How to add page transitions to a PDF slideshow

Page transitions are set with Pages > Page transitions in PDF by Zaweba. There are eleven effects, each with a length and a direction, and you can add a display time so that full screen moves on to the next page by itself. Then press F11 to play the slideshow in full screen, where the effects are shown.

Plenty of presentations end up as PDFs. They open on any computer, they look the same everywhere, and they can't be accidentally edited during a talk. Adding transitions makes a PDF behave more like a slideshow, and timed pages let it run on its own on a screen at an event or in a window display.

What you can set

Choose an effect from the eleven on offer. Set its length, which is how long the change from one page to the next takes, and its direction, where the effect has one.

The display time is separate. It's how long a page stays on screen before full screen moves to the next one. Leave it unset for a talk where you move on yourself, or set it for a presentation that runs unattended.

Setting up the slideshow

Open the PDF and choose Pages > Page transitions. Pick the pages you want to change, choose an effect, and set its length and direction. Add a display time if the slideshow should advance on its own.

Save the file, since transitions are stored in the document.

Before showing it, set up full screen in Preferences. Showing one page at a time makes the PDF behave like slides, and a black background looks tidy on a projector. The full-screen options also let pages turn every so many seconds, which you can use instead of a display time when you want the same timing everywhere.

Press F11 or Ctrl+L to start. The transitions play as you move from page to page.

Transitions that don't distract

Less is more. One gentle effect used throughout looks professional; a different effect on every slide distracts from what you're saying.

Keep transitions short. A long effect feels slow by the tenth slide. A quick fade or wipe does the job.

Use direction sensibly. An effect that moves left to right suggests going forward, which suits most presentations.

Test on the real machine. Run through the whole show in full screen on the computer you'll present from, so there are no surprises on the day.

For an unattended loop, set the display time long enough for people to read each page. A page full of text needs much longer than a single photo.

Other things that help a PDF presentation

File > Initial view writes how the document opens, so you can set it up to start the way you want.

Pages > Page actions can make something happen when a page opens or closes, such as going to another page, opening a web address, or moving to the next, previous, first or last page. Scripts in page actions are kept but never run, and loops aren't allowed, so a page can't trap a viewer.

View > Page layout also matters: for slides, single page is the natural choice before going full screen.

PDF by Zaweba works offline, so the whole presentation, transitions and all, lives in one file on your PC, ready to open and play wherever you are.