February 2025 - The PowerPoint Blog

It’s A Bright Pink World Full of Animation! – A Look Back to June 2018

What a great look back for our design team! Yes, PowerPoint 7 years ago was capable of great animation and video export – as shown in this project from 2018. For our team, this project is also full of memories, as several of the marketing campaigns are no longer current. But we were there and supporting Barbie!

Sometimes a presentation project is just all about the animation. In this case, we were tasked with developing a 2+ minute motion graphics video to be used as a meeting opener. A short segment is here for preview. We developed all in PowerPoint, and then exported to video with a music track. It is not the tool that creates bad, boring and bland presentations; PowerPoint is just a canvas, and can accomplish wonderful results in the hands of professional design team.

-Troy @ TLC

This is from our Look Back series, rediscovering previous blog posts with relevant PowerPoint tips, tricks and examples. The original post from June 1st, 2018 can be viewed here.

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-01-22T13:55:13-08:00February 28th, 2025|Portfolio, PowerPoint|

Manage PowerPoint’s Slideshow Popup Controls

If you’ve ever found the popup toolbar distracting while presenting a slideshow in Microsoft PowerPoint, you’re not alone.

Fortunately, PowerPoint offers a setting to disable this feature, providing a cleaner and more focused presentation experience.

Open PowerPoint
Go to > FILE > then, select OPTIONS

From the PowerPoint Options dialog box:

On the left column go to ADVANCED
On the right, scroll to the SLIDE SHOW section
Disable SHOW POPUP TOOLBAR

Click OK to apply the changes
Done!

Important Notes:

App-Level Setting: This is an application-wide setting, meaning it applies to all presentations you open or create in PowerPoint. You won’t need to disable the popup toolbar for each presentation individually.
Accessing Presentation Controls: Even with the popup toolbar disabled, you still have access to all the same presentation controls by simply right-clicking anywhere on the slideshow screen. This brings up a larger overlay menu with all the necessary options, but it’s not persistent and disappears after selecting.

By disabling the popup toolbar, you can deliver a more polished and distraction-free presentation. Should you ever need the toolbar back, you can easily re-enable it by following the same steps and checking the Show Popup Toolbar box again.

Hope this PowerPoint tutorial helped. Enjoy presenting with a cleaner interface!

-Christie @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-01-18T11:19:10-08:00February 26th, 2025|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Get Credit for Creating a Presentation

GET credit where credit is due.

PowerPoint has file properties that list who created the presentation (really!).

Below is a the step-by-step of where to find the properties field that lists the name. But first, take a look at some of your recent presentations. Mouse over the file. Is your name listed as the Author – of your presentations? When PowerPoint is first setup, it asks for a few details about you, and automates the Authors property to use that name. Two things happen that often results in your name, not being the name listed. IT sets up your computer with a generic User Name, which is what PowerPoint uses for each presentation created. Or you opened a presentation that someone else started, which keeps the original person who started the presentation, listed as the author. So, where do you confirm your name is the name PowerPoint lists as the author for new presentations? Go to File > Options > the General tab > and the “Personalize Your Copy of Microsoft Office” section.

Is your name and initials shown? These settings are used for all presentations created on the computer (assuming Office is signed into the same profile).

But how is an existing presentation updated to your name when another name is already there?

In the presentation go to File > Info > and expand the far right list of properties. There are AUTHOR and a LAST MODIFIED BY fields. If your name is not listed in the AUTHOR field you can click the ADD AN AUTHOR and add yourself.

But, if you want to remove a name and replace with your name, there are a few additional steps. Go to File > Info > Check for Issues. Then Inspect Document > and run by clicking Inspect.

Click REMOVE ALL for the Document Properties and Personal Information and close the dialog.
Note: this action removes the existing Author listed, AND also removes other properties such as comments, Company, Last Modified, and more.

After the properties are clear, just save the file and your name (from the Personalize Your Copy of Microsoft Office fields) will be listed as the Author! Or, if the author field remains empty, click the ADD AN AUTHOR option to select your name.

There it is. How the mysterious “Author” name is added to presentations, and how you can manage who is listed as the author of your presentation!

Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-02-22T10:30:52-08:00February 24th, 2025|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Moving An Object Seamlessly With Multiple Motion Paths – A Look Back to February 2011

Animations always add a bit of extra flair to PowerPoint presentations, and using motion paths can help you create unique, custom animations. In today’s presentation design, the Morph transition is the way to accomplish motion. For this Friday’s looking back post is a tutorial from 2011 on PowerPoint motion paths, because sometimes the Morph transition is not able to accomplish the needed motion. The how-to still holds up today – though we’ve added some updated images to give the post a facelift!

Motion path animations are a great feature, but using them beyond basic functions can be confusing. For example, here is the slide from an earlier timeline sample of ours:

The animation effect was great, and the design of it relied on a lot of motion paths. This is a quick step-by-step example of moving an object to two positions with motion paths.

1. The blue box is the object to move. First to area “1” and then to area “2.”

2. Moving to area “1” is easy. Select the box and add a Motion Path to the left.

3. To move to area “2” is a bit more involved. First, add a Motion Path up. Note: It is added to the existing position. During slide show the box will move to the left, then jump back to the original location and move up – not the seamless effect wanted.

4. Select the “up” motion path. Note: You must be in the Animation tab to view motion paths and select them. Then, click and drag it over so it’s green start is exactly aligned with the first motion paths red end.

5. Done. Now, the box will seamlessly move to area “1” and then up to area “2.”

Download presentation with this sample animation (17K). Note: if your browser changes downloaded file to”.zip” rename to “.pptx”.

– Troy @ TLC

This is from our Look Back series, rediscovering previous blog posts with relevant PowerPoint tips, tricks and examples. The original post from February 4th, 2011 can be viewed here.

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-01-18T11:17:43-08:00February 21st, 2025|Tutorial|

New Podcast Episode Available! Episode 216, “Does the Storytelling Animation design trend apply to us in the presentation design space?”

New episode of The Presentation Podcast now available!

“Does the Storytelling Animation design trend apply to us in the presentation design space?” In the latest episode of The Presentation Podcast, Troy, Sandy, Nolan, and Lori delve into the evolving role of animation in presentation design – particularly within PowerPoint. They explore how storytelling animation is becoming a significant trend in many aspects of graphic design and discuss how animation can be effectively incorporated into presentations to support the message. Listen on your favorite podcast app, or at The Presentation Podcast site here.

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-02-16T09:26:02-08:00February 19th, 2025|Resource/Misc|

PowerPoint Animation Using Image Crop

Previously we discussed how to cover sections of an image to achieve animation as different sections in this post from February 12th. The issue that we learned was that by covering the sections with white boxes, that this would be more difficult to see while reviewing in slide sorter. The solution was to animate the images as separate elements. But how did we crop the image into 3 sections? Let’s review how.

Insert the Image:

Click on the “Insert” tab in the ribbon.

Choose “Pictures” or “Online Pictures” to insert an image from your computer or from the web.

Select the image and click “Insert”.

Once we have the original image, now we can split it into 3 sections.

Duplicate:

We now need to duplicate the image 2 more times. This will come in handy to have 3 images in the same position so the cropping sections will look seamless. There are a few ways to duplicate the easiest is selecting the image and PC: ctrl + c then ctrl v Mac: cmd + c > cmd + v.

Let’s crop the first image then we will duplicate this process for the other 2 shapes. Here is a trick to map out the sections on how we are going to crop them.

Create a shape that’s the same height as the image

Next is duplicate the shape 2 more times.

Align the 3rd shape the right of the image > then used “Distribute Horizontally” in the ribbon tool, to evenly space out the 3 shapes equally across the image.

Now we have a clear guide on where to crop each section.

Crop:

Click on the first image to select it.

Go to the “Picture Format” tab that appears when the image is selected.

In the “Size” group, click on “Crop”.

Position your mouse over the cropping handles
(the black squares around the image).

Drag the cropping handles inward to crop the image to the first section you want. You can adjust the cropping by dragging the handles until you’re satisfied with the section.

Click outside the image to apply the crop.

Repeat for the Other Images:

Click on the second image to select it.

Follow the same steps to crop it into the 2nd and 3rd section you want.

Remove the 3 orange shapes as those are no longer needed as guides.

Now we have 3 sections of the one image that we can animate individually

Christie @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-03-26T08:12:40-07:00February 17th, 2025|Tutorial|

FREE Valentine’s Day PowerPoint Template – A Look Back to February 2016

It’s Valentine’s Day today! And it’s also Friday, which means it’s time for another Look Back post.

This week, we’re looking back at free template we developed for Valentine’s Day a full nine(!) years ago. Everyone at TLC Creative Services wants you to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day this weekend! For your valentine (class, office announcements, etc.), here is a professional, full featured PowerPoint template to download and use – for Free!

Valentine's Day 2016

Download with this link: Valentines_2016 (1.8MB)

This is from our Look Back series, rediscovering previous blog posts with relevant PowerPoint tips, tricks and examples. The original post from February 8th, 2016 can be viewed here.

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-01-18T11:13:52-08:00February 14th, 2025|PowerPoint, Templates/Assets|

PowerPoint Animation and “Breaking” a Table

PowerPoint unfortunately does not have the capability to animated individual cells, rows or columns of tables. PowerPoint offers the ability to animate a table as a whole unit. Let’s talk about a workaround to overcome this limitation. By using the Microsoft PowerPoint BrightSlide add-in (which is free and has Windows and Mac versions!) several table formatting options become available to us, specifically the ability to break apart table cells – which we can use to achieve animation needs!

First, select the table.

Right-click on the table and go to table > BrightSlide > Split Table > Split into Rows.

For this sample table, this instantly creates 4 separate tables – one for each row! Note: I have spaced them apart for this demo.

Because PowerPoint can only animate an entire table, we now have 4 tables, which can easily be animated! As example, this table now animates in one row at time, each row on click (yay!)

As a second option, going back to our original table, we can split it by columns in a few clicks. Right-click the table > BrightSlide > Split Table > and now select “Split into Columns”.

Done – 5 separate tables, one for each column!

Apply PowerPoint animations as needed; entrance, exit, emphasis. Here I have set the table to build left-to-right automatically.

And now is where things get good! Going back to our original table, right-click > BrightSlide > Split Table > Split into Cells.

20 individual tables are created instantly!

The option to animate each cell is available, as I have done in this example. BUT, if you just need to animate on a few areas of a table, use this to create the individual cells needed for the animation (works great with Morph!). The options available are limitless now.

TIP: BrightSlide also has fantastic options to “put a table back together’. The two options are “Merge as Columns” or “Merge as Rows”. We want to make a single column, select “Merge as Rows” and it will give you 4 rows in a single column.

Continue with the same steps for the other columns, then select both, and click “Merge as Columns” to place the table back together.

BONUS TIP: Duplicate that original the table, and turn it off in selection pane to always have a secret version of the original table available for any future needs.

Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-02-07T07:55:31-08:00February 12th, 2025|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Adobe Express – Part 3

This Jake at TLC Creative, and I am continuing our series on the new Adobe Express. I am focusing on the collaboration features, tutorials and some other fun design tools within the free to access and use, Adobe Express.

INVITE

One of the biggest features of Adobe Express is the ability for a team or group to collaborate on a project. You can invite others to work with you by sharing single files, projects or brands, by using the main navigation bar at the top and clicking INVITE:

There’s also another way to do this and that’s to click “Share” to share the file(s) within the editor, which allows you to add people or groups to it:

Note that “Share” and “Invite” are pretty much used interchangeably within Adobe Express. The only requirement is everyone must have an Adobe account (free or CC subscription).

SHARE

Along with inviting/sharing files and collaborating with others, the share feature also allows you to create and then upload posts to your social media accounts, all from Adobe Express. You would click “Share”, the same button used to invite others to collaborate, and then click on the “Share to Social” button. You can connect your accounts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok. You can also add a caption or even generate a caption with AI. From there you can choose to publish immediately or schedule for the future.

LEARN

If you’re new to Adobe Express or looking to become well versed in it, the LEARN section is your best friend. Also located in the top toolbar (as a lightbulb icon) it has an extensive collection of tutorials. Each tutorial comes with examples that show the tools in action, making it easier to grasp how to use them.

CHARTS

For those working with data visualization, Adobe Express includes a CHARTS feature. You can build charts and tables directly within the platform and export them as images (JPEG, PNG), PDFs or Videos with animations.

Of course, while Adobe Express offers these features, it’s worth noting that PowerPoint remains a much more robust tool for creating detailed charts and tables. One area Adobe can improve on is the ability to export chart videos with transparent backgrounds or in alpha format, as PowerPoint currently doesn’t have this feature either (exported charts from Adobe Express are on a solid color, white in this example). This would give even more flexibility in how animated charts are used within presentations.

THE CATCH

Like any other tool, Adobe Express has its pros and cons. One thing to keep in mind is that several add-ons are pay-to-use, such as the “Video Effects Pro” add-on, which requires its own subscription for the full version. Also, there are limits on the number of Firefly AI-generated content pieces you can create unless you upgrade to a premium plan. Additionally, while there is a free version, accessing some advanced features requires a subscription.

Firefly itself can actually be accessed via its own website at https://firefly.adobe.com/, “Photos” within the media section are powered by Adobe Stock (which of course also can be accessed via its own website), Remove Background as well as other effects are powered by Photoshop which can also be used in its native application. It’s no surprise that Adobe Express leverages all of the power and features across its Creative Cloud applications. However, some add-ons are free and require no Premium subscriptions, it’s best to explore within the “Add-ons” tab.

GENERATE TEXT

Remember the fun yet now outdated WordArt from early 2000s Microsoft Word? Adobe Express has its own version called Generate Text that actually utilizes generative AI. Of course, we had to experiment with this feature to see it in action:

Create:

Result:

I will continue to experiment with Adobe Express features (I am looking at the plugins options next), and hope this small series on Adobe Express has provided some insights and inspiration.

-Jake @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2025-01-10T17:03:17-08:00February 10th, 2025|Software/Add-Ins|

Why Are The Shadows Not Animating? – A Look back to April 2012

This is another PowerPoint how-to that was originally posted over a decade ago! You can jump back to 2012 with PowerPoint animation how-to tip. Today we see the same animation error in presentations, so this qualifies as a past, but still relevant blog post! As an addition, Amber on the TLC Creative design team, updated the PowerPoint app screen captures, from the original post, to show the current icons, and added a nice, animated gif showing the animation issue created when applying text animation to the shape and not the actual text.

Have you run into the issue of during the slide show an animated bullet list of text has the text shadow visible and then the full text animates on top of the shadow? It is a scenario that started with PPT 2007. The good news is, it is not a bug in the program and it is easy to “fix.”

Scenario

You have shadow effects on your text and a great on-click animation.

But when you view as a slide show, the shadow of the text is there before the animation! Click and the text animates on as expected – but how come the shadow was not part of the animation?

To Fix

1. Select the text box.

2. Go to FORMAT >> SHAPE EFFECTS >> SHADOW and change the selection to NO SHADOW.

3. With the text box still selected, go to FORMAT >> TEXT EFFECTS >> SHADOW and choose the shadow style needed.

4. Now when you run as a slideshow everything appears when animated!

Why

PowerPoint has always had two types of shadows: Shape and Text shadows. Way back in PPT 2003, there was really no visual difference between them (at the code level, the two shadow types were different, but when animating they just worked). Starting with PPT 2007, the difference between the two shadows types made a difference in how things are displayed. The non-animating text shadow is a most common way this shows up. Because it is a text animation, the shape shadow (even though it looks like text, if the shadow styling is applied as a Shape effect, it is a shape) has no animation applied to it.