How to Add Animation to PowerPoint: Step-by-Step Guide

Download Article

Animate text, images, transitions, and more

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Animating Text or Objects
|
• Animating Page Transitions
|
• Importing Animations
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

You can animate text and other objects in a PowerPoint slide to add flair to your presentation. Follow these steps to learn how to make animation effects in PowerPoint for Windows and Mac, as well as how to animate the transitions from one slide to another.

Quick Steps

1. Click the image or text you want to animate.
2. Click the Animations tab.
3. Click Add Animation on the toolbar, or click the arrow next to the star icons.
4. Select an animation type to apply.
5. Repeat for additional animations.
6. Use the Animation Pane to adjust timing, speed, and order.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Animating Text or Objects

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click the object you would like to animate. You can animate text, images, and other objects on your PowerPoint slides.

   • To select a whole text box, click on the border of the text box. PowerPoint automatically distinguishes text separated by a paragraph or bullet break.
   • If your PowerPoint has no objects to animate, you will need to add some.
2. 
   2
   Click the Animations tab. You'll see it at the top of PowerPoint. A variety of animation options will appear in the toolbar.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   View the full list of animations. On Windows, click the Add Animation button on the toolbar. On a Mac, click the arrow to the right of the green star icons to scroll through all entrance animations, or hover over the star icons and click the down arrow at the bottom to see them all in a dropdown menu.

   • If you're using PowerPoint on the web, click Effect Options instead.
   • On Mac, you can see additional animation options by clicking the dropdown arrows next to Emphasis Effects, Exit Effects, and Path Animation. These options are to the right of the green animation icons in the Animations tab.
4. 
   4
   Select an animation. Animations are split into 4 categories: Entrance, Emphasis, Exit, and Motion Paths. In PowerPoint for Mac, these categories are displayed separately on the Animation toolbar. The most recently selected animation will be set to that object and added to the animation pane. You may need to click the Animation Pane button in the toolbar at the top of the screen to display the animation pane on the right side of your slideshow.

   • You can click through the animations to see a preview using the selected object.
   • Entrance animations change how an object enters the page, while Exit animations animate the object before moving to the next slide.
   • Emphasis animations add movement or highlights to bring attention to an object.
   • Motion paths determine a course of movement for an object on the page.
5. 
   5
   Add additional animations. You can add multiple animations to objects and adjust them separately. To add another animation to an object, select the object again, then choose another animation.

   • Each animation you add to an object will be given a number. The numbers indicate the order in which the animations will be played.
   • Animations that play at the same time will have numbers that appear in a stack.
   • On the web, you'll need to click Animation Pane in the toolbar to add additional animations.
6. 
   6
   Use the Animation Pane for advanced animation tweaking. On Windows, click Animation Pane on the top toolbar to open an animation-specific panel on the right. On a Mac, the Animation Pane will open when you click the animation's number or when you click the Animation Pane button in the toolbar.
7. 
   7
   Select an activation option for the animation. On Windows, you can choose one of the options from the “Start” drop-down menu in the “Timing” section on the right of the Animations toolbar to select when the animation will begin. On a Mac, you can adjust these settings in the “Timing” section of the Animation Pane, using the Start dropdown.
8. 
   8
   Adjust the animation delay. Use the up and down arrows next to “Delay” in the “Timing” area to change the amount of time delay that occurs before an animation takes place.

   • The delay begins after the selected animation action. If “On Click” is selected, the delay will start after the click.
9. 
   9
   Adjust the animation duration. Click the up or down arrows next to “Duration” in the “Timing” area to change how long the animation will play.

   • In PowerPoint for Mac, you’ll see a dropdown menu with duration presets. You can also set a custom duration from within this dropdown menu.
10. 
    10
    Reorder animations. On Windows, you can reorder animations using the Move Earlier and Move Later options in the toolbar. On a Mac and on the Web, use the arrows in the Animation Pane.

    • Some types of animations can’t be reordered. For example, you can’t switch the order of an entrance effect with an exit effect.
11. 
    11
    Add a sound effect to an animation. On a Mac, you can add sounds to animations in the “Effect Options” area of the Animation Pane or by selecting the animation and clicking Effect Options in the top toolbar. On Windows, click the down arrow next to an animation and select Effect Options to find the sound options.

    • Choosing to add a sound manually will open up a window to browse for sound files on your computer, so you will need to have one handy.
12. 
    12
    Preview your slide. Click the Preview button in the toolbar to run through the animations on the selected slide.
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Animating Page Transitions

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click the Transitions tab in PowerPoint. You can use this tab to animate the transitions between your slides.
2. 
   2
   Select the slide where you want to add the transition. Your slides are displayed in a panel on the left side of the screen. The selected slide will have a highlighted border.
3. 
   3
   Select a transition effect from the gallery. A preview of the transition effect will display when you select it.

   • Select None to remove a selected transition.
   • A slide can only have one transition at a time.
4. 
   4
   Click Effect Options and change how the transition displays. Here, you can choose whether to apply the transition animation from the bottom, top, left, or right of the slide.

   • The options you’ll see here depend on which effect you chose. For example, with the “Morph” transition, you can choose whether the effect applies to objects, words, or individual characters on your slide.
5. 
   5
   Select or deselect “On Mouse Click”. You'll see this in the toolbar. If selected, the transition animation will not occur until you click the mouse to change slides.

   • ”On Mouse Click” is selected by default.
6. 
   6
   Adjust the transition duration. Click the up and down arrows next to “Duration” to change the speed of the transition.

   • A higher duration means a slower transition.
   • This setting only adjusts the duration of the transition, not of the slide itself.
7. 
   7
   Choose a sound effect. Click the “Sound” drop-down menu to add a sound effect that will play during the transition effect.

   • Choose “No Sound” from the same menu to remove any added sound effect.
8. 
   8
   Preview your slide. Click the Preview button in the toolbar to run through the animations on the selected slide.
Advertisement

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Adding Animated Images and Videos to a Presentation

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click the Insert tab. If you created an animated image or video in another program, you can import that file into your slide.
2. 
   2
   Import a video animation. If the animation you want to import is in a video format, click the Video option in the toolbar, choose the location of the video, and then select the video you want to import. In PowerPoint for Mac, click Media on the far right side of the toolbar, then select Video.

   • Supported video file types: .mp4 (recommended), .m4v, .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .asf, .avi, .vfw, .wmv, .mpe, .m75, .m15, .m2v, .ts, .qt, .dif.
   • If the video is on the internet, you can select Online Videos, then choose the video. These videos will only play if you are connected to the internet during your presentation.
3. 
   3
   Import an image animation. If you have an animated GIF, click the Pictures option in the toolbar, choose the image's location, then select the animated image you want to insert.
Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

• Question

  How can I prevent PowerPoint from automatically advancing to the next screen?

  

  WRM

  Community Answer

  Make sure that the "On Mouse Click" checkbox is selected in the Transition tab.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 3 Helpful 4
• Question

  How do I set an animation to appear in no particular order?

  

  WRM

  Community Answer

  You can change the order of animations by using the arrows under "Reorder Animations." Or you can move animations in the Animation Pane, but this will use the selected order and not randomize it.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 1 Helpful 5
• Question

  How can I apply an animation effect in a presentation?

  

  Community Answer

  Click the up and down arrows next to “Duration” in the “Timing” section to change the speed of the duration. A higher duration means a slower transition. (This setting only adjusts the duration of the transition, not of the slide itself.)

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

• Click Apply to all on the Transitions tab to use the selected transition for all slides in a presentation.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement