UPDATED: Play Animated 3D Models in Word, PowerPoint, and *Excel*

Anonymous
2018-10-22T20:49:38+00:00

Hey Insiders!

My name is Aimee, and I'm a PM in the Office Graphics team. I’m excited to announce support for animated 3D models in PowerPoint, Word and Excel on both Mac and Windows PC. This new media type can help you get creative, elevate storytelling and build highly immersive documents. To get you started, we've created a library of over 50 animated models available in Office. Enjoy :)

Support for animated 3D models is rolled out to Office 365 Subscribers on:

- PowerPoint and Word on Windows PC: Version 1809 (Build 16.0.102827)

  • Excel on Windows PC: Version 1904 (Build 16.0.11526)
  • PowerPoint/Word/Excel on macOS: Build 16.24.226

This feature is not available on Office Perpetual, namely Office 2019 or 2016. 

Getting Started

STEP 1

Firstly, you'll need to insert an animated model.

Navigate to Insert Tab > 3D Models > From Online Sourcesto peruse Office's library of 3D models.

In the dialogue box, click the All Animated Models category. Insert any that catches your eye. There's novel characters, education-focused examples, realistic animals and many more to pick from:

Tip: All animated models are badged with the ‘running man’ to easily identify:

Alternatively, insert your own animated model if you have one, via the Insert Tab > 3D Models > From File .

Office accepts .gltf and .fbx formats for animated models. Currently only skeletal animations are supported, with morph and node animation support coming very soon. Let us know via Send a Smile in the Office app if there are any issues with your insert.

STEP 2

Your inserted model will now animate in the editor!

STEP 3

To Play/Pause the animation, right-click on the model and select Play/Pause on the Floatie:

Tip: To quickly play/pause, select the model and hitspacebar

STEP 4

Animated models can have multiple animation scenes. To explore these, select the model and navigate to the Format Tab > Scenes:

Tip: To quickly explore the animation scenes, select the model and hitCtr + Tab to toggle through the animations

Feedback

We are actively working on this feature in Office, and your feedback is key to guiding improvements. Use Send A Smile in the Office app to let us know what you think. I read and appreciate all feedback that filters my way. Your thoughts are valuable to making this feature great.

Microsoft 365 Insider | Program announcements and registration | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

189 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-06-05T17:00:49+00:00

    Hi pgot3D,

    Apologies you had to deal with this - it must be frustrating.

    I'm prioritising this and have the team working to get to the bottom of this. I'll reply on thread when we have a solution.

    I also went through Answers and found your reply here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/how-to-stop-3d-animation-from-returning-to-first/ac9aa1e4-3770-410f-9be6-a8a243c179d7

    It's a good point - getting this on my team's radar as well.

    Thanks.

    Aimee

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-06-04T18:43:51+00:00

    Hi Aimee.  3D animations are no longer working for me on the Mac.  I am on Mojave 10.14.3 and PowerPoint 16.25.  They worked when that feature was first introduce around 16.24, but then mysteriously stoped working and I have not been able to use that feature on the Mac since.  I submitted a help request a week or so ago through the "Tell Us What Can Be Better" icon in PowerPoint but have not heard from anyone.

    I tried deleting PowerPoint and re-installing but that did not help.

    I also installed Office 365 on an old Mac Mini 2010 running High Serria 10.13.6, but the 3d feature is not working at all on that device for some reason (the 3D menus are greyed out even after I added them to the Quick Access Bar).

    Back on my main Mac, the only thing that works for me is adding the default transition animations to a 3d model directly in PowerPoint.  But models that have built in skeletal / rigged animations are not working; I can insert models with the running man icon from on-line, but they do not play.

    Please advise.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-06-04T17:09:07+00:00

    Hi pgot3d,

    Animated 3D objects should be working on PPT for Mac on all builds >= 16.24.226

    Are these not animating for you?

    Aimee

    3D PM

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-06-04T17:05:17+00:00

    Hi Anna - thanks for your patience. We're actively trying to smooth out support for node and morph which are more complex. It won't be in the next update but a feature we are prioritising to get out soon.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-05-06T10:10:33+00:00

    I am on a Windows 10 1909, updated with last patches.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments