How you can add a GIF to a PowerPoint presentation?

PowerPoint is the first application that comes to mind when we think of making a presentation or presentation. 

Microsoft's program is the most recognized in this regard, as it is used by many students and workers in their day-to-day lives. 

This tool is valid for example, if we go to the workplace, to present data, results, and other variables. 

On the other hand, in the educational aspect, it helps young people during their period at the institute or university to present individual or group work and the teachers in order to deepen and make their classes more complete.

Meanwhile, the GIF format is one of the most used to materialize small character animations due to its small size and easy editing. 

This type of file was in disuse a few years ago, but lately, it has become fashionable again thanks to social networks and, of course, the funny memes that we laugh about day after day.

Now, having said this, we are going to explain how to join both elements, that is, we are preparing to teach you the different ways that exist in reference to how to add a GIF in a PowerPoint presentation, either through a file resident in the team or through a URL.

From the computer

The process to add a GIF file that is inside the PC to a PowerPoint presentation is quite simple and consists of the steps that we detail below.

1. First, we have to open the Microsoft application inside the computer.
2. Later we create the slide that we are going to use. Once we have created it, we select it.
3. We go to the "Insert" tab, which is inside the options bar located above. Here we must click on "Images".
4. Within the dialog box that is presented to us, we have to find the GIF file that we want to use, that is, we have to go to its location on the computer to insert it.
5. We choose the file in question and click on "Insert" or "Open". In this way, the GIF we have searched for will appear on the screen, although without animating it, as if it were a simple photograph.
6. We can click on the image and drag it in order to move it around the slide. If what we want is to change its dimensions, we select it so that the box that delimits it appears and then we move one of its corners while pressing the Shift key. This will keep the file's proportions intact.
7. We must bear in mind that every time we add a GIF, it is very likely that the Microsoft utility will automatically include an explanatory text below. If we want this not to appear, we have to click on "Alternative text" (inside the Format tab) and check the box "Mark as decorative".
8. In order for the animation to be reproduced, we have to select the tab called "Slide Show", which is also located in the control panel above. There we will go to a group called “Start slide show”. Finally, we choose the "From current slide" variant. Once this is done, we will have inserted a GIF from the computer into our PowerPoint presentation.

Through a web page

This program for making presentations also allows you to add GIF files from any web page located on the Internet. Management is as easy as if we did it from the team:

1. We open PowerPoint as usual and create any slide within the application.
2. We go to the "Insert" tab, which takes place in the taskbar above.
3. We click on "Images" and in this case we do not look for the GIF on the PC, but we go to "Online Images".
4. A new window will therefore open in which we can write the type of file we want, for example, an animated GIF.
5. We select the image we want to add and click on "Insert".
6. As in the case of the computer, it is highly probable that the GIF file includes a text just below it, which can be eliminated if the "Mark as decorative" box is marked. The image has been inserted from the Internet, so that in the written box there may be information regarding its origin. In this case, we can edit the text, delete it, or send it to the last slide of the exhibition in order to cite the creator of said GIF.
7. Here you can also resize an image so that it maintains its proportions. You simply have to select it from one of its corners and drag while pressing Shift.

How to edit a GIF in PowerPoint

We have already seen the two ways we can add a GIF to a PowerPoint presentation. However, what many do not know is that this tool allows you to edit these types of files with the aim of giving them effects. Next, we will explain how it is done:

When we have uploaded our GIF to the slide, we have to right-click on the image and go to "Style" and then choose the one that most catches our attention.

In the event that we seek to add our own transitions or animations to the GIF, we can do the following:

We select the image and go to the "Animations" tab.

We click twice on the animation we want to use and then set other parameters such as how long it will last or when it should start.

Returning to the "Animations" tab, we go to "Effects options" to modify the way in which the effect that we have applied will take place.

Besides, there are other equally configurable possibilities that will enable us to, for example, add another animation, delay it or reorder it.