Getting the "Right Order"

When you use MS PowerPoint do you use animations for the entrance and exit of specific items on your slides?

Do you use a lot of them?

I know that sometimes I'm left with a list of 20 or 30 different animations. It can get rather confusing and there's nothing more aggravating than previewing my work only to find that things are making their entrances and exits all out of my intended order.

Sometimes it seems like an impossible task to sort it all out - unless you know about the visual clues PowerPoint is giving you while you work on animations.

Visual clues?

Yep. Did you ever notice all the little numbers found all over your slide while the Custom Animations pane is open?

(By the way, don't panic if you don't see these as soon as you open your presentation for editing. They're only visible when the Custom Animation pane is open. If the pane is open and you still don't see them then you haven't set any animations yet.)

Well, those numbers can be more helpful than they first appear.

Each one is linked to a different animation in your list.

If animations are set to happen in sequence "With Previous" or "After Previous" then all elements in the sequence get the same number - like this:

When you click on a specific animation in the list you'll find that the animation number attached to the object in the slide will be highlighted so that you're sure of what it belongs with.

This can really help sort out the order when many of your objects are generically named. I mean, after all, who really knows which item is rectangle 53 versus rectangle 52?

Anyway, my point is that the combination of these features can really help you sort it all out efficiently.

If you see that something is out of place based on its numbering then simply drag it to the correct location in the animation list.

The dark horizontal line lets you know exactly where it will be placed in the sequence should you release the mouse button right then.

Or, the other option is to select and animation and use the Re-Order buttons at the bottom of the list.

I personally never use those - I find it way easier to drag and drop animations - but to each his own. I'm sure that someone prefers the buttons.

At any rate, with this little bit of knowledge about the visual clues PowerPoint is giving you just might be able to save yourself a lot of frustration while trying to get things in the "right order".

~ April

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