Prezi Next Path doesn't exist but you can make a fake Prezi Next Path

Are you looking for the Prezi Next Path?

The way that Prezi Next is structured, it’s difficult – but not impossible – to edit the Prezi Next path. In the original software, now called Prezi Classic, the path controls how it moves from frame to frame. Small slide images of the frames are shown in sequence in the left sidebar. The left sidebar in the new software looks like the Prezi Next path, but it isn’t. The images you see there aren’t frames, they are topics. Topics and subtopics are arranged in multiple levels called a smart structure. The prezi moves by following the smart structures, not a Prezi Next path. Since you can’t change the sequence of a smart structure, you can’t change the Prezi Next path.

Use zoom areas instead of topics to control the Prezi Next path

Smart structures are organized in a hierarchy like an outline. Topics rest at the top level. Subtopics are positioned on the level beneath their topics. If the subtopics have sub-sub topics, they are positioned on the next level down. Prezi Next moves down the levels in sequence like an outline. It starts at the first topic level, moves down to the subtopics, and sub-sub topics, then it returns to the top level where it can move to the next topic. The unchangeable order of this hierarchy gives you no control over the Prezi Next path. But you can build your own Prezi Next path staying away from smart structures. Instead, use zoom animation controls the prezi’s movement. This gives you a Prezi Next path that is similar to the old Prezi Classic.

A Stepping Stone Analogy

Navigating the Prezi Classic path is like crossing over a stream, leaping from one stepping-stone to the next. The stream is the background image. The stepping stones are the frames. The path controls where and when you’re going to stop along the way. Prezi Next has stepping stones too – topics and subtopics – but they don’t all reach to the surface of the stream. Some are on the surface and some are deeper down. As you follow the Prezi Next path, it dunks you in and out of the water.

Prezi Next topic covers can be seen from the surface of the water. When you move to the topic, the cover disappears, pulling you into the water. If there are subtopics, you dive deeper into the water to reach them. When finished skipping through all the subtopics, Prezi Next pulls you back out of the water and up to the surface again. From here, it moves to the next stepping-stone topic where it dunks you into the stream again.

Create a Fake Prezi Next Path with Zoom Areas

With zoom areas, you can keep your head above water and force Prezi Next to move more like Prezi Classic. To make this work you’ll need to place all your content on the overview. That’s right – you’ll have no topics at all – just a bunch of content resting on top of the overview. Zoom areas will act as your stepping-stones. They hold the content and control the sequence. Instead of moving in and out of the stream, you glide smoothly across the surface from one stone to the next. The sequence of the zoom areas determines the Prezi Next path. When you use zoom areas in place of topics and subtopics you never have to get dunked into the water.

How to Add Zoom Areas

Zoom areas are considered one of the Prezi Next animations. Each new zoom area adds a step to your fake Prezi Next path. You can open the Animation sidebar from the main menu or the shortcut menu. Click the plus sign and select Add Zoom Area. A zoomed area looks like a shaded rectangle on the screen. Move the rectangle over the content that you want to zoom to. Grab a corner to resize it. The size of the zoom area determines how much it zooms. You can even rotate a zoom area by dragging its corner while holding down Ctrl-Alt (Cmd for Mac).

Changing the Sequence Through the Fake Prezi Next Path

When you add zoom areas to your Prezi overview, you’ll want to add them in the order you want them displayed. Each new zoom area gets added to the end of the sequence. You can’t see the Prezi Next path through this sequence of zoom areas. They are not shown in the left sidebar the way that topics and subtopics are. Instead, they are listed in the animation sidebar on the right. To change their order, move the zoom areas up or down in the animation sidebar. This isn’t easy. You won’t see thumbnails like you would in a Prezi Classic path. You’ll need to keep track of which zoom goes where.

Use a Custom Starting Point

To complete the illusion of a Prezi Next path, set your first zoom area as the custom starting point. If you don’t, your prezi will start off with the overview, revealing all the whole line of stepping stones before you take the first step. When you set a custom starting point you can hide the overview completely. Maybe someday Prezi will loosen its grip on the Prezi Next path and make it more like Prezi Classic. Until it does, zoom areas and a custom starting point can keep you on the surface of the stream instead of getting dunked in the water!

Use Zoom Areas to Make a Prezi Next Path