MS
PowerPoint can create great presentations without the use of
animation. However, when custom animations are added to a
presentation correctly, a more polished and memorable presentation
is the result. Use caution when adding animation! There
are so many "cool" effects that can be done, users tend to
over-animate and audience members are so busy watching
graphics and text move all over the slide that it detracts from the
actual presentation. Much like a Web page, animations should enhance
the presentation and have a purpose, not distract the user from the
content.
Some
Appropriate Uses of Animation
Use
animation for the text of an opening (title) slide to draw
attention to the screen for the presentation.
Use
animation to bring on one bullet point at a time for
discussion. That way, instead of reading ahead, audience
members listen to what you are saying.
Use
animation to emphasize an important point or call attention to a
particular part of a chart or graph.
Use
an animated gif to illustrate the steps of a procedure or flow
of an idea.
Some
Inappropriate Uses of Animation
Using
animation for the sake of having animation. For example,
if you use an animated gif of a character typing on a computer
that just sits in the corner of the screen, what purpose is
served other than distracting the audience?
Over-animating
a slide or using too much animation in an entire
presentation. You want people to pay attention to the
content, not the movement. If you have ever been to a Web
page that is full of animated graphics, you fully understand why
this is inappropriate.
Too
many different types of animation on a slide. Be
consistent - if you slide in the first bullet point from the
left of the screen, do all the points in the same manner.
Audience members will appreciate knowing where the next point is
coming from. Better still, use the same animation for all
bullet points on all slides.
Adding
Custom Animations
In
this tutorial, I show how to animate the text on a title slide to
draw attention to the start of the presentation. There are,
however, many types of animation that can be used, and options that
are not used in this example are explained as well.
Note
that although we will not be adding an animated gif to our slide, if
you add an animated gif the animation will not display unless you
view the actual slide show.
In Normal view (View menu, Normal),
move to the slide that is to contain the animation. In our case, the
title slide.
From the Slide Show menu,
choose Custom Animation. The Custom Animation dialog box
is displayed as below.
All the objects on the slide,
including any movies or sounds, are listed in the Check to animate slide
objects field. Clear the checkbox for any objects you do not wish
to animate.
Note that you can use the Preview
button to view the animation in the small preview window after adding the
effects. In this way, you can adjust and make changes to the effects
without having to view the show first. What is not previewed,
is any timings you have placed on the animation events. Timing can
only be checked by viewing the slide show.
Order
& Timing Tab
By default, the order of the
animations is from the top object on the slide to the bottom. So, if
you want something other than the top object to appear or be animated first,
you need to change the animation order. This is done by selecting the
object in the Animation order field, and using the Move
buttons highlighted in yellow above to move the object up or down on the
list.
Once
you have the correct order, select the first object in the Animation
order field.
Choose
whether you want to click the mouse during the show for the
animation to occur or have it occur automatically after a
specified number of seconds in the Start animation field.
Mouse clicks are good for bringing on bullet points one at a
time. When you are finished speaking, you can simply click
the mouse for the next point.
For
this tutorial, we'll leave our selection for Title 1 as Automatically
and the timing at zero. This will be our first animation, so
timing is not necessary.
Notice: You have the author's
permission to use the tutorials on this site for your personal
use only. If you would like to use these tutorials for
training classes or other commercial use, please contact kstille@esmartweb.com.
Distribution in print or on the Web without the author's permission
is strictly prohibited.
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