Working with Video
Learn how to insert videos from your computer or online, control playback settings, trim clips, and format the video frame on your slides.
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
Why Embed Video in a Presentation?
Videos can make a presentation far more engaging than static slides. A short clip can demonstrate a process, share a testimonial, or show a product in action.
Embedding video directly into your presentation keeps everything in one file, so you don't need to switch applications during a live presentation.
Inserting Video from Your Computer
Go to the Insert tab, click Video, then select This Device.
Browse to your video file and click Insert. PowerPoint supports common formats including MP4, MOV, and AVI.
The video appears on the slide as a preview image with a playback bar beneath it.
Inserting an Online Video
You can also embed a video from an online source such as YouTube without downloading it first.
Go to Insert → Video → Online Video. Paste the video URL into the search box and click Insert.
The Video Format and Playback Tabs
When a video is selected, the Video Format and Playback tabs appear on the ribbon.
Video Format lets you apply styles, adjust borders, and crop the video frame. Playback controls how the video behaves during the presentation.
Playback Settings
The Start setting works the same as audio — In Click Sequence, Automatically, or When Clicked On.
Additional useful options include:
- Play Full Screen — expands the video to fill the entire screen during playback.
- Hide While Not Playing — hides the video frame until it starts playing.
- Loop until Stopped — repeats the video continuously.
- Rewind after Playing — returns the video to the first frame when it ends.
Trimming Video
To use only part of a video, click Trim Video on the Playback tab.
Drag the green start marker and the red end marker to define the clip you want to keep, then click OK.
Adding a Video Poster Frame
A poster frame is the still image shown on the video before it plays. By default, PowerPoint shows the first frame.
To set a custom poster frame, play the video to the frame you want, pause it, then click Poster Frame → Current Frame on the Video Format tab.
Formatting the Video Frame
Just like images, videos can be styled with borders, shadows, and reflections using the Video Styles gallery on the Video Format tab.
You can also resize and reposition the video frame on the slide the same way you would resize an image.
Knowledge Check
What is a video poster frame?
Practice File
Download this file and follow along with the lesson.
Challenge
Apply what you've learned in this lesson.
Open the practice presentation and complete the following tasks:
- On slide 3, insert a video from your computer.
- Resize and reposition the video so it fits neatly within the slide content area.
- Set the Start option to Automatically.
- Enable Rewind after Playing.
- Use Trim Video to remove the first 5 seconds and last 5 seconds of the clip.
- Apply a video style from the Video Format tab to give the frame a polished appearance.
- Set a poster frame using a frame from inside the clip.
- Preview the slide to confirm the video plays and rewinds correctly.