Insert a video into PowerPoint for PC and Mac
Adding a movie to a PowerPoint slide through the appropriate program for PC and Mac is not difficult at all: you just need to know where to put your hands! In this regard, before taking action, I would like to make you clear a couple of very important aspects: Microsoft PowerPoint for computers allows you to add both local videos (i.e. residing in the PC memory) and videos taken from the Internet (using YouTube or the code of embedding provided by other portals).
As for the former, it is possible to decide whether they should be started manually or played automatically when the slide in which they are contained appears; moreover, the video files are "incorporated" into the presentation itself: this means that, if the presentation itself were to be moved to another PC, it will be possible to play the videos contained within it without having to copy the original videos on the "new "PC.
For videos embedded from the Internet, however, the question is slightly different, since the videos thus added are not "embedded" in the file but played in streaming: in other words, in order for the video to be displayed on its slide, it is necessary that the The PC from which the presentation is started is connected to the Internet.
In the following lines I will show you how to do both, using as a reference Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 for Windows; the instructions, however, are also perfectly valid for PowerPoint on Mac and for older versions of the software (from 2007 onwards).
Having made this necessary premise, it's time to get to work: first, start Power point by directly opening the presentation on which you intend to act (or creating a new one, if you need it), click on the slide that must host the movie, press the tab Inserisci placed at the top and then on the button Video resident on the far right.
At this point, you can select two items from the menu that opens on the screen: Video in personal PC ... allows you to add a movie already on your computer, while Online video ... it is used to add a video taken from the Internet.
Insert a video from your computer
If you need to add a movie from your PC, first of all know that almost all popular video formats, including MKV e MP4, are perfectly compatible with the Microsoft program. Having said that, act as follows: after selecting the item Video in personal PC ..., choose the movie you want to embed using the Esplora File / Finder e pulsing sul pulsating Inserisci to finalize the operation. Depending on the size of the video, PowerPoint may take a few minutes to process and optimize it.
Once the optimization of the movie is completed, it is automatically added to the current slide: if you wish, you can move it by grabbing it with the mouse, or resize / rotate it by selecting it with a click and acting on the circles present inside the edges or on the circular arrow placed at the top of the preview. Also, you can play the movie using the side controls.
You can further define the details of the video (play mode, fade, crop and so on) by clicking on its preview and then on the tab Playback, located just below the box Video tools: using the menus, buttons and boxes on the top panel, you can change the viewing and playback modes, as well as the length of the movie itself. The available options are as follows.
- Cut video - by clicking on this button, you have access to an additional panel that allows you to crop the movie, if you need it, using two practical sliders.
- Fade in / fade out - you can set the precise duration (in seconds) of the fade effect at the beginning and end of the video. If you don't intend to use it, leave both boxes zero.
- Volume - this button allows you to decrease or increase the audio volume of the movie.
- Start - using this drop-down menu, you can make the movie play on mouse click after viewing the slide, or completely automatic (i.e. when the slide is shown on the screen).
- Play in full screen - by checking this box, the video is played in full screen and not in the space dedicated to it.
- Hide if not playing - if not activated, the preview of the video is hidden.
- Loop continuously until interrupted - once it has finished, the movie is rewound and played all over again until it is stopped manually.
- Rewind after playing - after the end of the movie, its time bar is moved to the beginning.
You can view the final result at any time, simply by starting the playback of the presentation: to do so, click on the tab Presentazione placed at the top and presses the buttons From the beginning to view the document starting from the first slide, or From current slide to carry out the same operation starting from the selected slide.
Insert a video from YouTube or other websites
As I have already mentioned in the opening bars of this chapter, PowerPoint supports the insertion of a video taken from the Internet and its playback in streaming: keep in mind that, in order to correctly view the video embedded in the presentation, the computer from which you make it must be connected to the Internet.
After pressing the button Insert video and selected the option Online Video ..., the program shows a screen through which to insert: if you intend to add a video present on YouTube, search by typing the name of the video in the bar Close your YouTube, premium pulsating Submit on the keyboard, click on the movie of your interest from the list of results and finally press the button Inserisci located at the bottom right.
If you intend to add a movie from any other video platform instead, you need to get the embed code from the hosting platform (eg. OneDrive): Once this code has been picked up, return to the PowerPoint input screen and paste it into the box Paste the embed code, then pressing Submit at the end of the operation.
Once the video has been inserted into the presentation, you can move or resize it as I showed you in the previous section, using the "controls" placed at the edges of the frame. By going to the section Video Tools> Format instead, you can add effects to your movie graphics (mirror reflection, frame fill, shadow, and so on).
Finally, you can decide when to start playing it (on click or slide view) through the section Video Tools> Playback. It wasn't difficult, was it?
Insert a video into PowerPoint Online
As you surely already know, PowerPoint Online is the (free) Web version of the computer program of the same name, it provides the possibility to create new presentations directly on OneDrive and to import existing ones from the PC or Dropbox; the resulting work is automatically saved at regular intervals to Microsoft's cloud space, however you can download a copy to your computer in PDF, .ppt / pptx (the characteristic extension of PowerPoint files) or .odp.
However, this variant of Microsoft's software has some limitations compared to its computer counterpart: via PowerPoint online, it is possible to insert only videos from YouTube into the presentation, with the possibility of playing them with a click of the mouse when the slide containing them is opened on the screen.
Having made this necessary premise, it's time to get to work: first, connect to the PowerPoint online website, log in with your Microsoft account and select the presentation you want to work on from the available boxes.
In this regard, you can operate in different ways: if you have already acted recently on the file of your interest, you can select it with a click from the section Recent on the left panel of the web app. If you want to open a presentation hosted on OneDrive or Dropbox instead, you can use the voices Open from OneDrive e Open from Dropbox residing in the same panel.
If you need to work on a document on your computer, set the drop-down menu New in su OneDriveclick sulla voce Upload a presentation located at the top right and, using the proposed panel, select the file of your interest to import it to OneDrive. Keep in mind that, in this way, the changes will be saved on OneDrive and not on the "original" document on your computer, which you will need to download manually (through the section File> Download As of the site).
In any case, once you have uploaded the document to work on, move with a click on the slide where you want to add the video, presses on the section INSERT located at the top and, from the panel that appears, click on the button Online Video.
The game is practically done: helping you with the search bar attached to the new screen that opens, enter a word or phrase to search for the video directly from YouTube and press the button Submit keyboard. After a few seconds, PowerPoint shows the results of the search you performed: identify the video you are interested in adding to the current slide, select it with a click of the mouse and finally press the button Inserisci located at the bottom right.
Once back to the slide, you can move the video to the position that suits you best by simply dragging it with the mouse, or resize it by dragging the small squares placed on the edges instead. If you want to act on the arrangement of the movie with respect to the remaining elements of the slide, select the video with a click and then press the tab FORMAT, located just below the section DRAWING TOOLS, then use the available buttons in order to get the result you want.
As I mentioned earlier, you can play the video by clicking on the button Play when displaying the presentation: to preview the result, select the slide containing the video, click on the section VIEW placed at the top and, finally, presses the button From current slide placed in the box Start presentation.
Insert a video into PowerPoint for smartphones and tablets
As for smartphones and tablets, the insertion of videos is subject to even more notable restrictions: at the time of writing this article, in fact, it is not possible to insert a video in PowerPoint for Android, as this functionality has not been implemented in the app. The version of PowerPoint dedicated to iPhone e iPad, on the other hand, it provides the possibility of inserting videos in presentations, as long as the video is already present in the memory of the device from which you are working.
How do you say? Is this really the case for you? So don't delay any longer: grab your iPhone or iPad, start PowerPoint from the device's home screen and select the document you want to act on by pressing on the item that suits you best (OneDrive, dropbox o apri content on the device). Alternatively, you can select the file of your interest directly from an external app (eg. Fillet o Mail) and open it automatically in PowerPoint for iOS with a simple tap.
However, once you have opened the document and selected the slide to operate on, use one of the steps illustrated below to access the section dedicated to inserting external content.
- iPhone - presses the button Modification located at the top (marked with a A flanked by a pencil), tap the drop-down menu Home located at the bottom left, touch the option Inserisci, scroll down the panel until you identify the entry Video and select it with a tap.
- iPad - presses the button INSERT located at the top and tap the button Video that appears in the top panel.
At this point, select the movie you want to add from the device Gallery and tap the button Choose located at the bottom right to finalize the operation: once you return to the PowerPoint screen, you can move the video by dragging it to the position that suits you best and resize it by acting on the squares drawn on the edges, or by using the pinch (ie the "pinch" with two fingers).
The added movie must be started manually when playing the slide: to preview the result, move the drop-down menu Inserisci on the item Presentazione if you are up iPhone, or tap the section PRESENTATION if you are on iPad, and then play it all by pressing the button From current slide.
If you have come this far, it means that you have understood perfectly how to insert a video into PowerPoint across all versions of the program (or app). However, if you intend to further refine your technique and fully understand the functioning of this powerful software, so as to be able to create even more effective and captivating presentations, I invite you to make a careful reading of my tutorial on how to use PowerPoint: I'm sure that you will not regret!
How to insert a video into PowerPoint
