Turn a Google Drive folder into a slideshow

Google Drive can preview photos one at a time, but it can't play a folder as a slideshow. Paste a shared folder link into Random Slideshow and the photos play full screen, shuffled, on any device with a browser.

Start a slideshow, it's free Watch the demo

From folder to slideshow

Put the photos in one Drive folder. Only photos directly in that folder are shown; subfolders are skipped.
Share the folder. Right-click it → Share, set General access to Anyone with the link (Viewer), then Copy link.
Paste the link on Random Slideshow, press Continue, then Play slideshow.

A folder link contains /drive/folders/. If yours contains /file/d/, it's the link of a single photo; go back and copy the folder's link.

Good to know

Photos stay in your Drive. They load directly from Google; nothing is uploaded or copied anywhere.
New photos appear automatically. Add photos to the folder and they join the slideshow within a few minutes, even while it's playing.
Videos are skipped in Drive folders, because Drive only plays them on its own site. Put videos in a Google Photos album instead; album videos play.
Sharp on any screen: each photo is loaded at the size the screen needs, up to 2560 pixels wide.

Share it with people who don't use Drive

After the folder check you get a short link like random-slideshow.palts.com/s/…, with buttons to copy it, share it from your phone or show it as a QR code. Whoever opens it sees the folder in their own random order, with no Google account and nothing to install.

Questions

Can Google Drive play a folder as a slideshow?

Not really: Drive previews files one by one. Random Slideshow plays all the photos in a shared folder full screen, in random order.

Does the folder have to be public?

It has to be shared as "Anyone with the link". It isn't listed or searchable anywhere; only people with the link can open it.

Why are my videos not shown?

Videos in Drive folders are skipped because Drive only lets them play on its own site. Videos in a Google Photos album do play.

Is there a limit on the number of photos?

No fixed limit. Folders with a few hundred photos work well.

More ways to use it

Same free tool, different occasions.