How to Use Motion Path Animations in Microsoft PowerPoint

Add a little pizazz to your presentation

Motion paths are a Microsoft PowerPoint feature that lets users create custom animations in their slideshows. While PowerPoint provides many preset animation types, motion paths let you animate an object however you want to.

Whether you’re a PowerPoint beginner or you just missed this feature in the past, we’ve got you covered. In this PowerPoint tutorial, we’ll explain how to use motion path animations in Microsoft PowerPoint.

How to Add a Motion Path Animation

Motion path animations are a great way tomake your slideshow more engaging, and the complexity of your animations is completely up to you. If you just want to add a simple animation, like an object moving into the center of your slide in a straight line, the process is fairly straightforward.

Note:The process explained below should work forMicrosoft Office 365on Windows and the newer Mac versions as well as PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2016.

Here’s how to add a basic motion path animation:

Note:You can also add more advanced animations by clickingMore motion paths…in theAdd Animationdrop-down menu. You can also add multiple motion path effects to the same object.

Below, we’ll explain how you can customize your motion paths and create more complicated PowerPoint animations.

How to Customize Motion Paths

Once you’ve added a motion path to your object, you can change the direction and timing of your motion path and add enhancements to make your animation pop.

To customize the motion path:

To speed up or slow down your animation:

Alternatively, double-click yourmotion pathand select theTimingtab. Here, you can add the start conditions and change the delay and duration of your animation. You can also set the animation to repeat and rewind once finished.

First, double-click themotion path. This will open theMotion Pathanimation options window. There are several settings in this window which enable you to make your animation flow exactly how you want it to.

Here’s what the settings do under theEffectstab:

PowerPoint Strikes Again

PowerPoint has long been one of the most powerful apps in the Microsoft Office suite, enabling users to easily createbeautiful slideshows. And with this tutorial, you should easily be able to add your own motion paths to animate your objects however you like.

Jake Harfield is an Australian freelance writer whose passion is finding out how different technologies work. He has written for several online publications, focusing on explaining what he has learned to help others with their tech problems. He’s an avid hiker and birder, and in his spare time you’ll find him in the Aussie bush listening to the birdsong.Read Jake’s Full Bio

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How to Use Motion Path Animations in Microsoft PowerPoint#

How to Add a Motion Path Animation#

How to Customize Motion Paths#

To customize the motion path:#

To speed up or slow down your animation:#

PowerPoint Strikes Again#