The filmstrip is the thumbnail column used to navigate slides in the desktop editor. Hiding it can provide more room for detailed canvas work, particularly on a small laptop. This changes your editing view; it does not delete slides or alter the audience’s presentation layout.
Hide the thumbnail column
Open the presentation in Google Slides on a computer. At the bottom left, use Hide filmstrip. You can also open View and change the Show filmstrip setting. Read the control label before clicking so you know whether you are hiding or restoring the column.
Work with the larger canvas area
Use the extra space to inspect a dense illustration, position a small object, or read text at a more useful zoom. The editor’s zoom changes your working view rather than the slide’s dimensions. Avoid resizing the actual slide merely because its on-screen workspace feels cramped.
When the thumbnails are hidden, navigation context is reduced. Confirm the current slide’s contents before editing so that a similar-looking slide in another section does not receive the change.
Restore navigation and verify
Choose Show filmstrip or re-enable it through View when you need to check the deck’s sequence. Review neighboring slides and confirm that only the intended objects changed. Google’s viewing guidance explains that an individual’s view changes do not change everyone else’s view of the file. Do not interpret a collaborator still seeing thumbnails as evidence that your setting failed to save or that the shared presentation has split into two versions.
References
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 3, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.