CSS offset-rotate Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 07, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 13 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The offset-rotate property in CSS is used to specify the rotation of an element along the motion path defined by the offset-path property.

This property allows you to control the orientation of an element as it moves along the path, enabling complex animations and dynamic visual effects.

It is particularly useful for animating elements along curved paths where maintaining a specific orientation is crucial.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the offset-rotate property is as follows:

Syntax

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element {
  offset-rotate: auto |  []?
}

auto: The element rotates along the path, aligning its top side with the path's direction.
<angle>: A specified angle for the rotation, which can be in degrees (deg), radians (rad), or gradians (grad).

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the offset-rotate property is auto, which means the element's rotation aligns automatically with the direction of the motion path.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
auto	Automatically aligns the element's rotation with the direction of the path.
<angle>	Specifies a fixed rotation angle. For example, 45deg or 0.5rad.
[<angle>]	An optional second angle that can be used to specify additional rotation relative to the element's current position.

📄 Example

In this example, we animate a square along a circular path and use offset-rotate to control its rotation.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS offset-rotate Example</title>
  <style>
    .path {
      position: relative;
      width: 200px;
      height: 200px;
      border: 1px solid #000;
      border-radius: 50%;
      margin: 50px auto;
    }

    .box {
      position: absolute;
      width: 50px;
      height: 50px;
      background-color: blue;
      offset-path: path('M 100 0 A 100 100 0 1 1 100 -0.1'); /* Circular path */
      animation: move 5s infinite linear;
    }

    @keyframes move {
      to {
        offset-distance: 100%;
        offset-rotate: auto;
      }
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Square Moving Along a Circular Path</h1>
  <div class="path">
    <div class="box"></div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the blue square moves along a circular path, and the offset-rotate: auto property ensures that the square's top side always aligns with the path's direction.

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The offset-rotate property is supported in most modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. However, it may not be fully supported in older browsers. As always, testing across different browsers is recommended to ensure compatibility.

🎉 Conclusion

The offset-rotate property provides fine-grained control over the orientation of elements as they move along a path.

This is especially useful for creating complex animations and ensuring that elements maintain a consistent orientation relative to their motion. Experiment with different values and combine them with other CSS properties to create dynamic and engaging animations on your web pages.