How to Fade a Picture In and Out in PowerPoint

Fade an Image In and Out in PowerPoint Using Animations

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 5, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can fade a picture in and out in PowerPoint 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. The Fade effect will appear during a slide show.

Recommended article: How to Fade a Picture or Part of a Picture in PowerPoint (Using a Gradient)

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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 or object, 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.

In this article, we'll review:

• How to fade a picture in using an entrance animation
• How to fade a picture out using an exit animation
• Understand start options for animations
• How to use the animation pane

Fade a picture in using an entrance animation

To fade a picture in using a Fade entrance animation:

1. Select a picture on a slide in Normal View. You can also select a picture on a master or layout in Slide Master View.
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 Fade in the Entrance group.
5. In the Animations tab, enter a time for the animation in the Duration box in the Timing group. You can click the up and down arrows to change the duration or type a duration. Durations are entered in seconds.
6. In the Animations tab, select an option in the Start menu in the Timing group (such as On click, After Previous or With Previous).
7. Click the Slide Show button on the bottom right of the screen to run a slide show. The Fade entrance animation will appear during the show. You can use the right and left arrows to move from slide to slide to start the animations (if they are set to on click).

To exit a slide show, press ESC.

The Fade animation appears in the Entrance group in the Animations gallery as follows:

In the example below, the Duration for the entrance Fade is set to 1 second:

Fade 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 fade a picture out using a Fade exit animation:

1. Select a picture on a slide in Normal View. You can also select a picture on a master or layout in Slide Master View.
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 Fade in the Exit group.
5. In the Animations tab, enter a time for the animation in the Duration box in the Timing group. You can click the up and down arrows to change the duration or type a duration. Durations are entered in seconds.
6. In the Animations tab, select an option in the Start menu in the Timing group (such as On click, After Previous or With Previous).
7. Click the Slide Show button on the bottom right of the screen to run a slide show. The Fade exit animation will appear during the show. You can use the right and left arrows to move from slide to slide or start the animations (if they are set to on click).

To exit a slide show, press ESC.

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

Understand Start options for animations

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 in the Start drop-down menu:

• 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.

Use 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 animation settings.

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.
3. Select an animated item in the Animation Pane and apply the preferred options from the Animations tab in the Ribbon. You can also click the down arrow to the right of an animated item and select Effect Options for more options.

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:

Check out PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Shortcuts) for other shortcuts you can use during a slide show.

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