If you have some understanding on adding crossfade effects or transition in videos, you will know that it is a pretty simple process. What about PowerPoint? Well, there are two common ways you can do so. The simplest way to achieve crossfade animations in PowerPoint is using the fade transition provided. First, insert an image on each slide. Next, go to the Transition tab and add Fade > Effect Options > Fade Smoothly. On Advance Slide, set it to a timing of your preference so that it will automatically advance to the next slide after a certain timing. Now click on Apply to All so that the entire presentation will crossfade. While this technique is simple, it has its limitation as well. Say if you want to have a set of images crossfading at the corner of a slide while you show your content, using the fade transition would meant that you are required to create multiple slides and that is certainly not what you would hope to achieve since you would have a hard time backtracking to the content.

Instead, you can make use of custom animation to do so. First, add all the images that you wish to crossfade on the current slide. Next, click on the image (A) that is on the top. Add Exit > Fade animation onto the image (A). Now, click on the image (B) right below the top image (A). Add an Entrance > Fade animation onto the image (B). Add an Exit > Fade animation onto the image (B). Now, repeat the same for rest of the images. Now, hold the Ctrl key, select all the Exit Fade animations and set it to Start After Previous. Next, hold Ctrl key again and select all Entrance Fade animations and set it to Start With Previous. Select all the added animations and set the delay to 1 second. This allows each image to stay hold for a while before transitioning to the next one. Lastly, align the images so that they are all in the same position. To do so, select all the images, go Picture Tools > Format, click Align > Align Center, then Align > Align Middle. Now, you will have a smooth crossfading animations in PowerPoint!

Download the sample here:
Crossfade Animations in PowerPoint

Fade Effect In Powerpoint Download

Identify where a fade is required. Typically, I use the image fading technique in two. You can also create a 'typing' visual effect by making characters in a paragraph appear one at a time. On the slide, select the box that contains your text. Select the Animations tab, and then select the Add Animation drop-down menu to select an animation, such as Appear, Fade, or Fly In. Select the Animations tab, and then select Animation pane. Then use a combination of animation effects (on my slide I used motion paths, fly in, and fade) to bring in your graphics. These techniques help to make a simple PowerPoint presentation look more professional and polished. If you need help with these or any other PowerPoint questions, send us an email, or check through some of our other blog posts!