PowerPoint 2013's 3-D options that allow you to rotate or bevel shapes are
surprisingly powerful. In fact, some of these options are good enough to be compared to a basic 3-D program! While you can always apply a
3-D Rotation preset effect to a shape,
you can actually rotate your shape in 3-D space on your own by altering the X, Y, and Z position coordinates. That's exactly what we did for the
rotated shapes you see in Figure 1, below.
Figure 1: Enhance your 3-D Rotation effects
This tutorial explains these extra 3-D Rotation options. Follow these steps to play with the advanced controls related to 3-D Rotation, make
sure you start with a shape to which you have added a
Bevel effect, then proceed further:
-
Select the shape so that the Ribbon area shows
the Drawing Tools Format tab, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
Activate this Ribbon tab by clicking on it. Within the
Drawing Tools Format tab, click the Shape Effects button (highlighted in blue
within Figure 2).
Figure 2: Drawing Tools Format tab of the Ribbon
Note: The
Drawing Tools Format tab is a
contextual tab.
These tabs are special tabs in the
Ribbon that are not visible all the
time, they only make an appearance when you are working with a particular slide object which can be edited using special options.
- This brings up the Shape Effects drop-down gallery as you can see in Figure 3. Within the
Shape Effects drop-down gallery choose 3-D Rotation, and then choose 3-D Rotation Options
from the sub-gallery, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3.
Figure 3: 3-D Rotation Options within 3-D Rotation gallery
- This opens the Format Shape Task Pane with the
Effects tab selected (highlighted in red within Figure 4). Within the
Format Shape Task Pane you'll find all the options within the 3-D Rotation section (highlighted in
blue within Figure 4).
Figure 4: 3-D Rotation options within Format Shape Task Pane
3-D Rotation options within the Format Shape task pane are explained below, as marked in Figure 4, above:
A. Presets:
Click the down-arrow next to the icon, which brings up a 3-D Rotation gallery very similar to the options that
you can see in Figure 3 above. See our
Apply 3-D Rotation Effects to Shapes In PowerPoint 2013 tutorial for more information.
B. Rotation:
Here you can choose the three axes in 3-D space: X (Width) Rotation, Y (Height)
Rotation, and Z (Depth) Rotation to rotate the selected shape in 3-D space. You can either use the direction
buttons or enter the angle values. Each change in value will show you how it effects the shape.
Additionally, you can enter Perspective values from 0 to 120 degrees or use the direction buttons to narrow or widen the field
of view. The Perspective option will be grayed out if you have chosen any preset styles other than the
Perspective preset styles (highlighted in blue within Figure 3, earlier on this
page).
C. Text:
This check-box allows you to keep the text flat even after you apply a 3-D Rotation effect to a shape.
D. Distance from ground:
Here you can alter the distance from the base level of the shape, this might influence different shapes in
dissimilar ways.
Note: Click the Reset button to convert a 3-D formatted shape back to a 2-D shape.
- You can see a Live Preview of the effect as you make changes. Play around with the 3-D Rotation options to achieve the effect you want
- Remember to save your presentation often.
See Also:
3-D Rotation Options
For Shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
3-D Rotation
Options For Shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
3-D Rotation Options
For Shapes in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows
3-D Rotation Options in
PowerPoint 2007 for Windows
