How to Embed Video in Google Slides

Depending on your presentation, adding a video to Google Slides can be a great, visual way to share data or information. But it may not be immediately obvious how to add a video to Google Slides, especially if that video is in a location other than Google Drive or YouTube. Here's how to add a video to Google Slides from YouTube, Google Drive, and from outside sources, like your computer hard drive.

How to Embed a YouTube Video in Google Slides

YouTube is the best known place to find all manner of videos. You may even have a YouTube channel where you upload your own videos. Because YouTube is a Google company, adding videos to your slides from the service is pretty straight forward.

1. In your presentation you may have a place defined for a video or you may need to create one. When you're ready, click the slide where you want the video and then click Insert > Video.

   

2. The Insert Video dialog box appears and by default, it options to a YouTube search. Type your search term and click the magnifying glass to search for the video you want to add.

   

3. Alternatively, if you know the URL for the YouTube video you want to add, you can select By URL and then paste the URL into the provided text box.

   

4. Once you've located the video that you want to embed in Google Slides, click Select and the video will be inserted into your slide. You can then click and drag it into the desired position.

   

5. Once you have you video in the slide, you can use the blue bounding box to resize the video frame, or if you need to clip the video or change other options, you can right-click on the video and select Format options.

   

6. The Format options toolbar will open on the right side of the page. There you can change your Start at and End at times for the video. If you place a checkmark in the box next to Autoplay when presenting the video will automatically play when the slide opens during a presentation.

   You can also select Mute audio to have the audio from the slide automatically muted when it plays.

   In addition to these options, you also have options for Size & Rotation, Position, and Drop shadow. Use these options to adjust the appearance of the video on your slide.

   

How to Add a Video to Slides from Google Drive

Adding videos to your Google Slides presentation from Google Drive is only slightly different from adding a YouTube Video. It starts the same, but the difference is in where you find the video.

1. Click the slide where you want the video and then click Insert > Video.

2. In the Insert video dialog box that opens, select Google Drive.

   

3. Navigate to the location of the desired video in Google Drive. You have options for:

   • My Drive: This is where you'll find files that you've created in or uploaded to Google Drive.
   • Shared drives: This option is for drives that are shared with other people. For example, if you have a family shared drive that a relative uploaded a video to, you'll find it here.
   • Shared with me: While it might seem like this is the same a shared drive, it's not. This is where you'll find files that belong to someone else who has shared them with you (the file only, not the whole drive).
   • Recent: If you've recently opened the video that you want to embed in your Google Slides presentation, it will probably show up here.

   

4. Once you've located your video, choose it and then click Select to add the video to your presentation.

How to Add Video to Google Slides from an Outside Source

If you want to add a video to Google Slides from your hard drive or from somewhere else on the web, you won't be able to directly add it to Google Slides. You'll have to first upload or add the file to Google Drive, and then use the steps above to add the video to your presentation.

You also cannot add video to Google Slides using a URL for a site other YouTube. If the video you want to use lives on another site, you'll first need to get it into Google Drive (which could mean downloading it to your hard drive and then uploading it to Google Drive) before you can use it.