Adding Audio to a PowerPoint

At times, you might want to add music (see Using Music), sound or narration to an audio file. This is a fairly easy process. You just need to make sure you have an audio file that is in the right format. Compatible file types include: AIFF, AU, MIDI, MP3, WAV and WMA. See Setting PowerPoint to play automatically if you'd like your entire show to play without having to advance slides.

1. Open your PowerPoint slideshow, choose the slide to which you want to add the audio, and select Insert from the ribbon menu.

2. On the Insert ribbon, the last menu option says Audio. Click on Audio and select Audio from File.

3. Choose the audio file you want to add and click Insert. Only audio files will appear. If you do not see any of your files, check your file type for compatibility with PowerPoint. Popular file types are MP3, WAV and WMA.

3. You will know your file has been inserted when you see this icon. The icon is movable and can be placed anywhere on your slide.

Setting audio to play automatically

Another nice feature of PowerPoint is that you can set the Audio to play automatically when a slide advances. To do this:

1. Click on the Animations ribbon and select Animation Pane.

2. The Animation Pane will open on the right-hand side of your screen. Click on the drop-down menu next to your audio file and choose Effect Options.

3. When the Play Audio dialogue box opens, look at the Effect tab and make sure From beginning is selected for when the audio should play and After current slide is selected for when it should stop playing.

4. Next, select the Timing tab and set Start to With Previous and the Delay to 0.5 seconds.

5. Finally, make sure you've saved your settings.