How to Upload Your Presentation and Organize Your Decks in Sync

You've been creating presentations for years. PowerPoint files scattered across folders. Google Slides buried in Drive. Canva designs everywhere. PDFs saved with cryptic filenames like "Final_v3_REVISED_FINAL.pdf."

Finding the right presentation at the right time becomes archaeology. You know you made that training deck somewhere. But where?

Organization isn't glamorous, but it's the difference between confidently pulling up your content in seconds and frantically searching while your audience waits.

This guide shows you how to get your presentations into Sync, organize them effectively, and navigate your dashboard like a pro.

Creating your first deck

Before you can upload content, you need a deck to put it in.

Starting from scratch

1. From your Sync dashboard, click Create New Deck
2. Enter a descriptive title (you can change this later)
3. Click Create

Your new deck appears in your dashboard with zero slides. Now you're ready to add content.

What to name your decks

Good deck names answer two questions:

• What is this? The topic or purpose
• Who is it for? The audience or context

Examples:

• "Q1 2025 Sales Training"
• "Product Demo for Enterprise Clients"
• "Onboarding: Engineering New Hires"
• "Webinar: Marketing Automation Basics"

Avoid:

• "Presentation1"
• "Untitled Deck"
• "Test"
• "New Deck (Copy) (Copy) (2)"

You'll thank yourself later when you're searching for something specific.

Uploading files to create slides

Sync supports PDF, image, and audio files for quick deck building.

Exporting presentations to PDF

Important: Sync accepts PDF files, not PowerPoint (.pptx), Canva, or Google Slides files directly. You need to export your presentation to PDF first.

Exporting from PowerPoint

1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint
2. Click File → Export → Create PDF/XPS
3. Choose export quality (select Standard for best results)
4. Click Publish
5. Save the PDF file to your computer

Exporting from Google Slides

1. Open your presentation in Google Slides
2. Click File → Download → PDF Document (.pdf)
3. The PDF downloads to your computer automatically

Exporting from Canva

1. Open your design in Canva
2. Click Share (top-right corner)
3. Click Download
4. Select PDF Standard from the file type dropdown
5. Click Download

Exporting from Keynote (Mac)

1. Open your presentation in Keynote
2. Click File → Export To → PDF
3. Set image quality (recommended: Best)
4. Click Next and save the file

Export tips for best quality:

• Use high-quality/standard export settings (not "web optimized" or "minimum size")
• Export at 150-300 DPI for crisp text and images
• Ensure slides are 16:9 aspect ratio before exporting

Uploading PDF files

Once you've exported your presentation to PDF, you can upload it to Sync.

PDFs can be uploaded as complete documents or split into individual pages.

To upload a PDF:

1. Click Add Slide
2. Click Upload File
3. Select your .pdf file
4. Choose between two display options

Display options:

• Single slide (document viewer): The entire PDF displays with page navigation
• Split into pages: Each PDF page becomes a separate slide

When to use each mode:

Single slide (document viewer):

• Reference materials participants will browse independently
• Multi-page handouts or resources
• Documents where page context matters (like contracts or reports)

Split into pages:

• Presentation slides created in design tools and exported as PDF
• Each page is conceptually a separate "slide" in your talk
• You want full control over slide-by-slide progression

Uploading images

Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP

To upload an image:

1. Click Add Slide
2. Click Upload File or drag the file directly into the editor
3. Your image appears as a slide

Tips for image slides:

• Use high-resolution images (at least 1920x1080 for full-screen slides)
• Optimize file size before uploading to stay within storage limits
• Add slide titles to describe what the image shows (helps with navigation)

Uploading audio files

Supported formats: MP3, WAV, OGG

Audio slides display a player interface viewers can control.

Use cases:

• Podcast clips or audio samples
• Voiceover explanations for self-paced decks
• Music or sound effects for specific moments

Storage limits and file sizes

Different plans have different storage limits:

Free Trial: 100MB total storage Starter: 3 GB Pro: 10 GB Business: Custom storage

Storage is calculated across all files uploaded to all your decks combined.

To check your storage usage:

1. Go to Settings in the top navigation
2. View your current usage under Storage

If you hit your limit, you'll need to either delete unused files or upgrade your plan.

Creating folders for organization

Once you have multiple decks, folders keep them organized by topic, audience, or project.

Creating a folder

1. From your dashboard, click the + New Folder button
2. Enter a folder name
3. (Optional) Choose a folder color for visual identification
4. Click Create

Your folder appears in the dashboard sidebar.

Folder naming strategies

By topic:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Product Training
• Engineering Onboarding

By audience:

• Internal Team
• Clients
• Conference Presentations
• Webinars

By project or event:

• Q1 2025 Roadshow
• Annual Conference 2025
• Customer Training Series

By status:

• Active Presentations
• Archive
• Templates
• Drafts

Choose a strategy that matches your workflow. Consistency matters more than the specific system.

Moving decks into folders

From the dashboard:

1. Hover over the deck you want to move
2. Click the three-dot menu
3. Select Move to Folder
4. Choose the destination folder (or select "None" to move to root)
5. Click Move

Via drag-and-drop (if your dashboard supports it):

1. Click and hold on a deck thumbnail
2. Drag it to the folder in the sidebar
3. Release to drop

The deck moves instantly.

Deleting folders

Deleting a folder doesn't delete the decks inside—it just moves them back to your root dashboard.

1. Hover over the folder in the sidebar
2. Click the three-dot menu
3. Select Delete Folder
4. Confirm deletion

All decks that were in the folder reappear at the root level.

Navigating your dashboard

The dashboard is your command center for managing presentations.

View modes

Sync offers multiple ways to view your decks:

Tile View (default): Grid of deck thumbnails with titles. Best for visually browsing and quickly identifying decks.

List View: Compact list with deck names, modification dates, and slide counts. Best for text-based searching and managing many decks.

Toggle between views using the view switcher in the top-right corner of the dashboard.

Sorting options

Sort your decks by:

Last Modified: Most recently edited decks appear first (default) Date Created: Newest decks first Title (A-Z): Alphabetical by name Custom Order: Manual drag-and-drop sorting

Click the sort dropdown to change your sorting preference.

Finding decks quickly

Using folders:

• Click any folder in the sidebar to see only decks in that folder
• Click "All Decks" to return to the full view

Using search (if available):

• Type in the search box at the top of the dashboard
• Results filter in real-time as you type
• Search matches deck titles

Using filters (if available):

• Filter by date range
• Filter by decks with/without slides
• Filter by presentation mode settings

Managing individual decks

Each deck has management options accessible from the dashboard.

Deck actions menu

Hover over any deck and click the three-dot menu to access:

Edit: Open the deck editor to add/edit slides Present: Launch presenter mode immediately Duplicate: Create a copy of the deck with all slides Move to Folder: Assign to a different folder Delete: Permanently remove the deck (cannot be undone) Analytics: View presentation analytics and audience engagement data

Duplicating decks

Duplication creates an exact copy with:

• All slides and content
• All settings (presentation mode, display format, etc.)
• A new unique share code

Interactive slides (polls, quizzes, word clouds) are copied but start with zero responses. This gives you a clean slate for new presentations.

When to duplicate:

• Creating a variant of an existing presentation for a different audience
• Making a template you'll reuse with modifications
• Preserving a version before making major changes

The duplicate appears in your dashboard with "(Copy)" appended to the title.

Deleting decks

Deleting a deck removes:

• The deck and all its slides
• All analytics data and audience responses
• Access via the share code (viewers can no longer join)

This action cannot be undone.

Before deleting:

1. Confirm you have backups if needed
2. Check if anyone still uses the share code to access the deck
3. Export analytics if you want to keep that data

Best practices for deck organization

Start with folders from the beginning

Don't wait until you have 50 decks to start organizing. Create your core folders on day one:

• Active: Presentations you're currently using
• Archive: Older presentations you might reference later
• Templates: Reusable deck structures

As you grow, add topic- or project-specific folders.

Use descriptive deck names consistently

Develop a naming convention and stick to it:

[Type] - [Topic] - [Audience/Event]

Examples:

• Training - Product Onboarding - Sales Team
• Webinar - Marketing Automation - Q1 2025
• Demo - Enterprise Features - Fortune 500 Prospects

Consistency makes searching and browsing faster.

Archive instead of delete

Unless a deck is truly obsolete, move it to an Archive folder instead of deleting it. You never know when you'll want to reference old content or reuse slides.

Review and clean up quarterly

Set a recurring calendar reminder (every 3 months) to:

• Delete truly obsolete decks
• Reorganize folders as your needs change
• Check storage usage and clear unnecessary files

Duplicate templates, don't edit originals

If you have a standard deck structure you reuse (like a monthly report template or a standard training format), keep a "master" version in a Templates folder and always duplicate it before editing.

This prevents accidentally overwriting your template.

Uploading large presentations efficiently

Large PDF files can take time to process and consume storage space.

Optimize before uploading

Before exporting to PDF:

• Remove unused slides from your presentation
• Compress images in your source file (PowerPoint, Canva, etc.)
• Avoid embedding large video files—use Sync's video embed feature instead

For PDFs:

• Use PDF compression tools to reduce file size
• Export at 150-300 DPI instead of print quality (600+ DPI)
• Remove unnecessary pages before uploading

For images:

• Resize images to display resolution (1920x1080 or 3840x2160 for 4K)
• Use JPG for photographs, PNG for graphics with transparency
• Compress using tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim

Upload during off-peak hours

If you're uploading a massive deck (hundreds of slides), do it when you're not in a rush. Processing takes time, and you don't want to be uploading a 200-page PDF 10 minutes before your presentation starts.

Split very large decks

If you have a 300-slide training manual, consider splitting it into multiple decks by chapter or section. This:

• Makes navigation easier
• Reduces processing time per upload
• Lets you organize content more granularly in folders

Troubleshooting common issues

File upload fails

Possible causes:

• File exceeds storage limit
• File format not supported
• Network connection interrupted
• File is corrupted

Solutions:

• Check your storage usage in Settings
• Verify the file format is supported
• Try uploading again with a stable connection
• Test the file by opening it locally first

PDF slides look different after upload

When you export presentations to PDF, some features don't translate:

What won't be preserved:

• Animations and transitions (PDF is static)
• Embedded videos and audio (export as thumbnails only)
• Custom fonts not embedded in the PDF
• Some complex effects and 3D objects

Solution: When exporting from PowerPoint, Canva, or other tools, use "Standard" or "High Quality" export settings and ensure fonts are embedded in the PDF.

PDF appears blurry after upload

Cause: Low-resolution PDF export

Solution: Re-export your PDF at higher DPI (at least 150 DPI, preferably 300 DPI for crisp text and images).

Deck disappeared from dashboard

Possible causes:

• Moved to a folder and you're viewing "All Decks" without that folder selected
• Sorting changed and it's now at the bottom of the list
• Accidentally deleted (check your recently deleted if that feature exists)

Solution: Check all folders, change sorting to "Date Modified," and use search if available.

Storage limit reached

Solution:

• Delete unused decks or files
• Compress and re-upload large images at smaller sizes
• Upgrade to a plan with more storage

Start organizing now

The best time to organize your decks was when you created the first one. The second-best time is right now.

Creating a system early—folders, naming conventions, regular reviews—saves you hours of frustration later when you're digging through dozens of presentations looking for that one slide.

Ready to get organized?

Try Sync free and build a presentation library you can actually navigate. No credit card required.

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Want to learn how to add content to your decks? Check out our guide on how to add videos and links to your deck in Sync.