A PowerPoint for a funeral that simply works

Funeral venues almost always ask for a PowerPoint. Building one yourself seems simple, until the music stops at the second slide or the photos do not keep pace with the song. This tool builds all that technology in automatically.

No installation A real PowerPoint 1 credit per funeral service
Candles burning calmly in a darkened room

Music across the slides

The song starts on the first photo and plays seamlessly through to the last.

The timing is always right

The time per slide is calculated from the music, including the fades.

Video starts by itself

No click needed on the day; the video plays at the right moment.

A real .pptx file

Works in Microsoft PowerPoint on Windows and on a Mac, and can be edited afterwards.

Why a PowerPoint and not a film?

Crematoria, funeral halls and churches almost all work with Microsoft PowerPoint. There are good reasons for that: a PowerPoint can wait for a click at a speaker, can still be adjusted right up until shortly before the service and runs on the equipment already there. A film file can do none of that; if a speaker talks for longer, the rest of the film no longer fits. That is why this tool delivers a real PowerPoint, not a video. You can read the full comparison on the page funeral video or presentation.

What goes wrong when you build it yourself

The pitfalls are in the details, and they are always the same:

  • The music stops at the next slide. Music that plays across several slides requires hidden playback settings that are named differently in every version of PowerPoint.
  • The photos do not keep pace with the song. You have to work out the time per slide yourself from the length of the music, and the fades between the slides secretly count too. One photo more, and the arithmetic starts again.
  • The presentation carries on during a speaker. Automatic transitions quickly apply to the whole presentation, while the picture needs to stay still at a speaker.
  • The music at the final farewell falls silent. Playing a piece on repeat until everyone has left the room is a setting that hardly anyone finds.
  • The video does not start by itself. By default a video waits for a click, which is exactly what you do not want during the service.

If you still want to do it all yourself, you will find the points that matter in our article creating a funeral presentation yourself: how to go about it.

How the tool solves it

Instead of configuring slides, you fill in the running order of the service: the entrance, speakers, music with photos, live music, video and the final farewell. From this running order the tool builds the PowerPoint, with every setting in the right place: continuous music, coherent timing, waiting for a click at speakers, repeating music at the final farewell, autoplay video and gentle fades. How you select the photos and what else belongs to a musical moment is explained on the page about the funeral photo presentation.

Which block does what and when to use it is explained in our explanation of the blocks.

A real .pptx file, editable afterwards too

The result is not a closed file in an unknown format, but an ordinary PowerPoint that you can open, check and, if needed, add to in Microsoft PowerPoint on Windows or on a Mac. Usually it is more convenient to make changes in the tool itself: up to 7 days after the funeral service the service stays free to adjust, and every new download again has fully coherent timing. First you view a trial version with a watermark for free; the final version costs 1 credit per funeral service.

When playing it, watch out for one thing: really use Microsoft PowerPoint. LibreOffice, Keynote and online viewers do not reproduce the timing and the music correctly. More on this in the checklist for playing at the funeral venue.

Frequently asked questions

About the PowerPoint technology behind a funeral presentation.

Can music play across several slides in PowerPoint?

Yes, but it is one of the hardest things to set up correctly yourself: it requires hidden playback settings that are named differently in every version of PowerPoint. In this tool's presentations it is handled as standard: the music starts on the first photo of the block and plays seamlessly through to the last.

Does the file work in PowerPoint on Windows and on a Mac?

Yes. The result is an ordinary .pptx file that works in Microsoft PowerPoint on Windows and on a Mac. Do not use LibreOffice, Keynote or online viewers: these do not reproduce the timing and the music correctly.

Can I still edit the PowerPoint myself afterwards?

Yes. You can open the file in PowerPoint as normal and, for example, add a text slide. Usually it is more convenient to make the change in the tool itself: up to 7 days after the funeral service you can adjust the service for free and download it again, with the timing recalculated automatically.

Do I need to be good with PowerPoint?

No. You build the presentation online by filling in the running order and uploading photos, music and video. You only need PowerPoint to play the end result; at the funeral venue that program is almost always present.

The technology is handled, you bring the memories

Build the running order and view a trial version with a watermark for free. The final version costs 1 credit per funeral service.

Try it free