How to Fade a Picture in and Out in PowerPoint

Fade an Image In and Out on a PowerPoint Slide Using Animations

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated May 28, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can fade a picture in and out on a PowerPoint slide during a slide show using animations. Both fade entrance and exit animation effects will need to be applied to the picture and the animations can be set to start automatically or on click.

Recommended article: How to Make a Picture Transparent in PowerPoint

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To apply one animation to a picture, you can use the Animations gallery in the Ribbon. If you want to apply more than one animation to an image, you will need to use Add Animation in the Advanced Animation group (the same gallery options appear). Animations are typically added to pictures and other objects in Normal View.

Fading a picture in using an entrance animation

To apply a fade in entrance animation to a picture in Normal View (to make it fade in on click):

1. Select a picture.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Animations group, click the More down arrow on the bottom right of the Animations gallery.
4. Click the Fade entrance animation in the Entrance group. By default, the picture will fade in on click during a slide show.

The entrance Fade animation appears in the Animation gallery as follows:

Fading a picture out using an exit animation

If you want to add more than one animation to a picture, you'll need to use the Add Animation command.

To apply a fade out exit animation to a picture in Normal View (to make it fade out on click):

1. Select a picture.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Add Animation in the Advanced Animations group (you must select Add Animation if you are adding more than one animation to an object). A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click the Fade exit animation in the Exit group. By default, the picture will fade out on click during a slide show.

The exit Fade animation appears in the Add Animation gallery as follows:

Using the Animation Pane

When you apply multiple animations to a picture, it's helpful to display the Animation Pane so you can easily edit the animations.

To display the Animation Pane:

1. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
2. Click Animation Pane in the Advanced Animations group. The Animation Pane appears on the right side of the screen.

The Animation Pane will display the animations you have applied. If you have applied an entrance and exit fade effect, two animation effects will appear in the Animation Pane. You can click the animation effect in the Animation Pane and click the arrow to the right to display a drop-down menu with options or you can select options in the Ribbon for that effect.

In the Animation Pane, a green star appears beside entrance animations and a red star appears beside exit animations as follows:

Changing the way an animation starts during a slide show

Animations are set by default to start on click during a slide show. If you want an animation to start automatically, you will need to change the start setting.

To start an animation automatically, you can select one of two options:

• After Previous – the animation sequence will begin once a previous animation effect or effects is  completed. The start of a slideshow is also a previous effect.
• With Previous – the animation sequence will begin at the same time as a previous animation effect or effects. The start of a slideshow is also a previous effect.

To change the way an animation starts:

1. Select the animation effect in the Animation Pane.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Timing group, select an option from the Start drop-down menu.

Setting the speed or duration of a fade animation

When you apply an animation, a duration or speed is automatically set for the animation (in seconds). The default duration is different for each animation effect. You may want to increase the duration to slow the animation down.

To set a speed or duration of an animation:

1. Select the animation effect in the Animation Pane.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Animations group, enter a time for the animation in the Duration area of the Timing group. You can click the up and down arrows to change the duration or type a duration.

In the example below, the duration is set to 1 second:

Running a slide show

The final step is to run the slide show to see your picture fade in and fade out.

Click the Slide Show button on the bottom right of the screen. Use the right and left arrows to move from slide to slide or start the animations (if they are set to on click). You can use many other methods to advance a presentation. Check out PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Shortcuts) for other shortcuts you can use during a slide show.

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