How to Add a Video to Google Slides [Complete Guide]

Google Slides is a powerful tool that allows you to create engaging presentations for a variety of purposes. One effective way to enhance your presentations is by adding videos to provide additional context, break up the monotony of text-heavy slides, and capture your audience’s attention.

To insert a video into Google Slides presentations, select the slide, click on the “Insert” menu, and choose “Video.” Next, select the video source, choose your video, and click “Insert.”

To start creating more dynamic and engaging presentations, we walk you through the process of how to add a video to google slides.

How to Add a Video to Google Slides

People who want to create comprehensive and engaging presentations ought to include videos. Hence, learning how to embed videos in Google Slides is an essential skill. Here’s how to do it:

  1. First, open your Google Slides presentation and select the slide where you want to add the video.
The Google Slide you want to embed a video

 

  1. Next, click on the “Insert” option in the top menu bar and select “Video.”
Location of insert option in Google Slides

 

  1. Upon clicking, a prompt will appear. You will then have two options to choose from: “YouTube” and “Google Drive.” Choose the option that applies to your video source.
Insert video from "YouTube” or GDrive in Google Slides

 

  1. If you choose “YouTube,” simply type the video you want into the YouTube search bar and select a video from the results.
Inserting YouTube video into GSlides

 

  1. If you choose “Google Drive,” select a video from your Google Drive by either typing the file name on the search bar or accessing the video via “My Drive,” “Shared With Me,” or “Recent.”
How to insert GDrive video into Google Slides

 

  1. Click on the “Insert” button and the video will automatically appear on your slide.
Screen after adding video to Google Slides

 

Related: Looking for more ways to create a great presentation? Discover how to insert Google Sheets into Slides!

What Does “By URL” Mean in Google Slides?

Some Google Slides have a “By URL” option when adding videos. This provides users with more flexibility in terms of where they can source their videos from. With the “By URL” option, users can add videos to their Google Slides presentation from all video hosting platforms, as well as news sites and social media platforms that have embedded videos.

For example, if your video is hosted on Vimeo or Dailymotion, the “By URL” option can be used to add that video to Google Slides presentations. Simply copy the shareable URL for the video and paste it into the “By URL” field (in the Google Slides “Insert Video” dialog box).

"By URL" option in Google Slides

 

Note: When using the “By URL” option, a video needs to be publicly accessible (and not restricted by privacy settings or copyright laws).

How to Embed a Vimeo Video in Google Slides

You can also insert videos into Google Slides from Vimeo (if you have the “By URL” option). This is a video streaming and sharing site that offers high-quality configurations for user-uploaded videos.

The process of embedding Vimeo videos into Google Slides presentations is fairly simple:

  1. Open Vimeo.com in your web browser and log in to your account. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to create one.
  2. Navigate to the video you want to embed.
  3. Click on the “Share” button.
Click on "share" button for Vimeo

 

  1. Upon clicking, a pop-up menu will appear. Click the “Embed” </> icon.
Click embed icon on Vimeo video

 

  1. Click the “Copy” button to copy the embed code.
Click copy button to embed Vimeo video

 

  1. Open your Google Slides presentation and select the slide where you want to embed the video.
Embedding Vimeo video in Google Slides

 

  1. Click on the “Insert” menu and select “Video.”
Select "Video"

 

  1. In the “Insert video” window, click on the “By URL” tab.
  2. Paste the copied Vimeo embed code into the box provided.
  3. Finally, click on “Insert” to insert the video into your slide.

Once done, the Vimeo video will now be embedded in your Google Slides presentation, and you can adjust the playback settings and other options as desired.

Note: You may need to adjust the size and positioning of the video on your slide to ensure that it fits properly and looks professional.

Format Video Options In Google Slides

When adjusting Format Video Options, video can be adjusted to better fit your presentation needs and enhance your overall message. It’s easy to customize several settings, including:

  • Playback settings: Choose whether the video starts automatically when it’s clicked and whether it loops or plays just once.
  • Start and end times: Set the specific times you want the video to start and end.
  • Volume: Adjust the volume of the video.
  • Size and rotation: Adjust the width and height of the video
  • Lock aspect ratio: This allows you to maintain the original proportions of a video when you resize it.
  • Drop shadow: Add a drop shadow effect to the video.
  • Transparency, angle, distance, blur radius: Adjust the appearance of the video.

Related: Learn how to insert images in Google Slides.

What Video Formats Are Supported by Google Slides?

Google Slides supports several video formats that you can play directly in your presentations without the need for additional plugins or software. These compatible video formats include:

  • FLV
  • MP4
  • MPEG
  • AVI
  • MTS
  • MOV
  • 3GP
  • MPEG4
  • WMV
  • OGG
  • WebM

Note: Video files uploaded to Google Slides must be 100 MB or less. Otherwise, you may encounter issues when trying to add or play the video in your presentation.

How to Play a Video During a Google Slides Presentation

It isn’t enough to know how to put a video in Google Slides: You also need to know how to play it during presentations. If your video fails to play properly during a presentation, it can be incredibly inconvenient and even embarrassing.

To play a video during a Google Slides presentation, just click the “Play” button in your video.

How to play video in Google Slides

How to Make Videos Play Automatically in Google Slides

Before you finalize your presentation, ensure that your videos work properly and remove potential technical difficulties. Google Slides has an option to automatically play videos once you have reached the respective slides. Use this feature to deliver a seamless and engaging presentation:

1. Open the slide where you’ve inserted the video.

2. Click on the video and choose the “Format options” button in the top menu. Alternatively, you can press right-click and select “Format options.”

Format options in Google Slides

 

3. Upon clicking, the format options menu will appear on the right side of the screen. In the “Video playback” section, select “Play (automatically).”

How to make videos play automatically in GSlides

 

4. Adjust any other settings as desired, such as the start and end times.

Video start and end times in Google Slides

 

Once you’ve set the video to auto-play, it should start playing automatically when the slide is displayed in your presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Put a Video from Your Camera Roll onto Google Slides?

You can’t directly upload a video from your camera roll or your computer into presentation slides. You’ll first need to upload your video to Google Drive:

  1. Click on the “Insert” menu and select “Video.”
  2. In the “Insert video” window, select the “Google Drive” tab.
  3. Select the video you want to insert.
  4. Click “Insert” to add it to your slide.

How to Embed YouTube Videos in Google Slides

Embedding YouTube videos is easy. Select the slide where you want to insert the video and click “Insert” > “Video.” In the pop-up menu, select the YouTube tab and insert the link to the YouTube video. Hit “Insert,” and the video will be embedded in your presentation.

Conclusion

By following learning how to add a video to google slides, you’ll be able to improve the layout and content of your presentation and boost the quality of your presentation, resulting in greater engagement and attention.

Want to learn more about GSuite products like Docs and Sheets? With easy access to thousands of high-quality G Suite courses taught by experts, you’ll up your presentation game in no time!

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