Thread: Add video clips to the presentation

Adding transition effects - the animations that play when you change slides - can be hazardous. While some transitions can be subtle and effective, Powerpoint's vast array offades and blurs tempts users into going too far and creating a distracting mess. If you decide to include transitions in your photo albums, pick one of the subtler effects and stick to it. Fade effects are often best, as images sliding into view tend to distract from the photos themselves. The ideal transition should be almost unnoticeable.

To add a transition in Powerpoint 2003, choose Slide Transition from the Slide Show menu. In Powerpoint 2007, selectAnimations in the ribbon. Although each version presents its animations differently, the effects to choose from are the same. Under Slide Transition select the effect you want - fade works well in most cases - and click Apply To All Slides (in Powerpoint 2007, this is labelled Apply to All). The effect will be repeated across every slide, with new slides appearing each time you click the mouse.



If you intend to leave your presentation running, you should investigate the options under Advance Slide. This can be found on the far right of the toolbar in Powerpoint 2007 and at the bottom of the Slide Transition sidebar in Powerpoint 2003. By default, On Mouse Click is ticked. If you want the slides to advance on their own, tick Automatically After and enter a time. Times are entered in minutes and seconds, so 0 I :00 means your pictures will display for a minute before moving on. In practice, this is much too long. Try to set a good tempo and leave each picture on show for 20 seconds at the very most. In most cases, setting your slideshow to move on to the next picture every five to 10 seconds will keep people's attention.