How to Make a Slideshow on a Mac Computer

The fastest way to make a slideshow on Mac

The fastest way to make a slideshow on a Mac is to use Keynote, which comes free with every Mac. Open Keynote from your Applications folder, choose a template, add your photos or text to each slide, then press the play button to run it full-screen. If you want something simpler with no design work, use the Photos app — select your images, click File, then choose Slideshow to play them when ready with music and transitions already built in.

Both methods take under five minutes to start. Keynote gives you control over timing, transitions, and text. Photos gives you almost no control but requires almost no setup. Which one you pick depends on whether you want to customize the look or just watch your pictures move across the screen.

Key Takeaways

Keynote is free on every Mac and lets you build a slideshow with custom slides, text, images, and transitions in minutes.
The Photos app plays a slideshow of selected images when ready with built-in music and automatic transitions, no design work needed.
Keynote slideshows can be saved as files and shared with others; Photos slideshows play only on your Mac.
Both apps let you control slide timing, add music, and choose transition effects between slides.

Making a slideshow in Keynote

Open Keynote from your Applications folder or Launchpad. When it opens, you will see a template chooser. Pick any template — the design does not matter because you will replace it with your own content. Click to open it.

Each template comes with sample slides already built. Delete the ones you do not need by clicking on a slide in the left panel and pressing Delete. Add new slides by clicking the plus button at the top left or pressing Shift-Return. For each slide, click the text boxes and replace them with your own words, or delete them entirely if you want only images.

To add photos, drag them from Finder onto a slide, or click Insert at the top, then Image, then choose files from your Mac. Resize and move them by dragging the corners and edges. To add transitions between slides — like a fade or a push effect — click on a slide in the left panel, then click the Animate button at the top right, then choose Transition. Pick the effect you want from the list.

When you are ready to watch it, press the play button at the top right, or press Shift-Command-P. The slideshow will fill your screen. Press Escape to stop it. Save your Keynote file by pressing Command-S and giving it a name.

Making a slideshow in the Photos app

Open the Photos app from your Applications folder or Dock. Find the folder or album that holds the photos you want to show. Click on the first photo, then hold Shift and click the last photo to select them all, or Command-click individual photos to pick specific ones.

With your photos selected, click File at the top of the screen, then move your cursor to Slideshow. A small menu will appear. Click the slideshow option — usually it says "Play Slideshow" or just "Slideshow." Your photos will fill the screen and play one after another with a fade transition between them.

While the slideshow is playing, move your mouse to see controls at the bottom. You can pause, skip forward or backward, or adjust the music volume. Press Escape or click the X button to stop the slideshow and return to the Photos app. The slideshow does not save as a file — it plays only while you are in the Photos app.

Controlling timing and transitions in Keynote

Each slide can stay on screen for a different amount of time. Click on a slide in the left panel, then click the Animate button at the top right. Under the Transition section, you will see a number next to "Duration" — this is how long the slide stays visible before moving to the next one. Click the number and type a new value in seconds. A value of 3 means the slide shows for three seconds, then automatically moves to the next slide.

To add a transition effect — like a dissolve, push, or wipe — stay in the Animate panel and click the Transition dropdown. Pick an effect from the list. You can also set how fast the transition happens by adjusting the Duration slider below it. Some transitions have options you can customize, like the direction the effect moves.

If you want to add music to your slideshow, click on an empty area of a slide, then click Animate at the top right. Look for the Audio section and click the dropdown to choose a song from your Music library or a sound file from your Mac. The music will play from the start of the slideshow and loop if the slideshow is longer than the song.

Sharing and playing your slideshow

A Keynote slideshow is saved as a file on your Mac. You can email it to someone, put it on a USB drive, or upload it to cloud storage like iCloud Drive or Google Drive. When someone else opens the file on their Mac, they can press the play button to watch it, or they can edit it if they have Keynote installed.

If you want to share a slideshow but do not want others to edit it, you can export it as a video. Open your Keynote file, click File at the top, then Export. Choose Video from the menu. Pick a quality level — higher quality makes a larger file but looks sharper. Click Next, choose where to save it, then click Save. The video file can be played on any Mac, Windows computer, or phone.

A Photos slideshow cannot be saved or shared as a file. It plays only inside the Photos app on your Mac. If you want to share photos with music and transitions, you must use Keynote and export it as a video, or use a different app like iMovie.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make a slideshow that plays automatically when I open it?

In Keynote, you can set slides to advance automatically by adjusting the Duration in the Animate panel. Set each slide to stay visible for a specific number of seconds, and it will move to the next slide without you clicking. When you press play, the slideshow will run on its own until it reaches the end.

How do I add music to a slideshow in the Photos app?

The Photos app does not let you choose which music plays during a slideshow. It uses a default background music track. If you want to pick specific music, use Keynote instead — click Animate, find the Audio section, and select a song from your Music library.

What format should I use if I want to send my slideshow to someone with a Windows computer?

Export your Keynote slideshow as a video file by clicking File, then Export, then Video. The video file will play on any Windows computer. You can also save it as a Keynote file and send that, but the person will need Keynote installed on their Windows machine to open it.

Can I pause a slideshow in the middle and come back to it later?

In Keynote, press Escape to stop the slideshow and return to the editing view. Your place is not saved — when you press play again, it will start from the beginning. In the Photos app, move your mouse during the slideshow to see pause and play buttons at the bottom of the screen.

How do I make slides appear in a specific order?

In Keynote, drag slides up or down in the left panel to reorder them. In the Photos app, you cannot reorder photos during a slideshow — they play in the order they appear in your album or folder. To change the order, rearrange them in the Photos app first, then start the slideshow.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.