In PowerPoint 2013/2016 and Office 365, there are four ways to add a video to your presentation. Below are instructions on how to embed a video into your PowerPoint file, how to link to a video on YouTube, Vimeo, or any website, and how to link to a video stored locally on your computer. We’ve also included tips for ensuring smooth video playback during your presentation by choosing the right video format, and how to set up your video animation for seamless transitions.
Insert a Video in PowerPoint
Embedding Video
Embedding a video in PowerPoint will include the full video in your presentation file — naturally, this will increase your PowerPoint file size. But, if you don’t mind the size, embedding videos is often the safest way to ensure seamless playback.
- On the Insert tab, click Video, then Video on My PC
- Navigate to the video file on your computer, click Insert
Important: You’ll need to know the setup of the computer you’ll be presenting on for best playback. See below for tips on video file formats. Note that PowerPoint 2007 and earlier may have technical difficulties when playing back an embedded video.
Linking Video
Instead of including the video file inside your PowerPoint presentation, you can link to the video — this will keep your file size down, but when presenting, initiating the linked video will take you outside the presentation. There are two locations from which you can link:
Online (YouTube, Sites with Video Embed Codes) PowerPoint has made it easier than ever to link to popular video-hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo, but you can also add videos from any site that supplies a video embed code.
- On the Insert tab, click Video, then Online video
- Choose your online video source:
- OneDrive (then navigate to the location of your video file)
- YouTube – in PowerPoint 2013/2016 and Office 365 you can search for videos, preview and insert within PowerPoint
- From a Video Embed Code – for videos on sites with embed codes, like Vimeo, choose this option. Find your video on the external side, copy the embed code, and paste here.
Online (Other Websites) You can also link to a video on any website you like, in the same way you would link any object to a website.
- Choose an object on your slide from which you can link – this can be text or an image, like a screenshot from the video
- Highlight the text or select the image you want to link from
- On the Insert tab, click Hyperlink, or right-click the selected text/image and click Hyperlink
- Ensure Existing File or Web Page is selected in the Link to box, then paste your hyperlink in the Address bar or click Browse the Web to navigate to the website with your video
Important: if you are linking to an online video, remember that you will need an internet connection when giving your presentation.
Local
To avoid a shoddy internet connection ruining your video playback, you can link to a locally-stored video.
- Choose an object on your slide from which you can link – this can be text or an image, like a screenshot from the video
- Highlight the text or select the image you want to link from
- On the Insert tab, click Hyperlink, or right-click the selected text/image and click Hyperlink
- Ensure Existing File or Web Page is selected in the Link to box, then navigate to the video file on your computer
Important: If you transfer your file to another computer for your presentation, just keep the PowerPoint 2013 file in a folder with all of the videos you’ll need. This will keep your links from breaking when copying the file from computer to computer.
Smooth Video Playback in PowerPoint 2013
Video File Types
Finally, for ideal playback you’ll need to know the setup of the computer you will be presenting from. Here’s a quick guide of the best video file formats for PC or Mac for PowerPoint 2013/2016 and Office 365.
- PC: .wmv files are most-guaranteed to play. .mov and .mp4 files may play if the latest version of Quicktime is installed, but be sure to test before giving your presentation.
- Mac: .mov, .mp4 files will work best. .wmv files will not play.
Video Playback and Triggers
In PowerPoint, you can choose when your video will play – automatically when you advance to the slide containing the video or when you click the video during your presentation.
- Select your video, then choose the Playback tab under Video Tools
- On the Start drop-down menu, choose On Click or Automatically
- On this tab, you can also choose to play your video in full screen, hide while not playing, loop, trim the start and end of your video, and ad a fade in or fade out