Keynote: Replacing Animated Objects Without Re-Doing the Animation

Traditionally, when one element in an animated sequence needed to be altered or replaced, it meant also having to re-build the animated sequence. In Keynote ’09, however, animated images can be replaced simply by dragging-and-dropping; without interfering with the animated sequence.

With the slide open and the element to be replaced showing, go to Finder and navigate to where the new element is stored. Click and hold on the new element and drag over to Keynote to where the old element is highlighted (a blue line will appear around the old image). Release the mouse button and the new image will take the place of the old, adopting its animated properties and leaving the rest of the sequence intact.

[Gary Reichardt]