Animation basics: what the settings mean
Select an element first, then choose Animate. Animations belong to the selected object, so different objects can move in different ways.
| Control | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Delay (s) | A wait before the animation starts. 0.5 means half a second. If you've also moved the element's start on the timeline, preview both together. |
| Duration (s) | How long the animation action takes. Longer means a more gradual move or fade. It is not the page length. |
| Loop | For Move, Zoom, Bounce, Scrolling Text and the Effects, 0 is labelled Forever (∞) and 1 plays once. Use 1 for a simple entrance. |
| Repeat (Typewriter only) | Different from Loop: 0 types once, then stays. 1 retypes one more time. Read the helper text under the field. |
| From / To | Start and end values — points for movement, size percentages for Zoom, opacity percentages for Fade, degrees for Rotate. |
| Reverse | Plays the motion back the other way. Leave it off for simple entrances and preview before relying on it. |
What's available
Animations includes Move, Zoom and Bounce, Scrolling Text and Typewriter. The Effects group beneath includes Fade, Blink and Rotate. Scrolling Text and Typewriter are text-only tools.
Effects can be combined — for example Typewriter with Fade — but start with one so the result is easy to understand.
Forever isn't forever. A looping animation still only has the page or element's time in which to play. It doesn't make the page last longer — set that in Page duration.
Remove an animation
In Animate, clicking an enabled Fade, Blink or Rotate effect again switches it off. The panel also has Remove All controls to clear the selected object's animation and effects. Use Undo if you clear more than you meant to.