How to Remove Triggers in PowerPoint Animations: Easy Guide

Are you trying to figure out how to remove triggers in PowerPoint animations? Triggers in PowerPoint allow you to start animations when you click on a specific object. While this can be a useful feature, sometimes you may want to remove a trigger so the animation plays automatically instead. In this article, we’ll go over exactly how to remove triggers from animations in PowerPoint.

What are Triggers in PowerPoint?

Before we get into how to remove triggers, let’s quickly review what triggers are in PowerPoint:

• A trigger is an object on a slide that, when clicked, starts an animation
• Triggers allow you to initiate animations on demand during a presentation
• Any object (shape, image, text box, etc.) can be turned into a trigger
• Triggers are part of the animation settings for an object

While triggers provide flexibility in controlling animations, there are times you may prefer an animation to start automatically rather than waiting for a click. That’s where removing the trigger comes in.

How Triggers Work in PowerPoint

When you set up a trigger for an animation in PowerPoint, you’re essentially telling the program: “When I click this specific object, play this specific animation.” The trigger and animation are linked together.

For example, let’s say you have a slide with a series of bullet points. You could set each bullet point to fly in from the left one at a time when you click a designated “Next” button. The “Next” button would be the trigger object, and each bullet point’s fly-in would be a separate triggered animation.

Triggers give you more control over the pace and flow of your presentation delivery. Rather than having every animation play in quick succession, triggers let you reveal information gradually in coordination with your talking points. They’re a good way to add interactivity to a presentation.

However, triggers also require more manual clicking during the presentation, and there’s always a chance you could miss a click and throw off the animations. Sometimes a more straightforward approach of having animations play automatically is preferable. That’s why it’s important to know how to set up triggered animations and how to remove those triggers when needed.

Step-by-Step: Removing Triggers from Animations

Here’s how to go about removing a trigger from an animation in a few simple steps:

1. Select the object that has the trigger-based animation
2. Go to the “Animations” tab in PowerPoint
3. In the “Advanced Animation” group, click “Animation Pane”
4. In the Animation Pane, select the animation with the trigger
5. Go to the “Trigger” drop-down menu and select “No Trigger”
6. The trigger will be removed and the animation will now play automatically

By following these steps for the relevant animations, you can quickly remove any triggers and have your animations play on their own when the slide loads.

Removing Triggers for Multiple Animations

If you have multiple animations with triggers you want to remove, you can follow the steps above for each one individually. Or to speed things up:

1. In the “Animation Pane”, select the first animation
2. Hold down Ctrl and click the other animations to select them
3. With the animations selected, go to “Trigger” and click “No Trigger”
4. The triggers will be removed from all the selected animations at once

Using this method allows you to quickly remove triggers from multiple animations without having to go through the process over and over.

Converting Triggered Animations to Automatic Animations

Another approach to removing triggers is to delete the triggered animation entirely and add a new automatic animation in its place. This method takes a few more steps but can be useful if you want to change the animation type or settings anyway.

Here’s how to convert a triggered animation to an automatic one:

1. Select the object with the triggered animation
2. In the “Animations” tab, click the “None” option to remove the animation
3. With the object still selected, choose a new animation type from the options
4. Adjust any “Effect Options” or “Timing” settings as desired
5. The new animation will play automatically without any trigger

This process essentially replaces the triggered animation with a new automatic one, effectively removing the trigger.

Triggering Animations in PowerPoint

We’ve focused on how to remove triggers, but let’s also briefly discuss how to add triggers to animations in PowerPoint. Triggering animations can be useful when you want to:

• Control when an animation plays during a presentation
• Start an animation by clicking a specific object
• Coordinate multiple animations with triggers

To set up a trigger for an animation:

1. Select the object you want to animate on the slide
2. Go to the “Animations” tab
3. Choose an animation type (e.g. Fade, Fly In, etc.)
4. In “Advanced Animation” click “Trigger”
5. Select “On Click of” and choose the object to use as the trigger

Now when you click that trigger object during a slideshow, the animation will play. This is the opposite of removing a trigger to make an animation automatic.

Trigger Animation Best Practices

When using triggered animations in PowerPoint, keep these tips in mind:

• Use triggers intentionally to control the flow of information
• Be consistent in how you use triggers throughout the presentation
• Choose an intuitive, easy-to-click object as the trigger
• Test the triggered animations to make sure they work smoothly
• Don’t overdo it – too many triggered animations can be distracting

Troubleshooting PowerPoint Trigger Issues

If you run into any problems with removing triggers from animations, or triggers not working properly, try these troubleshooting tips:

• Make sure you’ve selected the right animation in the Animation Pane
• Double check that “No Trigger” is selected in the Trigger menu
• Test the presentation in Slide Show mode to verify animations are working
• Try removing the original animation and adding it again without a trigger
• Check online forums or contact Microsoft support for more assistance

Animations not behaving how you expect can be frustrating, but usually the solution is straightforward once you know where to look. Here are some common trigger-related issues and solutions:

If you’re still having trouble, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. There are many PowerPoint resources and communities available online.

Final Thoughts

Removing a trigger from an animation in PowerPoint is a simple process that allows the animation to play automatically when the slide loads. Whether you have one triggered animation or many, just select the animations in the Animation Pane, click “No Trigger”, and you’re all set.

While triggered animations can be engaging when used well, removing the triggers helps simplify and smooth out the presentation delivery. Automatic animations ensure key visual elements aren’t missed.

Remember, when it comes to animations in PowerPoint, it’s all about striking the right balance. Use triggers and animations deliberately to enhance your message, not distract from it. With practice and a bit of experimentation, you’ll find the animation and trigger strategies that work best for you and your audience.

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Trish Dixon

Trish Dixon is the founder of PPTBliss and a PowerPoint expert with over a decade of experience in presentation design. Passionate about visual storytelling, Trish shares her expertise through easy-to-follow tutorials on slide design, animations, transitions, and best practices, helping professionals create impactful presentations across industries.

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