How to Set a PowerPoint Video to Auto-Play When the Slide Opens

You inserted a video into a PowerPoint slide and want it to start playing as soon as the slide appears during a presentation. By default, PowerPoint sets inserted videos to play on click, which requires you to tap the mouse or press a key. This article explains how to change that setting to make the video start automatically when the slide opens. You will learn the exact menu path and playback options to control video behavior without any delays or extra clicks.

Understanding Video Playback Modes in PowerPoint

PowerPoint offers three start options for video files on a slide: On Click, Automatically, and When Clicked On. The default setting depends on how you insert the video. If you use the Insert > Video > This Device command, PowerPoint assigns the On Click start mode. This means the video does not play until you click the mouse or press the spacebar while on that slide. The Automatically mode starts the video the moment the slide finishes loading in Slide Show view. The When Clicked On mode is similar to On Click but only responds to a click directly on the video frame, not a click anywhere on the slide. No additional software or plugins are required to change these settings. The feature is built into all current versions of PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, PowerPoint 2019, and PowerPoint 2016 on Windows and Mac.

Steps to Set a Video to Auto-Play When the Slide Opens

The following steps apply to PowerPoint on Windows. The process is similar on macOS, but the ribbon location may differ slightly.

1. Open your presentation and select the slide with the video
   Double-click the slide thumbnail in the left pane to display it in the main editing area. Click once on the video frame to select it. You will see a border with resize handles around the video.
2. Go to the Playback tab on the ribbon
   With the video selected, the ribbon shows a new contextual tab labeled Video Format and Playback. Click the Playback tab. If you do not see it, click the video again to make the tab appear.
3. Change the Start setting to Automatically
   In the Video Options group, locate the Start dropdown list. Click the arrow and select Automatically from the menu. The dropdown currently shows On Click if you inserted the video from a file.
4. Verify the change in Slide Show mode
   Press F5 to start the presentation from the beginning, or select the slide and press Shift+F5 to start from the current slide. When the slide appears, the video should begin playing without any mouse click or key press.
5. Adjust additional playback options if needed
   While still on the Playback tab, you can check the box for Play Full Screen to have the video expand to fill the screen during playback. Check Loop Until Stopped to make the video repeat continuously. Check Rewind After Playing to return the video to its first frame after it finishes.

Making the Video Play Across Multiple Slides

If you want the video to continue playing when you advance to the next slide, check the box labeled Play Across Slides in the Video Options group on the Playback tab. This setting works only when the Start option is set to Automatically. The video audio continues as you move to the next slide. The video stops when you reach the slide after the one where the video ends, or when you manually pause it.

Common Issues and Things to Avoid

The Video Still Does Not Auto-Play

If you set the Start option to Automatically but the video does not play when the slide opens, check for conflicting animation triggers. Open the Animation Pane from the Animations tab. If the video has an animation entry with a trigger set to On Click or Start On Click, it overrides the Playback tab setting. Remove the trigger by selecting the animation entry and pressing Delete. Then set the video start mode again from the Playback tab.

Video Plays Automatically but Audio Is Missing

PowerPoint mutes video audio by default when the video is set to play automatically. On the Playback tab, click the Volume button and select Low, Medium, or High. Also verify that the audio is not muted in the Windows volume mixer. Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray and select Open Volume Mixer. Ensure the PowerPoint entry is not muted.

Video Format Not Supported for Auto-Play

PowerPoint supports MP4 files encoded with H.264 video and AAC audio. Other formats like MOV, AVI, or WMV may not auto-play reliably. Convert unsupported video files to MP4 using a free online converter or a tool like HandBrake before inserting them into PowerPoint. After conversion, re-insert the video and set the Start option to Automatically.

Auto-Play Fails in PowerPoint Online or PowerPoint for the Web

PowerPoint for the web does not support the Automatically start mode for embedded videos. Videos always play on click in the browser version. If you need auto-play during a live presentation, use the desktop version of PowerPoint. You can also share the presentation via OneDrive or SharePoint and open it in the desktop app from the web interface.

PowerPoint Video Start Options Comparison

Item	Automatically	On Click
Default after Insert > Video	No	Yes
Starts when slide appears	Yes	No
Starts after a mouse click anywhere on slide	No	Yes
Works with Play Across Slides	Yes	No
Works in PowerPoint for the web	No	Yes

With the Start option set to Automatically, you can deliver a seamless presentation where videos begin without extra clicks. Combine this with the Play Across Slides feature to keep a background video running through multiple slides. For precise control, use the Animation Pane to add a delay or a bookmark trigger to the auto-play video.