Including Sounds in a Presentation

Sounds can be used to add emphasis to information on slides or to add some auditory interest to your presentation. You can place sound files on your slides in two different ways:

  • You can insert a sound clip as an icon on a slide. When you click the icon, the sound plays.

  • You can assign a sound to another object on a slide so that when you click the object, the sound plays. For example, you could assign a sound to an image. When you click the image, the sound plays (sounds added to PowerPoint animations play when the animation plays).

Inserting a Sound onto a Slide

To insert a sound clip as an object onto a slide, you can either use the Clip Art task pane or insert the sound as a file. The Clip Art task pane can provide you only with sound files that have been included in the Office clip art library or sound files that you have added to your collection using the Clip Organizer (which is discussed in the previous lesson). Any sound file that you have recorded or otherwise acquired can be inserted as a file.

To insert a sound clip from the Clip Art task pane, follow these steps:

  1. Select the slide on which you will place the sound, so that it appears in the Slide pane.

  2. Select Insert , point at Movies and Sounds , and then select Sound from Clip Organizer . The Clip Art task pane appears with a list of sound files. You can use the Search For box to search for a particular type of sound file by keyword.

  3. To preview a particular sound file, point at the file and click the menu arrow that appears. Select Preview/Properties from the menu. The Preview/Properties dialog box for that sound file appears (see Figure 10.1).

    Figure 10.1. Preview a sound clip before placing it onto a slide.

    graphics/102fig01.jpg

  4. The sound will play automatically when the Preview/Properties dialog box opens. You can click the Stop, Pause, or Play buttons in the dialog box to perform that particular function. When you have finished previewing a sound file, click Close to close the Preview/Properties dialog box.

  5. When you are ready to insert a sound file onto the slide, click the sound file on the task pane.

  6. A dialog box opens, asking you whether you want the sound to play automatically when you run the slide show. Click Yes to have the sound played automatically. Click No to set up the sound so that you will have to click it during the slide show to play the sound.

Regardless of whether you choose to have PowerPoint play the sound automatically, it appears as a sound icon on the slide.

If you have recorded a sound file or have acquired a sound file that you want to use on a slide without using the Clip Art task pane, you can insert it as a file. To insert a sound clip from a file, follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Insert menu, point at Movies and Sounds , and then choose Sound from File .

  2. In the Insert Sound dialog box, navigate to the drive and folder containing the sound you want to use (see Figure 10.2).

    Figure 10.2. Choose the sound clip you want to include on your slide.

    graphics/102fig02.jpg

  3. Select the sound clip and then click OK .

  4. A dialog box opens, asking you whether you want the sound to play automatically when you run the slide show or play when you click on the sound icon on the slide. Click Automatically to have the sound played automatically or When Clicked to set up the sound so that you will have to click it during the slide show to play the sound.

The sound file appears on the slide as a sound icon. If you want to play the sound file on the slide, right-click the sound icon and select Play Sound from the shortcut menu.

Associating a Sound with Another Object on the Slide

If you want to avoid having a sound icon on your slide, you can associate the sound with some other object already on the slide, such as a graphic. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the object (such as a clip art image) to which you want to assign the sound.

  2. Choose Action Settings from the shortcut menu. The Actions Settings dialog box appears.

  3. If you want the sound to play when the object is pointed at, click the Mouse Over tab. Otherwise, click the Mouse Click tab. The Mouse Click option requires that the sound icon be clicked on for the sound to play.

  4. Click the Play Sound check box. A drop-down list of sounds becomes available (see Figure 10.3).

    Figure 10.3. Choose a sound to be associated with the object.

    graphics/102fig03.jpg

  5. Open the Play Sound drop-down list and choose the sound you want.

    If the sound you want is not on the list, choose Other Sound and locate the sound using the Add Sound dialog box that appears. Select the sound from there and click OK .

  6. When you have chosen the sound you want, click OK to close the Action Settings dialog box.

Now, when you are giving the presentation, you can play the sound by either clicking or pointing at the object (depending on how you configured the sound to play). To test this, jump to the Slide Show view (select the View menu and then click Slide Show ) and try it out. Press Esc to return to the Normal view when you are finished testing the sound file.



Microsoft Office 2003 All-in-One
Microsoft Office 2003 All-in-One
ISBN: B005HKSHB2
EAN: N/A
Year: 2002
Pages: 660
Authors: Joe Habraken

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