How to Make a Slide Show on Facebook With Existing Albums

By Amy Stanbrough

Take your photo albums from static to sensational by making a slide show.
i Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images

A good way to show off photos saved in your Facebook albums is by creating a slide show. There are many applications that make it easy and enjoyable to do, and your show can include images from any or all of your albums. With background music, animated transitions and special effects, your social slide show could draw lots of attention and smiles.

What You Need

In order to make a show, you need an application and a device. You can use an Android or Apple phone, tablet, a desktop computer or a laptop. Some apps will work on all devices, others are specifically designed for mobile use. Before beginning, make sure the photos you want to include are in Facebook albums or on your device. Depending on the app you decide to use, you might also need a song in MP3 format and a license to use it. Some apps will provide music you can use.

Social Sign-In Apps

The easiest way to make a slide show with your Facebook albums is with an application that uses a social sign-in. This means you don't input a user name and password when you create an account. Instead, you allow Facebook to sign in for you. The disadvantage of this method is you will agree to give the app permission to see the data that Facebook has stored about you. The advantage is that the app can quickly transfer all of your album photos into the slide show-making interface. According to the Facebook Help Center, the apps are restricted in how they sites can access and use your information.

A free slide show app that uses the social sign-in method is Slide.ly. Another free app, TripAdvisor TripWow, is designed to create travel slideshows. A third, Animoto, has both a free version and an advanced version that requires a subscription. Find links to these apps in Resources.

Other Apps

Some high-quality applications on the market offer a range of slide show features. However, most of them can't access your Facebook account. If you don't mind downloading your photos from Facebook onto your computer or if the photos are already there, you can make a slide show with PowerPoint or KeyNote and use SlideShare to publish the show on Facebook. Another option is to buy a software program that includes a sharing feature. One example is Wondershare, available only for Windows. Check the Wondershare website for step-by-step instructions on how to create and share a slideshow using photos saved to your device. Find links to these apps in Resources.

Publishing

After choosing an app and making your show, the final step is to publish it to Facebook. Each app has a different process for publishing your work, but be sure to watch carefully after clicking the "Share" button. Just as you want to avoid "posts on your behalf" by choosing "Only Me" when you first sign up for the app, you want to make sure to adjust permissions. Choose "Friends Only" instead of "Public" to prevent publishing your slide show to the entire world.

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