Adding videos to your PowerPoint presentations can make them more engaging and memorable for your audience. However, there’s an important thing to keep in mind – if you share just the PowerPoint file itself, the embedded video may no longer play properly.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to sending a PowerPoint presentation with an embedded video so that it continues to play seamlessly when viewed by others.
Step 1: Create a Folder to Store Your Files
Before embedding your video, you need to create a dedicated folder to store both the PowerPoint file and the video file. This keeps everything neatly organized in one place.
On Windows, right-click on the location where you want to create the folder, select “New” and then “Folder”. Give it a descriptive name like “My Presentation”.
On Mac, go to Finder, click File > New Folder, type in a name, and click Create.
Step 2: Add Your Video to PowerPoint
With your folder created, it’s time to embed your video into the PowerPoint presentation.
In PowerPoint, open the presentation and navigate to the slide where you want the video to appear. Go to the “Insert” tab and click the “Video” dropdown menu. Select “Video from My PC” if you’re using Windows or “Movie from File” on Mac.
Locate your video file, select it, and click the “Insert” button. This embeds your video into the presentation.
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Step 3: Move Your Video File to the Folder
Now this is a crucial step. You need to move the video file itself into the folder you created earlier.
Go to the location where your video is currently saved, right-click on the file, and select “Cut”. Then go to your presentation folder, right-click inside it and select “Paste”. This moves the video file into the folder.
By keeping the video file in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation, you avoid broken links when you share the presentation later.
Step 4: Zip the Folder
To send both the presentation and video together, you need to zip the folder into one compressed file.
On Windows, right-click the folder and select “Send to” > “Compressed (zipped) folder”.
On Mac, right-click the folder and select “Compress ‘[folder name]'”
This creates a .zip file containing both your PowerPoint presentation and the video, ready for sharing.
Step 5: Share the Zipped File
Now when you want to share your presentation, just attach and send the .zip file instead of just the PowerPoint itself.
Tell the recipients to unzip the file first before viewing the presentation. This way, the embedded video will play properly since both the presentation and video file are extracted to the same local folder.
Video Format Recommendations
For best results, use common video formats that work seamlessly across different devices and operating systems:
- MP4 with H.264 Video Codec and AAC Audio Codec[2]
- MOV files
- WMV files
Avoid formats like AVI or non-standard codecs, as these may not play properly for all recipients.
Compress Videos to Optimize File Size
Videos can make your PowerPoint file size quite large. To reduce it, use PowerPoint’s built-in tools to compress videos before sending:
On Windows: File > Info > Compress Media > choose compression level
This shrinks your video file sizes while maintaining good visual quality. Send the compressed presentation for easiest sharing. [3]
Remember Zipping Essentials
The key things to remember when sending a PowerPoint presentation with an embedded video:
- Store presentation and video file in the same folder
- Zip the folder before sending
- Recipients must unzip before viewing
Following these best practices guarantees your recipients can play the video just as you intended every time.
So go ahead, embed those videos for more engaging presentations! With this handy zipping method, you can easily share them with anyone.
