If you have PowerPoint 2016 and an Office 365 subscription, learn how to use the new Morph transition—you’ll be surprised at how often it comes in handy!
Looking for an easier way to animate objects between slides? In previous version of PowerPoint, the easiest solution for moving an object from slide to slide was with time-consuming and complicated motion paths; the only way to zoom in on an object was with Grow/Shrink animations and a little bit of math. But with the introduction of Morph, PowerPoint can do some of the heavy lifting of animation for you. You can use Morph to move objects, change colors, zoom in, or all of these simultaneously. This simple transition can be an incredible time-saver if you understand how to use it.
So, how do you Morph?
The Morph transition requires 2 slides with at least one object in common. Either duplicate the first slide or copy and paste the object(s) into the second.
On the second slide, select the object you wish to animate and move, resize, rotate or recolor it.
Apply the Morph transition to the second slide. The program automatically knows to calculate the differences between the objects on the two slides and seamlessly animates between them.
Enter slideshow mode, advance to the next slide, and watch in awe as Morph does what you spent an hour doing with motion paths.
It’s also worth noting that this transition works in reverse too. So, when you click back to the previous slide, the elements animate to their original positions and sizes.
Examples
One of the best ways to use Morph is to animate the movement of objects without the use of motion paths. In the example below, the chart from the first slide is duplicated onto the second, the bars have been moved and recolored to show different values. When the Morph animation is applied, these objects will now animate between slides into their new positions in slide 2. The effect can be viewed in slideshow mode.
Similarly, in this example we’ve sorted our various statements into defining categories, and have used the morph transition to show that motion more effectively.
Morph can also be used to create a zoom effect. Simply by enlarging and moving the map in the example below, when Morph is applied to the second slide, it will appear that we are “zooming in” on a specific region. In certain settings, this could be a great alternative to the Grow/Shrink animation.
Morph has endless potential, and the best thing is that the effort you’d have previously put in to get everything looking that slick can be done in seconds. Next time you have to make a presentation in record time you won’t have to choose between making your content and making something dynamic and engaging. Remember, for now you need PowerPoint 2016 and a 365 subscription to use the Morph feature.
If you want to upskill your morph abilities, why not use three dimensions instead of two!? Read up on how to do that here.