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Method 1: Insert a movie from a file
To insert a movie into a PowerPoint presentation, use the
Movie from File option on the
Insert menu. If the presentation is located anywhere in the
file path at which the movie file is located, PowerPoint stores the movie file
as a relative path in the presentation. If the presentation is not located at
the path at which the movie file is stored, PowerPoint stores the movie file as
an absolute path in the presentation. For example, you have a presentation that
is located in the following folder:
C:\Documents and
Settings\User\My Documents
You insert a movie from the following folder into this
presentation:
C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\My Movies
In this example, the following path is inserted into the
presentation:
.\My Movies\Movie_name.avi
If the movie file is located on a server, PowerPoint stores the
file as an absolute path in the presentation. If PowerPoint cannot find the
movie file in
the \\
Server_name\
Share_name\
Folder_name folder, PowerPoint looks for the file in
the \\
Server_name\
Share_name folder.
If PowerPoint does not find the movie file in this folder, PowerPoint looks
in the relative path of the presentation. For example, PowerPoint searches My
Documents if the presentation is located in the following folder:
C:\Documents and
Settings\User\My Documents
If PowerPoint cannot find the movie file in My Documents, the
movie will not be played.
Movie playback
When you use this method to insert a movie, PowerPoint controls
the movie playback process by using Media Control Interface (MCI). Therefore, this method is the best
method to use to insert a movie into a presentation.
When you play a movie in a
presentation, PowerPoint first looks for the name of the movie file. If
PowerPoint finds a file that has the same name, PowerPoint examines the size of
the file. PowerPoint will not find the file if the following conditions are
true:
- The movie file has been moved from its original
location.
- You create a file that has the same name. But, the file is
a different size.
If the movie does not play on another computer, the movie file
may not be using a standard codec. You may have to use movie editing software to resave the movie file by using a different codec or compression option. You can use the Cinepak codec if Cinepak is an option for .avi files. If Cinepak is not an option, try to save the movie as an .mpeg file or as another supported format.
Method 2: Insert a movie file as an object
When you insert a movie as an object, PowerPoint is not involved
in the process. The process occurs in Microsoft Windows Media Player. Windows
Media Player has a set of APIs that PowerPoint 2003 uses primarily for movie
playback. Windows Media Player keeps its own set of codecs. And, it uses the Windows
registry file types to determine which format and codec to use. Windows Media
Player looks for a codec signature in the file and then matches the codec that it
finds. If Windows Media Player cannot find an appropriate codec, it searches the Web for a
valid codec.
Windows Media Player stores the movie file as an
absolute path in the presentation. If Windows Media Player cannot find the
original file at the original absolute path, it looks in the path for a file
that has the same file name extension and the same size.
For example, if you rename the original file from "mymovie.avi" to
"yourmovie.avi", Windows Media Player can find the file. However,
if you move the file to a different folder, Windows Media Player would be unable to find the file. Windows Media Player cannot use a relative base path
because it does not know that the movie file is linked in a PowerPoint
presentation. Windows Media Player does not know where that PowerPoint
presentation is stored.
When you insert a movie file as an object,
you link the object to the presentation. You cannot embed an object into the
presentation. If you try to embed an object by clearing the
Link check
box when you insert the object, the size of the presentation that contains the
object will be the same as the size of the presentation that is created when
you click to select the
Link check box. The object has not
been embedded.
For an object to be embedded, the object must have an
interface with OLE2 to be able to create an OLE stream in the PowerPoint
presentation. In an embedded object, the OLE stream is read back into memory. Then, the OLE stream
is loaded into the OLE application server object. However, Windows Media
Player does not have an interface through OLE2. Therefore, all movie files are
linked. This is the default behavior.
Note The
Link check box is for sound files. You can
embed sound files in a presentation because PowerPoint actually creates a
special stream for sound files. However, if the sound file is larger than 100
KB, the presentation may not run as expected. Therefore, when you insert sound
files that are larger than 100 KB into a presentation, these files are
automatically linked to the presentation.
Movie playback
When you play a movie file that was inserted as an object, PowerPoint initiates
MCI. Then, MCI chooses the best program to play the movie.
When you
click the link to the movie, the movie plays either in a popup window
or in the media playback program that is used on the computer. Movie
playback does not occur in PowerPoint. When you use this method, you remove all control that PowerPoint
has over the object. For example, if a user has installed a third-party media
playback program that takes all the extensions from Windows Media Player, this
third-party program will start when the user clicks a link to a movie in a
PowerPoint presentation. You cannot control what program plays the
movie if you use method 2.
Method 3: Use the Wmp.ppa add-in
By default, when you use the Wmp.ppa add-in to insert a movie file
into a PowerPoint presentation, PowerPoint stores the movie file as an absolute
path in the presentation. If the movie file is not in the absolute path, the
movie does not play. The add-in also contains an option that you can use to
copy the movie file into the same folder as the presentation. When you use this
option, PowerPoint stores the movie file as a relative path in the
presentation. When you play the movie file in the presentation, PowerPoint
looks for the presentation in the folder that is defined when the presentation
is created. If the movie file is not in that folder, the movie will not play.
We do not recommend that you use this add-in if you are using
PowerPoint 2003. PowerPoint 2003 uses Windows Media Player to play most movies.
Method 4: Insert the movie as a package
You
can insert a movie file as a package in a PowerPoint presentation. To do
this, follow these steps:
- On the Insert menu, click
Object.
- Click Create new, and then click
Package under Object type.
When
you
insert a movie
as a package in a PowerPoint presentation, the movie file is kept inside a
package that is embedded in the presentation. If you move the presentation to
another location, the package is also moved to this location.
This
method is the only way that you can embed a movie into
a PowerPoint
presentation. A
package is an OLE2 wrapper object that embeds an OLE
stream into a file. This file registers itself as a Packager
object. When the Packager
object is opened, the
contents are read. Then, the
appropriate extension verb is
called. Typically, an .avi file
is verb-activated with Windows Media Player.
You may want to use this option if you are not concerned
about the size of the PowerPoint presentation or about the speed at which the
presentation will play. When you use this
method, make sure that all the content is in one file. If you use this
method to insert larger .avi files, the computer may experience
performance issues.
Movie playback
To make the Packager object
function in a presentation, follow these steps:
- Right-click the inserted object, and then click
Action Settings.
- Click Object Actions. Then, click
Activate Contents in the Object Actions
list.
When you click the Packager object in a presentation, the movie is played
back in a separate window above the presentation.
Playback issues that may occur when you send the presentation to another user
Issues with linked movie files
When you use method 1, method 2, or method 3 to
insert a movie into a PowerPoint presentation, PowerPoint creates a link to the
movie file. When you play the movie, PowerPoint runs the movie from its original location. The movie in the
presentation will not play if either of the following conditions is true:
- You move the movie file to another location.
- You delete the movie file.
To work around this issue, put the movie file and the
presentation in the same folder. Then, zip this folder when you send the
presentation to another user. When you do this, you can prevent issues that may
occur during movie playback.
If you are using PowerPoint 2003, you can
save a presentation in the Single
File Web page (MHTML) format. When you do this, the presentation is saved as
an HTML file that is compiled into a single
.mht file for easy transport. When you use this option, all
the linked files are included in the .mht file.
Issues with .avi files
If you insert .avi files that were created in a third-party
program, the movie may not play if you send the presentation to another user.
This issue occurs if the third-party program does not use a standard codec. For example, Dazzle uses
a specific codec that is only available if you install Dazzle. To prevent
issues that may occur when you use a third-party program, make sure that you
use one of the standard Microsoft Windows codecs. When you do this, users with whom you
share the presentation will have the codec for the movie file.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.