Animations and transitions
Animation
  Animation is the ability to add movement to the objects on your pages in your presentation when you run a screen show. You can have graphic images or single text lines of a bullet move onto your page as you talk about them. Objects you want to animate must be selected prior to assigning any effects.
  There are four ways to open the Custom Animation dialog box. (See example of this dialog box).
  1. First select the object or text block you want to animate.
 

2. Select Custom Animation by one of the following methods:

  a. Select Slide Show - Custom Animation from the Menu commands.
  b. Click the right mouse button on the object and from the pop-up box, select Custom Animation.
  c. In the toolbar, press on the Animation Settings icon (star with lines trailing off the back).
  d. In Slide Sorter View, click on down arrow in the right rectangle that says No Build Effect.
 

The Custom Animation dialog box is divided into top and bottom parts. The top part has a box with a list of the text or objects on the slide that you can animate and a view of the slide to the right. See example.

The bottom part of this dialog box has four tabs. The Effects tab is open by default.

In the Effects tab, you will assign the animation, sound and other parameters you choose.
To assign animations:

1. In the Check to Animate Slide Objects box, place a check in the box in front of the objects you want to animate. See Example.
2. In the same box, click to highlight the object you want to work on and assign attributes to. The item name should appear now appear in white in a blue box.
3. Select an effect from the Entry Animation and Sound dropdown box. Add a sound from the Sound dropdown box if you choose.
4. If your object is text, you can have the text dim or change color when the next animation appears on the slide. This is helpful for highlighting new information. To do this click in the After Animation box and select the color you wish the text to change to once you go to the next animation or slide.
5.

If the object happens to be text, the right side of this tab box will now let you assign settings for the text. In the box Introduce text, you can specify the text to come in All at once, by word or by letter. Select All at once as the other choices will make your animation annoying.

In the box checked Grouped by (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th) level paragraphs, you will want to select by what level of indent (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th) you want your lines of text to come onto the slide. If you select 3rd level, the text is animated with the 1st level paragraphs coming in by themselves, the 2nd level paragraphs coming in by themselves and then the 3rd level and everything under it (4th and 5th) coming in together. Another example is if you animate at 1st level paragraph, 1st levels come in with all lower level paragraphs. If you animate by 5th level paragraphs, every line in your bullet list comes in by itself. Try a few varieties to see what happens here and you will get a better idea of what I am trying to explain.

You can also have your bulleted list come onto the slide In reverse order which I don't recommend unless you are on David Letterman.

In the Order and Timing Tab:
The Animation Order window on the left side of this dialog box will list all the objects you have assigned animation settings to on the page in the order of how they will be animated on the screen in a computer show. To rearrange the order, select one of the objects and use the up and down arrows to rearrange its order. See example.

On the right side of this tab, you can also select whether you want the animation to be activated by a mouse click or automatically after a certain number of seconds. If this is for a live presentation, make sure you always set activation by mouse click. If this is for a freestanding show or kiosk, use the automatic settings.
  You can also animation elements in a chart and for a multimedia show by clicking on the Chart Tab and the Multimedia Tab.
 

PowerPoint will add a small Build symbol beneath the slide in Slide Sorter view.

Applying the same animation effect to multiple elements at same time
 

If you want the same animation effect on several items on the page, rather than selecting each individually and assigning the effect, you can select all of them and assign the effect at once.

1. Open your show to a page with several unanimated objects on it.
2. Choose Slide Show | Custom Animations.
3. Click on the Order & Timing tab (For 97, click on the Timing tab.) and holding the CTRL key down, click on each of the items in the “Check to Animate Slide Objects” box (For 97, in the Slide Objects without Animation box) you want to animate.
4. Next, select an animation effect and/or Order and Timing Option.
5. When you are finished, click OK to apply the animation effects.

Slide Transitions
  PowerPoint uses slide transitions to remove a current slide and bring in a new one. When you assign a transition to a slide, a small slide icon will be displayed below the thumbnail of the slide in slide sorter view.
  Display the Slide Transition dialog box in one of four ways:
1.

Choose Slide Show - Slide Transition or click right mouse button on the slide you want to set transition on in Slide Sorter view and choose Slide Transition from pop-up menu that appears.

In the Slide Transition dialog box you can choose the effect you wish to have for slide changes. The transition will be shown by the switching of the dog to the key or the key to the dog. You can also set the speed of the transition and how the slides are advanced (manually or automatically). You can also add sound to the transition. Clicking the Apply to All box sets these attributes for all slides in your show. Clicking on Apply sets these attributes only to the slide you have selected or are on.
2.

Click Slide Transition Dropdown menu (left bar at top) in Slide Sorter. See example.

In Slide Sorter view, select the slide you want to add a transition to by clicking on it with the left mouse button.

There are two rectangular boxes with pop down menus under the left menu commands. The left box (No Transition) allows you to change the Slide Transition. The right rectangular box (No Build Effect) allows you to change the Animation of the objects on the page. Click on the down-arrow to display the choices for each and select the one you want for the slide(s) you have selected.

It is often easier to do all the slide transitions in Slide Sorter view. Remember to click on the slide you are adding the effect to prior to choosing the Slide Transition. To set the same transition to all slides, choose Edit - Select All in Slide Sorter view and then assign a transition.
3.

Click Slide Transition Icon which is beside the Transition Effects box in Slide Sorter toolbar (visible while in Slide Sorter View)

At the top left between the menu commands and the toolbar, is a small box (with shape of slide drawn on it with arrow pointing to the right - see example) that when clicked will take you into the Slide Transition dialog box. Choose the effect you wish to have from this box.
Turn off PowerPoint’s animation effects (97/98/2000)
  Don’t want to display a slide show’s animation effects? You can temporarily disable them. Choose Slide Show | Set Up Show. Select the Show Without Animation check box in the Show Type panel. Click OK to apply the change. Launch your slide show and as you advance through the show, none of the animations will play. When you want to display the animation effects again, reopen Set Up Show dialog box and deselect the Show Without Animation check box.

PowerPoint Lessons Table of Contents

Last updated January 2002. These courses are copyrighted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Communications and Information Technology. Contact Lana Johnson at ljohnson1@unl.edu