The Timeline

The Timeline

Learn how to use the Timeline to have elements of your presentation appear exactly when and how you want them.

Understanding the Timeline #

Located beneath your presentation slide, the Timeline is where you control when elements appear on screen and when narration plays. It allows you to fine-tune the pacing and visual flow of your presentation.

On the horizontal axis, the Timeline is linear. Move elements or narration to the right to have them appear later in the slide, or to the left to have them appear earlier.

On the vertical axis, the Timeline controls layering. Elements at the bottom of the Timeline sit furthest back (think background), while elements at the top appear in front.

Timeline Example #

Now, let’s see the Timeline in action.

In this screenshot, the white banner element appears first on screen because it starts at 0 seconds on the Timeline, earlier than the other elements. The year 1994 appears around the one-second mark, followed by 2001 just before two seconds, then 2008, and finally 2015. The timing of each element is controlled along the horizontal axis, which determines when items appear in sequence.

The white banner is positioned on the bottom layer of the Timeline, meaning it sits furthest back visually. Each year appears in front of the banner because those elements are layered above it. The vertical axis controls this stacking order, determining which elements appear behind or in front of others on screen.