How to Make Text Appear on Click in PowerPoint

Make Text Appear on Click Using Entrance Animations in PowerPoint

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated March 10, 2025

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

You can make text appear on click in PowerPoint using entrance animations. The most common entrance animations are appear, fade, wipe and fly in. During a slide show, presenters can make text appear by line, bullet point, paragraph, word or character. In this article, we will focus on using animations to make text appear on click so you will need to run a slide show and then click anywhere on the slide to make the text appear. You can also press the right arrow or spacebar to make text appear during a slide show. Animations are typically added to placeholders or text boxes in Normal View but can be applied in Slide Master View.

Contents

• Use placeholders or text boxes
• Apply entrance animations on a slide using the Ribbon
• Add an entrance animation to make text appear on click
• Make text appear by line, bullet point or paragraph
• Customize animation settings using the Animation Pane
• Make text appear by word
• Make text appear by letter
• Set the speed or duration of an animation
• Apply animations in Slide Master View
• Run the slide show

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Use placeholders or text boxes

In PowerPoint, text is typically entered in placeholders or text boxes. In Normal View, placeholders are inserted based on the layout applied to a slide. A text box is inserted using the Insert tab in the Ribbon and is not affected by slide layouts.

To apply a layout to a slide and insert placeholders:

1. In Normal View, click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
2. In the Slide group, click Layout. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Select the layout you want to use. You will need to select a layout that includes text and / or content placeholders.

The Layout command appears on the Home tab in the Ribbon below:

To insert a text box:

1. In Normal View, click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
2. In the Text group, click Text Box.
3. Drag on the slide to create a text box.

The Text Box command appears on the Insert tab in the Ribbon below:

Apply entrance animations on a slide using the Ribbon

To apply entrance animations, use the Animations tab in the Ribbon:

Add an entrance animation to make text appear on click

To add an entrance animation to make text appear on click during a slide show:

1. In Normal View, select the text box or placeholder you want to animate. You can click in the text box or placeholder or click its edge.
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 entrance animation you want in the Entrance group. Common entrance effects include Appear, Fade, Fly In and Wipe. By default, text will appear on click during a slide show.

The expanded Animations Gallery appears when you click the More down arrow in the Animations group:

You can also apply an entrance animation by clicking Add Animation on the Animations tab in the Advanced Animation group.

Make text appear by line, bullet point or paragraph

To make text appear by line, bullet point or paragraph:

1. In Normal View, select the text box or placeholder where you have applied an entrance animation.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Animations group, click Effect Options. A drop-down menu appears and displays options based on the animation you selected and the type of text in the placeholder or text box (i.e. one line or paragraph vs multiple lines or paragraphs).
4. Select By Paragraph (available if there are multiple lines, bullets points or paragraphs). Other options may be available depending on the entrance animation you have applied.

Effect Options appear in the Animations tab when you select an animated object:

Customize animation settings using the Animation Pane

Depending on the entrance animation you have applied, you may further customize animation settings using the Animation Pane.

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 animations you have applied.

You can click the animated item in the Animation Pane and click the arrow to the right to display a drop-down menu with Effect options. You can also double-click the animated item.

In the Animation Pane, animated items appear if animations have been applied:

To change animation settings:

1. Click the animated item in the Animation Pane.
2. Click the down arrow that appears to the right of the animated item. A drop-down menu appears. You can also double-click the animated item.
3. Select Effect Options. A dialog box appears.
4. In the dialog box, select your preferred options.
5. Click OK.

The Effect Options dialog box appears with options depending on animation that has been applied:

Make text appear by word

To make text appear by word:

1. In Normal View, select the text box or placeholder where you have applied an entrance animation.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Animation Pane in the Advanced Animations group. The Animation Pane appears.
4. Click the animated item in the Animation Pane.
5. Click the down arrow that appears to the right of the animated item. A drop-down menu appears. You can also double-click the animated item.
6. Select Effect Options. A dialog box appears.
7. In the dialog box, select By word from the Animate text drop-down menu.
8. Enter an amount for delay if you want.
9. Click OK.

In the following example, Effect Options have been set to make text appear by word with a delay:

Make text appear by letter

To make text appear by letter:

1. In Normal View, select the text box or placeholder where you have applied an entrance animation.
2. Click Animation Pane in the Advanced Animations group. The Animation Pane appears.
3. Click the animated item in the Animation Pane.
4. Click the down arrow that appears to the right of the animated item. A drop-down menu appears. You can also double-click the animated item.
5. Select Effect Options. A dialog box appears.
6. In the dialog box, select By letter from the Animate text drop-down menu.
7. Enter an amount for delay if you want.
8. Click OK.

In the following example, Effect Options have been set to make text appear by letter with a delay:

Set the speed or duration of an 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. The initial duration is often fast and you may want to increase the duration to slow it down.

To set a speed or duration of an animation:

1. Select the animated item in the Animation Pane.
2. Click the Animations tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Animations group, enter a time (in seconds) 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.

Apply animations in Slide Master View

You can also apply animations to placeholders on layouts in Slide Master View. If you apply animations in this view, animations will be applied to any slide using the layout with the animations.

To apply animations to placeholders in Slide Master View:

1. Click the View tab in the Ribbon.
2. Click Slide Master in the Views group. Layout thumbnails appear on the left.
3. On the left, select the layout with the placeholder you want to animate.
4. Apply animations using the methods above.
5. Click the Normal button on the bottom right of the screen to return to Normal View.

Run the slide show

You will need to run the slide show to make text appear on click. To run a slide show, simply click the Slide Show button on the bottom right of the screen. In slide show mode, click anywhere on a slide to make text appear on click. You can also use the right arrow or spacebar to start animations. For more ways to run a slide show, check out 5 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Run a Slide Show.

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