Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Inserting Video into Worksheets.

Inserting Video into Worksheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 1, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Excel allows you to add more to your workbooks than just numbers or text. You can also add all sorts of other objects. For instance, you can add simple graphics, pictures, or even videos. How you add graphics and pictures has been covered in other ExcelTips. Adding video is a horse of a different color, however.

Why is adding video different? The primary reason is because videos can be so huge. Consider the normal way to add objects:

  1. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Object tool in the Text group. Excel displays the Object dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Create from File tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Create from File tab of the Object dialog box.

  5. Use the controls in the dialog box (specifically the Browse button) to locate the video clip you want to insert.
  6. Make sure the Display As Icon check box is selected.
  7. Click OK.

Did you notice that the Object dialog box had a check box that controlled whether the video would be linked or not? The default is for the video not to be linked, which means it will be embedded. Videos are notoriously huge, and the size of that video (however many megabytes or gigabytes it is) is added to your workbook when the video is embedded. This makes the workbook much harder to distribute to others.

You might think that the size issue can be solved by not embedding and, instead, linking to the video. While this does solve some issues, it raises others. When the video is linked, only the path to the file is stored in the document, but it is a fully qualified path. This means that, even if both documents are in the same directory, the directory name becomes part of the link. If you move both files or send them to someone else who stores them on their system, the link is automatically broken.

Another thing to keep in mind—regardless of whether you link or embed—is that if you share your workbook with others, they need to have a video player capable of playing the video you've added to the workbook.

A totally different approach is to simply hyperlink to your videos. You can either upload the videos to a video sharing service (such as YouTube) or you can put them on a local drive. Either way, a hyperlink is easy to add to your worksheet. Assuming that the video is something that can be played by your Web browser, the hyperlink could be a good route to go.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6868) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Inserting Video into Worksheets.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

SUMIF Doesn't Recalc Automatically

What are you to do if you suspect that some of your worksheet functions aren't recalculating automatically? Here's some ...

Discover More

Deleting Styles

As documents evolve, so do your needs for various styles. You may create new ones and, invariably, old ones need to be ...

Discover More

Replacing an X with a Check Mark

In order to provide a finishing touch to your document, you may want to replace mundane X marks with fancier check marks. ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Using the Camera in VBA

The camera tool allows you to capture dynamic "pictures" of portions of a worksheet. If you want to use the camera tool ...

Discover More

Having an Image Appear Multiple Times in a Worksheet

If you want an image to appear more than once in a worksheet, there are a few ways you can approach the issue. This tip ...

Discover More

Positioning Graphics Evenly

If you need to arrange a group of graphics so that they are evenly distributed between a starting point and an ending ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven minus 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.