--- title: "Carousel or Stacked: Choosing the Layout, Transitions and Autoplay" description: "How to choose and configure the presentation of the Vitextra Announcements Carousel web part: Carousel and Stacked layouts, Slide and Fade transitions, autoplay with a configurable interval, pagination dots and navigation." url: https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10577 language: en published: 2026-11-11 modified: 2026-11-14 products: - "Announcements Carousel" author: "Līga Ozola" tags: ["Announcements Carousel", "carousel layout", "stacked layout", "slide transition", "fade transition", "autoplay", "autoplay interval", "pagination dots", "SharePoint carousel", "SharePoint announcements web part", "Vitextra"] --- # Carousel or Stacked: Choosing the Layout, Transitions and Autoplay How to choose and configure the presentation of the Vitextra Announcements Carousel web part: Carousel and Stacked layouts, Slide and Fade transitions, autoplay with a configurable interval, pagination dots and navigation. ## Introduction The same set of announcements can be presented in different ways. On the home page, a compact carousel that takes up little space works best; in a narrow side column or on a department page, a ::list:: where everything is visible at once may be more convenient. The [Announcements Carousel](https://vitextra.com/en/products/announcements-carousel) ::web part:: supports both scenarios. This article explains the options in the **Appearance** and **Behavior** groups of the property pane that control how announcements are presented and how readers navigate them. ## Choosing the Layout The **Layout** option in the **Appearance** group offers two modes. ### Carousel One card is shown at a time. Readers switch between announcements with the controls described below. This mode is the default. Choose **Carousel** when: - the web part is placed in a prominent area of the home page and must not take up much space; - there are several announcements, and each is important enough to occupy the whole card; - you want to use autoplay. ![The Carousel layout](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10577/carousel-layout-en.png) *The Carousel layout* ### Stacked All announcements (within the **Maximum items** limit) are shown at once as a vertical list of cards. There are no navigation controls and no autoplay - readers simply scroll the page. Choose **Stacked** when: - the web part is placed in a narrow column of the page; - readers must see all current announcements without clicking anything; - there are only a few announcements, and they are short. ![The Stacked layout](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10577/stacked-layout-en.png) *The Stacked layout* 💡 **Tip** In the Stacked layout, set a small **Maximum items** value, for example 3–5, so the web part does not stretch the page. See [KB10575. Controlling Which Announcements Are Shown and in What Order](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10575). ## Transitions The **Transition** option defines the animation used when switching cards in the Carousel layout: - **Slide** (default) - cards move horizontally, as in a classic slider; - **Fade** - the current card fades out and the next one fades in smoothly. **Slide** emphasizes the sequence of announcements, while **Fade** looks calmer and suits pages with a restrained design. The option is ignored in the Stacked layout. ## Navigation In the Carousel layout, readers can switch announcements in several ways: - **Previous/next arrows** in the web part header. On the first card, the "previous" button is unavailable; on the last card, the "next" button is unavailable. - **Pagination dots** under the card show the current position and let readers jump to any announcement. They are controlled by the **Show pagination dots** option in the **Behavior** group (on by default). - **Keyboard** - when the carousel has focus, the ←/→ keys switch cards. - **Swipe** - on touch devices, swipe the card left or right. ![Carousel navigation controls](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10577/navigation-controls-en.png) *Carousel navigation controls* 📝 **Note** If there is only one announcement to show, the carousel does not display arrows, dots or the Play/Pause button - there is nothing to switch. On sites in right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew), the direction of the arrows, keys and swipes is mirrored automatically. ## Autoplay Autoplay rotates announcements automatically, so readers see all the news without clicking anything. It is configured in the **Behavior** group: - **Autoplay** - turns automatic rotation on or off (off by default); - **Autoplay interval (seconds)** - the time each card is displayed, from 2 to 30 seconds, 5 by default. The slider is available only when autoplay is on. ![The Behavior group in the property pane](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10577/behavior-group-en.png) *The Behavior group in the property pane* Autoplay is designed to be convenient for readers: - after the last card, the carousel returns to the first one; - rotation **pauses** while the pointer is over the web part or while it has keyboard focus, so a reader can calmly finish reading; - when autoplay is on, a **Play/Pause** button appears in the header, allowing readers to stop or resume rotation; - while slides are rotating automatically, screen readers do not announce every change, so they do not interrupt the user. ❗ **Important** Autoplay works only in the Carousel layout and only when there are at least two announcements. In the Stacked layout, the autoplay options are ignored. 💡 **Tip** Choose the interval based on the length of the texts: 5–8 seconds is enough for a short headline with one or two sentences, while longer announcements need 10–15 seconds. If readers complain that cards change too quickly, increase the interval rather than turning autoplay off. ## Recommended Configurations | Scenario | Layout | Transition | Autoplay | Maximum items | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Home page, ::full-width section:: | Carousel | Slide | On, 8–10 s | 5–10 | | Home page, two-thirds section | Carousel | Fade | On or off | 5 | | Side column, department page | Stacked | - | - | 3–5 | | ::Microsoft Teams:: tab | Carousel | Slide | Off | 10 | ## Conclusion A layout, a transition and autoplay are enough to adapt the web part to any place on the page: a dynamic carousel for the home page or a compact list for a side column. Whatever you choose, readers keep full control: they can pause rotation, use the keyboard or swipe through the cards. For a complete overview of all web part options, see [KB10221. Announcements Carousel: Features and Capabilities of the SharePoint Web Part](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10221).