The quickest way to add a GIF

Open your PowerPoint presentation and click on the slide where you want the GIF to appear. Go to the Insert tab at the top of the screen, then click Pictures and select This Device. Find the GIF file on your computer, select it, and click Insert. The GIF will play automatically when you run the slideshow.

If you don't have the GIF file saved yet, you can search for one online instead. Click Insert, then Pictures, then From Web. Type what you're looking for into the search box, find a GIF you want, and click Insert. PowerPoint will read it and add it to your slide.

Both methods work the same way once the GIF is on your slide — it will loop and play during your presentation without any extra steps needed.

Key Takeaways

  • GIFs from your computer go in through Insert > Pictures > This Device, and GIFs from the web go through Insert > Pictures > From Web.
  • Once inserted, a GIF plays automatically during your slideshow and loops continuously without you having to do anything.
  • You can resize a GIF by dragging its corners, and you can move it around the slide like any other image.
  • If a GIF doesn't play during your slideshow, check that you're in Slideshow view, not Edit view.

Finding and saving GIFs before you insert them

If you want to use a GIF you find online, you don't have to save it first — PowerPoint's From Web option handles that for you. But if you prefer to keep GIFs in a folder on your computer, you can read them ahead of time. Right-click on any GIF on a website, select Save image as, choose where you want to save it, and click Save.

Common places to find GIFs are Giphy.com, Tenor.com, and Imgur.com. These sites let you search by keyword and show you thousands of options. Once you've saved a few to a folder, you can insert them into PowerPoint whenever you need them using the This Device method.

Resizing and positioning your GIF

After you insert a GIF, you can make it bigger or smaller by clicking on it and dragging one of the corner handles outward to enlarge it or inward to shrink it. Dragging a corner handle keeps the GIF's shape the same. If you drag a side or top handle instead, the GIF may look stretched or squashed.

To move the GIF to a different spot on the slide, click on it and drag it where you want it to go. You can also copy and paste the same GIF multiple times if you want it to appear in different places or on different slides.

Why your GIF might not play during the slideshow

The most common reason a GIF doesn't play is that you're looking at it in Edit view instead of Slideshow view. In Edit view, GIFs often appear frozen on a single frame. To see it actually play, press F5 on your keyboard to start the slideshow from the beginning, or press Shift + F5 to start from the current slide.

If the GIF still doesn't play during the slideshow, the file itself may be corrupted or in a format PowerPoint doesn't recognize. Try downloading a different version of the same GIF, or convert it to a video file instead. PowerPoint handles video files the same way as GIFs — you insert them through Insert > Video — and they're often more reliable.

Controlling when a GIF appears and disappears

By default, a GIF starts playing as soon as the slide appears during your presentation. If you want it to start only when you click, right-click on the GIF and select Animate. This opens the Animation pane on the right side of the screen. Click Add Animation and choose Appear from the list. Now the GIF will stay hidden until you click during the slideshow.

You can also set a GIF to disappear after a certain number of seconds. In the Animation pane, right-click on the animation you just created and select Effect Options. Look for the Timing tab and set how long you want the GIF to stay visible before it vanishes.

Inserting GIFs on a Mac

The steps are nearly identical on a Mac. Open your presentation, click the slide where you want the GIF, and go to Insert at the top of the screen. Click Pictures and choose either This Device or From Web. Find your GIF and click Insert. The GIF will play during your slideshow just as it does on Windows.

To start the slideshow on a Mac, press Command + Shift + Return instead of F5. Everything else — resizing, moving, and animation — works the same way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make a GIF play only once instead of looping?

PowerPoint doesn't have a built-in setting to stop a GIF from looping. If you need a GIF to play once and then stop, convert it to a video file instead. Video files give you more control over playback, and you can set them to play once and then freeze on the last frame.

What file types does PowerPoint accept for GIFs?

PowerPoint accepts .gif files directly. If you have an animated image in a different format like .webp or .apng, you may need to convert it to .gif first using a free online converter or image editing software.

Why is my GIF huge and taking up the whole slide?

When you insert a GIF, PowerPoint sometimes makes it very large by default. Click on the GIF and drag one of the corner handles inward to make it smaller. Hold Shift while you drag to keep it from getting stretched out of shape.

Can I add sound to a GIF?

GIFs are silent by design. If you want sound with your animation, insert a video file instead of a GIF. You can add audio to a video through PowerPoint's audio tools, or use a video that already has sound built in.

Will the GIF play if I email the PowerPoint file to someone else?

If you inserted the GIF using From Web, PowerPoint downloaded it and saved it inside your file, so it will play for anyone who opens the presentation. If you linked to a GIF from the internet instead of inserting it, the other person may not see it. To be safe, always use Insert > Pictures rather than pasting a link.