powerpoint audio and slide formatting

Audio does not make slides advance by itself. Slide advancement is controlled by slide timings and slide show settings.

Try this end-to-end:

1. Check whether timings are enabled for playback.
   • Go to Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show.
   • Under Advance slides, select Use Timings, if present.
   • If it is set to Manually, slides will not auto-advance even if timings exist.
2. Set or reset the slide timings.
   • In Normal view, select a slide.
   • Go to Transitions > Advance Slide.
   • Select After and enter the number of seconds for that slide.
   • Repeat for each slide, or use Apply To All if the same timing should apply everywhere.
   • If On Mouse Click is also selected, the slide can advance either on click or after the time expires.
3. If the audio should continue through the whole presentation, make sure it is configured correctly.
   • Select the audio icon.
   • On the Playback tab, select Play Across Slides.
   • If needed, select Start > Automatically.
   • Play in Background can also be used to make the audio play continuously across slides.
4. Rehearse timings again.
   • Go to Slide Show > Rehearse Timings.
   • Use Next, click the mouse, or press the Right Arrow to move through each slide.
   • At the end, save the timings.
   • Then use View > Slide Sorter to confirm each slide shows a timing value.
5. If rehearsal or recording is stopping at slide 5, clear and rebuild timings or narration on the affected slides.
   • Open slide 5 or any slide where the problem starts.
   • Go to the Recording tab > Record Slide Show dropdown > Clear.
   • Clear timings or narration for the current slide, or for all slides if needed.
   • Then re-record or reapply timings.
6. Match the timing length to the media length.
   • Slide transition timing is based on how long the slide is displayed, not when audio or video ends.
   • If a slide contains media, set the After time long enough for that slide before it advances.

If the goal is background music for all 8 slides, the usual setup is:

• Put the audio on slide 1
• Set Playback > Play Across Slides
• Set Start > Automatically or use Play in Background
• Set slide timings for all 8 slides
• In Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show, make sure Use Timings, if present is enabled

• Add or delete audio in your PowerPoint presentation
• Record a slide show with narration and slide timings
• Add or delete audio in your PowerPoint presentation
• Rehearse and time the delivery of a presentation
• microsoft 365 powerpoint. In Slide Show, for the MP4 videos, I want it to Advance to next slide automatically. But when it plays to the end of the MP4 slide it just stops black screen. - Microsoft Q&A