How to Create an Auto-Playing PowerPoint Presentation

How to create a self-running PowerPoint presentation

Set up the presentation

There are several options for creating a PowerPoint presentation automatically. All of these are accessible under the Slide Show tab.

Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show

There are three options under this menu:

1. Presented by a speaker: This first option requires the viewer to click through each slide. This is the default setting that most PowerPoint presentations are already in and is the mode with which you’re likely most familiar.
2. Browsed by an individual: This option will create a slideshow where the viewer cannot control when slides advance. This is an autoplay feature, but the viewer will still have to hit Play to get it started.
3. Browsed at a kiosk: Once selected, this option will loop the slideshow until a viewer presses the escape button.

If you don’t want your viewers to have access to when the slideshow starts and stops, select the third option. The Loop Continuously option underneath will automatically remain selected.

Set the slide timing

Before you begin recording your presentation, it’s important to set the slide time using the rehearsal toolbar. This will give you an idea of how long each slide will run before advancing to the next one. It will also allow you to practice your presentation and understand how long the run time will be. Like setting up the slideshow, you can access this window via the Slide Show tab.

Slide Show > Rehearse Timings

The recording window allows users to advance to the next slide, pause the presentation, view the current slide’s time, restart the recording for a slide and view the total run time of the presentation.

After recording the last slide, PowerPoint will ask whether you want to keep the slide timings.

Record the presentation

Once you’ve set your slide timings, you can record your slideshow.

Navigate to Slide Show > Record Slide Show to begin your recording. Click End Show and save your file once you’ve finished recording. After saving, your presentation is ready to be sent to clients or customers, uploaded to YouTube, or played at your convention or conference booth.

Here are some quick tips to check before recording your presentation:

1. Prior to recording, make sure you adjust the Play Narrations and the Use Timings checkboxes.
2. If you want all narration and slide transitions included, be sure to check both boxes.
3. To create a silent sequence of slides, make sure the Play Narrations button remains deselected.

What is PowerPoint autoplay?

Autoplay allows you to keep a PowerPoint presentation running. In typical PowerPoint presentations, presenters click from slide to slide manually using a clicker or spacebar on a keyboard.

Luckily, PowerPoint autoplay allows users to set up their slides, so they automatically change. That way, they can focus on their presentation without interruptions. There are options to have slides timed to music or voice-overs and make each slide the same length.

Why is PowerPoint autoplay beneficial?

Autoplay is great for several uses, from delivering announcements throughout a company’s office or within a school to giving speeches and presentations at conventions or work meetings. Presenters can rehearse the timings of the slides and then present without worry. Here are some of the reasons why someone may use PowerPoint’s autoplay features:

1. Rehearsal: Practicing your presentation involves timing, and autoplay can be a great tool for learning how to fill time or keep it short. For example, many teachers and professors require presentations to fill a certain amount of time for class projects. While rehearsing timings, users can determine how much time to spend on each slide. This keeps presenters on track during their presentations, even when they want to speed up due to nerves or pressure. [Read related: Presentation Skills Everyone Should Have]
2. Convention booths and exhibits: Trade show displays, conventions and networking events are great for companies and salespeople who want to showcase a variety of products and services. People who walk by can look at the presentation without having to ask employees for information. In addition, a good PowerPoint presentation with eye-catching visuals and information can attract potential customers and clients, which could turn into sales.
3. Music videos and tribute presentations: Whether it is a presentation of family vacation photos to the soundtrack of the summer or a lyric video to your favorite song, autoplay allows users to create appealing presentations and videos. You could even download these as MP4 files to share with family and friends.
4. Replay and loop at events or other occasions: This is great for offices that have a slideshow of information for their clients or patients. They can show a variety of pictures, information about services, and even the company’s latest news and contact information. Because of this, employees can set up the presentation, walk away and know that their announcements are being made public without even saying a word.

Maximizing your presentations

Auto-playing PowerPoints are a strong presentation tool. With the ability to add images, video and audio, auto-playing the presentations allows for businesses to customize exactly what they hope to display. This combination of versatility and autoplay makes PowerPoint usable for everything from a work announcement or an impactful client meeting to a family photo display. 

And while there are strong alternatives to PowerPoint available, PowerPoint offers the flexibility necessary for users to make the tool work for them. 

Jeremy Bender contributed to this article.