Creating Text Builds

Object builds, as noted earlier, animate one or more objects on the slide. When you create a build, you can set the way the object "builds in" (appears on the slide) and "builds out" ( leaves the slide). You control the build process with the Build Inspector ( Figure 9.5 ). On that Inspector, the Build In and Build Out tabs set the build options.

Figure 9.5. The Build Inspector gives you all the controls you need for build animations.

Probably the most common sort of build you will be doing is with bulleted text, to make each bullet and its associated text appear when you click the mouse button during the presentation. These text builds can be set up with a number of options so that you can control how the text appears on the slide.

To apply bulleted text builds

1.

Switch to a slide with bulleted text.

2.

Display the Build Inspector.

3.

By default, the Build In tab is selected. If you want to create a Build Out, click that tab. Otherwise, continue on the Build In tab.

4.

On your slide, select a bulleted text box.

5.

From the Effect pop-up menu ( Figure 9.6 ), choose the type of animation you want. You'll find a list of the basic object build styles and their options in Table 9.2 .

Figure 9.6. The top 12 build styles are common to every type of object build in Keynote. Text boxes get additional character and word effects.

Table 9.2. Object Build Styles ^*

S TYLE N AME	D IRECTION O PTIONS
None	None
Appear	None
Cube	Left to Right
	Right to Left
	Top to Bottom
	Bottom to Top
Dissolve	None
Drop	None
Flip	Left to Right
	Right to Left
	Top to Bottom
	Bottom to Top
Iris	In
	Out
Move In	Left to Right
	Right to Left
	Top to Bottom
	Bottom to Top
	Top Left to Bottom Right
	Top Right to Bottom Left
	Bottom Left to Top Right
	Bottom Right to Top Left
Pivot	Top left
	Top Right
	Bottom Left
	Bottom Right
Pop	None
Scale	Up
	Down
Twirl	None
Wipe	Left to Right
	Right to Left
	Top to Bottom
	Bottom to Top
*. All build styles include the following delivery options: All at Once, By Bullet, By Bullet Group , and By Highlighted Bullet.

Text boxes give you two other kinds of build effects. Character effects work on each character in turn . For example, the Character Dissolve effect makes each character fade on or off the screen. Word effects work on each word in the text box.

Whenever you make a change in the Build Inspector, you'll see a thumbnail preview of the build in the Inspector's preview area.

The Order pop-up menu is used to control the order of multiple object builds. See "Ordering Object Builds" later in this chapter for more information.

6.

From the Direction pop-up menu, choose the direction from which you want bulleted text to move onto the slide.

7.

From the Delivery pop-up menu ( Figure 9.7 ), choose one of the following:

• All at Once builds the entire contents of the bulleted text box onto or off of the slide.

• By Bullet builds each bullet point onto or off of the slide, one bullet point at a time. Second-level bullets animate separately.

• By Bullet Group also builds each bullet point onto or off of the slide, but second-level bullets animate with their parents.

• By Highlighted Bullet is like By Bullet, but dims each bullet as you move to the next bullet. Only the last bullet is fully visible.

Figure 9.7. The Delivery pop-up menu changes, depending on what sort of object you are building. This is the Delivery menu for a bulleted text box.

Depending on the object you have selected, the context-sensitive Delivery menu may contain different items.

8.

Enter the build's length in seconds in the Duration field. The default duration is one second.

Slides that have any kind of build on them appear in the Slide Navigator with three small blue dots in the upper-right corner ( Figure 9.8 ).

Figure 9.8. You can tell which slides have builds in the Slide Navigator by the little blue dots in the slide thumbnail's upper-right corner.

9.

Click the Set Automatic Builds button.

The Build Order drawer opens ( Figure 9.9 ).

Figure 9.9. You control when the build begins with the Start Build pop-up menu in the Build Order drawer.

10.

By default, "On Click" is selected from the Start Build pop-up menu. This means that you will need to click the mouse while giving your presentation in order for the build to start. If you want the build to begin automatically as soon as you switch to the slide, choose "Automatically after transition."

You'll learn more about the Build Order drawer in the "Creating Object Builds" section, later in this chapter.

11.

To create a Build Out, click the Build Out tab, then repeat steps 4 through 10.