How to Animate Objects to Appear and Disappear in PowerPoint?

Are you looking to add some visual flair to your PowerPoint presentations by making objects appear and disappear? Using the right PowerPoint animations, you can easily create the illusion of objects materializing on a slide and then vanishing after a set time or on a click. In this step-by-step guide, we will learn how to set up PowerPoint animations to make objects appear and then disappear.

Understanding PowerPoint Animation Basics

Before diving into the specifics of appear and disappear animations, it’s helpful to understand some PowerPoint animation fundamentals:

• Animations in PowerPoint are special visual effects you can apply to objects (text, shapes, pictures, etc.) to make them enter, exit, or move on a slide in interesting ways
• You can animate objects so they start playing automatically with the slide, after a previous animation finishes, or when you click the mouse
• Multiple animation effects can be applied to the same object and combined in a sequence
• The Animation Pane shows you all the animations on a slide and lets you adjust their order and settings

Here’s a quick overview of the types of animations in PowerPoint:

Step 1: Insert the Object to Animate

The first step is to insert the object you want to make appear and disappear onto your PowerPoint slide. This could be:

• Text in a text box or placeholder
• A shape like a rectangle, circle, or arrow
• A picture, icon, or clip art image
• A chart, table, or SmartArt graphic
• A video or audio file

Use the Insert tab on the ribbon to add your desired object to the slide in the location where you want it to appear. If you want to animate only part of the text on a slide, select that specific text.

Step 2: Open the Animations Tab

With the object selected, go to the Animations tab on the PowerPoint ribbon. This is where you’ll find all the tools for adding and modifying animation effects.

The Animations tab has three main sections:

1. Animation gallery – A library of quick animation presets you can apply with one click
2. Add Animation menu – Lets you browse the full library of entrance, emphasis, exit, and motion path animations
3. Animation Pane button – Opens the Animation Pane for managing multiple animations

Step 3: Apply an Appear Animation

To make your object appear on the slide, you need to apply an Entrance animation effect to it. Some common options for appear animations include:

• Appear – The object simply fades into view on the slide
• Fade – The object gradually fades into view, from transparent to opaque
• Fly In – The object flies onto the slide from an edge (left, right, top, bottom)
• Zoom – The object zooms in from a small size to full size
• Float In – The object floats in from a side, growing and turning transparent

To apply an appear animation:

1. With the object selected, click the Add Animation menu in the Animations tab
2. In the menu that appears, click Entrance to see entrance animation options
3. Click the appear animation effect you want to apply, such as Appear or Fly In

The object will now animate onto the slide based on the start setting (on click, with previous, or after previous).

Step 4: Set the Disappear Animation

After you’ve made the object appear, the next step is configuring it to disappear after a certain time or trigger. To do this, you’ll apply an Exit animation. Some common disappear effects are:

• Disappear – The object instantly becomes invisible
• Fade Out – The object gradually fades from opaque to transparent until it’s gone
• Fly Out – The object flies off the edge of the slide (left, right, top, bottom)
• Zoom – The object shrinks down until it disappears
• Float Out – The object floats off the slide, shrinking and turning transparent

Adding a disappear animation is very similar to an appear one:

1. With the object selected, click Add Animation again
2. This time, go to Exit and choose the disappear effect you want, like Fly Out
3. The exit animation will be added after the entrance one in the Animation Pane

Now your object has an animation sequence with an Appear effect and a Disappear effect. It will enter the slide, stay for a bit, then animate out and vanish.

Step 5: Adjust the Timing

The final step is tweaking the timing settings so your appear and disappear animations happen when you want and last the right duration. To adjust timing:

1. Select the animations in the Animation Pane
2. Go to the Timing group on the Animations ribbon tab
3. To change when the appear animation starts, click the Start drop-down and pick:
   • On Click to start when you click the mouse
   • With Previous to start at the same time as the previous animation
   • After Previous to start when the previous animation ends
4. Do the same for the disappear animation’s Start setting
5. To adjust duration, enter a time in the Duration field – shorter for a quicker effect, longer for a slower one
6. To add a delay before an animation, enter a time in Delay – good for a pause between the appear and disappear

By default, the disappear animation will start After Previous, so the object appears, pauses for the duration you set, then disappears automatically. But you can change this to happen on a click instead.

Tips and Tricks for Appear/Disappear Animations

Here are a few bonus tips to keep in mind as you work with appear and disappear animations in PowerPoint:

• Preview your animations using the Preview button on the ribbon to make sure the timing looks right
• To quickly copy animations from one object to another, select the animated object, click Animation Painter, then click the object to copy to
• Use the Effect Options button to customize things like the direction objects fly in from or the intensity of a zoom
• Add multiple appear/disappear sequences to the same object to make it reappear again later in the slide
• Group objects together before animating them to make them appear/disappear simultaneously as one unit
• Draw attention to key objects by combining an Emphasis animation between the appear and disappear, like a Pulse or Color Change

Use appear and disappear animations sparingly to highlight the most important points in your presentation. Too many effects can become distracting or overwhelming. Focus on animating key text, visuals, or data you really want to call out to your audience.

Final Thoughts

Animations are a powerful tool in PowerPoint for adding visual interest and dynamism to your slides. By making objects appear and disappear with well-timed entrance and exit animations, you can progressively disclose information, sustain audience engagement, and leave a lasting impression.

The key is applying animations purposefully to enhance your content, not distract from it. Experiment with different effects, timings, and combinations to strike the right balance and take your PowerPoint presentations to the next level!

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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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