Slide Management

This article will guide you through how to upload and manage slides in Top Hat.

Table of Contents

1. Uploading Slides
2. AI-Powered Slide Transcripts
3. Downloading Slides
4. Re-Uploading Slides
5. Editing Slides
6. Slide Restrictions
7. Font Compatibility

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Uploading Slides

It is recommended that slides are uploaded in the 16:9 size ratio to render correctly in Top Hat, rather than the "standard" 4:3 size.

To upload a PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx) or PDF slide deck into Top Hat:

1. Click the blue Add to course button at the upper-left side of the course content page.
2. Select Slides Upload from the menu that appears (or drag the presentation to the Upload Slides menu in an empty course).

Image: Add to course button highlighted in Top Hat.

Note: PowerPoint and PDF files uploaded using the Upload Slides function cannot exceed 500 MB in size.

You can drag and drop your file into the window that appears, or click the link in the window to browse your computer. Once selected, wait for the progress bar to fill and then click Done.

Image: Slide upload modal displayed.

As your slides process, a progress modal will appear in the bottom right corner. Slides render in Top Hat as PDFs for optimal resolution and enhanced interactivity (e.g., embedded videos, GIFs, live hyperlinks).

Image: Slide upload progress modals during the upload and processing stage.

Ace AI-Powered Lecture Enhancer: At this point, you have the option to effortlessly add interactivity to your lectures by automatically generating polling questions based on the content of your slides. Learn more about this functionality here.

When your slides have finished loading fully, the entire deck will expand beneath the file title in the content tree.

Image: Post-upload slide options indicated in Top Hat.

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AI-Powered Slide Transcripts

When slides uploaded to Top Hat are assigned, AI-generated "Transcripts" (text transcriptions and image descriptions extracted from the slides) will be generated and made available to both instructors and students.

Before a Slide Deck is Assigned

When a slide deck is uploaded to Top Hat AND the AI-powered slides transcripts feature is turned on for the course, instructors will see a new icon at the bottom left corner of the slide preview window.

Note: For courses where slides were already assigned before this feature was enabled, you must un-assign and re-assign the slide deck to trigger transcript generation.

Image: Slide Transcript button in the lower left corner of the screen.

After a Slide Deck is Assigned

Once assigned, and after a short processing time (30s - 2mins), the tooltip on the Slide Transcript button will change to “Show Slide Transcripts”. (Note: For instructors, this is only available on the individual slide card view).

Image: Slide Transcript button with Assignment Details highlighted.

Image: Slide transcript displayed.

An info icon in the Transcript panel header informs users that the text is AI-generated. Students can view transcripts on both the individual slide card level and the slide deck folder level. Instructors can currently only view them at the individual slide card level.

Image: Student view of Slide Transcripts.

General Transcript Notes

• Transcripts will NOT be available on actively presented slides—they are only generated when slides are assigned as homework/review.
• Transcripts are currently ONLY available on the web browser, not in the student mobile app.
• Transcripts are currently NOT editable by instructors.
• A feedback mechanism (megaphone icon in the transcript header) is available on every slide to report inaccuracies.

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Downloading Slides

To download a set of slides from your Top Hat course (e.g., a deck you uploaded or inherited with a Top Hat Textbook), select the file name in the content tree and click Download original above the Preview Pane.

Image: Download Slides button highlighted in Top Hat.

Note: If the Allow students to download original toggle is turned on, students can also download the source files when the deck is assigned.

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Re-Uploading Slides

To replace a set of slides, select the deck and click Re-upload slides above the Preview Pane.

Image: Re-upload slide options in Top Hat.

You will be presented with options to keep any embedded questions/discussions in their same relative order amongst the new slides, or to push them all to the end of the slideshow for manual redistribution later.

Once you select an option, the file upload window will appear allowing you to drag and drop the replacement file.

(Tip: To duplicate slides or interactive elements, check them off in the content tree and select Copy at the top of the tree. This is useful when moving slideshows between courses).

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Editing Slides

If you need to edit a `.pptx` slide deck already uploaded to Top Hat, select the slideshow file (or an individual slide) in the content tree and click Edit in PowerPoint on the right side of the Preview Pane.

This will open the slideshow in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Online. (Note: You do not need a Microsoft Office Online subscription to utilize this feature).

Image: Edit slides button highlighted in Top Hat.

From here, your slides can be edited using the full functionality of PowerPoint Online. Once you have completed your edits, simply click the back arrow in your browser to return to Top Hat. The updates will sync automatically.

Image: Slide editor as displayed in PowerPoint online.

While syncing, the slides will buffer in the Top Hat content tree. You will be provided with a progress bar. If you had embedded questions within the slideshow, they will remain in their original location amongst the newly edited slides.

Image: Slides processing menu as displayed in Top Hat.

Best Practices for Slide Editing

To ensure your slides appear and function as expected, understand how different editing methods interact:

• Stick to one method of editing: Edits made using Edit in PowerPoint modify the original `.pptx` file. Edits made via the Top Hat content tree (e.g., dragging to reorder or deleting a slide) only affect the converted PDF rendering. These methods do not sync with each other.
• Use PowerPoint for content changes: If you change text, images, or formatting, use the Edit in PowerPoint button. These edits will overwrite the original file stored in Top Hat.
• Content Tree edits will be lost upon sync: You can move or delete slides using the Top Hat content tree, but these changes will not reflect in the downloadable PowerPoint file and will be overwritten and lost if the deck is later opened and saved using PowerPoint Online.
• Download Behavior: Top Hat provides the most recent version of the original PowerPoint file for download, not the PDF rendering.

Tip: If you anticipate making multiple types of complex edits, consider making all changes in desktop PowerPoint and simply Re-uploading the revised file to avoid sync conflicts.

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Slide Restrictions

Top Hat Limitations

• Top Hat does not support logarithmic graphs embedded in PowerPoint files unless they are saved and uploaded as static images (e.g., PNG or JPEG).

PowerPoint Online Restrictions

Due to the current capabilities of Microsoft's PowerPoint Online integration:

• Charts and equations (including LaTeX) cannot be added to slides if they are being edited through Top Hat. These should be added in desktop PowerPoint before uploading.
• Headers and footers, including dates and slide numbers, cannot be inserted, edited, or deleted through Top Hat. Those included before upload will still display as expected when presenting.
• Linked pictures in slides are hidden in preview or edit mode but are preserved when presenting in Top Hat.
• Titles cannot be added during editing through Top Hat. Slide titles in the content tree reflect the slide heading when synced.

For more information on the capabilities and limitations of PowerPoint Online, click here (opens in a new window).

Download Behavior

When downloading uploaded slides from Top Hat, keep the following in mind:

1. Slides uploaded to Top Hat are converted and stored as PDFs, but the original file is retained and can be downloaded by instructors and students (if permitted). Learn more here.
2. If the Edit in PowerPoint functionality is used, a new .pptx file is created and replaces the original uploaded file.
3. When slides are downloaded after editing, this new file will be downloaded instead of the original.
4. Changes made directly in the content tree (e.g., rearranging or deleting slides) are not reflected in downloaded files.

Slide Upload Restrictions

• File names must not exceed 200 characters.
• File sizes must not exceed 500 MB.
• Only .ppt, .pptx, and .pdf file types are supported.

Failure to meet these criteria will result in one of the following error messages:

• File type not supported. Only ppt, pptx and pdf types are supported.
• Sorry, the filename exceeds our 200 character limit.
• Sorry, file sizes over 500MB are not supported.

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Font Compatibility in Uploaded Slides

If the slides you upload contain fonts that are not supported by Top Hat, the text may appear differently (or break formatting) once processed. We recommend reviewing your slides in Top Hat prior to presenting to ensure formatting is preserved.

Tip: If your slides use unsupported fonts, change the text in your original file to a supported font before uploading.

Supported Fonts in Top Hat

Microsoft Fonts:

• Andale Mono
• Arial (including Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Arial Black
• Comic Sans MS (Bold)
• Courier New (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Impact
• Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Trebuchet (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Verdana (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic)
• Webdings

Adobe Fonts:

• Source Sans Pro

Google Fonts (Partial List):

Top Hat supports many Google Fonts. Some of the most commonly used include:

• Accanthis
• Alegreya Sans
• Allerta
• Cabin
• Cantarell
• Cardo
• Comic Neue
• Comfortaa
• Courier Prime
• Droid Sans
• Lato
• Libre Baskerville
• Lobster
• Merriweather
• Noto Sans
• Open Sans
• Oswald
• PT Sans
• Quicksand
• Roboto
• Roboto Slab
• Source Code Pro
• Source Sans Pro
• Ubuntu

Note: Fonts not listed above may render differently or be substituted automatically by Top Hat’s rendering engine. For a full list of Google Fonts, visit fonts.google.com (opens in a new window).