Movie how-tos

Insert and start a movie

On the Insert menu, point to Movies and Sounds, click Movie from File, and browse for the movie file.

Choose one of these options for how to start it:

• Automatically    Starts the movie by itself either on display of the slide or, if you already have another effect on the slide, after the existing effect. The movie will pause when you click it and resume when you click it again.
• When Clicked    The movie will play when you click it; this is a triggered start. It'll pause if you click it again, and resume when you click it after that.

Changing the start    If you later want to change how the movie starts (make it a click start rather than automatic, for example), open the options dialog box for the effect in the Custom Animation task pane. On the Timing tab, select a different Start method (On Click, With Previous, or After Previous).

If you change an automatic start to On Click, it won't be a triggered start; the movie will play when you click the slide rather than the movie. Sometimes you may want this. If not, to set it up as a triggered start, click the Triggers button, click Start effect on click of, and select the movie file. The movie then plays when you click it.

Delay the start; extend play

Use the Custom Animation task pane to change when the movie starts and the extent of its play.

1. Right-click the movie on the slide, and click Custom Animation on the shortcut menu.
2. In the task pane, display the menu for the movie's Play effect, and then click Effect Options. (If the movie only has a play/pause toggle, you need to add a Play effect; steps for this are below, part of Movie Actions.)
   • To start the movie at a certain point, in the dialog box under Start playing, select From time, and select a number using the spin box.
   • To make the movie continue playing past a mouse click of the slide, choose an option under Stop playing—either After current slide or After x number of slides.

     The movie must be as long-playing as it takes to play the slide or slides.

Resume play from last position

In the options opened on a Play effect in the Custom Animation task pane, there's another choice available for when the movie starts.

From last position   If you used Movie Actions to add a Pause effect to a movie and then a Play effect, you can set the Play effect to start From last position. It will resume where the movie left off during the Pause effect. To use this option, you must also have a stop setting that carries the movie at least through the current slide or beyond.

Other options

To use other options, including zooming to full screen, hiding the movie except for when it plays, and looping the movie:

• Right-click the movie, click Edit Movie Object, and select the option you want.

  You'll also find all of these but the "loop" and "rewind" options on the Movie Settings tab—in the dialog box that opens when you click Effect Options on the movie effect in the Custom Animation task pane. (On the Timing tab, there are yet more options for repeating the movie.)

About hiding the movie:

• If you choose to hide the movie when it's not playing, be sure the movie is set to start automatically or by clicking something other than the movie itself (the slide or a trigger you've set up).
• If you hide the movie and also zoom it to full screen, and you still see the movie briefly on the slide before it plays, you can drag the movie off the slide to completely hide it, and you don't need to select Hide while not playing.

Ensure that linked files will play

Before you insert the movie file, copy it into the same folder as your presentation. Then insert the movie file. Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® will create a link to it, and it will find the file as long as you keep it in the presentation folder, even if you move or copy the folder to another computer. You can get help with this by using the Package for CD feature, mentioned next.

Packaging linked files to a CD or folder

To package to a CD from PowerPoint 2003, you must have Microsoft Windows XP or later and a CD burner. If you have Windows 2000, you can still use this feature to package the presentation files to a folder, and then use a third-party program to burn the folder to a CD.

1. Open the presentation you want to package.
2. On the File menu, click Package for CD.
3. Add the files you want and select and clear any options for the package.
4. Click either Copy to folder or Copy to CD.

For detailed information, see the course So that's how! Great PowerPoint features.

Creating play buttons

Create the buttons

To use action buttons:

1. On the Slide Show menu, point to Action Buttons, and select a button. Point to the slide and click; the button is added.
2. In the Action Settings dialog box that opens, click None and click OK.

Apply movie actions

To apply Play, Pause, or Stop effects to a movie:

1. Open the Custom Animation task pane, and select the movie on the slide.
2. In the task pane, click Add Effect, point to Movie Actions, and select the effect you want.

Trigger the buttons

To make a button the trigger for an effect:

1. Select the effect you want to be triggered by a button; display its menu and click Timing.
2. Under Triggers, click Start effect on click of, and select the action button that you want to be the trigger for the effect.

More information

Movie file types

Whether your movie file plays in PowerPoint or not depends on your version of Microsoft Windows, your version of Windows Media Player, and the video formats installed on your computer. You'll have the best luck if you're using Windows XP and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003.

The movie options in PowerPoint do not apply to animated .gif files (.gif extension).

If you're presenting from another computer, check that your movies run on it first.

Playing Flash files

These articles tell you how to play Shockwave Flash (.swf) files:

• Play a Macromedia Flash Animation in PowerPoint
• Add a Shockwave Flash Control to a Slide in PowerPoint 2002
• How to Control a Shockwave Flash Object on a Slide