PowerPoint 2016 introduced an exciting new transition called Morph. The Morph transition allows you to create smooth animated effects as objects move and transform across slides. It’s a game-changer for creating more dynamic and visually compelling presentations in PowerPoint.
What is the Morph Transition?
The Morph transition tracks objects on two slides and seamlessly animates movement, scaling, rotation, and other properties to transform the objects on the first slide into the objects on the second slide.
For example, you could have a picture of a house on one slide that morphs into a larger mansion on the next slide. The Morph transition will smoothly animate the transformation.
Benefits of the Morph Transition:
- Create motion and movement without complex animations
- Seamlessly zoom in/out, rotate, resize, and recolor objects
- Morph between shapes, pictures, charts, SmartArt, and WordArt
- Add visual interest and wow factor to presentations
Morph Transition Requirements
To use the Morph transition, you need:
- PowerPoint 2016 or PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
- The January 2018 update (or later) if using PowerPoint 2016
The Morph transition is not available in older versions of PowerPoint.
How to Setup a Morph Transition
Using the Morph transition takes just a few simple steps:
Step 1: Add Objects to Animate
On the first slide, add the object(s) you want to animate in their starting position, size, color, etc. Copy this slide and paste it to create a second slide.
On the second slide, modify the object(s) to their ending state for the animation. For example, move, resize, rotate, or recolor the objects.
Step 2: Apply the Morph Transition
Select the second slide thumbnail that has the modified objects. Go to Transitions > Morph to apply the transition.
PowerPoint will now animate the objects transforming between the two slides!
Step 3: Preview and Customize
Use the Preview option to view the transition. Under Effect Options, customize the morph movement, duration, and more.
Morph Transition Ideas and Examples
Here are some ideas for using the Morph transition effectively:
- Show progression (e.g. person aging, seed growing into tree)
- Illustrate process flow and step transitions
- Transform shapes into different objects
- Create parallax scrolling effects
- Animate text changes (font, color, size, position)
- Build animations between charts with data changes
Pro Tip: Use subtle, purposeful morphs. Don’t overdo transitions as too many can be distracting.
Limitations to Know
While the Morph transition is extremely versatile, there are some limitations:
- You can’t control individual object movement paths
- It may increase file size with additional slides
- Charts cannot be morphed (but shapes can morph into charts)
For advanced control, you may need to use custom animations instead.
Conclusion
The Morph transition brings simple yet stunning cinematic motion effects to PowerPoint. It’s a valuable tool for creating more memorable and visually compelling presentations that will wow your audience.
Now that you know the basics of how to use PowerPoint 2016’s Morph transition, it’s time to start elevating your next presentation!
