An animation effect sets up the way you want text or an object to appear on your slide during a slide show presentation. You can set text to appear by the letter, word, or paragraph. Other options are to make text or objects look dimmer or change color when you add another element.

You can also add animation to your presentation using animated .gif files. For more information on using .gif files, look at Animated GIFs Add Motion to PowerPoint 2000 Slide Shows on the Microsoft Office Online site.

The Difference Between Preset and Custom Animations

There are two ways to apply animations in PowerPoint. Preset animations have all of the options - such as whether an object flies in from the top, bottom, left, or right of the slide - set for you. Custom animations let you pick your own options, such as the order in which animations occur and assigning sound effects to accompany the animation. Either type of animation helps add interest to your presentation.

When adding animation to text, remember that the animation is applied to all the text in the placeholder. In the case of a text placeholder with a bulleted list, the animation effect is applied to each bullet point in the placeholder. It is also possible to display text one word or letter at a time by choosing the desired custom animation option. When displaying text letter by letter, if you select the On mouse click setting on the Order & Timing tab, then one letter appears per mouse click as you present the slide show. To display text faster letter by letter, choose the Automatically setting on the Order & Timing tab.

Now that you know some of the animation possibilities, take a look at the examples of some preset and custom animations, below. The preset animation uses the Flying effect on the text and chart. The custom animation uses the Appear effect on the title, and the Appear effect on the chart while introducing the chart elements by Element in Series.

To apply a preset animation

1. Select the object you want to animate.

For example, select a text placeholder or piece of art you would like to highlight.

1. On the Slide Show menu, click Preset Animation.
2. Click the animation effect you want.
3. To edit the preset settings for this object after assigning a preset animation, go to Custom Animation on the Slide Show menu and make the changes you want.

Note   Some preset animations do have a sound associated with the effect. To turn off the sound, create the preset animation, then go to Custom Animation and remove the sound.

To apply a custom animation

1. Select the object you want to animate.

For example, select a piece of WordArt or just regular text.

1. On the Slide Show menu, click Custom Animation.
2. On the Effects tab, choose the animation effect you want.
3. Use the tabs to choose your desired options.

The four tabs in the Custom Animation dialog box let you adjust the settings of your animation to fit with your presentation. Here is what you can do with each tab:

Effects  

• The Entry animation and sound box lets you choose the effect and sound you want for each object or text placeholder. For example, you can make the text "spiral in" while being simultaneously accompanied by a drum roll.
• The After animation box lets you change the color of, hide, or make the object or text dimmer after the animation is done.
• The Introduce text box lets you display text letter by letter, word by word, or in reverse order. The Grouped by setting lets you choose how you want to group the text. For example, you can make a bulleted list appear line by line or all at once.

Order & Timing

• The Animation order box lets you change the order that objects appear during a slide show.
• The Start animation box lets you choose to run the animation automatically or on a mouse click.

Chart Effects

• The Introduce chart elements box lets you display a chart by series, category, element in series, element in category, or all at once. You can also decide if you want to animate the grid and legend.
• The Entry animation and sound box lets you choose the animation and sound you want to use when the chart appears.
• The After animation box lets you decide how you want the chart to look after the effect.

Multimedia Settings

• The Multimedia Settings tab lets you decide if you want the slide show to stop while a sound, video or animation clip is playing, or when you want the clip to stop playing. See this tab for more multimedia options.

To preview the animation and transition effects

Do one of the following:

1. In the Custom Animation dialog box, click Preview.
2. Go into slide show mode. On the View menu, click Slide Show.

Once you have mastered these effects, try the Advanced Animation Techniques for Microsoft PowerPoint 2000. This is a PowerPoint 2000 presentation that you can download to learn more animation techniques.