Presentation Topic and Organization

Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

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Narrations and timings can enhance a web-based or self-running slide show. If you have a sound card, microphone, and speakers, and (optionally) a webcam, you can record your PowerPoint presentation and capture narrations, slide timings, and ink gestures.

After you have made the recording, it's like any other presentation that can be played for you or your audience in Slide Show—or you can save the presentation as a video file.

(The ability to record is available both to Microsoft 365 subscribers and non-subscribers. Subscribers get a few extra features.)

The following feature is currently only available to those who have opted in to the  Office Insider Program . Join our inspiring community, be the first to see what's next for Office, and give us your feedback to help us improve Office for the future.

For help with the old experience, go to the Office for Mac 2016-2019 tab in this article.

Record your slide show

1. On the Slide Show tab, select Record Slide Show to start recording from your current slide.

2. Toggle video and audio options in the options dropdowns in the recording toolbar.

3. Use the record  

 , pause  

Image of a pause button

 , and resume  

Image of a resume button

  buttons to control narration and navigation recording.

Tip: Customize your Record Slide Show experience by resizing the next slide and notes pane.

4. After clicking the stop  

 button to stop recording, use the play  

Image of a play button

 button to preview what you recorded on the current slide.

5. If you would like to rerecord your slide, click the trash can   

 button on the left of the record button to delete your existing recording, then click the record  

Screen shot of Slide Show tab and Record Slide Show button outlined

 button again.

6. Once you exit the Record Slide Show experience with the Esc key or by clicking End show, you will see narration (audio/video) applied to your slide along with the proper slide timings and ink animations.

Tip: Audio, video, and inking elements can all be resized and moved in edit view after recording.

Clear timings or narration 

· On the Slide Show tab, under Record Slide Show, select Clear, and then select one of the following: Clear Timings on Current Slide, Clear Timings on All Slides, Clear Narration on Current Slide, or Clear Narrations on All Slides.

Keyboard shortcuts during the recording process

Task	Keyboard Shortcut
Advance to the next slide or animation	N Click Spacebar Right Arrow Down Arrow Return Page Down
Return to the previous slide or animation	P Delete Left Arrow Up Arrow Page Up
Toggle screen blackout	B . (period)
Toggle screen whiteout	W , (comma)
End slide show	Esc Command+. (period)
Erase drawing on screen	E
Go to next slide if hidden	H
Change pointer to pen	Command+P
Change pointer to arrow	Command+A
Hide arrow on mouse move	CONTROL+H
Shortcut menu	CONTROL+click

Related information

Add, change, or remove transitions between slides

Record audio in PowerPoint for Mac

Add or delete audio in your presentation

Save a presentation as a movie file or MP4

Recording tips

· Recordings are added to the presentation on a per-slide basis, so if you want to change a recording, you only have to re-record the affected slide or slides. Also, you can rearrange the order of slides after recording without having to re-record anything. This also means it's easy to pause for a break while recording a presentation.

· PowerPoint doesn't record audio or video during transitions between slides, so don't speak while advancing the slide. Also, include a brief buffer of silence at the beginning and the end of each slide to make the transitions smooth and ensure that you don't cut off audible narration while transitioning from one slide to the next.

· You can't record narration in PowerPoint for the web. Use a desktop version of PowerPoint to record your narration.

· You can adjust and edit the size of video and ink in edit view.

· If it's possible that your audience may use PowerPoint for the web to experience the recording, use the transitions that are supported by PowerPoint for the web (Cut, Fade, Push, Wipe, Split, Random Bars, Shape, Morph).

· Presentation recording works best with touch-screen PCs that have a web camera.

· Use video preview to make sure everything is set up correctly before recording.

· For slides that you want to record gestures (such as ink) on, make multiple copies of the slide so that you can easily record multiple takes. Then delete the extraneous slides when you're done.

· Record a few seconds of silence by turning off audio and video to advance after a set time.

· For higher quality, use an external web cam and/or microphone.

Built-in cameras and microphones are suitable for most tasks. But if you want more professional-looking video, consider using an external web cam, if you're able. If you're using PowerPoint on a tablet or laptop and you're inking with a stylus, an external camera and microphone allows you to minimize stylus noise.

· As soon as you finish your first slide recording, play it back.

Before you get too far down the road of recording your presentation, make sure your audio and video sound and look the way you expect.