How to to play different songs throughout the powerpoint?

Posted on May 27, 2009. Filed under: Powerpoint Tips | Tags: Powerpoint 2007, Powerpoint Tips |

For future reference, it makes answering questions a whole lot easier if you include what version of PowerPoint you are using.

Create a new folder on your computer. Move your PowerPoint file (the project you are working on) into that folder. Also put all the songs you will use in that folder (either move them into it or copy/paste them into it). The songs need to be .mp3, .wav, or .wma format.

Go to the first slide you want a song on. If you are using PowerPoint XP/2003, go to the Insert pulldown menu –> Movies and Sounds –> Sound From File –> browse for the song and hit OK. On PowerPoint 2007 go to the Insert tab –> Sound –> Sound From File –> browse for song –> OK.

In either version, click if you want the song to play automatically or not (I’m guessing you do – you can also change that later).

PowerPoint XP/2003 – right click on the sound icon and choose Custom Animations, 2007 – go to the Animations tab and click on Custom Animations near the left side. For both, this launches the animation palette and it is the same from here.

You should see your song listed in the palette. Double click on it. In the Effect tab, under Stop Playing –> After XX Slides, select or type in the number of slides you want the first song to play for. Let’s say it is 3 slides. While you are at it, click ON Hide While Not Playing so the little icon won’t show when you are in slide show.

So, song 1 goes for 3 slides. Go to slide 4 and repeat the process with song 2, etc.

When you bring your presentation to school, copy the ENTIRE folder onto your thumbdrive or CD or whatever. The songs will not be embedded, they will be linked, so in order to hear them at school, you need to have them. Copy the entire folder onto the school’s computer, and you should have no problem with the songs running. Worse case scenario – you need to reinsert them, but that really shouldn’t happen.

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