Helpful Hint to get round builds of ungrouped objects in Keynote

Question

For those of you keen to 'build' a group of objects and have the build as a group there are two alternatives:
1. Add a build for each component of the 'group' but when choosing 'options' choose 'with build x' rather than 'after build x'
2. For an easier but limited approach, put a rectangle with no border but the same colour/texture as the background over the items, and add a 'build out' to remove it and reveal the items underneath.

Answer 1

Nathan, there are a couple of techniques you can use to make this kind of work easier. First off, you can assign a build animation to an object and then move it do a different place on the slide and the animation will still work. So, in your case, you could create the replacement objects, apply the build in you want, apply the build out to the original objects, and only then slide the replacements on top of the originals (using the guide lines to line up exactly).
Alternatively, you can use the Send Backward and Send Forward menu items to manipulate the objects. If you have two sets of objects (grouped together), one original and one to be the replacement, you can move the original in front of the replacement, apply your build out, then send the original backward, and the replacement set should now be on top (presuming these are the only two groups on the slide). You can even put icons for Backward and Forward into the toolbar of the Keynote window for easy access (in the View menu, select Customize Toolbar).
I hope these tips help.
PowerMac G5   Mac OS X (10.4.4)