Slide Show overview

Article
10/10/2017

Microsoft Expression Media enables you to view or project a slide show presentation with your photographs, movies, and audio soundtracks.

The Slide Show feature in Expression Media offers a way for you to display a succession of images and movies, and also play audio. You have control over the transition between files, and also over which files play, how they transition, and, if applicable, the number of files that display or play at the same time. The slide show can function as anything from a preview tool to a way to construct a complete, stylish movie of your media collection because, if you want, you can save your slide show as a movie file that you can distribute. For information about how to start a slide show, see View the Slide Show.

Slide Show features

By default, the Slide Show feature is set to run with cut transitions and to cycle through all visible media files. You can run a slide show at any time. When you start a slide show, a floating slide show controller appears. Use the options on this controller to adjust all the aspects of your slide show.

The following are some of the features of a slide show:

Audio Expression Media slide shows can contain a single, background audio channel. Sound items included in a catalog are always queued into the audio channel. If you put an audio file at the beginning of a slide show of images, the audio plays during the presentation.
**Video ** Expression Media slide shows can display up to 16 video channels. All media types (including images or movies) play in one or more video channels, depending on your grid selection.
**Grids ** Expression Media can arrange and display your video channels in a number of ways, including full-screen, quarter-screen, or a variety of other options. Unless you are using a computer that has a powerful processor, using the slide show with more than one video channel puts considerable strain on your computer and degrades playback. Experiment with Half or Quarter video channel grids first before you choose more complex grids.
**Timing ** Expression Media lets you specify how long still images will appear in the presentation. Movies, however, always appear for their full duration. To adjust the timing of images (in seconds), use the up or down arrows next to the number on the right side of the controller.
**Transitions ** Expression Media offers several options to adjust the transition effect between images. There are 10 different slide show transition effects, such as Cross Fade, Barn Horizontal, and Radial wipes, and also a Random effect option.

Effects defined in the Transitions menu of the slide show controller apply globally to all images of the slide show.
Size of Media To adjust the size of on-screen media, use the Scale menu of the slide show controller. You can enlarge or reduce the size of your images with the Zoom In (PLUS SIGN [+]) and Zoom Out (MINUS SIGN (-)) keyboard shortcuts. This setting applies globally to all images of the slide show.

Slide show options

You can set the Slide Show options before you run the slide show.

As you run the slide show, a controller appears that you can use to set the global options for the slide show, and also to set options for each image in the slide show. For information about how to use the Slide Show controller, see Slide Show controller.

To set the Slide Show options

On the Make menu, click Slide Show Options.
Set the options according to the guidelines later in this topic, and then click OK.

General options

Below are the general options that appear in the Slide Show Options dialog box:

Duration Specifies the flip speed in seconds for each slide. The duration applies only when the slide show is run in non-interactive mode. By default, movies and sounds will play for their full duration. The duration can also be overridden by timings set for individual media items.
Color Changes the background color of slide shows. The default is set to black.
Transition Offers a basic set of QuickTime effects that Expression Media can use during slide show media transitions. The duration of the transition effects (1 second) is fixed. This setting affects all media items, unless you define them in the Slide Show controller.
Media Scaling Lets you choose an option to control the scale or size of media items. You can set this option before or during an active slide show.
**Stage Grid **Lets you choose how many images to show at one time, and how they are arranged on your screen.
**Playback **Lets you set the playback mode (interactive, continuous, or random).
**Options **Lets you set additional audio and controller options.

Stage options

Choose a Stage Grid option to design the look of your slide show:

Stage Grid Choose an option to run your slide show at full-screen size, or divide your slide show into several different cell arrangements.
Custom Grid Click this button to design a custom slide show grid template.

Playback options

Select a Playback option to control how your slide show plays back:

**Interactive **Use this option with the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys of your keyboard to manually advance or go back in your presentation. The UP and DOWN ARROW keys work the same way as the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys.
**Continuous **Use this (default) option to have the slide show display images or movies for the specified duration, and then automatically advance to the next image or movie. You can use the SPACEBAR to pause or play a slide show in Continuous mode. The LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys let you manually override the pace of your presentation.
**Random **Use this option to have Expression Media randomly choose images and movies to present on-screen.