The acronym GIF stands for “Graphic Interchange Format “. It is an animated image format, usable on most files and computer tools. GIFs can therefore easily be added to a PowerPoint presentation, just like other image formats. In particular, they make it possible to make a visual presentation more dynamic for its audience.
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The procedure for adding a GIF to a presentation made with PowerPoint consists of 6 steps.
Table of Contents
Add a GIF to a PowerPoint presentation
1 – Select the slide on which to add the GIF
First, the user must open PowerPoint and then select “New presentation”. A blank slide is then displayed on the screen. This is where the GIF will be integrated.
2 – Go to “Insert”, then click on “Images”
In the main menu of the PowerPoint software, you must then click on “Insert”, then on “Images”, as for adding a file in any other current graphic format (jpeg, png, etc.).
3 – Click on “Insert an image”
In the drop-down pane under the “Images” section, you must select the source of the GIF file to integrate between, as desired:
- “Photo browser …”
- “Image from file …”
- “Stored images …”
- “Images online …”
The “Stored images” and “Online images” sections refer to the PowerPoint image bank. It is possible to find GIFs there, although it is often more relevant to add your own GIF as part of a professional presentation.
4 – Choose the GIF in its original location
When the user clicks “Photo Browser” or “Image from File”, PowerPoint displays a dialog box on the screen. Depending on the Mac or Windows operating system and depending on the current version, the dialog box may differ.
In all cases, the easiest way is to use the “Image from file” section to directly fetch the GIF in its original location.
5 – Click on “Insert”
Once the GIF has been selected in its local folder (that is to say on the computer), click on the “Insert” button at the bottom right of the dialog box in order to integrate the image file to the PowerPoint slide selected at the start of the operation.
Once the insertion is complete, all you have to do is use the arrows to position the animated image in relation to the other elements of the slide.
6 – Test the rendering of the animation via the “Slideshow” tab
Once the GIF has been integrated into the slide and positioned on the page, it is important to test the rendering of the animation using the “Slide Show” tab of the PowerPoint menu. It is then possible to play the slide show either from the beginning, that is to say from the first slide, or from the selected slide.
Note that, by default, a GIF plays only once on a PowerPoint slide. To keep the image animated for the duration of the slide, you have to think about integrating an animated GIF in a loop. The “Slideshow” tab is then very useful for checking in advance what the audience will see during the presentation.
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