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You can animate the text, pictures, shapes, tables, SmartArt graphics, and other objects in your PowerPoint presentation.

Effects can make an object appear, disappear, or move. They can change an object's size or color. Effects can respond to mouse clicks or other actions, giving an interactive feel to your presentation. 

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There's also a related video about animating text.

Add animations to text, pictures, shapes, and more in your presentation

  1. Select the object or text you want to animate.

  2. Select Animations and choose an animation.

  3. Select Effect Options and choose an effect.

Manage animations and effects

There are different ways to start animations in your presentation:

  • On Click: Start an animation when you click a slide.

  • With Previous: Play an animation at the same time as the previous animation in your sequence.

  • After Previous: Start an animation immediately after the previous one happens.

  • Duration: Lengthen or shorten an effect.

  • Delay: Add time before an effect runs.

Add more effects to an animation

  1. Select an object or text with an animation.

  2. Select Add Animation and choose one.

Change the order of animations

  1. Select an animation marker.

  2. Choose the option you want:

    • Move Earlier: Make an animation appear earlier in the sequence.

    • Move Later: Make an animation occur later in the sequence.

Add animation to grouped objects

You can add an animation to grouped objects, text, and more.

  1. Press Ctrl and select the objects you want.

  2. Select Format > Group > Group to group the objects together.

  3. Select Animations and choose an animation.

Add animation to text, an object, or a chart

  • Select the item that you want to animate, click the Animations tab, and then choose one of the following:

    If you want an item to

    Click here on the Animations tab of the ribbon

    Appear on the slide

    Choose one of the motion options to animate text or an object

    (Click the right arrow to see more choices)

    Receive emphasis

    Choose one of the emphasis options to highlight text or an object

    Exit the slide

    Choose one of the exit options to animate an object so it disappears from the screen

    Follow a defined path

    Choose one of the Motion Path options to make objects move in a defined way

You can apply more than one animation to a single object. Simply select the object again and apply an additional effect.

Each animation effect is represented on the slide by a number  Animation number  next to the object, which indicates the order that it will play in.  If two animation effects are set to play at the same time, they are represented by a numbered stack  Animation numbered stack.

Edit animation effects

To change, remove, or reorder animation effects:

  1. Select the slide you want, and then on it, click the number of the animated effect you want to revise.

  2. The Animations pane at the right shows all the animations on the slide.

    Set animation options in the properties pane

    Here you can:

    • Reorder or remove animations in Play From

    • Change how the animation works, or add a sound in Effect Options

      Screenshot shows the Effect Options section of the Animations pane with the Sound menu expanded.

    • Change how the animation starts and how long it lasts in Timing

      Screenshot shows the Timing section of the Animations pane with the Start, Duration, Delay, and Repeat options and a check box for Rewind when done playing.

    • To display a blank chart at the beginning of the animation, with the animation effect selected in the Animation Pane, under Chart Animations, select the Start animation by drawing the chart background check box.

      Screenshot shows the Chart Animations section of the Animations pane with the Group graphic drop-down menu option and the check box for Start animation by drawing the chart background.

Choose Play From to preview your changes.

See also

Animate text and objects with motion paths

Change or remove animation effects

Make words appear one line at a time

Animate bullet points one at a time

Add animations to text, pictures, shapes, and more in your presentation

  1. Select the object or text you want to animate.

  2. Select the Animations tab, then choose an animation effect.

  3. Select Effect Options, then choose an effect.

Manage animations and effects

The Start option on the Animations tab, gives you different ways to start animation effects in your presentation:

  • On Click: The animation effect begins when you click the slide.

  • With Previous: The animation effect plays at the same time as the previous animation in your sequence.

  • After Previous: The animation effect begins immediately after the previous one happens.

There are two more options related to timing on the Animations tab:

  • Duration: Lets you lengthen or shorten an animation effect.

  • Delay: Lets you add time before an animation effect runs.

Add more effects to an object

  1. On the Animations tab, select  Animation Pane.

  2. Select the object you want to add an effect to.

  3. At the top of the Animation pane, select Add

    The new effect is added to the end of the list of effects. It is named for the object. PowerPoint automatically assigns it a default effect, such as Fade.

  4. Select the new effect to open it. Then select the animation effect you want to assign to it, and adjust the Start, Duration, and Delay, as needed.

Change the order of animations

  1. On the Animations tab, select  Animation Pane.

    The animation effects are listed in order.

  2. Select the animation effect you want to move. 

  3. Click and hold, then drag it upward or downward to position it in the appropriate position in the list. 

  4. A thin, red horizontal line shows you where you can place the effect in the list. Release the mouse button to place the item in that slot. 

    Tip: You can press Ctrl+Z to undo an inadvertent move. 

Add animation to grouped objects

You can add an animation effect to grouped objects, text, and more.

  1. Press Ctrl and select the objects you want.

  2. On the Shape tab, select  The Group button. Group > Group to group the objects together.

  3. Select the Animations tab, then select an animation effect.

See Also

Make text appear one line, one word, or one letter at a time

Add an animated GIF to a slide

Apply multiple animation effects to one object

Add a motion path animation effect

3D animation effects in PowerPoint

Transitions between slides

The difference between animations and transitions

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