How to Insert a Video in PowerPoint (from a File on Your PC or Shared Drive)

Insert or Embed a Video in a PowerPoint Presentation from a File and Set Playback Options

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated October 9, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can insert a video into a PowerPoint presentation from a file on your PC or from a shared drive. Video can help to engage your audience and focus attention. In 2010 and later versions, video files are embedded or copied into PowerPoint by default so video files can increase file size significantly.

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When inserting video in PowerPoint, consider the following:

PowerPoint 2010 and later versions support common video formats such as WMV (Windows Media Video file), ASF (Windows Media file), MP3 and MP4 (Movie files) and AVI (Windows Video File).
The default format for PowerPoint 2013 and later versions is MP4.
In 2010 and later versions, video is embedded by default not linked as in previous versions.
If you choose to link to a video, it's good practice to copy the video file to the same folder as your presentation before you link. You will not be able to apply certain types of formatting to linked videos.

Note: Buttons and Ribbon tabs may display in a different way (with or without text) depending on your version of PowerPoint, the size of your screen and your Control Panel settings. For PowerPoint 365 users, Ribbon tabs may appear with different names. For example, the Video Tools Playback tab may appear as Video Playback.

Although you can insert a video in Slide Master View, we'll assume here that most of your videos will be inserted on slides in Normal View.

Inserting a video from a file

To insert a video from a file and embed it on a slide:

In Normal View, navigate to the slide where you want to insert a video.
Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
Click Video. A drop-down menu appears.
Depending on your PowerPoint version, choose Video on My Computer, Video on My PC or This Device. A dialog box appears.
Navigate to the folder where your video is saved and click the video to select it.
On the bottom right of the dialog box, click Insert to embed the video. You can also double-click it. If you click the drop-down menu beside Insert, you can choose Link to File. If you decide to link rather than embed, you may want to copy your video or movie clip to the same folder as your presentation before you insert it on your slide. PowerPoint will place the video in the center of the slide.
In Normal View, click the video and then Play on the media controls to play the video.

After you insert a video, two tabs will appear in the Ribbon when you click the video (Video Tools Playback and Format or Video Playback and Format) in Normal View.

Below is the Video Tools Playback tab in the Ribbon with a video selected (this may appear as Video Playback):

Below is the Video Tools Format tab in the Ribbon with a video selected (this may appear as Video Format):

Playing a video automatically or when clicked

You can change the way a video plays when you run a slide show.

To control the way a video plays during a slide show:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, beside Start, choose In Click Sequence, When Clicked On or Automatically from the drop-down menu.

If you select When Clicked On, you must click directly on the video when running a slide show.

Playing a video full screen

You can play a video so that it fills the entire screen when you run a slide show. However, depending on the resolution of the original video file, it might appear distorted if the video is lower quality.

Be sure to preview your video so that if the video appears distorted or blurry, you can turn off the full screen option. If you set a video to be displayed full screen and it is also set to start automatically, you can drag the video frame off the slide into the gray work area so that it will not be visible on the slide or flash briefly before the video goes to full screen.

To set a video to play full screen during a slide show:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, select the Play Full Screen check box.

Controlling video volume

To control video volume:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, click Volume and then choose Low, Medium, High or Mute.
You can also set the volume of a video by using the volume slider on media controls that appear below the video.

Be sure that volume is turned on through your Control Panel settings on your computer.

Hiding a video when not playing

During a presentation, you can hide a video until you are ready to play it. However, you should create an automatic or triggered animation to start the video or you won't see it play during the slide show.

To hide a video when not playing:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, select the Hide While Not Playing check box.

Looping a video

To play a video continuously during a presentation, you can loop the video:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, select the Loop until Stopped check box.

Rewinding a video after playing

To rewind a video after playing during your presentation:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Video Options group, select the Rewind after Playing check box.

Showing media controls during a slide show

To show the media controls during your presentation when running a slide show:

In Normal View, click the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
In the Set up group, select the Show Media Controls check box.

Fading a video in or out

You can start or end your video with a fade effect for a certain number of seconds.

To start or end a video with a fade effect:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Editing group, under Fade Duration, choose or enter a duration for Fade In or Fade Out. To add a timed fade to the beginning of your video, in the Fade In box, click the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the fade in time. To add a timed fade to the end of your video, in the Fade Out box, click the up or down arrows to increase or decrease the fade out time.

Cropping a video

You can also crop a video in PowerPoint to remove specific areas in the video.

To crop a video:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Format or Video Format tab in the Ribbon.
Click Crop in the Size group.
Position the pointer over a black cropping handle and drag the handle.
Click Crop again to finish cropping.

Trimming a video

You can trim video at the beginning and end of each clip so you can start at any point and end the clip earlier. Trimming is different from cropping.

To trim a video clip:

In Normal View, click the video on the slide.
Click the Video Tools Playback or Video Playback tab in the Ribbon.
In the Editing group, click Trim Video. A dialog box appears.
To trim the beginning of the clip, click the start point (a green marker on the far left). When the pointer becomes a two-headed arrow, drag the arrow to the desired starting position.
To trim the end of the clip, click the end point (a red marker on the right). When the pointer becomes a two-headed arrow, drag the arrow to the desired ending position.
Click OK.

In this article, we've reviewed inserting video files in PowerPoint presentations from a PC or shared drive, controlling playback during a slide show as well as cropping and trimming. In future articles, we'll look at video formatting techniques and how to export a PowerPoint presentation as a video.

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How to Insert a Video in PowerPoint (from a File on Your PC or Shared Drive)