You can add sound files to your presentations from a variety of sources.
For example, you can add sound files you download from the Internet or
special sound effects CDs. However, PowerPoint does not recognize all
sound file types. WAV and MIDI are two of the types it does recognize.
PowerPoint also lets you attach sounds to different objects on a slide.
However, the objects must be animated before you can attach a sound file
to them. See section on animation for more
details.
Adding sound from a file
If you wish to use a new sound, make sure you download and save the
file on your computer, preferably in the same folder with your PowerPoint
presentation.
Click on Insert menu < Movies and Sounds < Sound from
File
In the Look in drop-down menu, specify the drive
and folder where the sound file is located.
In the file list, click the sound file you want, then click OK.
PowerPoint may ask you whether you want the sound to play automatically
or on mouse-click. If you choose mouse click, you will need to click
the icon during the presentation to start it playing.
To record sound files, you need to plug a microphone into the mic
jack on your computer's sound card.
The following steps show you how to record a narration for a slide.
In Normal or Slide View, click on the slide you want to add a recording
to.
Click the Insert menu < Movies and Sounds < Record
Sound.
When the Record Sound dialog box appears, type a name for your recording
in the Name box.
Use the Play, Stop, and Record buttons to record your narration.
If you want to change your recording, you need to delete it and start
over. Hit the Cancel button from the Record Sound dialog, or select
the icon on the
slide and hit Delete.
When you're satisfied with your recording, click OK. The Record Sound
dialog box will close, and a speaker icon
will appear in the middle of your slide. You can resize this icon or
move it to other parts of the slide.
If you have a CD ROM drive installed in your computer, you can add CD
music tracks to your PowerPoint presentations. However, you can only add
the music tracks to slides. The track will not attach to objects, animations,
or transitions.
Select Insert menu < Movies and Sounds < Play CD Audio
Track
Under Play CD Audio Track, enter the music track number in the Start
and End Track boxes provided. For example, to add
the fifth track of the CD, type 5 in the Start Track
box and in the End Track box. If you want to play
just the first 30 seconds of the track, type 00:30 in the End
Track At box.
When you are finished, click OK. The CD icon
will appear in the middle of your slide. You can resize this icon
or move it to other parts of the slide.
PowerPoint may ask you whether you want the sound to play automatically
or on mouse-click. If you choose mouse click, you will need to click
the icon during the presentation to start it playing.
Make sure the CD is in the drive during your presentation. Otherwise,
the music won't play.
Adding continuous music to a group of slides Changing to a new musical piece after some number of slides back to top
Go to the the slide where you want the sound to begin playing.
Choose Insert, Movies and Sounds, then click Sound From Clip Organizer (or Sound From File) to insert the sound. If you don't want the sound icon to appear in the slide show, drag
it just off the slide.
Say yes when asked if you want the sound to play automatically. If you are not asked this, don't worry, the next steps will let you set that (or double-check the settings if you were
asked and said yes.)
Right-click the sound's icon and pick Custom Animation from the popup menu. The Custom Animation pane will open and your sound file should be listed.
Click the arrow directly to the right of the sound icon to pull down the various options.
Select Effect Options, and on the Effects tab, click the radio button beside Stop Playing after XXX slides. Put 999 in the box so the track will play throughout all your slides, even if
you go back and forth among slides. PPT considers each transition a "slide," so you want to put a large number in there.
Now check the settings in the Timing tab. To play automatically, the timing should be set to Start After Previous with a 0-second delay. Click OK to close the dialog box.
icon on the
slide and hit Delete.
will appear in the middle of your slide. You can resize this icon
or move it to other parts of the slide.