Translated text doesn't fit in Google Slides: how to fix overflow
Short answer: Translations are often longer than the source, so text can spill out of its box. Find the problem slides in grid view. Then, box by box, choose Format options → Text fitting and pick Shrink text on overflow or Resize shape to fit text. Or shorten the wording. Translate Slides with AI tells the AI to stay close to the original length, but it does not change font sizes or box sizes, so always check the result.
Why translated text gets longer
Languages say the same thing in different lengths. A commonly cited estimate is that Spanish runs roughly 20–30% longer than English. The real figure depends on the text. Short headings, button-style labels and table headers have the least spare room, so they are usually the first to overflow.
Slide text boxes have a fixed size. When the translation is longer than the box, the text runs past the bottom edge, sits on top of other shapes or pushes past the slide.
Find the slides that overflow
- Open View → Grid view to see all slides at once.
- Look for text that touches a box edge, overlaps a picture or runs off the slide.
- Open each suspect slide at normal size. Check tables and grouped shapes too. Their text is translated like any other text box.
Speaker notes do not appear on the slide, so they cannot break the layout.
Fix it in Google Slides: Text fitting
Google Slides can fit text to a box for you, one box at a time.
- Select the text box that overflows.
- Open Format options and expand Text fitting.
- Choose Shrink text on overflow to keep the box and make the text smaller. Or choose Resize shape to fit text to keep the font size and let the box grow.
- Fixes a box in a few clicks.
- Shrink text keeps the slide's layout in place.
- Resize shape keeps the font size readable.
- Shrunk text can end up smaller than on the neighbouring slides.
- A grown box can cover other shapes or reach the slide edge.
- It is per box, so a long deck still takes time.
If neither looks right, reduce the font size or widen the box by hand. Keep sizes consistent across slides of the same type.
Fix it with shorter wording
Shorter text is often the cleanest fix, because the design stays exactly as it was.
- Edit the translation. Drop filler words and use the shortest correct term. For anything public, have a fluent speaker check the edit.
- Shorten the source before translating. Shorter English tends to produce shorter translations.
- Ask the add-on for brevity. In Translate Slides with AI, open Prompt / context and write something like "keep headings short; use short labels". The add-on passes this to the AI with every request.
Run a new translation on the original deck, not on one that is already translated. Before a whole-deck run, the add-on looks at the first slide with text. If that slide comes back unchanged, it stops with This deck already looks like … to save your allowance. To redo a single box, paste the original text back into it, select the box, tick Translate only the selected text or frame and click Translate deck. A selection counts as one slide.
What Translate Slides with AI does about length
Every translation request carries a layout rule. It tells the AI that the text sits in fixed-size slide boxes and asks it to:
- keep the translation as close to the source length as possible, with the same length or shorter as the ideal and no more than about 15% longer;
- prefer shorter synonyms and drop filler words, without losing meaning;
- keep the original line breaks.
The translation quality checklist sent with each request also asks for text that fits the layout. Your own Prompt / context instructions are added on top.
What the add-on does not do:
- It does not measure the result. The length rule is an instruction to the AI, not a hard limit.
- It does not shrink fonts. When it puts the styling back after translating, it uses the box's original font size, along with its bold, colours and links.
- It does not resize boxes or change their Text fitting setting.
So most translations land close to the original length, but some will still overflow. That is why the check in grid view matters.
Fixes compared
| Fix | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Shrink text on overflow | Body text in a fixed layout | Text smaller than on other slides |
| Resize shape to fit text | Boxes with free space around them | Overlaps with pictures or the slide edge |
| Edit the wording | Headings, labels, buttons | Meaning drift: have it checked |
| Prompt / context, then translate again | Whole decks you translate often | Needs the original text; uses your allowance |
A quick checklist
- Translate a copy of the deck, so the original stays untouched.
- Check every slide in grid view.
- Fix headings and labels by editing the wording.
- Use Text fitting for body text that still overflows.
- Present the deck once from start to end before you share it.
New to translating decks? Start with how to translate a Google Slides presentation. Translating speaker notes as well? See how to translate speaker notes.
Questions
Does Translate Slides with AI shrink the font so the text fits?
No. It does not reduce font sizes, resize boxes or change their text-fitting setting. It asks the AI to keep each translation close to the original length, which is an instruction, not a guarantee, so check the slides afterwards.
How much longer is Spanish than English?
A commonly cited estimate is that Spanish runs roughly 20–30% longer than English. It varies with the text: short headings and labels can grow more.
Can Google Slides shrink text automatically when it overflows?
Yes, box by box. Select the text box, open Format options, expand Text fitting and choose Shrink text on overflow.
How do I get shorter translations from the add-on?
Write an instruction such as "keep headings short" in Prompt / context, then translate the original, untranslated deck. Shortening the source text before translating also helps.