Exporting PowerPoint presentations to video can be extremely useful for sharing content more widely or creating video tutorials and lessons. Converting a PowerPoint to video is easy to do directly within PowerPoint, allowing you to quickly generate a high-quality video.
Why Convert PowerPoint to Video
There are several key reasons you may want to save a PowerPoint presentation as a video file:
- Easy sharing – Video files can be easily shared online, emailed, or transferred even to people who don’t have PowerPoint. Videos can also be uploaded to video platforms.
- Playback on any device – Unlike a PowerPoint presentation, a video can be played back on any computer, phone or tablet without needing PowerPoint installed.
- Create video tutorials/lessons – Exporting a PowerPoint with narration to video is a great way to create an engaging video tutorial or recorded video lesson.
- Control playback – With a fixed video, you can control exactly how the content is viewed and in what order, unlike an interactive PowerPoint presentation.
How to Export PowerPoint to Video
Exporting a PowerPoint presentation to video can be done right within PowerPoint using just a few simple steps:
Step 1: Open PowerPoint Presentation
Open the PowerPoint presentation you want to convert to video within the PowerPoint app. Make sure all slides, animations and transitions are set up how you want them.
Step 2: Check Audio/Narrations
If you want your video to include audio narration that was recorded in PowerPoint, ensure it is enabled on the correct slides.
You can also add new narration by going to the “Slide Show” tab and choosing “Record Slide Show”.
Step 3: Export to Video
Go to File > Export > Create a Video to open the export video pane.
Step 4: Choose Video Quality
Select the appropriate output video quality. Higher video quality results in larger files. Common settings are:
- 1280 x 720 (HD)
- 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
Step 5: Additional Video Options
Check the box to “Use Recorded Timings and Narrations” if you want exported audio narration included.
You can also reduce video size by checking “Crop video to fit slide area”.
Step 6: Export Video File
When ready, click Create Video to choose the output location and video file name, and export your PowerPoint as a video.
The supported video formats are MP4 or WMV.
Video Export Considerations
Here are some things to keep in mind when exporting a PowerPoint presentation to video:
- Effects – Most animation effects and slide transitions will be rendered in the video, but some complex effects may not convert properly.
- Timing – Any slide timings or animations set to occur over time should remain the same length in the output video.
- Narrations – Recorded slide narrations need to be enabled in the presentation prior to exporting for it to be included in the video file.
- Text formatting – Some intricate text formatting details like hyperlinks may not appear correctly in the video export. Simpler formatting like bold, italics and underline should translate fine.
- Embedded media – Any media embedded on slides like video, gifs or audio files will not export correctly to video format. Consider linking to these files instead.
- Presenter view – Only the main slide will be rendered to video, presenter notes and preview slides will not be included.
Alternative Ways to Convert PowerPoint to Video
As well as the built-in PowerPoint video export option, there are also several alternative ways you can convert presentations to video:
- Use third-party software – Dedicated PPT to video converter tools provide additional options like support for more video formats, higher resolutions, and the ability to keep embedded media files.
- Record screen – Using screen recording software is an easy way to capture a PowerPoint presentation being manually played back in Slide Show mode. This records exactly what is displayed.
- Upload to Microsoft Stream – Microsoft Stream integrates with PowerPoint allowing you to easily upload a presentation as a video to share or publish online.
- Use video conversion websites – There are various free online conversion sites that can take PowerPoint files and convert them to video format without needing to install any software.
Tips for Creating Video Presentations
If you plan to export your PowerPoint slides to video format for presentations or tutorials, keep these tips in mind:
- Focus on visuals over text
- Add animations sparingly
- Use slide titles and short concise points
- Ensure text is large enough to be readable at video resolution
- Include optional narration/audio
- Keep total length reasonably short
- Test exported video before sharing
Converting your PowerPoint presentations into video can be extremely quick and easy to do right within PowerPoint. Following the step-by-step process outlined above, you can export your slides and any narration into a high-quality video file that can be easily shared, viewed and played back on any device.
