Slide Transitions in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

Transitions between slides cover much more than some movement between one slide and the next. You can actually do a slide transition that is abrupt without any effect or you could look at any of the transition effects, all the way from simple Fades and Wipes to something that can cause vertigo! In addition, transitions in PowerPoint can have set timings, and also add transition sounds. Clearly, there is plenty to learn, and unlearn!

Whatever transition effect you may add, remember these basic concepts:

1. Transition effects happen when the slide shows up.
2. Transition speed influences how long it takes to transit from one slide to another.
3. Transition timings indicate how long the slide shows on screen. Most slides that are presented during sessions or conferences do not have any fixed transition timings since speakers don't know exactly how long they will end up speaking while a particular slide is shown. In this case, a mere mouse click takes them to the next slide.
4. Transitions can have sounds, and this is one of those PowerPoint features that you should never use unless you have a compelling reason to do so!

Adding a Slide Transition

Follow these steps to add a slide transition to one or more slides in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:

1. Navigate to the slide to which you want to add a transition. If you want to add a similar transition effect to more than one slide, access PowerPoint's Slide Sorter view and select the slides you need, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Slides selected within the Slide Sorter view
2. Access the Transitions tab of the Ribbon, and click the arrow within the Transition to This Slide group, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.
3. 
   Figure 2: More button within the Transition to This Slide group
3. Doing so will bring up a drop-down gallery as shown in Figure 3, below. You will see that all transitions are divided into three categories: Subtle, Exciting, and Dynamic Content. We suggest you select a transition effect from the Subtle category. To start with, we chose the Fade effect as shown in Figure 3.
4. 
   Figure 3: Slide Transitions gallery
4. If you want to add the same transition effect to all slides in your presentation, as opposed to just the active or selected slides, select the transition effect, and click the Apply To All button located within the Transitions tab, as shown highlighted in red in Figure 4, below.
5. 
   Figure 4: Apply to All option within theTransitions tab

We explore other Transition options such as Transition Duration (speed), Transition Timings, and Transitions Sound in other tutorials of this series.