Typewriter animations are a popular way to reveal text in PowerPoint presentations. They create the effect of text being typed out letter by letter, mimicking an old-fashioned typewriter.
Typewriter animations grab the audience’s attention and add visual interest to text-heavy slides. When used appropriately, they can emphasize important points and make your content more memorable.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to easily create typewriter text animations in PowerPoint.
Step 1: Add a Text Box to Your Slide
Start by adding a text box to the slide where you want to have the typewriter animation.
To insert a text box:
- Go to the “Insert” tab
- Click the “Text Box” button
- Click and drag to draw the text box on your slide
You can resize and position the text box however you like.
Step 2: Enter Your Text
Type or paste the text you want to reveal with the typewriter animation into the text box.
You can enter multiple paragraphs if desired. All of the text will animate, so enter everything you want to appear letter by letter.
Step 3: Apply a Typing Animation
Now it’s time to make the magic happen by applying a “typing” animation effect.
On the “Animations” tab of the ribbon:
- Click the “Animation Pane” button to open the animation sidebar
- Click the text box to select it
- Click “Add Animation” and select the “Appear” animation
This will make all the text appear at once initially.
Step 4: Customize the Animation Effect
To customize the animation to show letter by letter:
- In the Animation Pane, click the down arrow next to the animation effect and select “Effect Options”
- On the “Effect” tab, click the dropdown next to “Animate Text” and choose “By Letter”
- Set the desired timing by entering the number of seconds between letters appearing
You’ll see a live preview of the animation, so you can tweak the timing until it looks right.
Step 5: Add Sound (Optional)
To make the typewriter animation more realistic, you can add typewriter key click sounds.
In the Effect Options:
- Go to the “Sound” tab
- Check the box for “Play sound”
- Click “Sound” to browse the built-in sound effects and select a typewriter key click
The sound will play each time a new letter appears.
Step 6: Preview and Tweak
You now have a working typewriter text animation!
Preview how it looks by clicking the “Preview” button in the Animation Pane. Tweak the effect timing and sound as needed until you’re satisfied.
The animation will play automatically when you show the slide during your PowerPoint presentation.
Creative Ways to Use Typewriter Animations
Now that you know the basics, here are some creative ways you can use typewriter animations to make an impact:
- Reveal key talking points one at a time
- Animate bulleted lists appearing line by line
- Show a meaningful quote slowly for emphasis
- Build up the title of your presentation letter by letter
- Mimic typing out code snippets or terminal output
- Recreate historical telegrams or typewritten documents
The possibilities are endless! Try out different typewriter animation variations to find what works best for your particular slides and presentation style.
Conclusion
Adding typewriter animations in PowerPoint is easy and only takes a few clicks once you know the steps.
Use this popular animation effect to grab attention, build suspense, and entertain your audiences with creative slide transitions.
With the text animation skills from this tutorial, you can make your PowerPoint presentations more engaging, memorable and impactful.
