> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.moda.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Importing files

> Import PowerPoint and Google Slides as editable designs, and understand how Beautify redesigns a file (and why PDFs look different).

Moda can bring an existing file onto the canvas in two different ways: **importing** it (keep the original layout, then edit) or **beautifying** it (let the AI redesign it). Which one you want depends on whether you're trying to *edit* a deck or *redesign* it.

## Import a file (keep the layout, then edit)

Use **Import a file** when you have a PowerPoint or Google Slides deck and want to keep working on it in Moda with the layout largely preserved.

From the homepage:

1. Choose **Import a file**.
2. Upload a **PowerPoint (.pptx)** file, or connect **Google Slides**.
3. Moda imports the slides as an editable Moda design.

Importing does its best to reproduce the deck's slides as editable Moda elements — text, shapes, and images become objects you can move and restyle, rather than a flat picture. It's a best-effort conversion, not a pixel-perfect copy.

<Note>
  **Import a file** is for presentation files — **PowerPoint** and **Google Slides**. Google Slides decks are imported by converting them to PowerPoint format first.
</Note>

### What may not carry over

Import parses what it can and skips what it can't, so some things can be simplified, omitted, or lose editability:

* **Complex or unsupported elements** — for example SmartArt, charts, and other advanced objects — may not come in as editable objects.
* Individual shapes that can't be parsed are skipped rather than blocking the import, so a slide can come in with a shape missing.
* **Animations and transitions from the source deck are not preserved on import.** The imported design comes in without them.

For anything that doesn't survive the import, you can rebuild it on the Moda canvas or ask the AI agent to recreate it.

<Note>
  Importing is available on every plan. The maximum PowerPoint file size is **250 MB**.
</Note>

## Beautify a file (let the AI redesign it)

Use **Beautify a file** when you want the AI agent to *redesign* a file — refresh the styling, apply your brand, and clean up the layout.

From the homepage:

1. Choose **Beautify a file**.
2. Upload a file (PowerPoint, PDF, and more) or **attach slides from Google Drive**.
3. Moda hands the file to the AI agent, which produces a redesigned version.

Because Beautify is a *redesign*, the result is intentionally different from the original — that's the point. If you want to stay as close to the original layout as possible, use **Import a file** instead.

## Which formats can be imported?

| File                                          | How Moda handles it                                                                  |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **PowerPoint (.pptx)**                        | Imported as editable slides (best-effort layout), or redesigned with Beautify.       |
| **Google Slides**                             | Imported as editable slides (converted via PowerPoint), or redesigned with Beautify. |
| **PDF**                                       | **Not** imported directly — the AI **recreates** it during Beautify (see below).     |
| **Images & videos** (JPEG, PNG, MP4, WebM, …) | Used as reference or content in a design.                                            |

See [Your First Design](/help/getting-started/first-design) for starting a design from an uploaded file, and [Export Formats](/help/export/formats) for exporting back out to PowerPoint or Google Slides.

## Why a PDF (or a beautified deck) looks different

<Warning>
  A **PDF is not imported directly** — Moda has no way to open a PDF as editable slides. Instead, the AI agent **recreates** the document as a new design. Because it's rebuilt rather than copied, fonts, spacing, and styling can shift. This is expected behavior for PDFs.
</Warning>

A couple of things to keep in mind:

* **PowerPoint and Google Slides** stay closest to the original when you use **Import a file**, because Moda reads the real slide structure — but it's still a best-effort conversion, and complex or unsupported elements may be simplified or omitted (see [What may not carry over](#what-may-not-carry-over)).
* **PDFs** are always recreated by the AI, so treat the result as a redesigned starting point rather than a copy.
* **Beautify** redesigns *any* file — including PowerPoint and Google Slides — so a beautified deck will also look different from the original by design. Use **Import a file** when you want to stay as close to the original layout as possible.

### A note on animations

Two separate things to know about animations:

* **On import**, animations and transitions in the source PowerPoint or Google Slides deck are **not** brought into Moda — the imported design comes in without them.
* **On export**, animations you add in Moda **do not transfer** to PowerPoint or Google Slides. See [Export Formats](/help/export/formats) for the full list of what transfers.