Currently, Google Slides does not offer a direct setting to adjust the thickness of the pen tool when you're drawing freehand. The pen tool provides a fixed line weight.
Understanding the Pen Tool in Google Slides
When you use the drawing or scribble tool in Google Slides, often referred to as the "pen," you can freely draw on your slides. While this tool is excellent for quick annotations, highlights, or freeform sketches, its functionality for line thickness is limited.
- Fixed Thickness: The thickness of the line drawn by the pen tool is pre-set and cannot be adjusted by the user.
- Color Adjustment: You can change the color of your pen strokes after drawing them by selecting the stroke and using the "Line color" option in the toolbar.
- Highlighting: You can also use the pen tool for highlighting purposes, but again, the thickness remains constant.
Why Isn't There a Pen Thickness Setting?
The current design of Google Slides does not include a feature to adjust the thickness of the freehand drawing pen. This means users cannot select different brush sizes or line weights for their spontaneous drawings directly within the pen tool's options.
Alternative Methods for Custom Line Thickness
While the freehand pen has fixed thickness, Google Slides provides other powerful tools for creating lines and shapes with fully customizable thickness. These methods are ideal for diagrams, structured annotations, or whenever precise line weights are required.
1. Using Lines and Arrows
For straight lines, curved lines, polylines, or arrows, Google Slides offers robust customization options, including thickness.
- How to Insert:
- Go to the toolbar and click the Line icon (a diagonal line).
- Choose from options like Line, Arrow, Elbow Connector, Curved Connector, Curve, Polyline, or Scribble.
- Note: The "Scribble" option here is similar to the freehand pen, but once drawn, it behaves more like a shape that can be edited in some ways, though its thickness adjustment might still be limited in the same manner as the direct pen tool once created. For adjustable thickness, focus on standard Line or Arrow tools.
- Click and drag on your slide to draw the line or arrow.
- How to Adjust Thickness:
- Select the line or arrow you've drawn.
- In the toolbar, click the Line weight icon (a series of horizontal lines of increasing thickness).
- Choose your desired thickness from the dropdown menu (e.g., 1px, 2px, 4px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 24px).
- You can also change the line color and dash style from the toolbar.
2. Using Shapes
Shapes in Google Slides can have customizable borders, allowing you to create outlines of varying thickness.
- How to Insert:
- Go to the toolbar and click the Shape icon.
- Choose from categories like Shapes, Arrows, Callouts, or Equation.
- Select the desired shape and click and drag on your slide to draw it.
- How to Adjust Border Thickness:
- Select the shape you've drawn.
- In the toolbar, click the Border weight icon (similar to the Line weight icon).
- Choose your desired thickness for the shape's border.
- You can also adjust the border color and dash style.
| Tool Type | Primary Use | Thickness Adjustment | Other Customization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freehand Pen | Quick sketches, annotations | No (Fixed) | Color |
| Lines & Arrows | Straight lines, connectors, flow | Yes | Color, Dash style |
| Shapes | Geometric figures, callouts | Yes (for border) | Fill color, Border color, Dash style |
How to Request This Feature
If you frequently use the freehand pen tool and would like to see an option to adjust its thickness, you can submit feedback directly to the Google Slides team. Google Product teams review all feedback sent to them and use it to make future improvements to the app.
To share a feature request:
- Open any Google Slides presentation.
- Go to the Help menu in the top bar.
- Select Help Slides improve.
- Follow the prompts to describe your feature request, explaining why adjustable pen thickness would be beneficial.
