Adding videos to your PowerPoint presentations can help engage your audience and illustrate key points. Whether you want to embed a video file stored locally on your computer or link to an online video, it’s easy to insert videos into PowerPoint.
In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn:
- What video formats are supported in PowerPoint
- How to insert a video from your computer
- How to insert an online video
- Tips for adjusting and formatting embedded videos
Follow these steps to seamlessly integrate videos into your next PowerPoint presentation.
Step 1: Ensure Your Video File is in a Supported Format
PowerPoint supports various video formats, including:
- MP4
- MOV
- AVI
- MPEG
- WMV
MP4 formatted with H.264 video encoding is recommended for best results across platforms.
Before inserting your video, confirm the file type is supported in PowerPoint. If not, convert the video to a compatible format.
Step 2: Insert a Video from Your Computer
Adding a video stored locally on your PC or Mac is straightforward:
- Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want the video to appear.
- On the Insert tab, click Video > Video on My PC.
- In the insertion window, navigate to and select your video file.
- Click Insert to add the video to the slide.
The video will now be embedded in the presentation.
Step 3: Insert an Online Video
To link to an online video from YouTube or another website:
- Copy the video URL from the website.
- In PowerPoint, select the slide.
- On the Insert tab, click Video > Online Video.
- Paste the video URL into the box.
- Click Insert.
The online video will now be inserted with a link back to the video’s original URL.
Step 4: Resize and Position the Embedded Video
Once inserted, click and drag the handles on the perimeter of the video to resize it as needed.
Drag the video object to reposition it on the slide.
In the Video Format tab that appears, toggle options like:
- Start – Choose to have the video start automatically or when clicked.
- Play Full Screen – Make the video play full screen instead of within the slide.
Step 5: Format the Appearance of Videos
Customize the look of inserted videos using the Video Format tab:
- Resize video box to desired dimensions
- Add a video border
- Apply video styles to match theme
You can also add captions, trim length, and make other edits.
Share PowerPoint Presentations with Embedded Videos
- Package the presentation with the video files in a folder to share locally
- Upload to OneDrive or SharePoint to share online and stream videos
- Save to PowerPoint Show (.ppsx) to ensure videos play properly
By following these tips, adding videos – whether locally stored or linked online – is seamless. Engage your audiences by incorporating high-quality videos into your next PowerPoint presentation.
