Getting Started with Motion Path Animations in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

The main difference between Motion Path animations and other animations in PowerPoint (Entrance, Emphasis, and Exit animations) is that Motion Path animations allow you to cause any slide object to move along a path you choose. PowerPoint provides dozens of preset motion paths, and you can also create your own paths as required.

Follow these steps to add Motion Path animations to any object in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac:

1. Select the object that you want to animate, preferably a text object or a shape. We created and selected a shape.
2. Alternatively, if you just want to follow this tutorial step-by-step, launch PowerPoint. You will see the Presentation Gallery which allows you to set all attributes of your new presentation, such as a preset Theme or template. Make selections or just click Cancel in this gallery to open a blank presentation with a new slide. PowerPoint 2011 Mac users can change the slide layout of this slide to Blank by selecting Layout | Blank within the Home tab of the Ribbon. Then, insert a shape and select it.
2. Make sure your shape is still selected. You can see the Four-pointed Star shape selected in Figure 1, below. Now, click the Animations tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red, within Figure 1. Within this tab, click the Motion Paths button, as shown highlighted in blue, within Figure 1.
3. 
   Figure 1: Motion Paths button within the Animations tab of the Ribbon
3. Doing so opens the Motion Paths drop-down gallery, divided into three categories: Custom, Basic, and Complex as shown in Figure 2, below. In Figure 2, you can also see that our cursor is placed over the Line motion path. To apply this motion path to your selected slide object, just click on it. You can also select any other motion path from within the Basic or Complex categories, based on your requirement.
4. 
   Figure 2: Line Motion Path selected within the Motion Paths drop-down gallery

Create Custom Motion Paths

Want to know more about the Custom, Basic, and Complex categories? Explore our Motion Path Animations in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac tutorial. To learn more about how to draw Custom motion paths, explore our Drawing Custom Motion Path in PowerPoint 2011 tutorial.
4. In Figure 3, below, you can see that the Line Motion Path has been applied to the selected shape. The dotted line with two arrowheads that you can see is the path on which the slide object moves while animating. The green arrowhead indicates the motion path's start point and the red arrowhead indicates the end point of the path.
5. 
   Figure 3: Line Motion Path applied to the slide object
5. Once you have applied the Motion Path animation to the slide object, you can view the animation by clicking the Play button within the Preview group of Animations tab, as shown in Figure 4, below.
6. 
   Figure 4: Play button to preview the animation
6. Save your presentation often.