Would you like to add a video to a PowerPoint presentation? There may be times when a video is the best way to get a message across. However, you don’t want to have to switch between screens to show this. In this article, I show you how to add a video to your PowerPoint presentation, set up auto-play along with some other neat features.
First Of all, choose which slide you wish to add the video to. Remember, if you make it too small, people won’t be able to see it, so I recommend adding it to a slide of its own.
Once you have chosen which slide, click on the Insert tab and select Video. You then have 2 options. ‘Online Video’ or ‘Video on My PC’.
Insert A Video From My PC To A PowerPoint Presentation
If you have selected ‘Video on My PC’ you will be taken to your PC folders. You then locate the relevant file that holds your video and either double click on it or click and select Insert.
Once added to your presentation slide, you can alter the size of video by dragging the corner markers. You can also pay back the video to check all is ok.
Insert An Online Video To A PowerPoint Presentation
If you want to show a video that is online, select the Online Video option. (Please note, if you are using the 2010 version of Microsoft PowerPoint, this option is NOT available).
To insert a video from YouTube, type the keyword that is relevant to your search and you will then see thumbnails of potential videos. To select one, again either double click on the thumbnail or select and click on Insert.
If you have found the perfect YouTube video but find it difficult to locate among the thumbnails, I recommend using the ‘From A Video Embed Code’ option.
To do this, go onto the video you wish to insert on YouTube and select the SHARE option. You will then see a list of icons for various social media platforms and at the bottom will be the word ‘EMBED’.
Click on this and you will see an embed code
You can then select if you want the player controls, video title etc. At this point, UNTICK the option to ‘Show suggested videos when the video finishes’ as you don’t want other video options coming up and the end of the playback. Any boxes you amend, will update the code.
Then click on the COPY at the bottom right hand corner and paste the code in the ‘From Video Embed Code’ section and click on the small grey arrow to it’s right.
How To Set The Video To AutoPlay On A Presentation
Once you have inserted the video you want to set it to auto play when your presentation reaches the slide. To do this click on the video and a Playback tab will become available. In the top centre of the tools bar you will see a drop down box next to Start. Click on the drop down box and select ‘Automatically’.
This will then play your video as soon as this presentation slide is selected.
Other Video Features Within PowerPoint
There are many other features you can add to your video once it has been inserted within PowerPoint. For example, you may decide you only want to show a portion of the full video. To do this you can select ‘Trim Video’ from within the Playback tab. This will bring up a separate screen showing your video with the trim functionality below. You then simply select the start time by moving the green bar on the left and the end time by the red bar on the right.
You can also create a border of your colour choice, change the shape of the video, change the colour i.e. sepia and even add special video effects like shadows reflections etc. All of these features are available on the Format tab. Again, when making any of this changes, you first need to click on the video itself.
As you can see, adding a video to your presentations can give a completely different look and feel.
What is your favourite feature to use when inserting videos into PowerPoint? We would love to hear in the comments below.
Do you need help creating a PowerPoint presentation for your next meeting? We are happy to help. For more information or a quote, call Lyn on 01329 481202 or click on the ‘Call Back’ button below.
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