Make the Most of PowerPoint's Slide Transition Options

Slide transitions are finishing touches that can be added last

By
Wendy Russell
Wendy Russell
Writer
  • Brock University
Former Lifewire writer Wendy Russell is an experienced teacher specializing in live communications, graphics design, and PowerPoint software.
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Updated on July 1, 2019
Fade of colors across the spectrum representing transition

 

Dimitris66 / Getty Images

Slide transitions are finishing touches that are used in a slideshow to add visual movement as one slide changes to another during a presentation. Slide transitions add to the professional appearance of the slideshow and draw attention to specific important slides.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint Online.

How to Apply a Transition in PowerPoint

A slide transition affects how one slide exits the screen and how the next one enters it. So, if you apply a Fade transition, for example, between slides 2 and 3, slide 2 fades out and slide 3 fades in.

Select one or two transitions that don't detract from the presentation and use them throughout. If you want to use one spectacular transition on a single important slide, go ahead, but it's more important that your audience sees the slide content than admires the transition.

  1. In your PowerPoint presentation, go to View and select Normal, if you aren't already in Normal view.

    PowerPoint Normal view

  2. In the Slides pane, select a slide thumbnail.

  3. Go to Transitions.

    PowerPoint Transitions tab

  4. Choose a transition from the Transition to This Slide group.

    Add a transition in PowerPoint

  5. Enter a time in seconds in the Duration box. This setting controls how fast the transition occurs; a larger number makes it go slower.

    Enter a duration

  6. Select the ​Sound down arrow and choose a sound effect, if you want one.

  7. Choose whether to advance the slide On Mouse Click or After a specific amount of time passes.

To apply the same transition and settings to every slide, select Apply To All. Otherwise, select a different slide and repeat this process to apply a different transition to it.

Apply a transition to all slides

Preview the slideshow when you have all the transitions applied. If any of the transitions seem distracting or busy, replace them with transitions that don't distract from your presentation.

How to Remove a Transition

Removing a slide transition is simple. Select the slide in the Slides pane, go to Transitions, and, in the Transition to This Slide group, choose None.

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