How to Loop a PowerPoint Presentation

To loop a PowerPoint presentation, select Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show, tick Loop continuously until ‘Esc’ and select OK. Then tell each slide when to move on: on the Transitions tab, tick After, enter a time such as 5 seconds, and select Apply To All. Start the slideshow and it plays from the last slide back to the first until you press Esc.

Applies to: PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 on Windows and Mac. Last reviewed October 7, 2026.

Step 1: Turn on looping

1. Open the presentation and select the Slide Show tab.
2. Select Set Up Slide Show.
3. Under Show options, tick Loop continuously until ‘Esc’.
4. Under Advance slides, choose Using timings, if present.
5. Select OK.

For an unattended display, such as a lobby screen or trade show stand, choose Browsed at a kiosk (full screen) under Show type. It loops automatically and stops people using clicks or arrow keys to move through the slides.

Step 2: Set how long each slide shows

1. Select the Transitions tab.
2. In the Timing group, tick After and enter a time, for example 00:05.00 for five seconds.
3. Select Apply To All to use the same time on every slide.

To give some slides longer, select those slides in the thumbnail pane and change their After time without selecting Apply To All. You can also leave On Mouse Click ticked so a presenter can still click ahead.

Record timings instead

Select Slide Show > Rehearse Timings, click through the slides at the pace you want, and select Yes to keep the timings when you finish.

Step 3: Start the loop

Select Slide Show > From Beginning, or press F5. The show runs through, returns to the first slide and keeps going. Press Esc to stop.

Loop only some slides

1. Open Set Up Slide Show.
2. Under Show slides, choose From and enter the first and last slide numbers.
3. Select OK.

Hidden slides (right-click a slide > Hide Slide) are also skipped in the loop.

On a Mac

Select Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show, tick Loop continuously until ‘Esc’, and set timings on the Transitions tab the same way.

Loop music or a video

• Background music across all slides: select the audio icon, then Playback > Play in Background. It starts automatically, plays across slides and loops.
• A video on one slide: select the video, then on Playback tick Loop until Stopped and set Start to Automatically.

Large videos make the file big; see how to compress pictures in PowerPoint for keeping the size down.

Play it on a TV without a computer

Select File > Export > Create a Video, choose a quality and seconds per slide, and save it as MP4. Copy it to a USB stick and use the TV’s media player, many of which can repeat a video.

Troubleshooting

The slides don’t move on by themselves

Check that After is ticked on the Transitions tab and that Using timings, if present is chosen in Set Up Slide Show.

The show stops at a black slide

Looping is off. Tick Loop continuously until ‘Esc’. In File > Options > Advanced, you can also clear End with black slide.

Animations don’t play during the loop

Animations set to On Click wait for a click. Change them to After Previous or With Previous on the Animations tab.

Frequently asked questions

Can I loop a presentation in PowerPoint for the web?

PowerPoint for the web has fewer slideshow options. For a reliable loop, use the desktop app or export the presentation as a video.

Can I add a Word document to a looping show?

Yes, as an object or as slides; see how to insert a Word document into PowerPoint.

Related: how to duplicate a slide in PowerPoint.

Related: show speaker notes in Google Slides.

Related: cut out part of a picture in PowerPoint.