Tech tips: How to create custom animation effects in Powerpoint 2013
You might want to animate an object on your PowerPoint slide to do something special – for example, have your logo rise into visibility as it moves across the slide. If even the big gallery of animations in PowerPoint doesn’t have an effect that quite matches your vision, let your vision go beyond the basics! Create your own effects by combining two or more animation effects or drawing motion paths.
If you want a refresher on animation, see Add or remove an animation effect. If not, let’s see how to build your vision, then look at an example.
Tips: Animation is fun, but can become too much of a good thing. Many presentation experts recommend using animations and sound effects sparingly, because too much can be distracting. You don’t want people to ignore you because they’re watching things move instead.
Combine animation effects
When you’re working with multiple animation effects to a single object or slide, we recommend using the Animation Pane. Click Animation > Advanced Animation > Animation Pane to open it.
- Click the thing on your slide that you want to animate.
- On the Animations tab, use the Animation gallery or Add Animation to apply an effect to the object that you clicked.
- Click Add Animation to add another effect. If you don’t use Add Animation, you won’t add a new effect but instead will change an effect you’ve applied.
- Use the Animation Pane to change the order of the effects, and the Timing group on the Animation tab to coordinate when each effect starts and how long it lasts.
- At Start, choose With Previous to run an effect at the same time as another. Choose After Previous to start an effect when another one finishes.
- To watch how it all works together, click Preview on the Animation tab.
Apply a motion path
- Click the thing to which you want to add a motion path. The center of the object or text follows the motion path that you apply.
- On the Animations tab, click More in the Animation Gallery, and under Motion Paths, do one of the following:
- Click Lines, Arcs, Turns, Shapes or Loops. The path chosen appears as a dotted line on the selected object or text object.
The green arrow indicates the path’s beginning and the red arrow indicates its end. Drag either end to put the endpoints where you want them. - Click Custom Path. When you click where you want the motion path to start, the pointer becomes a cross-hair.
To draw a path of connected straight lines Click where you want the motion path to start. Move the pointer and click, to create a line between the two click points. Move and click again to draw another line. Double-click to stop drawing lines.
To draw a freehand path Click where you want the motion to start. Hold down the left mouse button and move the pointer on the path that you want the object to follow. Double-click at the motion’s final end point.
- To watch how it all works together, click Preview on the Animation tab.
Build an example
Let’s have a star shape fade into view as it zips across a slide, then wobble slightly before it falls off the slide, as if it was falling off a table.
1. Click Insert > Shapes, and under Stars and Banners, click a star shape. Drag on the slide to draw the star.
2. Click the star to select it, then in the Animations gallery, under Entrance, click Fly In. On the Animations tab, click Effect Options > From Left. In the Timing group, set Duration at 01:50.
3. Click Add Animation, and under Entrance, click Fade. In the Timing group, set Start to With Previous (so it goes at the same time as the Fly In effect), and Duration at 01:00.
4. Click Add Animation, and under Emphasis, click Teeter. In the Timing group, set Start to After Previous(so it starts as soon as the entrance effects are done). Notice in the Animation Pane that the Teeter effect (in yellow) is aligned after the entrance effects (in green).
5. Click Add Animation, and under Emphasis, click Pulse. In the Timing group, set Start to With Previous(so it runs together with the Teeter effect).
6. Click Add Animation, and under Motion Paths, click Arc, then click Effect Options > Right. In theTiming group, set Start to After Previous, and set Duration to 01:00. Drag the end point (the red arrow) so the star goes well below the bottom of the slide.
7. Last step: click Add Animation, and under Emphasis, click Spin, then click Effect Options > Clockwise, and then click Effect Options > Half Spin. In the Timing group, set start to With Previous.
8. On the Animations Tab, click Preview. How does it look?
Source: Microsoft