Using GIFs in PowerPoint

Looking for a way to liven up your PowerPoint presentation’s content?

How about using a GIF? Animated images are everywhere these days, so why not use GIFs for your presentation content, too?

GIFs are guaranteed to grab your audience’s attention. They’re a fun and entertaining way to highlight your content and key messages. Plus, GIFs have smaller file sizes than videos, which saves you loading time. Learn how to create GIFs and insert them into your presentation.

What is an animated GIF?

GIF stands for graphics interchange format. This is a type of bitmap image format that supports up to 8 bits per pixel, allowing an image to access a 255-color palette. GIF files are perfect for images with a small color palette and, of course, animations. Additionally, the file size is usually smaller than JPEG files.

Most GIF files are animated, meaning they’re not static images like JPEG files but repeat automatically after a few seconds. Some GIFs play once and stop on the last image.

Why use GIFs?

GIFs are a great choice if you want to liven up your presentation and use movement to attract your audience’s attention. There are many possibilities for using GIFs:

• GIFs instead of videos → smaller file size and shorter loading time
• Animated logos
• Animated pictograms
• Slideshows
• Illustrating trends, data, and processes

Always be mindful of using GIFs appropriately. Since GIFs always draw attention, they should be carefully selected so as not to distract from the content of your presentation. To use GIFs effectively, it is advisable to use them sparingly and strategically incorporate them at the right points in the presentation.

Ideally, GIFs should be placed at key points to emphasize important elements or visualize complex concepts. Additionally, it is recommended to use GIFs that have a clear connection to the message of the presentation and support the topic.

GIFs in Various Industries

GIFs can be used in a variety of industries and professional fields to enhance presentations and make content more engaging.

In the marketing industry, animated logos or GIFs can illustrate trends and statistics. Additionally, GIFs can reinforce brand messages. In education, GIFs can visually represent complex concepts and support the learning process. Even in technical or scientific presentations, GIFs can explain processes or procedures visually.

The versatility of GIFs allows them to be effectively used in diverse contexts. In casual and informal presentations, humorous or entertaining GIFs can amuse the audience and lighten the mood. In sales or business presentations, GIFs can engage potential customers and present products or services attractively.

How to create a GIF

So, you’ve decided to insert a GIF into your PowerPoint? You have come to the right place. There are several ways to create a GIF, which we will explore below.

Create a GIF directly in PowerPoint

GIFs contain a series of images that are displayed in sequence quickly enough to create an animation. To create these in PowerPoint, you can use a transition or the slide transition called Morph.

1. Before you start creating, you need to determine the shape and size of your GIF. If you are using a standard widescreen slide, the GIF will also adopt the 16:9 aspect ratio.

2. Open the PowerPoint slide on which you want to insert the GIF.

3. Click on the Design tab. In the Customize group, set your slide size by clicking Slide Size > Custom Slide Size….

4. Insert your desired object, such as an icon, by going to the Insert tab and selecting Icons in the Illustrations group.

Tip: You can find more professional icons from PresentationLoad for your business here .

5. Choose an icon and create a duplicate of the slide in the thumbnail view by pressing Ctrl+Shift+D (A Morph transition requires two slides with the same object).

6. Now go to the duplicate slide and make any changes you want to the icon. For example, change the position, color, or text.

7. Click on the duplicate icon and go to Transition > Morph in the Transition to This Slide group.

8. Stay on the Transitions tab and go to Effects Options. Here, you can choose how you want the transition to work.

9. Select Objects, as in our example.

10. Click Preview in the Transitions tab to see what your Morph transition will look like.

11. Now go to File > Export and select Create Animated GIF.

12. Select the file size you want and click Create GIF.

13. In the same window, you can also choose how many seconds to spend on each slide.

14. A progress bar for your GIF file will appear in the status bar at the bottom. This normally takes only a few seconds.

Our GIF looks like this:

Create a GIF in Photoshop

Looking to create your own content and use custom images to make a GIF for your key messages? No problem. Photoshop allows you to turn your images into GIFs. Here’s how:

For this tutorial, you need the Photoshop image editor and some experience using it.

1. Remember to use a tripod when taking pictures to ensure they are taken from the same perspective.

2. Modify each captured image to appear correctly in the GIF sequence.

3. Ensure all your pictures have the same pixel dimensions.

4. Import the pictures to a Photoshop file under File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack. This opens a window. Click Browse to find your pictures. Hold down the Shift key, select your photos, click Open, and then OK. Your photos will now be imported into a single-layer file. You’ll see several new layers on the right side, which will become the frames of your GIF.

5. Now design a frame animation by going to Window > Timeline at the bottom of your workspace.

6. Click the arrow on the button in the middle of the panel and select Create Frame Animation. Your first photo will now appear in the timeline.

7. To convert layers into animation frames, go to the upper-right corner of the Timeline panel and click the menu icon. Select Make Frames From Layers.

8. If your photos are playing in reverse order, select Reverse Frames from the Timeline menu icon.

9. Click under each frame and select how long it should appear before switching to the next frame. A transition of one to five seconds is optimal.

10. You can set an infinite loop for your GIF, copy, paste, and flip the images. Before copying and pasting, set the playback time so you don’t have to set it again for each copy. To copy the images, click on the first image, hold down the Shift key, and click on the last image. Then go to the right menu and click Copy Frames. Switch to Paste Frames in the same menu.

11. When the Paste Frames window opens, select Paste After Selection. Now you can reverse the frames.

12. Return to the menu and click on Reverse Frames (as in point 8). Delete one of the two identical frames to prevent lag.

13. Preview your GIF by clicking the play button at the bottom of the timeline window.

14. Finally, save your file as a GIF. Make sure the infinite loop is set to Forever (in the bottom left corner). Select File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) to save it.

This quick guide can also be found as a video here .

Find animated GIFs on the internet

Want to insert a GIF into PowerPoint but don’t want to create your own? You can find GIFs on the web using PowerPoint’s online image search.

In PowerPoint, go to Insert > Pictures > Online Pictures… or Insert Clip Art for older versions. Type animated GIF into the search box and select a GIF from your desired category.

Tip: There are a wide range of online tools and resources available that allow you to create and download GIFs. These tools often have user-friendly interfaces and various editing options to customize your GIF. Some tools also provide features to optimize the GIF file size for reduced loading times.

Additionally, there are websites offering high-quality, royalty-free GIFs that can be used in presentations. Using such resources saves time and allows you to find or create engaging GIFs for your presentation.

How to insert a GIF in PowerPoint

Now that you know how to create GIFs, let’s show you how to insert them into PowerPoint:

For Windows:

1. Select the slide where you want to insert the GIF.

2. Go to Insert > Pictures. This will open the Insert Picture From drop-down menu.

3. Select the file you want from the locations in the drop-down menu and click Insert.

For macOS:

1. Select the slide where you would like to insert the GIF.

2. On the Home tab under Insert, go to Picture > Picture from File.

3. In the window that opens, browse for the file you want and click Insert.

How to play animated GIFs

You’ve inserted your GIF on a slide, but it appears just as a static image. Don’t worry; you can play it back with just a few clicks.

For Windows:

1. Go to the Slide Show tab.

2. In the Start Slide Show group, click From Current Slide.

3. The GIF file will now play in a continuous loop.

For macOS:

1. Go to the Slide Show menu.

2. Select Play from Current Slide.

3. The GIF file will now play in a continuous loop.

How to adjust the animation loop frequency

Your GIF is now inserted into PowerPoint and playing in an endless loop. To set how often it plays, use the online editor at ezgif.com.

Go to the GIF frame extractor on ezgif.com and upload your GIF file. You can adjust the repetition by selecting Split to frames > Edit animation > Loop count > Make a GIF! Save the new file and paste it into the presentation again.

Some limitations when using GIFs

Keep the following points in mind when using a GIF in PowerPoint:

• GIFs start automatically when you switch to a slide, making it impossible to control playback with a mouse click.
• GIFs only have 256 colors, which can reduce the image quality for photos.
• You can’t create transparent areas with a GIF.
• You can’t crop a GIF.
• Large File Size: To use GIFs effectively, it’s important to optimize their file size. Large GIFs can slow down loading times and impact the presentation. By reducing the color palette, using compressed images, and limiting the animation duration, the file size of GIFs can be optimized without significantly compromising visual quality. This ensures smooth playback of GIFs and enhances the user experience during the presentation.

Conclusion: GIFs liven up a presentation

If you want something entertaining to catch your audience’s eye and attention, choose a GIF.

You don’t always have to turn to elaborate videos. A GIF is a great way to illustrate a process or even your key messages. Thanks to its small file size, you won’t have to deal with long loading times. You can also customize your animated GIF by adjusting its loop frequency. Plus, they’re fun and easy to create!