Animation Spin

Question

Animation Spin

Lea Blake 20

I can't get my spin animation to just spin. It wants to make a circle while its spinning.

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Answer accepted by question author

John Jefferson Doyon 73,395 Independent Advisor

I'm using the built-in animation effect in PowerPoint, not code.

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

I understand. The Spin animation should rotate in place, not move in a circle.

This usually happens when another motion effect is also applied, like "Teeter" or a Motion Path.

If you haven't tried it yet:

Select the object.
Go to the Animations tab.
Open the Animation Pane.
Check if there are multiple animations applied to the object.
Remove any Motion Path or extra effect.
Keep only the "Spin" animation.

Also, check if the object is grouped with another shape or image. Sometimes grouped objects spin oddly.

Does this happen with all objects or only one specific image/shape?

Lea Blake 20 Reputation points

2026-05-21T15:19:13.5066667+00:00

Thank you John. It is a star shape; not grouped; no other animations added to it.

It worked perfect yesterday, but when I came back to it today it started the circle before and after the spin thing. Frustrating.
John Jefferson Doyon 73,395 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T15:28:13.9433333+00:00
It could be that the center point of the star shifted or the animation became corrupted in the slide.

To help narrow down the issue:

Delete the current Spin animation and add it again.

Copy the star and paste it as a new shape, then test the Spin animation on the copy.

Check if the star was accidentally rotated or resized oddly before the issue started.

Try creating a brand new star shape on a blank slide and apply only the Spin animation to see if it behaves normally.

Also, does the star move in a circle during the slideshow only, or even in the animation preview inside PowerPoint?
Lea Blake 20 Reputation points

2026-05-21T15:29:50.21+00:00

That worked! Thank you so much!
John Jefferson Doyon 73,395 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T15:31:23.18+00:00

I am glad that worked. If you don't have any more questions, if you'd like, you can click "Yes" below the response that provided the helpful solution.

This way, any users who come across this thread with similar issues will find the steps and benefit as well. Thank you :)

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Lea Blake 20 Reputation points

2026-05-21T15:19:13.5066667+00:00

Thank you John. It is a star shape; not grouped; no other animations added to it.

It worked perfect yesterday, but when I came back to it today it started the circle before and after the spin thing. Frustrating.
John Jefferson Doyon 73,395 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T15:28:13.9433333+00:00

It could be that the center point of the star shifted or the animation became corrupted in the slide.

To help narrow down the issue:

Delete the current Spin animation and add it again.

Copy the star and paste it as a new shape, then test the Spin animation on the copy.

Check if the star was accidentally rotated or resized oddly before the issue started.

Try creating a brand new star shape on a blank slide and apply only the Spin animation to see if it behaves normally.

Also, does the star move in a circle during the slideshow only, or even in the animation preview inside PowerPoint?
Lea Blake 20 Reputation points

2026-05-21T15:29:50.21+00:00

That worked! Thank you so much!
John Jefferson Doyon 73,395 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T15:31:23.18+00:00

I am glad that worked. If you don't have any more questions, if you'd like, you can click "Yes" below the response that provided the helpful solution.

This way, any users who come across this thread with similar issues will find the steps and benefit as well. Thank you :)

Answer 1

Lea Blake 20

I'm using the built-in animation effect in PowerPoint, not code.

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Answer 2

In spin-style animations, the object must rotate around its own center; if the rotation center is offset, the object appears to move in a circle (orbit) instead of just spinning in place.

To make it spin in place, ensure the rotation center is set to the middle of the object:

For XAML-based UI (WinUI/UWP/WPF-like behavior):
- Use a RotateTransform on the element.
- Leave CenterX and CenterY at their defaults (0,0).
- Set the element’s RenderTransformOrigin to (0.5, 0.5) so the transform origin is the center of the element.
- Animate only the Angle property with a DoubleAnimation (e.g., 0 → 360) and repeat forever.

If CenterX/CenterY are set to some non-zero pixel values, or if RenderTransformOrigin is not at (0.5,0.5), the element will rotate around an off-center point and appear to travel in a circular path instead of spinning in place.

References:

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Animation Spin

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