In presentations, it's crucial that the narrative remains coherent and the audience can easily follow along. A timeline is a useful tool for clearly illustrating the progress of projects or results. However, most points or phases don't fit on a single slide, necessitating a multi-slide timeline. Ideally, you should create the illusion of seamless transitions and an endless timeline.

It is recommended to use slides without titles or headers and footers, and to arrange objects so that they flow seamlessly into one another. This allows the timeline to be extended to any length.

Here's how to create a timeline that spans multiple slides:

The precise arrangement of the objects is essential for a smooth transition. All triangles and text must be arranged exactly one above the other or next to each other.

• Create the first shape of your choice, in our case a blue triangle.
• Copy the shape and flip it by clicking on Drawing Tools , then Arrange , Rotate , and finally Flip Horizontal.
• Now change the color of the mirrored triangle (here to gray) and place it in the bar.
• Select both triangles and move them to the top edge of the slide so that the grey triangle extends halfway over the edge of the slide.
• Now copy the triangles to the bottom edge of the slide. Check that they are all the same distance apart and aligned the same way.
• Next, select all triangles and group them together using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + G.
• By dragging, the group can then be ideally adjusted to the height of the slide. The points of the first and last triangles should each align with the edge of the slide.
• Finally, you can add text boxes or, if desired, pictograms and images to the timeline. You can copy the timeline as many times as needed using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C.

Transition effects

To create the impression of a smooth transition between the individual slides, the right transition effects still need to be incorporated.

• Select the slides and switch to the Transitions tab.
• Now select the Slide transition effect. This effect is particularly suitable for simulating a continuous timeline.
• In the effect options, click the "From bottom" option if your timeline is vertical and " From right" if your timeline is horizontal.