PowerPoint Animation Without Clicking: Auto-Advance Slides

Are you looking to create engaging PowerPoint animations that play automatically without needing to click? PowerPoint provides several options to animate objects, text and slides without manual advancing. Automatic animations can make your presentation more dynamic, professional, and engaging.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about creating PowerPoint animations that play without clicking, including the benefits, how to set them up, and best practices for effective use.

Why Use PowerPoint Animation Without Clicking?

There are many benefits to setting up PowerPoint animations to advance automatically:

• Smooth flow: Automatic animations allow the presentation to progress smoothly without interruption, keeping the audience engaged and focused on the content.
• Presenter focus: When animations play on their own, the presenter can focus on delivering the message rather than worrying about clicking to advance slides or trigger effects.
• Precise synchronization: Automatic animations can be timed precisely to sync with audio narration, music, or video, creating a polished and professional presentation.
• Self-running presentations: Setting up a presentation to run on its own is ideal for situations like tradeshow booths, lobby displays, meeting room screens, and kiosks.
• Consistency: Applying the same automatic animations throughout the presentation maintains a consistent pace and style.

Automatic PowerPoint animations are useful in many scenarios, from sales pitches and product demos to training sessions and keynote speeches. Let’s dive into how to create them.

Setting Animation Timing and Triggers

The key to making PowerPoint objects animate automatically is understanding and adjusting the Timing and Trigger settings for each animation.

Animation Timing

The Animation Timing options control when and how an animation plays. To access these options:

1. Select the object with the animation
2. Go to the Animations tab
3. Click the small arrow in the bottom corner of the Animation group to open the Animation Pane
4. Select the animation and click the down arrow to view the Timing options

Here’s a breakdown of each Timing setting:

• Start: This setting determines when the animation begins. The default is “On Click,” but for automatic animations, you’ll want to change this to either:
  • “With Previous”: The animation will start at the same time as the previous animation in the sequence.
  • “After Previous”: The animation will start automatically after the previous animation ends.
• Duration: This is how long the animation takes to complete. A shorter duration will make the animation play faster, while a longer duration will slow it down.
• Delay: Use this option to add a brief pause before the animation begins playing. This is useful for giving the audience time to take in the previous animation before the next one starts.

Here’s an example of how you might adjust the Timing settings for an automatic animation:

Animation Triggers

In addition to the Timing settings, you can also control what triggers an animation to play using the Trigger option. The default trigger is “On Click,” but for automatic animations, you’ll want to change this to either:

• Start With Previous: The animation will play at the same time as the previous animation in the sequence.
• Start After Previous: The animation will play automatically after the previous animation ends.

To access the Trigger options:

1. Select the object with the animation
2. Go to the Animations tab
3. Click the Trigger drop-down in the Advanced Animation group
4. Choose either “Start With Previous” or “Start After Previous”

3 Ways to Create a PowerPoint That Runs Automatically

Now that you understand how to use animation timings and triggers, let’s look at 3 specific ways to set up your PowerPoint presentation to run automatically from start to finish.

1. Apply Auto-Advance to Slide Transitions

To make your PowerPoint slides advance to the next slide automatically, you’ll need to adjust the Transition settings. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Transitions tab
2. Make sure the “On Mouse Click” option is unchecked
3. Check the “After” option and enter the amount of time you want the slide to appear on screen before advancing (e.g. 00:05.00 for 5 seconds)

You can apply this same transition and timing to all slides for a consistent presentation:

1. Select the slide with the transition settings you want to use
2. Right-click the slide and choose “Select All Slides”
3. Now all slides will have the same auto-advance transition applied

Keep in mind that the timing should give enough time to read and absorb the content on each slide. You may need to adjust the timing for text-heavy slides.

2. Use Animation Timings and Triggers

As we covered earlier, you can make objects on a slide animate automatically by adjusting the animation Timing and Trigger settings in the Animation Pane:

• Change the Start setting to either “With Previous” or “After Previous”
• Adjust the Duration and Delay settings to control the pacing
• Use the Trigger drop-down to select “Start With Previous” or “Start After Previous”

If you have multiple objects animating on a slide, you may want to stagger the timings so they animate one after the other in sequence. This is usually more effective than having everything pop in at once.

You can also reorder the animations by selecting an animation in the Animation Pane and using the Re-Order arrows (up and down) to change its position in the sequence.

3. Use Slide Timings for Recorded Narration

If your presentation includes recorded audio narration, you can sync the slide advances to the audio using Slide Timings. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Slide Show tab
2. Click the “Record Slide Show” button
3. Choose “Start Recording from Beginning”
4. Begin recording your narration and click through the slides along with it
5. PowerPoint will automatically capture the slide timings based on when you advanced
6. Go to the Slide Show tab and select “Use Timings” to apply the recorded slide timings

Now when you play the presentation, the slides will advance automatically in sync with the recorded audio. You can make adjustments to the slide timings on the Recording toolbar if needed.

Tips for Creating Effective PowerPoint Auto-Animations

To wrap up, here are some best practices and tips to keep in mind as you create PowerPoint animations that play automatically:

• Keep animations simple and purposeful. Avoid overloading your slides with too many animations, as this can be distracting and overwhelming for the audience. Each animation should have a clear purpose, such as emphasizing a key point or controlling the flow of information.
• Be consistent with animation styles and timings. Use similar types of animations throughout the presentation (e.g. fade in, appear, etc.) for a cohesive look. Establish a consistent rhythm with the timing of animations so the audience knows what to expect.
• Preview and make adjustments. Be sure to do a practice run of your presentation to check that the automatic animations and transitions flow smoothly. Make adjustments to the timings and animations as needed to perfect the pacing and remove any awkward pauses or abrupt transitions.
• Have a non-animated backup version. It’s always wise to have a copy of your presentation without automatic animations and transitions in case you need to turn them off. Issues with animations can arise due to technical problems, or you may need to switch to manual advancing to accommodate audience questions or time constraints.

Final Thoughts

PowerPoint animations are a powerful tool for bringing your slides to life and engaging your audience. By learning how to make animations play automatically using the animation Timing and Trigger settings, you can create dynamic, professional presentations that run smoothly on their own.

Whether you’re setting up a self-running display or delivering a live presentation, automatic animations let you focus on your content and message rather than worrying about clicks.

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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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