Solution for stopping a keynote animation you want to stop mid-way in presentation mode

NOTE: After you make the video and import it back to the Keynote, check the movie specs. Depending on if you have a transition on the slide, the movie has a few extra seconds in it. Just use the Trim feature to stop the movie at the right time.

hi Gary : Yes that is the default way to stop mid-way. There are a few issues with that solution when you are presenting using a mouse/clicker/trackpad/remote :

1. You need to be near the keyboard to execute -- I'm usually 6-10 feet away from the computer when I present
2. You have to remember the key command vs. just a click on your remote
3. Any transition between slides will not happen

Thus the solution to make a short video of the animation is a simpler, more elegant option to the "Shift+down arrow" keyboard command. I should note that you can still have static graphics on top of the video allowing you to make a "generic" animation that can be customized for different audiences.

The best part is that you can make the video directly from Keynote using the animation you created. The steps are really easy.

1. File > Export to > Movie
2. New screen comes up (I'm using Keynote 9.0.2)
3. Playback > Self-playing
4. Slides > Select which slide(s) make up the animation
5. Go to next slide > Make this as long as it takes for the slide to complete the animation
6. Go to next build > Make this as short as possible
7. Resolution > 720p or 1080p depending on the screen size you are presenting in. I use the higher resolution typically.

One other tip. Make the animation in such a way that it can loop without the audience know it is looping. That way you can make a shorter animation that continues to repeat until you stop it or go to the next slide.