How to Play PowerPoint Slides Automatically

The PowerPoint autoplay feature is an amazing tool for creating slideshows that advance automatically. Self-running PowerPoint presentations are great for leaving in kiosks or publicity booths. You can even show them with recordings or voiceovers to make sure your audience gets the most out of it.

Forget worrying about clicking from slide to slide, today we will teach you how to play PowerPoint slides automatically!

We’ll cover the following topics:

Why should you use the automatic slideshow PowerPoint feature?

Using the automatic slideshow feature has many benefits. The main one is its practicality; it is a tool you can set up in advance so that you eliminate the need for ongoing attention and your presentation flow is better.

And that’s not all, you can even add voiceovers, recordings, and even laser pointer gestures to make sure your audience gets the most out of your presentation.

It becomes particularly beneficial in the following scenarios:

Business presentations: An automatically progressing presentation can help you focus on your content without worrying about going slide by slide, which can often be distracting and disrupt your rhythm.
Publicity: Self-running presentations can be great if you use them for publicity. For example, if you have a kiosk or booth, a self-running PowerPoint slideshow can help you reach more people without them having to speak one-on-one with a salesperson.
E-Learning: In e-learning modules or training presentations, autoplay can help learners progress through the material while listening to your lecture. However, they can also pause and rewind to go to the specific section they wish to revisit.
Photo or Video Slideshows: Autoplay is commonly used in photo or video slideshows for events such as weddings or birthdays. It can serve as a background loop, or you can present it at a special moment along with music or narration to enhance the experience.

How to Play PowerPoint Slides Automatically without Clicking: Option 1

There are a couple of different ways to make your slides run automatically, and we'll go over both options. This first option is for when you need a really customized presentation: personalized timing for each slide, voiceovers, or laser pointer gestures.

If this is your case, go ahead with this section, but if you’d like something a bit simpler, proceed to Option 2.

The first step is to go to the Slide Show Tab. On the Set Up group, you’ll find the Set Up Slide Show option to start customizing your self-running presentation.

Once the Set Up Show Window opens, deselect the Presented by a speaker option, as it refers to manually advancing your slides, either by clicking or using keys. Next, consider several options for the automatic slideshow:

Browsed by an individual is one choice for creating a self-running PowerPoint presentation. This option permits you to deliver your slides within a window, as opposed to the typical full-screen mode. Ensure that the Use timings, if present option is enabled for this feature to function correctly.
Another option is the Browsed at a kiosk, which allows you to run a full-screen, continuous slideshow automatically. This option locks in both the looping and timing settings, ensuring that your slideshow will continue until you press the ESC key.

If you’re not sure what option is the best for you, remember you can always select manually the loop and timings option. Try different options with these and try out how your presentation will look like with the different settings.

The next step is to set your timings. This means defining how much time you want your PowerPoint slideshow to spend on each slide before automatically advancing to the next one.

To set your timings, click on Rehearse Timings, which will allow you to go through your presentation slide by slide, and it’ll record how much time you spend on each one.

After you finish going through all your slides, a message will pop up to save your timings. Click yes so you can save the time spent on each slide.

How to play slideshow in PowerPoint automatically: Option 2

Let’s take a look at a different way of using the PowerPoint autoplay feature. This option is great if you’re looking for something simple and just want your slides to advance automatically at regular intervals.

First, open the Transitions Tab and locate the Timing Group.

Go to the After option and manually add how much time you want to spend on each of your slides.

Select the Apply To All option so all your slides have the same timing.

You can also deselect the On Mouse Click option, depending on whether you want to be able to advance your slides by clicking or not.

How to make PowerPoint slides advance automatically with audio

Adding audio to your automatic PowerPoint is a fantastic feature to enhance your professional image and communicate your content without needing to be present. Let’s take a look at how to do it:

Go to the Slide Show Tab and select Record Slide Show. Choose Record From Beginning to start with the first slide.

When the fullscreen opens, you will be able to see your first slide along with several options:

Start in Settings (1) and select the tools you will be using. You have the option to use a microphone, or you can record yourself talking on camera. Choose your microphone and/or camera for recording.
Next (2), decide whether you want to have the microphone or camera you selected turned on. You can also choose to have a video preview.
When you're ready to start recording, go to the top left corner (3) and click Record to start, Stop to pause, and Replay to review how it went.
Once you finish with a slide, click on the right arrow (4) to move to the next slide.
If you have Speaker notes in your slides, you can view them in (5) while you record.
In the Pens and Markers section (6), you can draw on the screen and make any annotations you want.
Finally, the Clear option (7) allows you to clear existing recordings on the current slide or on all slides if you are unsatisfied and want to redo your recording.

Now, to review what you've recorded, go to Set Up and make sure Play Narrations and Use Timings are checked. Then, click on From Beginning to start the presentation.

How to loop slides in PowerPoint

If you want to learn how to loop your slides in PowerPoint, follow these steps:

Go to the Slide Show tab and select Set Up Slide Show.

When the Set Up Show window appears, go to the Show options group and tick the Loop continuously until ‘Esc’ option. Don’t forget to click OK to apply the new setup!

And all done! Now, your presentation will loop until you select ‘Esc’.

Check out some expert best practices for Automatic slideshows in PowerPoint

Now that you've learned how to make a PowerPoint slideshow run automatically, we'll give you the secrets to make your presentation stand out. Let's take a look at some insights from our expert designers.

Avoid too much text

Remember that your time per slide is limited, so it is important not to put too much text since your audience will not have time to read it. Try to express your message in the shortest possible text, and if necessary, revise and rewrite it as many times as necessary to synthesize it.

Limit interactive elements

Limit or avoid interactive elements such as hyperlinks that rely on user interaction since they may not function in PowerPoint autoplay mode.

However, if you want your audience or potential clients to take a specific action, consider using a QR code. Only make sure to leave the slide displayed for enough time for them to use it.

Practice, practice, practice

Keep in mind that your speech needs to fit perfectly with your timings for each slide. So, practicing your presentation multiple times is crucial to ensure a seamless and synchronized delivery.

How to automatically play PowerPoint presentations across devices

How to play PowerPoint slides automatically without clicking on Mac

First, go to the Slide Show Tab and select Set Up Slide Show.

When the Set Up Show Window opens, deselect the Presented by a speaker option and consider the following options to set up your automatic slideshow:

Browsed by an individual: With this option, you can show your slides within a window instead of the typical full-screen mode. Make sure that the Use timings, if present option is selected.
Another option is the Browsed at a kiosk: This option locks in both the looping and timing settings, ensuring that your slideshow will continue until you press the ESC key.

Next, you need to set your timings. This involves determining the duration for each slide so that it advances automatically to the next one when you have finished presenting it.

To set your timings, go to the Slide Show Tab and click on Rehearse Timings.

A window will open, allowing you to go through your presentation slide by slide, and it will record how much time you spend on each one. As you progress through each slide, it will confirm the time spent, and you can either agree or choose to re-record.

After you finish going through all your slides, a message will pop up to save your timings. Click yes so you can save the time spent on each slide.

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