Show and Hide the Advanced Animation Timeline in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows

There's so much you can do within the default Custom Animation Task Pane within PowerPoint 2007: you can add animation to any slide object, change the animation event as required, and set the speed of the animation spanning all the way from Very Slow to Very Fast, choosing from several preset speeds available. Yet, there may be times when you want your animation to play for a time span that exceeds the preset time for the Very Slow or any other option. Or there may be two animations that start at the same time, but you want one of them to end just two seconds before the other. In situations like these, you'll need to use the Advanced Timeline found within the Custom Animation Task Pane.

Follow these steps to make the Advanced Timeline visible or invisible in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows:

1. Make sure that the Custom Animation Task Pane is visible. In the Animations tab of the Ribbon, click on the Custom Animation button, as shown in Figure 1, below. Remember that this is a toggle button. So, if your Custom Animation Task Pane is already visible, then clicking this button will make the Task Pane disappear.
2. 
   Figure 1: Custom Animation button within the Animations group of Animations tab
2. You should now see the Custom Animation Task Pane, as shown in Figure 2, below. Note that there is one animation visible in the Task Pane that you see in Figure 2. If you see no animations listed, this means that none of the slide objects on your active slide are animated. Go ahead and add at least one animation.
3. 
   Figure 2: Custom Animation Task pane
4. Within this Task Pane, select any animation in the list, and click the down-arrow towards the right of the animation as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, above.

Add a PowerPoint Animation

Do you want to know how to add an animation in the first place, head to our Adding an Animation tutorial.

3. Alternatively, just right-click on the animation. Either way you will reveal a drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 3, below. In this drop-down menu, select the Show Advanced Timeline option.
4. 
   Figure 3: Show Advanced Timeline option selected
4. This action changes the Custom Animation Task Pane to a different view. Do note that you can now see the timeline of the selected animation, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 4, below. At this point in time, the timeline is not too easy to edit since it is restricted to a very thin Task Pane. However, you can click on the handle of the Task Pane, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 4 and drag it off to a new area on the screen that provides enough space for a longer timeline.
5. 
   Figure 4: Custom Animation task pane in Advanced Timeline mode
5. As you can see in Figure 5 below, we moved the Custom Animation Task Pane to the bottom of the Slide Area. This will provide a longer area to tweak the timeline. Compare Figures 4 and 5 to see how the same timeline now is placed in a less restrictive area.
6. 
   Figure 5: Custom Animation Task Pane moved to the bottom of the slide

Dock and Undock the Custom Animation Task Pane

Once you are done using the Advanced Timeline, you can drag the Custom Animation Task Pane back so that it's docked to its default position in the same way as you dragged it away earlier.

6. Save your presentation often.

Learn how to Control Animation with Advanced Timeline in PowerPoint 2007.