Libreoffice impress animation

Open the Animation pane and select the right object

To apply an effect to an object on a slide in Impress, first select the object, then open the Animation pane. The official help lists these ways to access the pane: View - Animation, the Animation command on the Slide Show tab in the tabbed interface, and the Animation deck in the sidebar. If names look different because of your interface language or version, check the command in your own menu; do not assume a shortcut that is not listed here. For the pane and its controls, see Animation Pane - LibreOffice Help.

The animation list shows the effects on the current slide. The first line of an entry shows a mouse icon for starting on click or a clock icon for starting after the previous effect ends, as well as the object’s name or the first characters of the animated text. The second line contains the effect icon, category, and name. Use this list to check which objects the effects belong to and the order in which they run.

Add an effect and choose its category

With the object selected, click Add in the pane. The categories are Entrance, Emphasis, Exit, and Motion Paths. Entrance, Emphasis, and Exit describe effect groups; Motion Paths is a separate category. The source confirms the category names and the effect-selection function, but do not assume that a particular effect is available under the same name or in the same form in every version. Use the list shown in your own pane to choose an appropriate effect.

After selecting an effect, you can set its start time in the Start field: On click, With previous, or After previous. With On click, the effect waits for the next click. With With previous, it runs together with the previous effect. With After previous, it starts when the previous effect is complete. The pane also includes Duration and Delay controls; the first specifies how long the selected effect lasts, and the second specifies how long to wait before it starts.

To add another effect to an object, select the object and use Add again. You can change the order of multiple effects by moving them up or down in the list; use Remove to delete the selected effect from the list. Before removing an effect, check that the correct one is selected in the list.

Example: Three-stage project summary

The following example is hypothetical: imagine a slide with the heading “Project Summary” and three separate boxes labeled “Analysis,” “Design,” and “Deployment.” The goal is to reveal the boxes in sequence during the presentation.

1. Select the “Analysis” box and click Add in the Animation pane. Choose the Entrance category and an effect offered in the pane.
2. Select On click in the Start field. If you like, adjust the Duration value; check the value you plan to use in the animation preview.
3. Select the “Design” box and repeat the same steps. Then add an effect to the “Deployment” box as well.
4. Review the order of the three effects in the list. If necessary, select the relevant effect and use the move up or move down buttons.
5. If you want the caption below each box to appear after the box, add a separate effect to the caption object and set Start to After previous. Confirm in the list that this setting belongs to the right object and the effect in the right position.
6. Preview the selected effect with the Play button in the pane. You can also use the preview option to preview new or edited effects on the slide as you apply them.

This is an example prepared to demonstrate the start and ordering options, not a specific design rule. If the heading, boxes, and captions are separate objects, you need to select each one separately and assign effects separately.

Effect properties and preview

To change additional properties for the selected effect, open the Options button in the Animation pane. The help lists properties such as direction, amount, color, font, font size, and zoom as examples; which properties appear depends on the effect selected. If you cannot find a property in the list, do not assume that it is available for a different version or effect; check the options for the selected effect.

Preview helps you examine the appearance and timing of the effect you selected. Therefore, especially when using With previous or After previous, select the relevant effect first and check it with Play. This check does not mean that the entire presentation is being played in audience view; what is described here is the effect preview in the Animation pane.

Create an animated GIF

You can use the separate Animated Image editor to combine drawings, text, or graphic objects from a slide into an animation as frames. Select an object or group of objects and go to Insert - Media - Animated Image. The menu name may differ in a localized interface; verify the command in your own menu. For the steps, see the Creating Animated GIF Images - LibreOffice help page.

In the editor, Apply Object adds the selected single object or group to the current animation frame. Apply Objects Individually creates a separate frame for each selected object. In the Animation Group field, select Bitmap object. In the timeline, enter the frame number in the Image Number box and the number of seconds that frame will be displayed in the Duration box; repeat this for each frame. In the Loop count field, choose how many times the animation sequence repeats; in the Alignment field, choose the alignment of the objects. Preview using the controls, then click Create. These steps are for the frame-based GIF tool; this is not the same feature as applying effects to slide objects.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add more than one effect to the same object?

The Add command in the Animation pane adds another effect to the selected object. To give an object multiple effects, check that the object is selected and that the effects you add appear in the right order in the list.

Can I remove an animation without deleting the object?

Select the effect you want to remove from the animation list and click Remove. Before doing so, check that the correct effect is selected; this command removes the selected effect from the animation list.

Pre-presentation checklist

• Before adding an effect, confirm that the right slide and object are selected.
• Check the object names, start icons, and order of the effects in the list.
• Choose On click, With previous, and After previous according to your goal; review the Duration and Delay values.
• Preview the selected effect with the Play button; check whether the options apply to the selected effect.
• If you are creating a GIF, review the frame number, duration, loop count, and alignment, and preview the animation before clicking Create.

If you are working on the layout or presentation theme, see the related guide on changing a LibreOffice Impress presentation template. The article LibreOffice Impress vs. PowerPoint may also provide context for comparing the workflows of different presentation tools; for animation steps, use the controls in the Impress interface you are working with.