Prepare to record

To begin, open the presentation you want and click the Slide Show tab.

Tip:   If your presentation has a lot of slides, you might find it more convenient to work in Slide Sorter view. Click View > Slide Sorter to try it out.

Here are some things to check before you begin recording:

  • If you want to record only part of your slide deck, do one of the following before you begin:

    • Select the slides you don't want to include, and click Hide Slide.

      OR

    • Click Custom Show > Custom Slide Show > + (add).

      Select Hide Slide or Custom Show to record a subset of slides

  • Use the Rehearse button to change the timing between slides without affecting the narration or gestures you've already recorded.

    Try out different timing between slides with the Rehearse button

  • Make sure your microphone is set up correctly. On the Mac, go to System Preferences > Sound.

Record your slide show

If you want to add narration or commentary to the slide show, make sure your microphone is set up and working.

To start recording:

  1. Click the Slide Show tab, select the slide where you want the recording to begin, and then click Record Slide Show.

    Click Record Slide Show to start recording

  2. During recording, use Ctrl+click to access the recording commands that let you navigate through the slides, change cursors, or trigger screen blackouts or whiteouts.

    Control-click to see a list commands while you're recording

  3. Click End Show to stop recording.

  4. A Save dialog box appears. Click Yes to save your recording, or No if you want to record it again.

    Saving overwrites anything you've previously recorded. If you want to record another slide show with the same set of slides, save your presentation file with a different name.

  5. Click Play from Start to preview your recording.

Keyboard shortcuts during the recording process

You may want to print this list of keyboard shortcuts to refer to while you're recording:

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

Go a specific slide

Slide number + Enter

Toggle screen blackout

B
. (period)

Toggle screen whiteout

W
, (comma)

Stop/Restart automatic show:

S

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

Advance on mouse click (rehearsing only)

M

Set playback options

When you've finished recording and are ready to distribute the presentation, click Set up Slide Show and choose the options that are right for your audience.

Set the show type and other options before you distribute the show

  • Show type    Show full screen or windowed.

  • Show options    Turn off narration or animations.

  • Slides    Choose a subset of slides, or a Custom show if you've set one up.

  • Advance slides    Set up this version of the slide show so someone can page through it manually.