How to Use the Animation Painter in PowerPoint

The Animation Painter is a useful yet underutilized tool in PowerPoint that allows you to easily copy animations from one object to another. This can save you a tremendous amount of time when creating presentations, especially if you need to apply the same animation to multiple objects across one or more slides.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to use the Animation Painter effectively, including:

• What the Animation Painter is and its benefits
• Step-by-step instructions for using it
• Tips, tricks and best practices
• Examples of creative ways to use the Animation Painter

Whether you’re a PowerPoint novice or expert, read on to learn how this great feature can help you work smarter, not harder.

What is the Animation Painter?

The Animation Painter button is located on the Animations tab in PowerPoint. It looks like a paintbrush icon.

When you click on this button, it allows you to copy all of the animations applied to one object and paste them onto another object. This includes the animation effect itself as well as all of its configurable settings like timing, triggers, etc.

Benefits of the Animation Painter

Here are some of the biggest benefits of using the Animation Painter:

• Saves time – Applying animations one-by-one to multiple objects can be extremely tedious and time consuming. The Animation Painter lets you skip right to the pasting.
• Consistency – If you want the same animation on several objects, the Animation Painter ensures they look identical.
• Creativity – You can experiment with animations on one object, then reuse your favorites to enhance your other slides quickly.

How to Use the Animation Painter in PowerPoint

Using the Animation Painter is simple. Follow these steps:

1. Select the object with the animations you want to copy. This is called the source object.
2. Go to the Animations tab and click the Animation Painter button. Your cursor will change to a paintbrush icon.
3. Click the object you want to apply the copied animation to. This is called the destination object. The animation from the source object will be instantly applied.

Here are a few tips for using the Animation Painter effectively:

• To apply the copied animation to multiple objects, double click the Animation Painter button on step 2 instead of single clicking. You can then continually click objects to paste the animation.
• When you’re done, click the Animation Painter button again to deactivate it.
• You can go back and forth between source and destination objects to update or change the copied animation as needed.

Creative Uses for the Animation Painter

While the Animation Painter saves time applying identical animations, you can also use it creatively to add visual interest:

• Animate in a sequence – Apply animations in a sequence to multiple objects using the Animation Painter to guide the viewer’s eye progressively.
• Morph animations – Tweak the settings of a copied animation to morph it into something new on another object.
• Bridge transitions – Use the Animation Painter to transition smoothly from one slide to the next.

The possibilities are endless! Experiment and see what you can create.

Best Practices When Using the Animation Painter

Follow these best practices when working with the Animation Painter:

• Use it in moderation. Too many identical animations can look repetitive.
• Balance animated objects across the slide.
• Enable “Animate in Sequence” so objects don’t move at the same time.
• Review animations and tweak delays/durations if needed after pasting.
• Don’t overdo entrance and exit effects, less is often more.

Troubleshooting Issues with the Animation Painter

If you run into issues using this feature, here are some things to check:

• Make sure you selected the entire object that has the animations, not just part of it.
• Confirm you actually copied an animated object, not a non-animated one.
• Verify the source and destination objects are compatible types like text box vs. text box or shape vs shape.
• If it stops working, deactivate and reactivate the Animation Painter.

Still having trouble? You may need to reset the animation and start fresh.

Conclusion

The Animation Painter is an incredibly useful yet underutilized PowerPoint tool that can enhance your deck while saving you time and effort. Use this guide to learn how to incorporate it effectively using best practices.

Leveraging built-in features like the Animation Painter allows you to work smarter in PowerPoint instead of harder. Have fun with it and see what creative animations you can add to your next presentation!