Free demo · Microsoft PowerPoint · Lesson 3 · Basics · Transitions & animations

Transitions and animations

A transition is how one slide gives way to the next. An animation is how an object appears, moves or leaves on a slide. Use both sparingly and consistently.

Summer camp 2026

MAVI Foundation

What to bring

  • Water bottle
  • Notebook and pencil
  • Big smile
  1. 1Transitions › Fade · a ★ appears by the thumbnail · Apply To All
  2. 2Select a bullet › Animations › Fly In: a numbered tag appears
  3. 3Animate the other bullets: green entrance · yellow emphasis · red exit
  4. 4Animation Pane: reorder, Start on click / with / after previous, Duration
  5. ✓Preview plays the sequence · in the show, one click = one bullet
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. Enrol

Tip: press → or Space to step through, ← to go back, R to replay.

About this lesson

In PowerPoint 2024 / Microsoft 365 the Transitions tab controls how a slide enters (Fade, Push, Wipe, Morph…), with Effect Options, Duration and Apply To All; a star next to the slide number marks slides that have one. The Animations tab controls objects on a slide: entrance effects (green, such as Fly In), emphasis (yellow) and exit (red). Each animation gets a number showing its order; the Animation Pane lets you reorder them and set Start to On Click, With Previous or After Previous, plus Duration and Delay. The full course adds Morph, motion paths, triggers, the Animation Painter and animating charts and SmartArt.

Key points

  • Transition = between slides, animation = on a slide
  • Entrance, emphasis and exit effects
  • The Animation Pane: order and timing