The Animations Pane in PowerPoint allows you to view, manage, and edit all the animation effects on a slide. Using the Animations Pane can help organize complex sequences with multiple objects. This guide will walk through how to access the Animations Pane and use it to create professional animations in your PowerPoint presentations.

Open the Animations Pane

The first step is to open the Animations Pane:

Select the object(s) on the slide you want to animate. This can be text boxes, images, shapes, SmartArt, etc.

Go to the Animations tab.
Click Animation Pane to open the pane on the right side.

The Animation Pane will display all animation effects added to the current slide, in the order they are set to appear.

Add Animations

With the Animation Pane open, you can easily add animations:

Select the object you want to animate.
Click Add Animation and choose an effect from the menu.

Repeat for additional objects on the slide.

The animation effects will be added to the Animation Pane list in the order you apply them.

Edit Animations

The Animation Pane makes it simple to edit existing animations:

Change Order – Click and drag animations up/down to reorder.
Edit Effects – Click the down arrow next to effects and choose a new one.
Adjust Timing – Use the Timing tab to set delay, duration, etc.

Add Motion Paths – Choose a motion path to make objects move across slides.
Copy Animations – Use the Animation Painter to duplicate animations.

Preview Animations

Always preview animations before finalizing:

Click Play in the Animation Pane to view animation sequence.
Use Play From to start from a specific animation.
Fix any issues before advancing slides.

Previewing ensures animations play as expected before presenting.

Animation Pane Tips

Keep these tips in mind when working with the Animation Pane:

Name objects in the Selection Pane for easy identification

Reorder complex sequences for proper timing
Use triggers to start animations with clicks
Limit animations to 1-2 per slide

Following best practices for animations creates professional, dynamic slides.

The Animation Pane gives you complete control over animations in PowerPoint. Use it arrange objects, timing, and playback of animations on slides. A properly organized Animation Pane makes even complex sequences easy to manage.