation

Create Stunning Presentations on the Web

reveal.js is an open source HTML presentation framework. It's a tool that enables anyone with a web browser to create fully-featured and beautiful presentations for free.

Presentations made with reveal.js are built on open web technologies. That means anything you can do on the web, you can do in your presentation. Change styles with CSS, include an external web page using an <iframe> or add your own custom behavior using our JavaScript API .

The framework comes with a broad range of features including nested slides , Markdown support , Auto-Animate , PDF export , speaker notes , LaTeX support and syntax highlighted code .

Ready to Get Started?

It only takes a minute to get set up. Learn how to create your first presentation in the installation instructions !

Online Editor

If you want the benefits of reveal.js without having to write HTML or Markdown try https://slides.com . It's a fully-featured visual editor and platform for reveal.js, by the same creator.

Supporting reveal.js

This project was started and is maintained by @hakimel with the help of many contributions from the community . The best way to support the project is to become a paying member of Slides.com —the reveal.js presentation platform that Hakim is building.

Slides.com — the reveal.js presentation editor.

Become a reveal.js pro in the official video course.

Create PowerPoint Presentations with ChatGPT: 4 Easy Ways

You probably know that ChatGPT is a powerful AI tool for generating text and answering questions. However, it can do much more than that. In fact, ChatGPT is changing how we approach presentation design.

Crafting professional PowerPoint presentations can be time-consuming and challenging, especially if you’re not a design expert. Luckily, ChatGPT makes it easier, helping you save time and create high-quality, engaging presentations.

In this article, we’ll explore how to use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint Presentation. Let’s look at three simple ways ChatGPT can improve your presentation process.

Keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions, or check out the screenshots and GIFs to make the most of using ChatGPT for presentations.

Here are the topics we'll cover:

Can ChatGPT make a PowerPoint?

Why use chatgpt for powerpoint presentations.

How to use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint presentation?

Tips for Using ChatGPT to Create Presentations

Why 24slides beats ai in presentation design.

Technically, no. ChatGPT doesn't create PowerPoint files directly and can't design visual elements. However, it can be a useful tool in the presentation creation process.

ChatGPT can help you create content, suggest slide outlines, and provide ideas to enhance your presentation. Here are some other ways ChatGPT can save you time and effort in creating your next PowerPoint:

ChatGPT can generate VBA code to create slides. Although the slides may be basic, they can be a good starting point for your presentation.
Don’t know where to start? The AIPRM extension helps you get the most out of ChatGPT with ready-made prompts for your next PPT.
Want to maximize any AI presentation tool ? ChatGPT can help you craft the perfect prompt. The AI tool will then turn ChatGPT's output into a PowerPoint presentation.

Later, I’ll show you how to use ChatGPT to generate a PowerPoint presentation for each of these methods.

Using ChatGPT can be a game-changer for creating PowerPoint presentations. Here’s why:

Save Time: Making a presentation not only requires effort but also time. ChatGPT quickly provides content, speeding up the process and saving you from starting from scratch.
Enhance Content: It helps refine your message, suggest improvements, and create engaging text. It also simplifies complex concepts for your slides.
Generate Ideas: ChatGPT gives you fresh ideas and unique insights for your slides, helping you present your material in a more compelling way.
Automate Tasks: ChatGPT can generate VBA code to automate repetitive tasks, like formatting and slide design. This makes it easier to handle large presentations.
Ensure Consistency: ChatGPT ensures consistency in language, quality, and tone, giving your presentation a professional touch. It also minimizes grammar and language errors, making your slides clear and well-written.
Seamless Integration: With tools like the AIPRM extension , you can use pre-made prompts to get a jump start on creating effective presentations.

How to use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint presentation

Now that we know ChatGPT helps create PowerPoint presentations, let's explore the different ways we can use it.

Feel free to explore the method you find most useful!

Use ChatGPT for Slides Outline and Content
Use ChatGPT to Create a PowerPoint Using VBA Codes
Use ChatGPT AIPRM Extension to create a PowerPoint

Use ChatGPT with an AI Presentation Tool

1. use chatgpt for slides outline and content.

ChatGPT can help you brainstorm and outline your slides. You can generate detailed content for each slide by providing key points to cover in your presentation.

Step 1: Ask ChatGPT for a Table of Contents

First, you need a strong prompt. It should clearly state the topic, audience, objective, and slide count to ensure the content is relevant, well-organized, and has the right tone.

Use this ChatGPT prompt format:

“As an expert in [field/topic], create an outline for a PowerPoint presentation on [list of topics] for [target audience]. The objective is [state the objective]. Structure it to fit [number] slides. Use a [tone/style] tone.”

Here’s an example:

ChatGPT's output for a PowerPoint presentation

Step 2: Refine the ChatGPT Output

Once the outline is created, you have a good starting point to refine the content. You can expand or reformulate the information on each slide. The goal is to help ChatGPT get the result you're looking for.

Use this ChatGPT prompt to improve the content:

"Please expand the information for each slide. Include interesting facts to enhance engagement and provide more value."

ChatGPT's second output for our PowerPoint presentation

Step 3: Add ChatGPT content to your PowerPoint

Once you have the content for your slides, you can transfer it directly to your PowerPoint presentation. Just copy and paste the content generated by ChatGPT, making sure you keep the structure.

Format the text by adjusting fonts and sizes to match your slide design. Here’s an example:

ChatGPT output for a PowerPoint presentation final result

You now have a great starting point. From here, You’ll need to add design elements and media, plus adjust the layout and content to enhance visual appeal.

2. Use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint using VBA codes

By using ChatGPT to provide VBA code, you can streamline the process of creating presentations. But before we start, let's answer this question:

What is VBA?

VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, is a programming language that automates tasks in Microsoft Office apps like PowerPoint. By using ChatGPT, you can quickly generate VBA code to create and customize PowerPoint presentations, making the process faster and easier.

Step 1: Ask ChatgPT for the VBA PowerPoint code

You can use a ChatGPT prompt like "Write me VBA PowerPoint codes on [topic]..." However, the more detailed your explanation of the content, the better the result will be. Here’s an example:

Write me a VBA code for a PowerPoint presentation on [list of topics] for [target audience]. As an expert in [field/topic], structure it to fit [number] slides with a [tone/style] tone. The objective is [state the objective].

Then, ChatGPT will provide an output like this:

VBA Code for a PowerPoint presentation on Digital Marketing

This is the code used to create a presentation in Powerpoint.

Step 2: Open PowerPoint and copy the VBA code

Open PowerPoint and press ALT + F11 to open the VBA editor.
Go to Insert > Module to create a new module.
Copy and paste the code into the module.

Using ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint using VBA codes

Step 3: Create and refine the PowerPoint Presentation

Press F5 to run the code and create the presentation.
Check the content and make changes as needed.

Use ChatGPT to create a PowerPoint using VBA codes

Of course, we will need to add images and media. If needed, you can ask ChatGPT for more information and repeat this process to generate a new VBA code.

3. Use ChatGPT AIPRM Extension to create a PowerPoint

This is one of the easiest methods to simplify your PowerPoint creation process. There's no need for any ChatGPT prompts. But first, let's answer this question:

What is AIRPRM?

AIPRM is an extension designed to enhance ChatGPT's capabilities for creating and refining content, including PowerPoint presentations.

This AI tool provides pre-made ChatGPT prompt templates to streamline your PowerPoint creation process. With AIPRM, users get automated suggestions, better formatting, and tailored content within the ChatGPT interface.

Using AIPRM Extension for PowerPoint

Step 1: Open your browser and search for "AIPRM ChatGPT prompts." You can use this link .
Step 2: Download and install the AIPRM extension.
Step 3: Log in to your ChatGPT account.

Once the extension is installed, your ChatGPT interface will have new options and templates. Here’s an example:

Step 4: Type “PowerPoint” in the search bar. This will give you a list of AIRPRM ChatGPT prompts for PowerPoint.

Step 5: Select a prompt and click on it. It will appear in the chat bar.

Step 6: Follow the format. Add the presentation topic and VBA instruction. In this prompt, the format is as follows: PowerPoint, Slides, VBA.

For this example, I will use Digital Marketing, 10, VBA.

Step 7: Hit Enter. ChatGPT will generate a VBA code as in the previous method (#2).

After ChatGPT generates the VBA codes, paste the code into the Visual Basic Editor in PowerPoint. Next, run the code to generate the slides. To do this, follow the steps in the previous method (#2).

Here’s a summary:

Open PowerPoint.
Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA editor.
Insert a new module by clicking Insert > Module.
Press F5 to run the macro and create the presentation.

Step 1. Choose Your AI Presentation Tool:

Research and choose the best AI presentation tool for your needs. Our last article, “ 10 Best AI Tools for Creating Impactful Presentations ,” can help you.

For this example, I will use Gamma. In our review, this AI maker scored 4.5/5 for ease of use. Additionally, it offers a free plan. Use this link to sign up.

Step 2. Ask ChatGPT for a Presentation Outline

First, you need a strong prompt. To ensure accuracy, I’ll reuse the prompt from method #1

Chatgpt output for a digital marketing presentation

Once you have the outline, you can refine and expand the content for each slide. The aim is to help ChatGPT generate the best results.

Use a ChatGPT prompt like this to improve the initial output:

"Please expand the information for each slide. Include interesting facts to enhance engagement and provide more value."

Step 4. Copy and paste the ChatGPT output into the AI tool

Since we're using Gamma for this example, here's what we'll do:

In Gamma, choose “ Paste in text .” You already have the outline from ChatGPT.
Copy and paste the ChatGPT prompt and click “ Continue .”
Set the number of “ Cards ” to match your slides.
Click “ Continue ”.

Using ChatGPT with Gamma AI Presentation Maker

Step 5. Generate and Refine Your PowerPoint Presentation

Select your favorite theme and click “ Generate .”
Wait a moment while Gamma AI generates the presentation.
Review the slides and refine the content.

Creating a presentation with ChatGPT and Gamma AI

You have a strong starting point. Enhance the visual appeal by adding media, adjusting the layout, and refining the content.

Use Specific Prompts: The more detailed your prompt, the better the result will be. You should clearly mention the topic, audience, objective, and the number of slides. This will keep the content relevant.
Understand ChatGPT’s Capabilities: ChatGPT excels at generating content but doesn't create visuals or handle design elements. Since Chat GPT doesn't have a presentation maker, you'll need to complement its outputs.
Review the Content: Always review and edit the generated content to ensure it is accurate, coherent, and aligned with your presentation goals. ChatGPT can make mistakes, so check important info.
Refine Your Output: Even if you're very specific, it's hard to get the perfect content for your presentation on the first try. Feel free to adjust your prompts based on initial outputs. The first outputs often highlight what is needed for the best outcome.
Integrate ChatGPT into Your Workflow: Refining an existing idea is easier than starting from scratch. Use ChatGPT to generate fresh ideas and create outlines for your presentation. You can tailor your prompts based on your specific experience and needs. Additionally, consider using VBA code to automate repetitive tasks like summarizing information and creating bullet points.

AI tools like ChatGPT are excellent for generating content and speeding up the design process. However, refining prompts to achieve a decent result can be time-consuming. In contrast, 24Slides lets you create a professional, on-brand presentation with just a few clicks.

In our AI vs. professional designer comparison , it's clear that the perfect prompt isn’t enough. You’ll still need many adjustments for a polished result. Most AIs don't fully understand the context of your command or what you really have in mind.

At 24Slides , we believe nothing can replace the human touch in crafting standout presentations. With 10+ years of experience and more than 200 designers worldwide , we are the world’s largest presentation design company.

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Looking for more info? Check out these articles!

10 Best AI Tools for Creating Impactful Presentations
AI vs. Professional Presentation Designer: A Comprehensive Comparison
The Ultimate Guide to Pick the Perfect Presentation Design Agency For You
8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Presentation Design Agency
Discover the Top 15 Presentation Design Agencies & Services to Use in 2024

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Alternative presentation styles: Takahashi

Office is now Microsoft 365

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Human Subjects Office

August 2024 irb connection newsletter, tips for web-based survey research platforms, student pi training requirement: reminder to faculty advisors and student pis, assistance for new faculty and research scientists: research navigation tool, icts clinical lecture series: working with the irb, updates for the ui research community, in the news, irb educational resources.

The Human Subjects Office (HSO) has published a new educational tool focused on two of the web-based survey research platforms that are available to faculty, staff, and students at the University of Iowa. The publication provides tips on using Qualtrics and REDCap, including the different features available on the platforms, as well as tools for avoiding common issues, such as over-enrollment, multiple survey submissions, and bot activity.

Topics addressed in the educational tool include:

survey testing

survey editing

creating logic quotas and

bot detection

institutional policies related to survey-based research

training and other support available

The new educational tool is available on the HSO website: Survey Based Research Educational Tool

Student PI Training Requirement: Reminder to Faculty Advisors and Student PIs

Graduate and undergraduate student principal investigators (PIs) are required to view recorded trainings about the HawkIRB New Project form (Parts 1 and 2) prior to submitting an application in HawkIRB. While the training is required for student PIs, it is recommended for all new faculty, staff, residents, fellows, professional students, and HawkIRB Delegates who will be using the HawkIRB system.

The student PI training policy was instituted to improve the quality of HawkIRB submissions and ensure efficiency of the IRB review process for all IRB applications. The training, available in the IRB ICON Course for Researchers , will assist student PIs in navigating the HawkIRB system and preparing thorough HawkIRB applications. Note to Faculty advisors and others who work with student PIs : Please make sure graduate and undergraduate student PIs know to complete this training.

More information is available about the training requirement at Roles and Responsibilities / Role of the Student PI , and more detailed information in the September 2022 IRB Connection Newsletter article .

Other educational resources are also available on the Human Subjects Office website :

IRB Overview Recording – If you did not hear this in a research methods course, you can access it in the IRB ICON Course for Researchers .

Do I Need IRB Approval – if you are uncertain whether your project is human subjects research requiring approval from the UI IRB ( Get Started / Do I need IRB Approval )

Exempt Status – Most social/behavioral research qualifies for Exempt Status. You can read about this in the Exemption Tool (under Get Help / Educational Tools ) and learn about it in the Part 5 HawkIRB training in the IRB ICON Course for Researchers .

HawkIRB Submissions – There is additional information about the IRB Review Process, HawkIRB System and New Project forms on the Submit to IRB web page.

Assistance for New Faculty and Research Scientist s : Research Navigation Tool

By emily shultz, cip .

UI Research Administration units use a Research Navigation Tool to begin the onboarding process for new UI faculty and research scientists. This tool provides information about a wide range of UI programs that provide support for research. This tool collects information about the nature and type of research you conduct to help us better assist you with setting up your research program.

Click here to use the Research Navigation Tool

On a monthly basis, HSO staff sends an email with a link to the tool to all new faculty and research scientists. Based on research plans indicated in the Research Navigation Tool, representatives from the following units contact the researcher to provide guidance and support for transferring or initiating research activities:

Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR)

Research Development Office (RDO)

Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) (work with the departmental grant administrator)

Human Subjects Office (HSO) and Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Offices of Animal Resources (OAR) and the Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

University of Iowa Research Foundation (UIRF)

Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS)

Information Technology Systems (ITS)

For researchers who work with human participants, the Human Subjects Office offers a one-on-one IRB orientation to provide guidance, resources and support. This session provides information about:

The Human Research Protection Program (HRPP)

The IRB review process and requirements for submission

Other committees or entities that review and approve human subjects research applications

Features of the eResearch application system (HawkIRB), including the delegate permission system

Educational resources available for all human subjects researchers

Contact the IRB Education & Outreach team to learn about other educational resources for faculty and research scientists.

ICTS Clinical Lecture Series: Working WITH the IRB

By kelly o’berry , bs, cip and deb o’connell-moore, mba .

At the June Clinical Lecture Series hosted by the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), Kelly O’Berry and Deb O’Connell-Moore provided an overview of the working relationships between researchers and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Human Subjects Office (HSO).

Novel Research Methods

Researchers are encouraged to consult with colleagues in their college or department to see if others have received IRB approval for similar procedures, as their insights and experience could be helpful. Researchers can also consult with HSO staff and IRB Chairs about novel research methods. An advance consult can help the HawkIRB application go through the IRB review process more smoothly.

Ask Questions

HSO staff invite researchers to ask questions and seek guidance at any time, but especially prior to submission of forms in HawkIRB. HSO staff can be reached phone (319-541-0326), email ( [email protected] ) or at IRB Office Hours via Zoom .

The ICTS Regulatory Core is also available to assist with their virtual walk-in hours for guidance and support .

Request Clarification

During the IRB review process, HSO staff typically communicate with researchers through HawkIRB Workflow. This satisfies a regulatory requirement to maintain records of communications between the IRB and the PI. Researchers are encouraged to ask for clarification about a Workflow question/request if they are unsure of how to best address the revision.

To review a recording of this ICTS Clinical Lecture Series presentation, go to the IRB ICON Course for Researchers .

Updates for the UI Research Community

Changes Coming to ClinicalTrials.Gov Platform

(link sends e-mai

Dementia Risk Factors Identified in New Global Report Are All Preventable - Addressing Them Could Reduce Dementia Rates by 45% - The Conversation
Black employees more likely to experience depression after workplace mistreatment – Newswise
First NonInvasive Method to Continually Measure True Blood Pressure – Science Daily
Parents' eating behavior influences how their children respond to food – Science Daily
Blood Test Uses 'protein clock' to predict Risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases – Nature

IRB Educational Resources

Irb presentation : the roadmap to regulatory compliance: guidelines for clinicaltrials.gov registration & results reporting .

This presentation will clarify the key aspects of ClinicalTrials.gov registration and results reporting, with an overview of guidelines and practical tips to avoid common errors that researchers encounter during this process. By the end of this presentation, participants will have a clear understanding of how to meet the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act ( FDAAA 801 ) standards and ClinicalTrials.gov requirements, ensuring successful trial registration and reporting.

Overview of the ClinicalTrials.gov database

Which trials need registration & results reporting?

How to Register a study, Report Results, and Update Records

Common errors during registration, and results reporting, and how to avoid them

Navigating the PRS Support System and Help content

Overview of ClinicalTrials.gov PRS Beta website

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

12:00 PM-1:00 PM

Pre-register to receive the Zoom link

IRB Efficiency Initiative Monthly Information Session

The Human Subjects Office invites the UI research community to attend monthly information sessions about the IRB Efficiency Initiative on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 12-1 pm, via Zoom. We will discuss the changes and demonstrate HawkIRB enhancements being implemented to streamline the IRB review process. The monthly sessions will cover upcoming enhancements and expected roll-out dates.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Office Hours

Human Subjects Office staff host IRB Office Hours via Zoom to provide assistance with electronic IRB applications (in HawkIRB) and to discuss study proposals prior to submission. All researchers are welcome to attend. No appointment is necessary.

Fall Office hours will begin on September 4 th through December 19 th

Wednesdays (2:00-4:00 PM) via Zoom

Thursdays (10:00 AM-12:00 PM) via Zoom

Recorded Training

The IRB ICON Course for Researchers HawkIRB training sessions provide an orientation to the electronic IRB application and review system. These sessions are for anyone preparing to submit a HawkIRB application for the first time and for those who would like guidance about the proper completion of HawkIRB forms. Five recorded trainings are available 24/7.

The recorded trainings are available on ICON at IRB ICON Course for Researchers .

Note: HawkIRB training Parts 1 and 2 satisfy the Student PI Training Requirement.

Integrations

Inspiration

Consideration

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Open Prezi Present in your dashboard.
To create an interactive presentation, create from a template, start from scratch, or convert an existing PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation to Prezi.
Upload your own images, GIFs, and videos, or select visuals from Unsplash and Giphy directly within Prezi.
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Make an interactive presentation

Get inspired by the top presenters in the biz

Some of the most interactive presentations out there are available on Prezi. Look through our gallery of presentation examples, curated by Prezi’s editors, for some of our favorites. You can take notes, get inspired, and you can even re-use an existing presentation for your own purposes. Just look for the green symbol, then customize the presentation with your own content.

Explore interactive presentation examples

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More resources to help you make interactive presentations

Frequently asked questions

What is an interactive presentation.

An interactive presentation is precisely what you might guess – a presentation you can interact with. They often use features like clicks and movement, and weave in activities like questions, polls, and games throughout the presentation to get the audience involved. An interactive presentation is fundamentally different than a traditional presentation in that the audience is an essential part of the content. Their involvement creates more conversational, authentic experiences that benefit everyone involved.

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Can I use an existing Powerpoint or Google Slides deck to make an interactive presentation on Prezi?

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Microsoft Power BI Blog

Announcements
Power BI Embedded

Power BI August 2024 Feature Summary

Welcome to the August 2024 update.

Here are a few, select highlights of the many we have for Power BI. You can now ask Copilot questions against your semantic model. Updated Save and Upload to OneDrive Flow in Power BI and Narrative visual with Copilot is available in SaaS embed. There is much more to explore, please continue to read on!

European Fabric Community Conference

Join us at Europe’s first Fabric Community Conference , the ultimate Power BI, Fabric, SQL & AI learning event in Stockholm, Sweden from September 24 -27, 2024 .

With 120 sessions, daily keynotes, 10 pre-conference workshops, an expo hall with community lounge, and “ask the expert” area, the conference offers a rich learning experience you don’t want to miss. This is a unique opportunity to meet the Microsoft teams building these products, customers betting their business on them, and partners at the forefront of deployment and adoption.

Fabric Sticker Challenge Winners Announced!

The Fabric Community Sticker Challenge launched August 1-23 and winners are in! All Fabric Community members were invited to create unique stickers showcasing their enthusiasm and creativity under the following categories: Community Enthusiasm, Inspirational, “Inside Joke” for developers and data, and Super Users. To see winning designs, check out our Community News . Thank you all who participated in this challenge; it was great to see so much involvement!

Fabric Influencers Spotlight

Check out our latest initiative, the Fabric Influencers Spotlight . Each month, we’ll be highlighting some of the great blog, videos presentations and other contributions submitted by members of Microsoft MVP & Fabric Super User communities that cover the Fabric Platform, Data Engineering & Data Science in Fabric, Data Warehousing, Power BI, Real-Time Intelligence, Data Integration, Fabric Administration & Governance, Databases and Learning.

Attention Power BI users!

If you are accessing Power BI on a web browser version older than Chrome 94, Edge 94, Safari 16.4, Firefox 93, or equivalent, you need upgrade your web browser to a newer version by August 31, 2024 . Using an outdated browser version after this date, may prevent you from accessing features in Power BI.

Version number: v: 2.132.908.0
Date published: 8/19/24
Ask Copilot questions against your semantic model (preview)

Visual level format strings (preview)

Dynamic per recipient subscriptions (Generally Available)

Deliver subscriptions to OneDrive and SharePoint (Generally Available)

Updated Save and Upload to OneDrive Flow in Power BI
Visuals, shapes and line enhancements
DAX query view in the web
Narrative visual with Copilot available in SaaS embed

Editor’s pick of the quarter

New visuals in appsource, filter by powerviz, pie of pie by jta, drill down pie pro by zoomcharts, hierarchical bar chart, deneb: declarative visualization in power bi.

Paginated Reports: Sharing of reports connecting to Get Data data sources made easy

Copilot and AI

Ask copilot questions against your semantic model (preview).

We are pleased to announce that you can now ask Copilot for data from your entire semantic model in Desktop ! Just tell Copilot what you’re looking for, and Copilot will query your model to answer your question with a visual.

To use this new capability, you need to have the Preview feature for “ Copilot chat pane in report view” turned on. If you already have done this there is nothing else that you to need to utilize this new capability.

To find out more about how this feature works and the types of questions that are supported check out our previous blog post and documentation page .

Visual level format strings are here, providing you with more options to configure formatting. Originally built for visual calculations, the core ability that visual-level format strings provide is the ability to format visual calculations. Since visual calculations are not in the model, you could not format them, unless you were using them in data labels or in specific parts of the new card and new slicer visuals. With visual level format strings, you can!

The visual calculations edit mode showing the DiffPreviousPercent calculation that returns a percentage which is formatted as a percentage using the data format options in the format pane.

Visual level format strings, however, are useful even without using visual calculations.

With the introduction of visual-level format strings, Power BI now has three levels for format strings:

Model. You can set a format string for columns and measures in the model. Anywhere you use that column or measure the format string will be applied, unless it’s overridden by a visual or element level format string.
Visual. This is what we’re introducing today. You can set format strings on any column, measure or visual calculation that is on your visual, even if they already had a format string. In that case the model level format string will be overridden, and the visual level format string is used.
Element. You can set a format string for data labels and for specific elements of the new card and the new slicer visuals. This level will be expanded to include much more in the future. Any format string you set here will override the format string set on the visual and model level.

These levels are hierarchical, with the model level being the lowest level and the element level the highest. A format string defined on a column, measure or visual calculation on a higher-level override what was defined on a lower level.

Since visual calculations are not in the model, they cannot have a format string set on the model level but can on the visual or element level. Measures and columns can have format strings on all three levels:

Level	Impacts	Available for
Level	Impacts
ELEMENT	Selected element of the selected visual	X	X
Visual	Selected visual	X	X
Model	All visuals, all pages, all reports on the same model	X

The image below summarizes this and shows that higher level format strings override lower-level format strings:

A diagram of a model and a element Description automatically generated

Let’s look at an example using a measure.

I have a Profit measure in my model, which is set to a decimal number format. To do this, you might have set the formatting for this measure using the ribbon:

the formatting options in the ribbon allow you formatting for measures and fields.

Alternatively, you could have made the same selections in the properties pane for the measure in the model view or entered the following custom formatting code:

Formatting options in the properties pane showing #,#.## to format the Total measure as a decimal number in the model.

If you put this measure on a visual it now returns a decimal number, as expected:

A table visual showing the Total measure formatted as a decimal number.

However, on a particular visual you want that measure to be formatted as a whole number. You can now do that by setting the format code on the visual level by opening the format pane for that visual and the Data format options found there under General:

You can set a visual level format string by selecting the visual and opening the format pane. There, go General / Properties and then Data Format. Finally, open Format Options and enter the format string.

Now that same measure shows as a whole number, but just on that visual:

A table visual showing the Total measure formatted as a whole number.

On top of that, you might want to use a scientific notation for that measure but only in the data label on a particular visual. No problem, you set the format code on the data label for that measure:

You can set an element level format string by leveraging the settings in the format pane. For example, set the display units for Data label values to Custom and enter a format code.

So now the total shows in scientific notation, but only in the data label and not in other places (such as the tooltip as shown below). Notice how the element level format is used in the data label but the visual or model level format string is still used for the other elements in the same visual.

A bar chart showing the Total measure by class. It also shows that the Total measure was formatted in scientific notation in the data labels, but not in the tooltip (in which it's formatted as a decimal number).

For visual calculations the same principle applies but of course without the model level. For example, if you have a visual calculation that returns a percentage, you can now format it as such using the Data Format options in the General on the visual in the format pane:

The ability to set visual level format strings makes it much easier to get the exact formatting you need for your visualizations. However, this is only the first iteration of the visual level format strings. We are planning to add the settings you’re used to for the model level format strings to the visual level soon.

Since visual level format strings are introduced as part of the visual calculations preview, you will need to turn on the visual calculations preview to use them. To do that, go to Options and Settings > Options > Preview features . Select Visual calculations and select OK . Visual calculations and visual level format strings are enabled after Power BI Desktop is restarted.

Please refer to our docs to read more about format strings or visual calculations .

Dynamic per recipient subscriptions (Generally Available)

We are excited to announce the general availability of Dynamic per recipient subscriptions for Power BI and paginated reports. Dynamic per recipient subscriptions is designed to simplify distributing a personalized copy of a report to each recipient of an email subscription. You define which view of the report an individual receives by specifying which filters are applied to their version of the report. The feature is now available in Sov. Clouds as well.

Connect to data that has recipient email, names or report parameters.

Then, select and filter data that you want in your subscription. You probably only want to send emails conditionally. To do that, you can filter the data in the “Filter” pane.

You can select the recipient email addresses and the email subject from the dataset that you connected to by selecting “Get Data”.

You can then map your data to the subscription.

Then schedule the subscription and save it.

The subscriptions will be triggered based on the schedule that you have set up. Personalized reports can be sent to up to a thousand recipients! Learn more about Dynamic per recipient subscriptions for Power BI reports, and paginated reports .

Do you have reports that are too large to be delivered by email? Do you have reports that are eating into your email in just a few weeks, or do you need you to move it to a different location? You can now deliver Power BI and paginated report subscriptions to OneDrive or SharePoint. With this capability, you can schedule and send full report attachments to a OneDrive or SharePoint location. Learn more about how to deliver report subscriptions to OneDrive or SharePoint .

Updated Save and Upload to OneDrive Flow in Power BI

Beginning the first week of August, desktop users should see a preview switch starting in SU8 to turn on the updated Save and Upload to OneDrive experience in Power BI. To enable this, navigate to the Preview features section of Options in Power BI. Users will then need to select “Saving to OneDrive and SharePoint uploads the file in the background”.

With these updates, we’ve improved the experience of uploading new Power BI files to OneDrive, and easily upload new changes in the background.

Select options, then Preview features, then select Saving to OneDrive and SharePoint uploads the file in the background.

For uploading new files, after navigating to the correct location in the OneDrive file picker and saving, a dialog box appears while the file is being uploaded. The option to cancel the upload is there if needed. This dialog will only show up the first time a new file is uploaded to OneDrive.

Dialog for saving a new file to OneDrive.

When new changes are saved to a file uploaded to OneDrive, the top of the toolbar indicates that the new changes are also being uploaded to OneDrive.

Additional changes being uploaded in the background to the existing file.

If you click on the title bar flyout in the toolbar, you can also now access more information about the file. Clicking “View your file in OneDrive” will provide a direct link to where the file is stored in OneDrive.

Drop down including the link to the file in OneDrive.

We are introducing the data limit capability to help you manage performance issues. This feature allows you to set the maximum data load for a single session per visual displaying only the rows of data in an ascending order by default.

To use this feature:

Go to the ‘Filters on this visual’ menu in the filter pane.

Set your desired data limit value.

The filter card features include:

Removing, locking, or clearing filters.
Hiding or showing filters.
Expanding or collapsing filter cards.
Applying filters.
Renaming and reordering filters.

Report consumers can see any data limits applied to a visual in the filter visual header, even if the filter pane is hidden.

Visuals, shapes and line enhancements

Over the past few months, we have been fine-tuning the visual elements of your reports, including columns, bars, ribbons, and lines. We have given you the ability to craft these Cartesians with precision. However, we noticed that the legends and tooltips were not quite accurate .

With the latest update, the legend and tooltip icons will now automatically and accurately reflect per-series formatting settings, such as border colors, shapes, and line styles. This makes it easier to match series to their visual representations. Additionally, we have added consistency to how per-series formatting is applied to line charts, column/bar charts, scatter charts, and other Cartesian formatting options for common items like error bars and anomalies.

Check out the Reporting demos here:

DAX query view in the web

Write DAX queries on your published semantic models with DAX query view in the web. DAX query view, already available in Power BI Desktop, is now also available when you are in the workspace.

Look for Write DAX queries on your published semantic model.

Right-click on the semantic model and choose Write DAX queries .
Click on the semantic model to open the details page, then click Write DAX queries at the top of the page.

This will launch DAX query view in the web, where you can write DAX queries, use quick queries to have DAX queries written for you on tables, columns, or measures, or use Fabric Copilot to not only write DAX queries but explain DAX queries, functions, or topics. DAX queries work on semantic models in import, DirectQuery, and Direct Lake storage mode.

Write permission, that is permission to make changes to the semantic model, is currently needed to write DAX queries in the web. And, the workspace setting, User can edit data models in the Power BI service (preview) , needs to be enabled.

DAX query view in the web includes DAX query view’s way to author measures. Define measures with references, edit any of them, and try out changes across multiple measures by running the DAX query, then update the model with all the changes in a single click of a button. DAX query view in web brings this functionality for the first time to semantic models in Direct Lake mode!

If you do not have write permission, you can still live connect to the semantic model in Power BI Desktop and run DAX queries there.

Try out DAX query view in web today and learn more about how DAX queries can help you in Power BI and Fabric.

Deep dive into DAX query view in web
DAX queries
Work with DAX query view
Deep dive into DAX query view and writing DAX queries
Write DAX queries with Copilot
Deep dive into DAX query view with Copilot
Overview of Copilot for Power BI
Direct Lake

Check out a Modeling demo here:

Embedded Analytics

Narrative visual with copilot available in saas embed.

We are excited to announce that the Narrative visual with Copilot is available for user owns data scenarios (SaaS) and secure embed. This means when a user embeds a report containing the narrative visual in a solution where users must sign in – they will now be able to the visual refresh with their data. The first step on our Copilot embed journey!

When you embed a Power BI report in an application in the “embed for your organization” scenario, it allows organizations to integrate rich, interactive data visualizations seamlessly into their internal tools and workflows. Now this solution supports the Copilot visual. A sales team might want to embed a Power BI report in their internal CRM application to streamline their workflow. By integrating sales performance dashboards directly into the CRM, team members can easily monitor key metrics like monthly sales targets, pipeline status, and individual performance, without switching between different tools. This integration enables quicker access to actionable insights, helping the team make informed decisions, identify trends, and react swiftly to market changes, all within the secure environment of their organization’s data infrastructure.

Supported Scenarios:

Embed a report in a secure portal or website Power BI.
User owns data : A user embeds a report containing the narrative visual in a solution where users must sign in. They need a license to do so. This action is also known as embed for your organization . It includes when users want to embed visuals in solutions like PowerPoint as well.

Unsupported Scenario:

App owns data: A customer embeds a narrative visual on a website where users visit, and don’t need to sign in. Also known as embed for your customer’s application .

To get this set up, there are a few steps to follow – so make sure to check out the documentation . Embed a Power BI report with a Copilot narrative visual – Power BI | Microsoft Learn

You will need to Edit your Microsoft Entra app permissions to enable the embedded scenario to work.

Screenshot showing Select add permission.

From here you’ll need to add the MLModel.Execute.All permission.

A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated

Check out the documentation for additional details.

Check out an Embedded Analytics demo here:

Visualizations

Icon Map Pro hi-chart Reporting Studio Water Cup Performance Flow – xViz Sunburst by Powerviz Zebra BI Tables 7.0 Enlighten Storyteller Inforiver Writeback Matrix Drill Down Pie PRO (Filter) by ZoomCharts (microsoft.com) Spiral Plot By Office Solution Polar Scatter Plot By Office Solution Hanging Rootogram Chart for Power BI Bar Chart Run Time Convertible Scatter Plot Circular Dendrogram Chart for Power BI Barley Trellis Plot By Office Solution Connected Scatter Plot Chart For Power BI Dot Plot Chart by Office Solution Voronoi Diagram By Office Solution Fish Bone Chart for Power BI Icon Array Chart for Power BI

Image Skyline StackedTrends Visual Bubble Diagram Chord Diagram Non-Ribbon Chord Diagram

Powerviz Filter is an advanced Power BI slicer (Free Visual) that applies a page-level filter to the data. It stands out for its user-friendly design and customization flexibility, with developer-friendly wizard.

Key Features:

Hierarchy Control : Support multiple hierarchies with expand/collapse and by-level formatting
Ragged Hierarchy Support: Hide BLANK category/values, or both, and display child as parent.
Keep selected items at Top : enable this to show your selected items at top.
Display Mode : Seamlessly switch between pop-up/canvas modes.
Default Selection: Select default categories/values that automatically get filtered on refresh.
Selection Mode: Single-select, multiple-select, or select-all with only single-selection.
Image: Add images alongside the filter. HTML Links/Base-64 URLs Support.
Title-Bar Options: Search Bar, Clear Icon, Ranking, Filter, Sorting, Expand/Collapse.
Conditional Formatting: Highlight font and row background color based on specific rules.
Template: Choose from professionally created light/dark templates, and easily customize them using the Global styling option.

Other features included are Import/Export Themes, Interactivity, Filter Style, and more.

Business Use-Cases:

Sales Analysis, Marketing Performance tracking, Financial Monitoring

🔗 Try Filter Visual for FREE from AppSource

📊 Check out all features of the visual: Demo_file

📃 Step-by-step instructions: Documentation

💡 YouTube Video: Video_Link

📍 Learn more about visuals: https://powerviz.ai/

✅ Follow Powerviz : https://lnkd.in/gN_9Sa6U

Slice to Spice: Transform your Pie Chart by Clicking! Dive deeper with a click, creating a new pie!

Pie of Pie by JTA – a Data Scientist’s Visualization Tool

Slice, Click, Reveal: Explore Deeper Insights with Our Interactive Pie Chart Visual for Power BI!

A Power BI custom visual that enables the creation of a hierarchical representation within a Pie Chart. With a simple click, you can effortlessly delve into detailed categories, offering a seamless and visually intuitive way to unveil multi-level insights in a single view.

Experience the convenience of interactive data analysis, where each slice of the initial pie chart acts as a gateway to deeper layers of information. Whether you’re dissecting population demographics, dissecting sales performance, or analysing product distribution, Pie of Pie offers a seamless and visually intuitive solution.

Interactive hierarchical representation within a Pie Chart: Dive into detailed categories with ease, exploring multi-level insights seamlessly.
Effortlessly explore multi-level insights with a single click: Click on a slice to reveal deeper layers of information, enhancing your data analysis experience.
Customizable colours, labels, and legend: Tailor the visual to match your branding or personal preferences, ensuring clarity and consistency in your reports.
Choose where to display always both pies and just show the second upon click: Optimize your visual presentation by selecting the most suitable display mode for your data storytelling needs.
Animate the visual: Bring your data to life with smooth animations, captivating your audience and enhancing engagement with your insights.
Personalize the spacing: Fine-tune the spacing between elements to achieve the perfect balance of aesthetics and readability in your visualizations.

Download Pie of Pie by JTA for free: AppSource

Try Pie of Pie by JTA: Demo

Youtube video: Youtube

Learn more about us: JTA The Data Scientists

A diagram of a pie chart Description automatically generated

Everyone knows what a pie chart is – for centuries, it has been the most popular way to visualize data. But what makes Drill Down Pie PRO special is the incredible amount of flexibility it offers to creators. Enjoy a wide range of customization features (colors, fonts, legends, labels, and more), create up to nine levels of drill down hierarchy, and declutter the chart with an interactive ‘Others’ slice that users can expand with just a click.

What’s more, this visual can be more than just a pie chart – it can be an interactive navigation tool for the entire report. When the user selects a slice or drills down, it will cross-filter other visuals on the report, instantly revealing focused insights. Create faster, more intuitive, and more insightful reports with ZoomCharts!

Main Features:

On-chart drill down
Cross-chart filtering
Up to 9 levels of hierarchy
Adjustable ‘Others’ slice
Color, label, and legend customization
Custom tooltip fields
Touch support

🌐 Get Drill Down Pie PRO on AppSource

Product Page | Documentation | Follow ZoomCharts on LinkedIn

Hierarchical bar chart displays hierarchical data (different fields having parent/child relationship) in the form a bar/column chart with +/- signs to view/hide details or child elements.

A new feature was added to the visual in Jun 24 whereby the users can display CAGR between the 2 values by clicking the bars one after another (after turning on “CAGR” from format pane).

This visual has the following key features.

1) Expand/ Collapse bars using (+/-) buttons

2) Show variance between bars

3) Show CAGR between bars

4) Drag the bars for custom sorting

5) Click on legends to drill down/up to any level

6) Show targets

Watch a demo of these features in short video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOcs5RNY-Zs

Download this visual from APPSOURCE

Download demo file from APPSOURCE

For more information visit https://www.excelnaccess.com/hierarchical-barchart/

or contact [email protected]

Deneb is a free and open-source certified custom visual that allows developers to create their own highly bespoke data visualizations directly inside Power BI using the declarative JSON syntax of the Vega or Vega-Lite languages.

This is like the approaches used for creating R and Python visuals in Power BI, with the following additional benefits:

Everything in-visual —no additional dependencies on local libraries or gateways for your end-users when publishing reports.
Microsoft certified runtime —any visual you create receives the same benefits of a certified custom visual, meaning your design will work anywhere Power BI works, including Publish to Web, mobile, PowerPoint, and PDF exports.
Performance —your designs are rendered directly inside Power BI rather than being delegated to another location, keeping data inside your workbook and typically resulting in faster render times for end-users.
Interactivity —You can integrate Power BI’s interactivity features (tooltips, Drillthrough, cross-filtering, and cross-highlighting with some additional setup.

📢Our latest version brings many of our top requested new features to the development experience, including:

Dark mode —toggle between the traditional light theme and dark theme to reduce eye strain.

Commenting —you can now add comments to your JSON for documentation and debugging purposes.

Auto-completion improvements —suggestions will now be recommended based on the details in the Vega and Vega-Lite schemas.
Inline language documentation (for Vega-Lite)—the documentation the Vega team makes available for Vega-Lite in its language schema is now available when you hover your mouse over an appropriate location in your JSON. This will help you discover more language features within Deneb itself, and any hyperlinks will navigate you to the correct location on the Vega-Lite documentation site for further reading.
Auto unit formatting —a new format type that applies the same logic as Power BI format numbers in K, M, Bn, etc., with less effort than the existing Power BI value formatter.
Advanced cross-filtering (for Vega)—new expression functions to help generate cross-filtering of report items based on a filter against the original dataset sent to Deneb before any transformations may have been applied.

We have many other enhancements in this release, and you can find out more about how these can help you and your readers by:

Visting the Change Log on Deneb’s website
Checking out our YouTube spotlight videos on key new features
Downloading Deneb from AppSource
Getting inspired by examples from our community or the sample workbook
Following Deneb

Paginated Reports: Sharing of reports connecting to Get Data data sources made easy

We announced the ability to create paginated reports from Power BI Report Builder by connecting to over 100 data sources with the Get Data experience. You can learn more about Connect paginated reports to data sources using Power Query (Preview) – Power BI | Microsoft Learn. You no longer need to share the shareable cloud connection. You only need to share the report and ensure that those consuming the report have access to view the report. This update will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

That is all for this month!

We hope that you enjoy the update! If you installed Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store, please leave us a review .

As always, keep voting on Ideas to help us determine what to build next. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

embedded analytics
Microsoft Fabric
paginated reports
semantic model

Open access
Published: 27 August 2024

“Visualization matters” – stereoscopic visualization of 3D graphic neuroanatomic models through AnaVu enhances basic recall and radiologic anatomy learning when compared with monoscopy

Doris George Yohannan 1 ,
Aswathy Maria Oommen 1 ,
Amruth S. Kumar 1 ,
S. Devanand 1 ,
Minha Resivi UT 1 ,
Navya Sajan 1 ,
Neha Elizabeth Thomas 1 ,
Nasreen Anzer 1 ,
Nithin Kadakampallil Raju 2 ,
Bejoy Thomas 3 ,
Jayadevan Enakshy Rajan 3 ,
Umesan Kannanvilakom Govindapillai 1 ,
Pawan Harish 4 ,
Tirur Raman Kapilamoorthy 3 ,
Chandrasekharan Kesavadas 3 &
Jayanthi Sivaswamy 5

BMC Medical Education volume 24 , Article number: 932 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

101 Accesses

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The authors had previously developed AnaVu, a low-resource 3D visualization tool for stereoscopic/monoscopic projection of 3D models generated from pre-segmented MRI neuroimaging data. However, its utility in neuroanatomical education compared to conventional methods (specifically whether the stereoscopic or monoscopic mode is more effective) is still unclear.

A three-limb randomized controlled trial was designed. A sample ( n = 152) from the 2022 cohort of MBBS students at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT), was randomly selected from those who gave informed consent. After a one-hour introductory lecture on brainstem anatomy and a dissection session, students were randomized to three groups (S – Stereo; M – Mono and C – Control). S was given a 20-min demonstration on the brainstem lesson module in AnaVu in stereoscopic mode. M was given the same demonstration, but in monoscopic mode. The C group was taught using white-board drawn diagrams. Pre-intervention and post-intervention tests for four domains (basic recall, analytical, radiological anatomy and diagram-based questions) were conducted before and after the intervention. Cognitive loads were measured using a pre-validated tool. The groups were then swapped -S→ M, M →S and C→S, and they were asked to compare the modes.

For basic recall questions, there was a statistically significant increase in the pre/post-intervention score difference of the S group when compared to the M group [ p = 0.03; post hoc analysis, Bonferroni corrections applied] and the C group [ p = 0.001; ANOVA test; post hoc analysis, Bonferroni corrections applied]. For radiological anatomy questions, the difference was significantly higher for S compared to C [ p < 0.001; ANOVA test; post hoc analysis, Bonferroni corrections applied]. Cognitive load scores showed increased mean germane load for S (33.28 ± 5.35) and M (32.80 ± 7.91) compared with C (28.18 ± 8.17). Subjective feedbacks showed general advantage for S and M compared to C. Out of the S and M swap cohorts, 79/102 preferred S, 13/102 preferred M, and 6/102 preferred both.

Conclusions

AnaVu tool seems to be effective for learning neuroanatomy. The specific advantage seen when taught with stereoscopy in basic recall and radiological anatomy learning shows the importance of how visualization mode influences neuroanatomy learning. Since both S and M are preferred in subjective feedbacks, these results have implications in choosing methods (stereoscopic – needs 3D projectors; monoscopic – needs web based or hand-held devices) to scale AnaVu for anatomy teaching in medical colleges in India. Since stereoscopic projection is technically novel and cost considerations are slightly higher compared to monoscopic projection, the specific advantages and disadvantages of each are relevant in the Indian medical education scenario.

Peer Review reports

Neuroanatomy is considered by learners as both a fascinating and yet a daunting subject when compared with other anatomy topics, such as musculo-sketetal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory and pelvic-reproductive anatomy [ 1 ]. It is complex because of inherent spatial intricacies and numerous terminologies [ 2 ] and requires strong spatial reasoning and abstract mental visualization to master it [ 3 ]. This skill, referred to as spatial anatomy learning, is usually dependent on a learner’s spatial ability [ 4 , 5 ], and can affect learner’s performance in assessments [ 6 ]. Though it is often taught during dissection with simple 2D sections of human donor brain [ 7 , 8 ], learning neuroanatomy requires students to “reconstruct” complex 3D mental images from these sections [ 9 ]. For instance, neuroanatomy of brainstem, in particular is difficult to conceptualize due to close proximity of diverse structures (nuclei and tracts), a relatively small volume of tissue [ 3 , 10 ] and difficulty in visualization of the internal features of brainstem despite its clinical importance [ 1 ].

This complexity of learning neuroanatomy is a significant contributor to ‘Neurophobia’ [ 11 ], the fear of learning neural sciences, a term introduced to medical literature in the 1990s. This global phenomenon has effects even on career choices, which creates a negative impact on delivery of neurological healthcare, particularly in India [ 9 ]. One of the goals of the Indian anatomy teacher will be to modify the ‘neurophobia’ of students to ‘neurophilia’ (love for neural sciences; ‘philia’ is the Greek for love or affection) [ 9 , 12 ]. The two hurdles that anatomists face in neuroanatomy teaching in India are—the shrinking time allocation for neuroanatomy [ 2 ] and the problem of students’ difficulty to “mentally convert” the 2D structures to 3D structures and vice-versa [ 2 ]. The examination patterns in India, and hence most of the textbooks in neuroanatomy, demand that students prove their 2D perception, but unfortunately, the emphasis on spatial understanding is not catered to [ 2 ]. There have been diverse attempts to simplify learning complex neuroanatomical areas like the brainstem [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. To enhance teaching–learning effectiveness, devising innovative technological solutions to aid the student’s process of creating mental 3D images from sections has also been suggested in the global and Indian medical education context [ 2 , 9 ].

Role of integrating radiological anatomy in neuroanatomy teaching

Though anatomy curriculum has classically followed a combination of lectures and human donor dissections, in the current era, the best teaching model is said to be one where human donor dissection and radiologic imaging are incorporated [ 16 ]. The gains of radiology integration to anatomy are multifold with better clinical application of anatomy, increased interest of students in anatomy and eventually better radiological interpretation during their practice [ 17 ]. It is suggested that familiarizing students with radiological images earlier on, in their medical education, can significantly improve the student’s ability to learn neuroanatomy [ 18 ]. Complementing dissection with radiological anatomy can also help students develop spatial reasoning skills [ 19 ].

Stereoscopy vs monoscopy in anatomy learning environments

Stereopsis is a binocular sensory phenomenon and is the result of a slight disparity of visual perception of both eyes [ 20 ]. Stereopsis plays a key role in spatial understanding by providing depth cues for the viewer. Some studies have indicated that the learning advantage of a simple physical object (e.g., a dissection specimen, a manikin or an anatomical model of an organ) is mainly due to the stereoscopy offered by it, which highlights the central relevance of stereopsis even in a physical laboratory experience [ 21 ]. Stereoscopy is utilized in dissection lab specimens or manikins, as these are usually within one’s personal space, which is considered as the “zone immediately surrounding the observer’s head, generally within arm’s reach and slightly beyond, within a 2 m radius which is considered quite personal” [ 20 ].

Stereopsis can be utilized in 3D visualization technologies by presenting two 2D images in a slightly shifted manner to the two eyes, creating the binocular disparity. Different methods can be utilized for this purpose, including active stereopsis where there is dual projection to the eyes, but no depolarization. Here head gear devices such as Oculus Rift™ through virtual reality [ 22 ] or Microsoft HoloLens™ through interactive augmented reality [ 23 ] are used. These provide excellent stereoscopic imagery and an immersive experience. These methods are limited, however, by the fact that they are suitable for a single or at most a few students and are expensive [a high-end VR hardware, computer and headset costing nearly $3000 (INR ~ 2.5 Lakhs)] [ 24 ]. This is not typically suitable (economically and logistically) for a large group teaching setting typically seen in the Indian medical education context [ 25 ] or other similar low- and middle-income country settings [ 26 ].

Another method is using 3D polarizing glasses, where the basic mechanism is that the 3D polarizing glasses would “organize” the polarization given by the projectors and the silver screen, like the one used here in AnaVu (vide infra). This is known as passive stereopsis (double depolarization for each eye) and the observer’s visual perception interprets the two images as a single 3D image. Here, the limiting factor is only the need for specialized projection systems (stereoscopic projection), as it cannot be displayed on normal projection systems.

Although such constraints are a reality, having a stereo display creates an advantage of delivering stereopsis to the Action space – a circular region of radius 2 m to 30 m, beyond the personal space of the learner (vide supra) [ 20 ]. This opens up an avenue to teach a larger audience. Stereoscopic visualization has advantages in any field where spatial anatomical understanding is critical [ 27 ], and hence, this can be a potential scalable solution to the problem of teaching spatial anatomy to a large cohort of medical students.

On the other hand, monoscopy is the presentation of the same image in front of each eye. This is what is seen in a routine projection of images, videos or animations, using classic projectors on a flat screen, which are almost universally available in academic institutions. Although monoscopic presentations do not give depth perception, some static images (e.g., 3D computer models, artistic renderings in anatomy diagrams) may sometimes offer monoscopic cues for minor depth perception [ 28 ]. In videos, animations or interactive 3D models, these monoscopic cues may further include perspective projection, shadings, occlusion, motion perspective, and familiar size [ 20 , 29 ]. Hence, there is a need for evidence as to whether monoscopic mode is as good as stereoscopic mode or whether stereoscopy has definite advantages. This can have implications on how a 3D visualization tool like AnaVu (vide infra) needs to be scaled for better learning experience.

Cognitive loads in instructional design

Any multimedia tool in anatomy needs to effectively impact on cognitive loads and instructional design can be conducted in accordance with it [ 30 ]. Cognitive load theory (developed by Sweller in 1980s [ 31 ] and later revisited by Meyer [ 32 ]), is concerned with creating scientifically sound instructional design that will be congruent to the dynamics of the human cognitive system dealing with memory. As new information is always processed by the limited working memory, mediating cognitive load should be in mind when designing a multimedia content in anatomy for the purpose of teaching [ 30 ]. They further mention that measurement of cognitive loads of such tools enables it to developers and engineers to design effective and efficient multimedia learning environments and thus is relevant for the new tool AnaVu (vide infra) [ 33 ]. As per the cognitive load theory, an instruction imposes three types of cognitive loads on a learner’s cognitive mechanism – the intrinsic load (IL), the extrinsic load (EL) and the germane load (GL). The IL is influenced by the learner’s prior knowledge and the inherent complexity of the task and is not generally dependent on the instructor or the mode of the instruction. GL also known as generative load is concerned with mental organization of learned material, integration with the students mental schema, and pre-existing knowledge [ 30 ]. The EL or extraneous load contains materials, approaches of the educator that does not consider the limitations of the learner’s working memory limitations. EL thus will lead to learner confusion along with frustration. Components of instructions that are beneficial generally increase the GL, and features that are not beneficial increase the EL. The goal of an educator while designing their lesson would be to moderate the IL, reduce the EL and encourage learning environments to increase GL. This applies while designing an anatomical multimedia [ 30 ]. If IL is optimal (which means the right complexity of the task to the right learner) and EL is low, learners can impose GL and engage in activities that elaborate their knowledge and facilitate learning [ 34 ]. To summarize – Less is always more – less cognitive load, means more learning [ 30 ].

AnaVu – a ‘homegrown’ tool for Anatomy viewing

The authors had previously developed a ‘homegrown’ tool – AnaVu , a scalable solution for visualizing stereoscopic images of anatomical 3D models suitable for low resource settings. The tool has a software-graphic interface for the teacher to operate on and a hardware capable of stereoscopic visualization, which consisted of two HDMI outputs (Fig. 1 a). These outputs channel two separate images for projection to two projectors stacked one above the other in a metallic projector cage (see Fig. 1 b). These had polarization filters in front of the projectors which could project two images with binocular disparity to simulate stereopsis on a silver screen (Fig. 1 c). The teacher and the students could visualize the 3D model on the silver screen using 3D glasses, in a dark room setting (passive stereopsis – vide supra). These 3D models were pre-segmented from MRI images (by manual and automated segmentation), which involves identifying and separating distinct subsections of the anatomy based on grayscale values in a particular voxel (3D equivalent of a pixel in a 2D image) and a knowledge of the anatomical structure and its location [ 35 ] as done in other studies [ 36 ]. More technical details of the segmentation and the projection system can be seen in [ 37 ]. AnaVu can be used to give a comprehensive experience of learning anatomy visually by presenting surface features of segmented modes as in solid anatomical models. 3D spatial understanding can also be cultivated as radiological anatomy is also simultaneously presented in orthogonal MRI sections similar to “The Divisible Human” model reported by Rizzolo et al. [ 38 ]). The features of AnaVu are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 , in the visualization of brainstem.

Hardware of AnaVu . a Showing the dual output through HDMI from the CPU used for the AnaVu software system. b Showing the two projectors stacked one above the other, mounted within a projector cage. Polarization filters are also seen in front of the projectors. c Showing the silver screen used for the stereoscopic projection

Screenshots from AnaVu user interface. a Shows the graphic user interface of AnaVu , which consists of 3 main vertical panels. The basal ganglia and the ventricles are visualized in the middle and right panels. Left panel shows the ‘buttons’ and controls for selecting lessons, structures, modifying opacity, and selecting monoscopic or stereoscopic visualisation modes. Middle panel shows the 3D viewport for 3D image demonstration. Right panel shows the three canonical 2D sections (axial, coronal, and sagittal sections of T1-MRI images) in that order from top to bottom, and the 2D sections of the 3D model (shown in the middle panel) colored correspondingly. These sections are scrollable by cursor. b Shows the right globus pallidus (pallidum) being selected when the label pops up

Figure panel showing the functionalities of AnaVu . a Showing a 3D right antero-lateral view of the brainstem and spinal cord along with its different parts highlighted using distinct colors. b Showing an MRI of the axial section of the brainstem at the level of midbrain in the central panel with the 3D image of the same in the right panel. c Showing a 3D postero-supero-lateral view of the midbrain and pons. Better visualisation of the internal structures has been ensured by the reduction of opacity of the gross framework of midbrain. d Showing the 3D posterior view of the pons and medulla. Opacity of the part of pons and medulla has been reduced to show the internal structures. (The above pictures are screenshots from AnaVu . All labellings in this figure have been made using Adobe Photoshop)

During its development, scaling of the tool as a large group teaching aid (in stereoscopic mode) and also for possible self-directed learning (in monoscopic mode) was in mind. Hence AnaVu was equipped with a feature to shift between a stereoscopic and monoscopic modes of visualization. Parallel to the present study, utility of AnaVu stereoscopic tool from a teacher’s perspective was evaluated among a small cohort of Anatomy teachers [ 39 ]. Though it indicated general appreciation and utility in teaching spatial anatomy, there were also critical feedback such as lack of interaction with students, eye strain and need for training, when using stereoscopic mode.

The graphic user interface of AnaVu was designed in such a way that it has functionalities aiding effective anatomical pedagogy. It was a three-panel design with a 3D viewport in its center (see Fig. 2 ), which allowed for selection of an object, a free trackball rotation, zoom in/out, and panning (see Fig. 3 ). In the right panel, there were three canonical section (sagittal, axial and coronal) MRI images (each containing an image stack). The image stack could be surveyed by scrolling in that image/sliding the slider on the right panel. The planes of these sections were also present in the 3D viewport. This gave the teacher and the student the option to understand the correlation between the 3D model and the 2D MRI section (see Fig. 2 ). If the teacher wished to lay focus on the MRI section image, then that could be swapped with the image on the central 3D viewport. This option was created because neuroanatomy is often taught through sections. In the left panel, there were the list of structures, controls and ‘buttons’ for selecting lessons, selecting/deselecting planes, manipulating opacity, and switching to canonical anatomical views (Left/Right, Superior/Inferior, Anterior/Posterior). There were also options to select objects and reduce opacity to “see through” or “within” a structure (See Fig. 3 ). An exemplar video on how this tool can be used in teaching is made available on YouTube ( https://youtu.be/Q_T-vY9Kli8?si=A0SKbZRFKG8aL1I7 ).

AnaVu has a labelling option where you can click on any object that you see in the 3D viewport which will show the structure highlighted in the 3D viewport with a label popped up (See Fig. 2 , where globus pallidus is clicked and the label comes up). And the relations with the putamen laterally can be visualized in the 3D viewport as well as the sections.

AnaVu also provides a feature to switch between a stereo mode and a mono mode making it suitable for settings where the stereoscopic projection system is not feasible. This gave the teacher the freedom to teach using AnaVu along with a regular PowerPoint presentation or to have a standalone stereoscopic presentation.

Though these functionalities seem promising, the utility of such a tool, compared to traditional methods in anatomical pedagogy is not known in a large group setting. Since 3D graphic models in monoscopy can have some depth cues, as mentioned before, it is also not known whether that would suffice to improve spatial learning. Hence, the possibility of spatial learning of a 3D model projected non-stereoscopically (monoscopy) needs to be understood. Moreover, if monoscopic visualization of the 3D model is more or even as effective as stereoscopic visualization of the same model, then the translation of the model into web-based platforms will be useful, as it can be visualized in hand-held devices. It is also interesting to know, as these tools are made from radiologic (MRI) resources, whether these can be used to teach important domains like basic recall and higher analytical learning, its role in teaching radiological anatomy and its impact on diagram-based questions (common in Indian examinations). The impact on cognitive load while teaching with AnaVu is also unknown. Hence the authors explored the broad research question “Is teaching using AnaVu helpful in Anatomy learning in Indian medical education”.

Research questions

Specifically, the research questions we explored were:

Is using AnaVu tool better than traditional teaching methods?

If so, does stereoscopic projection have an advantage over monoscopic projection?

Within four general domains of anatomy (vide infra – Methods), (e.g., basic recall, analytical learning, radiologic anatomy, and diagram-based questions) are these specific domains influenced by teaching with AnaVu ?

How do the students’ perceived cognitive loads vary between the three types (stereoscopic, monoscopic, and traditional) teaching?

If monoscopic and stereoscopic models were presented to a student, what would the student prefer?

A three-limb randomized controlled trial was designed and submitted before the Institutional Review Board and Human Ethics Committee of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT). The HEC gave a letter dated 02.07.2019 stating that the study is exempted from review, based on the 2017 ICMR guidelines, as it is a study assessing educational techniques in medical students.

The 2022 cohort comprising of 250 first-year MBBS students of GMCT was informed about the study. We follow a dissection-based regional anatomy course. The students had completed upper limb, lower limb, thorax and had started head and neck anatomy. They had not yet started the neuroanatomy module and could be considered as new to the neuroanatomy topic. An information handout and a consent form were provided, which they had to sign and return if they consented (Supplementary material 1). From those who consented (224 out of 250), 152 students were selected using simple random sampling. The random number tables were generated by Microsoft Excel for the study. The students age and sex were collected using a Google Form distributed to the study participants. The 152 students were later randomized to three groups for the intervention (See Study procedure below).

Topic and justification

The basic anatomy of the brainstem and the main cranial nerve nuclei were taken as the lesson for the study. The rationale for selecting this topic was the following:

It is a relatively smaller area in the brain but is highly clinically relevant. It is also difficult to understand spatially. There are numerous complicated anatomical terms (tectum, tegmentum, mesencephalic nucleus of trigeminal, facial colliculus) in the brainstem, which adds to the difficulty in recalling. The brainstem is classically taught by studying 2D sections of different levels (e.g., upper midbrain, lower pons, upper medulla). Correlating 2D sections with 3D mental images is quite spatially complex, especially for the internal architecture of the brainstem [ 3 ]. Correlation of the 2D sectional image with the 3D spatial model is needed to understand the radiological anatomy and interpret lesions in a clinical setting.

Pre-test and post-test

The pre-intervention (Pre-Test) and Post-intervention test (Post-Test) (See Supplementary material 2) were applied before and after the intervention, respectively. The duration of each test was 20 min. The questionnaire was designed to incorporate questions from different areas taught in the lecture, dissection and intervention sessions. The maximum possible score was fixed as 35.

The pre-test and post-test had 4 domains (see Supplementary material 2 for questions).

Basic recall questions (qn no. 1 – 4) – Maximum possible score was 11

Analytical questions (qn no. 5 – 7)—Maximum possible score was 11

Radiologic anatomy-based questions (qn no. 8 – 11)—Maximum possible score was 8

Diagram-based questions (qn. No. 12 – 13)—Maximum possible score was 5

Pre-test and post-test questionnaire were designed by the authors (divided to four teams for each domain) and face validated by the senior professors of the Anatomy department. This was done similar to the approach done by other studies evaluating 3D teaching tools in anatomy education [ 40 ]. The questions had explored various levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of inquiry. A modified Bloom’s taxonomy category was mapped by two authors and a consensus was calculated (similar to Palmer et al. [ 41 ]) for these four domains and are presented in Fig. 4 . As the students were naive considering the neuroanatomy topic being taught, the pre-test and post-test were designed to be the same.

Number of questions of various domains (indicated as colors) at different Modified Bloom’s (MB) Taxonomy (consensus between two authors)

Perceived cognitive load assessment tool

The perceived cognitive loads by students was assessed based on a tool by Leppink et al. [ 34 ] with a minor adaptation to suit the current teaching experiment. This minor adaptation was done as the original tool was designed for statistics education and is permitted [ 34 ]. The tool consisted of 10 questions (see Supplementary material 3), with the first three questions (il1, il2 and il3) indicating the IL; the next three questions (el1, el2 and el3) indicating the EL; and questions 7–10 (gl1, gl2, gl3 and gl4) indicating the GL. They were given this instruction in the material “Please respond to each of the questions on the following scale (0 meaning not at all the case and 10 meaning completely the case)”, as indicated in source [ 34 ].

Subjective feedback questionnaire

A subjective feedback questionnaire that contained 12 specific questions and a section to give open comments was used. For the 12 specific questions, a five-point Likert scale was used to obtain student ratings, with 1 indicating “strongly disagree” and 5 indicating “strongly agree”. The first five questions were adapted from the tool used by Codd and Choudhury [ 40 ], which was to assess a virtual reality tool for forearm anatomy compared to the traditional method. The questions asked whether it was enjoyable (Q1), relevant (Q2), useful (Q3), well presented (Q4) and whether they would like to see a similar resource in future (Q5). It was aimed at understanding the general appreciation of the tool. The next five questions were adapted from the tool used by Maresky et al. [ 42 ], to assess a virtual reality tool for cardiac anatomy. It tried to explore whether it reinforced their anatomy knowledge (Q6), enhanced their anatomy integration skills (Q7), improved visuo-spatial skills (Q8), assisted in appreciating size differences (Q9) and anatomical relationships (Q10) of different structures. The last two questions were negatively worded so as to break up a response pattern in which participants typically answer positively or negatively to all items in the survey questionnaire. They were asked whether the tool distracted their learning (Q11) or whether it was confusing (Q12). In addition to these specific questions, there was also an option to provide open comments by asking them to write “Any specific comments about the Demonstration”. The questionnaire is shown in Supplementary material 4.

Study procedure

The educational session lasted for 2 days (see Fig. 5 for the underlined parts in the text below).

On Day 1 , the students were given a briefing and then a 20-min pre-test , which was then followed by an introductory lecture on the brainstem, for 40-min duration. The lecture was a usual didactic lecture and introduced the basics of brainstem anatomy (the parts – medulla, pons and midbrain and their subdivisions) including their relations. The parts and terminologies were introduced. The cranial nerve nuclei present withing the brainstem were also taught in the lecture. All were taught using PowerPoint projected 2D slides. The slides contained text and gross anatomy whole specimen images, section images, diagrams and MRI images (axial and sagittal cuts of brainstem region). They were then given a demonstration of dissection specimen of the brainstem, for 20 min using a document camera. The surface features that is seen on the medulla, pons and midbrain both from ventral and dorsal aspects were demonstrated to students. Visibility was ensured using a document camera, which is routinely used at GMCT for demonstration of smaller structures in dissection to a larger group. Both the lecture and the dissection demonstration were conducted by a single teacher.

Based on the first intervention they would receive the next day, the student groups were named S, M and C, representing Stereoscopy (S), Monoscopy (M) and Control (C), respectively. The 152 students were randomized into the three groups by allocating the first 51 of the random numbers (generated earlier for selecting the sample) to S, the next 51 of the random numbers to M and the next 50 to C (see Fig. 5 ).

On Day 2 , the S, M and C groups assembled at three separate venues ( See Hybrid Fig. 6 ). The teaching sessions were instructor led demonstrations.

Certain steps were taken for the intervention sessions to ensure uniformity in the content being taught in the three groups.

◦ A teaching script was prepared earlier to make the teaching content as similar as possible. The content delivery was validated for consistency by six senior students, two in each venue.

◦ All the intervention sessions (S,M and C) were conducted by another teacher, different from the teacher who took the lecture and dissection demonstration

◦ The time of each session (20 min) was monitored and strictly adhered to.

After this, the students were given a post-test and a perceived cognitive load assessment questionnaire (Supplementary material 3) and a subjective feedback form (Supplementary material 4).

A 15-min break was given.

After this, the students were swapped , similar to the pseudo-cross over mentioned in Cui et al. (2017) [ 43 ]. The students had to change the venues to attend the respective sessions. The S group moved to the venue where a mono demonstration was given, the M group moved to stereo demonstration, and the C group moved to a stereo demonstration (see bottom of Fig. 4 ). The timings were coordinated by the senior students. Participant students were informed that this was essentially a “replay” of the previous session they had had, but using a different teaching modality (M given Stereo, S given Mono and C given Stereo). They were informed that this was done to allow a comparison of the two methods and know their preference. After the session, they were given a survey questionnaire for knowing their preference (e.g., the SM swap group was given Supplementary material 5).

Students were thanked for participation, and light refreshments were provided.

Flow diagram depicting the sequence of the current study protocol. S, stereoscopy; M, monoscopy; C, control. Weighing scales at the bottom indicates that those students were allowed to compare the S to M (limb 1); M to S (limb 2); and C to S (limb 3) and tell what they preferred in the survey questionnaire that was given

Hybrid table showing different interventions. The second column of the panel contains the photographs - a , b and c from sessions that were held for the three groups – S,M and C respectively

Demographical details were analysed. To know whether there was a statistically significant different in age and sex categories among the three groups an ANOVA test and a Chi-square (χ 2 ) test was performed. Pre-test and post-test were evaluated by the authors following an answer key, prepared by themselves and face validated by the senior professors of the Anatomy department. The quantitative data were entered in Microsoft Excel for Windows and imported to SPSS Statistical package, version 25.0 for Windows (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) for analysis. Since the three modes of demonstrations needed to be compared for its effectiveness, the difference (increase or decrease) [Post-test (minus) Pre-test scores] of each person was calculated. Analysis of Variance test (ANOVA) was performed to detect any statistically significant difference in mean scores among groups. Statistical limit was fixed as p < 0.05. If a significant difference was found on the ANOVA test, post hoc tests with Bonferroni corrections for multiple comparisons were performed to identify the pairs that had a statistically significant difference. Cohen’s d was calculated (M 1 -M 2 /SD pooled ) to determine the effect size to measure the quantum of the difference between a pair (In this formula, M 1 and M 2 stands for Mean of each group in the pair and the SD pooled is the combined SD of the pair). The effect sizes were interpreted as small ( d = 0.2), medium ( d = 0.5) and large ( d = 0.8), as per previous reports [ 44 ].

Cognitive loads (IL, EL and GL) of the three groups were also compared using ANOVA test. For analysis of the subjective feedback questionnaire (12 items), the mean and standard deviation of the response of each item were calculated and compared among the three groups using ANOVA test. Graphs were generated using SPSS Statistical package, version 25.0 for Windows (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and draw.io ( https://app.diagrams.net/ ) webpage.

Quantitative analysis

Demographics.

The mean age (± SD), male to female ratio and the first quarterly examination scores of the whole sample of students are shown in Table 1 .

The age of the groups was found to be statistically similar among the groups ( p = 0.76; ANOVA test); and sex were also similar among the groups ( p = 0.504; Chi-square (χ 2 ) test). The first quarterly examination out of 100 also did not show statistically significant difference ( p = 0.839; ANOVA test) among three groups. Hence the three groups were demographically comparable.

Test scores

The maximum possible score of the pre-test was 35. The total pre-test scores did not differ among groups (S, M and C), as shown by statistical analysis (Table 2 , Row 1; p value = 0.947; ANOVA). The maximum possible score of the post-test was also 35. All the three modalities of teaching S, M and C showed statistically significant increase in scores from pretest to post test (Table 2 , Row 1, p values < 0.001; Paired t test). The total post-test scores did not differ among groups, as shown by statistical analysis (Table 2 , Row 2; p = 0.233, ANOVA). The difference between the total post-test and pre-test scores, which indicates the increase/decrease in the students’ understanding, also failed to show a statistically significant difference among groups (Table 2 , Row 3; p = 0.226, ANOVA).

Domain-specific analysis indicated statistically significant difference among groups in the basic recall domain (Table 3 ; Row 1; p value = 0.001; ANOVA). The difference was statistically significant between the Stereo and Mono pair [S. Recall Mean = 5.35 (± 2.83) vs M. Recall Mean = 3.97 (± 2.83); p value = 0.03; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied] as well as between the Stereo and Control group pair [ S. Recall Mean = 5.35 (± 2.83) vs C. Recall Mean = 3.32 (± 2.33); p value = 0.001; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied].

A statistically significant difference was also noted in radiology-based questions in the test (Table 3 ; Row 3: p value < 0.001; ANOVA). The difference was statistically significant between the Stereo and Control pair [S. Rad Mean = 4.68 (± 1.69) vs C. Rad Mean = 3.14 (± 2.02); p value < 0.001; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied] and between the Mono and Control pair [M. Rad Mean = 4.09 (± 2.09) vs C. Rad Mean = 3.14 (± 2.02); p value = 0.046; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied].

There was no statistically significant difference in the scores of analytical questions or diagram-based questions (Table 3 ; Rows 2 and 4).

Cognitive loads

The perceived cognitive loads by the students showed a statistically significant difference among the groups for germane cognitive load (GL) (Table 4 , Row 3; p value = 0.001; ANOVA). The difference was statistically significant between the stereo and control pair [S. GL Mean = 33.28 (± 5.35) vs C. GL Mean = 28.18 (± 8.17); p value = 0.002; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied] and mono and control pair [M. GL Mean = 32.80 (± 7.91) vs C. GL Mean = 28.18 (± 8.17); p value = 0.005; post hoc tests, Bonferroni corrections applied]. There was no statistically significant difference among groups in intrinsic (IL) and extrinsic loads (EL).

Subjective feedbacks questionnaire

The subjective feedback questionnaire mean responses on the 5-point Likert scale are shown in Fig. 7 (error bars indicate standard deviation). S and M showed a higher mean response in the first 10 statements. The ones that showed statistically significant differences among the groups (as per ANOVA) are shown with a red star. Two red stars beside the comments (see Fig. 7 ; statement numbers 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) indicate statistically significant differences for S when compared to C and for M when compared to C. A single star indicates a statistically significant difference for S when compared to C (see Fig. 7 ; Qn 5).

Graphical representation of the mean values of the 5-point Likert scale responses to statements as part of subjective feedback. Bars—Purple for Stereo, Blue for Mono, and Green for Control—show the mean values. Error bars are also shown (± SD). The statements with *Only S had statistically significant difference from C; **Both S and M had statistically significant difference

In the stereo-mono-swapped pooled cohorts (total 102; SM: 51 participants and MS: 51 participants), when they were asked about which mode would be preferred, through the survey questionnaire, 79/102 preferred S, 13/102 preferred M and 6/102 preferred both.

The current study sheds light on the pedagogical advantages of a newer ‘homegrown’ developed technology for visualizing anatomy in Indian anatomy education scenario and provides insights into the merits and demerits of the technology through the comments of the students. The teacher’s feedbacks on using AnaVu has been recently published (64) and it indicated general appreciation and advantages for teaching spatial anatomy but also some critical disadvantages for teachers while using the S mode due to lack of interaction with students in a darkened room, eye strain and need for the user interface training for teachers. In time, resource and technology constrained settings, the specific advantage and disadvantage of a new tool, such as AnaVu , should be revealed and convincing for teachers and students to implement such a technology for better neuroanatomy learning [ 2 ].

Here, the pretest scores (Table 2 , Row 1) and the demographic data (Table 1 ) of the S, M and C groups indicate comparability of the three groups before the intervention. Although the total test scores and difference of total post-test minus pre-test scores were not significantly different for the three groups (Table 2 , rows 2 and 3), domain-wise analysis showed significant improvement for the S group compared to the M and C groups in the basic recall test (Table 3 , Row 1). Recalling terms, orientations, relations, etc., in anatomy is a complicated process. In a study exploring factors leading to impaired learning of neuroanatomy, the participants mentioned ‘memorization of neuroanatomical terminologies’ to be and important intrinsic contributing factors [ 1 ]. Optimal instructional techniques can create a favorable cognitive environment that enhances their ability to recall and has been indicated in several contexts of anatomical learning environments [ 30 , 45 ]. On understanding how human cognitive system works during learning with multimedia (Mayer’s cognitive model [ 46 ]), a clear visualization with cues to direct the learner’s attention to a specific structure along with clear explanation can moderate cognitive loads favoring active and effective learning [ 30 ]. This may have influenced the result of better basic recall scores in the S (compared to M and C), due to better visualization.

Now why can the effect be more in S compared to M? The authors propose that stereopsis may play a role in the clarity of depth perceptions which thus influence the better basic recall. Earlier, it was mentioned that stereopsis in the personal space (up to a 2 m radius around a person) , as during performing dissection, observing prosections, manipulating a manikin or a physical anatomical model, provides a substantial advantage in perceiving depth and spatial information [ 21 ]. Providing stereopsis in the action space (2 m-30 m), as in the case of stereo display (S mode in our experiment), may create such an effect for the large group of students tested here. The statistically significant difference of S. Recall Mean compared to C. Recall Mean with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.783) indicates that stereopsis in the action space created by S mode display, may have been effective in providing critical details of depth and spatial information, with clear attentional cues. Earlier studies have shown how spatial and attentional cues in 3D dynamic visualizations can make anatomy learning better [ 47 ]. This may have augmented their learning and thus their ability to recall. Students’ opinions in their subjective feedback about understanding size differences and relations were statistically higher for S and M compared to C (see Fig. 7 , statements 9 and 10). This reinforces the idea of role of visualizations in anatomy learning success and the need for modern visualization methods.

This effect of the S mode was better even when compared with the M mode, as indicated by S. Recall Mean compared to M. Recall Mean with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.488). This may indicate that although there are depth cues in the M mode (perspective projection, shadings, occlusion, motion perspective, familiar size), as discussed earlier [ 20 , 29 ], they may not be adequate to create sufficient depth perception to influence anatomical learning, when compared to how it was in S. Depth cues were utilized extensively in the design of the interactive 3D viewport of AnaVu . As stereopsis is a significant part of visual perception that aids in understanding the spatial disposition of the world around us [ 20 ], this finding may indicate the value of stereopsis in anatomical learning and adding to the data indicating superiority of stereoscopic visual display in anatomy education [ 48 , 49 ] especially compared to monoscopy.

Another domain that showed a statistically significant advantage was for learning radiological anatomy. As familiarizing anatomy students with radiological anatomy helps them integrate different subjects [ 17 ], makes anatomy learning effective [ 18 ] and improves spatial reasoning skills [ 19 ], the advantage of AnaVu to teach radiological anatomy is twofold. The current CBME curriculum in India envisages vertical integration across basic and clinical disciplines. It also encourages early clinical exposure to first-year medical students [ 50 ]. In this context, teaching anatomy from stereoscopic models generated from T1 weighted MRI images and displaying the anatomy and the radiological source images in a 3D mode correlatable to the 2D MRI images can be an effective technological solution for bridging the gap between radiological anatomy and gross anatomy. Anatomy and radiology are usually considered complementing disciplines that have an enormous scope for integration [ 17 ]. Hence, this tool is a promising approach for radiological anatomy teaching. Considering the fact that S. Rad Mean vs C. Rad Mean had a high effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.827; Table 1 , Row 3) and M. Rad Mean vs C. Rad Mean had a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.462; Table 1 , Row 3), using this tool in the S mode or in the M mode is effective for radiological anatomy teaching. The higher effect size seen here of S vs C compared to M vs C may also be due to the better effect of stereopsis in integrating spatial concepts making radiological anatomy interpretation better. The authors propose that a hidden common factor here in basic recall (due to the effect on cognitive load due to better spatial cues) and radiological image interpretation here is the underlying higher spatial learning in stereoscopy. Studies have shown that spatial abilities and better spatial learning influence anatomy learning success [ 51 , 52 ]. Students in their subjective feedback also mention that this mode of learning helped them improve their visuospatial skills (Fig. 7 ; Statement 8).

Students’ perceived cognitive loads had a statistically significant difference in the GL with high effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.739) for S vs C and a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.575) for M vs C. The germane or generative load reflects the ability of the student to make sense of the structures shown, organize mental concepts and integrate new understanding with prior knowledge [ 30 , 53 ]. The higher cognitive load may indicate that the students could add up on what was learned on the previous days lecture and dissection demonstrations effectively with ease when taught with AnaVu compared to the board drawn diagrams. This is corroborated by the positive comments seen in the students’ subjective feedback questionnaire responses when they say how it helped them to integrate with previous knowledge on brainstem anatomy and how it helped in Anatomy integration skills (Fig. 7 Statements 6 and 7). Their perception as it was enjoyable and useful (see Fig. 7 , Statements 1 and 3) may also indicate their better GL. Students also mentioned that they appreciate similar teaching methods in the future (Fig. 7 ; Statement 5).

Though some of the well-known drawbacks of S mode are low ambient light requirements causing difficulty in interaction with teachers [ 39 ], requirement of wearing eye goggles (which can cause discomfort as it is often bulky [ 29 ]), eye strain complaints and difficulty in focusing and concentrating [ 54 ], there seems to be a general preference for the students in the survey questionnaire response in the present study. When they were asked about their preference after they were exposed to both SM/MS out of 102, 79 preferred S. The rest of the students [ 13 ] who showed preference of M and 6 who showed preference of both may have felt M to be as good as S, or could have felt the disadvantages of S to be more distracting.

Limitations of the study

The number of questions asked in the pre-test and post-test were limited. This was due to the limitation of available time to conduct the whole experiment. However, they were face validated. This may have affected the statistical power of the study.

A time for students to familiarize with stereoscopy by directly manipulating the tool may have been needed to be adapted to the stereoscopic environment.

During C intervention, as it was black/white board diagrams, control group did not learn through MRI images, while as AnaVu had radiological sectional images inside the tool, S and M learned using MRI images. But as we had to compare traditional and a modern tool, this was unavoidable. However, to avoid unfair exclusion of the control group from sectional MRI images, few MRI images (sagittal and axial) were used during the common brainstem lecture. Also as the medical students were in the midst of the regional anatomy course, with limbs, thorax and head and neck anatomy partially over, they were exposed to basic radiology in these segments.

The assessment of spatial ability of the students was avoided, but if done would have added an interesting angle to the study as spatial ability of students is a proven factor in spatial learning. This can be a further direction of the study.

Technological solutions for educational effectiveness are an area where Indian medical education is stepping into and is highly relevant as the NMC has commenced the futuristic CBME curriculum. As the newer e-learning techniques using hand-held devices, web-based platforms and computer-assisted learning modalities are increasingly being relied on [ 1 ], the understanding of the relevance of stereopsis (by means of stereo display) in this study will help in developing e-learning and self-learning strategies in anatomical education. The enhancement in basic recall and utility for radiology education using the low-cost AnaVu stereo display may encourage anatomy educationalists to actively seek methods for making students learn anatomy through visualization. The specific disadvantages of the stereo display and the areas where a mono display is effective along with the students’ subjective perspectives can help teachers choose the best visualization method in an informed manner.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analyzed during the course of this study are not publicly available due to concerns about the privacy of participants but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Stereoscopy

Three-dimensional

Two-dimensional

Magentic Resonance Imaging

Intrinsic Load

Extrinsic Load

Germane Load

Competency-Based Medical Education

National Medical Council (of India)

Analysis of variance

Standard Deviation

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. M.S. Valiathan, former National Research Professor and Padma Vibhushan awardee, for being the leading light who gave us the inspiration and the vision to pursue this project. We thank the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, for their constant expert feedbacks and suggestions which has significantly improved the conduct of the project as well as the current study. We thank the staff of the Anatomy Department and the former and the current heads of the Department, Dr Lathikumari (Retired) and Dr Usha Devi KB, whose invaluable support was instrumental for the conduct of the study. We extend our sincere gratitude to the editor and reviewers for their thoughtful comments and constructive suggestions, which have significantly enhanced the clarity and quality of our manuscript.

We acknowledge the students of the 2022 cohort for their active participation in the study.

Ms. Mythri V (former research scholar, IIIT, Hyderabad) and Ms. Alphin J Thottupattu (former research scholar, IIIT, Hyderabad) for support during the image processing and development of the software.

Dr. Soumya Gopakumar and Dr. Jenyz Mohammedali Mundodan, Assistant Professors of Community Medicine for their assistance in statistical analysis.

Mr Praveen James, Clinical Engineer, SCTIMST; Ms. Renjima G, Project Technician, Virtual Neuroanatomy project, SCTIMST, for their sincere assistance in the conduct of this project.

Dr. Smitha S Nair, Assistant Professor of Anatomy, for assistance in proof reading.

Dr. Amogh B Jayakumar for his expert assistance in various parts of conducting the project and writing the manuscript.

The project was funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board (Grant No. IR/SB/EF/03/2016), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

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Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT), Thiruvananthapuram, India

Doris George Yohannan, Aswathy Maria Oommen, Amruth S. Kumar, S. Devanand, Minha Resivi UT, Navya Sajan, Neha Elizabeth Thomas, Nasreen Anzer & Umesan Kannanvilakom Govindapillai

Department of Anatomy, Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Tiruvalla, India

Nithin Kadakampallil Raju

Department of Imaging Sciences and Interventional Radiology, Sree Chithra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, India

Bejoy Thomas, Jayadevan Enakshy Rajan, Tirur Raman Kapilamoorthy & Chandrasekharan Kesavadas

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Contributions

DGY: Segmentation of the model, conceptualized and developed the idea, designed the study, performed the anatomy instruction, analyzed and interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript.AMO: Designed the study, performed the anatomy instruction, interpreted the data and played a role in drafting and critically revising the manuscript.ASK, SD, MR, NS, NET, NA: Implementation, collection of data and teaching supportNKR: Statistical data analysis and prepared table and figures BT, JER: MRI image acquisition, Segmentation of the model, visualization requirement specification and feedback on user-interface of the software toolUKG: Conceptualization and organization of the study, statistical data analysisPH: Conceptualisation, design and engineering of AnaVu toolTRK: Mentor and advisor who oversaw the study with timely, insightful guidanceCK: MRI image acquisition, Segmentation of the model, visualization requirement specification and feedback on user-interface of the software tool, and supervision of the study.JS: Primary investigator of the project. Visualization of the model, conceptualization, organization, supervision and overseeing the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doris George Yohannan .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (GMCT). The HEC gave a letter dated 02.07.2019 stating that the study is exempted from review based on the 2017 ICMR guidelines, as it is a study assessing educational techniques in medical students. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants by providing an information handout and consent form. The participants were informed about the purpose, nature and procedure of the study as well as the fact that their participation was voluntary. They were assured confidentiality and that the data would be used only for research purposes. They were also informed that when the data will be published their personal details will be kept confidential.

A portion of this study, focusing on the development of the tool, was presented at the annual conference of the Anatomical Society of India (Kerala State Chapter) held at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, in May 2023.

A part of the results of this study was presented for oral/podium presentation at the Asia Pacific International Congress of Anatomy—Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists joint conference (ANZACA – APICA 2023), held at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, in November – December 2023.

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Informed consent was obtained from all subjects for publication of identifying information/images in an online open-access publication.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Yohannan, D.G., Oommen, A.M., Kumar, A.S. et al. “Visualization matters” – stereoscopic visualization of 3D graphic neuroanatomic models through AnaVu enhances basic recall and radiologic anatomy learning when compared with monoscopy. BMC Med Educ 24 , 932 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05910-4

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Received : 02 May 2024

Accepted : 14 August 2024

Published : 27 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05910-4

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