How to Put Songs on Your Flash Drive & Insert Them in a Powerpoint

The Microsoft PowerPoint application has the functions to deliver multimedia presentations. Slide shows can incorporate pictures, charts, animations, movies and sound as well as written content. Songs can be inserted into a slide or presentation as sound effects or audio files. Audio files on a flash drive may be inserted directly on a slide, rather than from a music library. The application treats audio files as animated objects, which can be adjusted through the "Custom Animation" function for the slide show. Media options or effects include specifying how long the sound file will play and whether it will play automatically.

Instructions

1. Insert the flash drive into the appropriate port on your computer.

2. Launch PowerPoint and open the desired presentation file (by selecting "Open" under "File" in the top menu bar and selecting the file before clicking the "Open" button).

3. Navigate to the desired slide and select "Movies and Sounds" under "Insert" in the top menu bar.

4. Select the option "Sound from File," which opens a directory of files on the computer.

5. Select the flash drive (under "My Computer") and click the desired MP3 file.

6. Click the "Insert" button.

7. Choose whether the song will be played automatically or start at the next mouse click, as displayed in the dialog box (usually the "Automatically" button is highlighted as the default setting). Click the "Automatically" or "When Clicked" button.

8. Confirm that a speaker icon is inserted on the center of the slide. Select this icon and hold down the mouse button to drag the icon to a desired location. Note: PowerPoint 2007 doesn't place a sound icon on the slide.

9. Right-click the sound icon and select the option "Custom Animation." Alternatively, select the icon and choose "Custom Animation" under "Slide Show" in the top menu bar.

10. Click the sound object on the list of animated objects (list is in the right frame).

11. Click the "Effect Options" button in the Custom Animation dialog box. PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 users can double-click the item from the list to display the "Effect Options" box.

12. Click the "Effect" tab and choose the settings under "Start playing" and "Stop playing." Note: Mac users must click the "Media Options" tab for these settings. For example, set the option for the song to continue playing beyond the current slide by selecting "Stop playing after 3 slides."

13. Click the "OK" button and click the "OK" button again, if needed, to close the Custom Animation dialog box.

Tips & Warnings

• Songs must be saved in MP3 format before they can be inserted into a PowerPoint presentation (Mac and Windows).

• If the song is selected on the flash drive, the flash drive must be inserted into the computer before starting the slide show. Consider copying the songs to the computer's hard drive before inserting it on a slide to maintain a constant link between the media file and the presentation file.

• PowerPoint 2007 users can access the functions through the "Insert" and "Animation" tabs in the main toolbar.

References

• Microsoft: Add Music, Songs or Sound Effects to a Slide Show
• PresentationMagazine.com: How to Add Music to Your PowerPoint Presentations

Resources

• Microsoft Demo: Add Music to a Presentation