In the context of PowerPoint, animation refers to the movement of an element on a slide. When used appropriately, animated slide elements can both capture the audi- ence’s attention and effectively convey information. You can animate any individual objects on a slide, including text containers, pictures, and shapes. (You can’t animate objects that are part of the slide background or slide master, other than as part of the transition between slides.)
SEE ALSO For information about the movement that occurs between slides, see “Add and manage slide transitions” later in this chapter.
Thoughtfully designed animations can be very informative, particularly for audience members who are more receptive to visual input than to auditory input. Animations have the added benefit of providing a consistent message with or without a presenter to discuss or externally illustrate a process.
The elements of a multipart animation
You can configure four types of animations: the appearance, movement, emphasis, and disappearance of objects on the slide. There are multiple options within these four categories. The options are categorized as Basic, Subtle, Moderate, and Exciting (although you might have a different concept of “exciting” than the PowerPoint devel-
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Here’s a breakdown of the animation effects that are available in PowerPoint 2016:
■ Entrance animations An object with an animated entrance is not visible when
the slide first appears. (It is visible during the development process, but not when you present the slide show.) It then appears on the slide in the manner specified by the entrance effect. Some entrance effects are available in the Animation gallery. They’re illustrated in green, and their icons provide some idea of the movement associated with the effect.
Have fun experimenting with the different effects
Clicking More Entrance Effects at the bottom of the Animation menu opens a dialog box that displays all the available entrance animations by category to help you choose an appropriate effect.
■ Emphasis animations These effects animate an object that is already visible
on the slide to draw attention to it, without changing its location. The emphasis effects that are available in the Animation gallery are illustrated in yellow.
Effects range from subtle to bold
Clicking More Emphasis Effects at the bottom of the Animation menu opens a dialog box that displays all the available emphasis animations by category.
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■ Motion Path animations These effects move an object along a path that you
specify, over a period of time that you specify. A few simple motion paths are available from the Animation gallery, but a surprisingly large variety is avail- able from the dialog box that opens when you click More Motion Paths at the bottom of the Animation menu.
The motion path animations available for text
■ Exit animations These effects take an existing object through a process that
results in the object no longer being visible on the slide. The exit effects that are available in the Animation gallery are illustrated in red.
Choose an effect that suits the style of your presentation
The exit animations available for text
Animations can be very simple, or very complex. Many animations have options that you can configure, such as the direction, speed, size, or color. For example, when you config- ure an entrance effect for a bulleted list, you can specify whether to have the entire list enter the slide at the same time, or to have only one bulleted item enter at a time. After you choose an effect, the applicable options are available on the Effect Options menu.
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You can apply multiple animation effects (for example, an entrance effect and an emphasis effect) to a single object. As you assign animations to slide objects, numbers appear on the objects to specify the order of the animation effects. The numbers are visible only when the Animation tab is active.
Each number represents one animation
As you build an animated slide, you can add and animate individual elements, or you can add all the elements to the slide first, and then animate them. Regardless of the process you choose, position the objects on the slide as follows:
■ Entrance effects Position the object where you want it to end up after it enters
the slide.
■ Emphasis effects Position the object where it will be before and after the
effect.
■ Exit effects Position the object where it will be before it leaves the slide.
After all the elements are in place, animate them in the order you want the anima- tions to occur. (If you’re animating multiple objects, it might be helpful to write out a description of the process before starting.) If you animate something out of order, don’t worry—you can reorder the animations from within the Animation Pane.