In what seems to be yet another effort to focus more on “mobile-first content creation,” Microsoft has announced that the ability to export slides as animated GIF is now available for PowerPoint for iPad. Previously, the feature was available only on PowerPoint for Mac and Windows.
For those who do not know, creating an animated GIF using PowerPoint is pretty straightforward. On your PC or Mac, open your presentation and navigate to File > Export > Create an animated GIF. On iPad, you need to first open the desired presentation and then tap on the File menu (three-dot view) to bring forward the Create GIF option. Clicking on it will tell you to specify the slides you want to use, how long each slide should be displayed, and the quality of the animated GIF you intend to export.
Acknowledging that a shift towards mobile-first content creation is happening, Microsoft added the ability to create slides in Portrait mode in PowerPoint for iPhone and iPad devices. By announcing the new animated GIF capability for iPad devices, Microsoft seems to be re-iterating its commitment towards this mobile-first approach.
The ability to export PowerPoint slides as an animated GIF is currently available for iPad users running Office Insider Version 2.70 (Build 23012202) or later. If you are not seeing it despite meeting the prerequisites, you should wait a few more days, as Microsoft has noted that the feature is gradually rolling out to larger numbers of Insiders.
If you are using PowerPoint on your iPad, have you ever tried to export slides as an animated GIF on your device? Let us know in the comments.