Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Inserting Video into Worksheets.

Inserting Video into Worksheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 27, 2018)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


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. Choose Object from the Insert menu. You will see the Object dialog box.
  2. Click on the Create from File tab. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Create from File tab of the Object dialog box.

  4. Use the controls on the dialog box to locate the video file that you want.
  5. Make sure the Display As Icon check box is selected.
  6. Click on 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 (6861) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) 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

Replacing Graphics with Graphics

You can use the Find and Replace feature of Word to replace inline graphics with other graphics. This tip explains how ...

Discover More

Setting a Transparent Color for an Image

Want to "see through" an image you place on a worksheet? You can do so by using the steps in this tip.

Discover More

Printing Workbooks in a Folder

This tip presents two techniques you can use to print multiple workbooks all at the same time. Both techniques involve ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Moving Drawing Objects

Add a drawing object to a worksheet and chances are good you'll need to move it in some way. Here's how to use the mouse ...

Discover More

Flipping a Drawing Object

Don't like the way a drawing object looks? Perhaps flipping the object could help appearances. Excel allows you to flip ...

Discover More

Changing the Axis Scale

When creating a chart, you may want to adjust the default scaling that Excel applies to an axis. This is relatively easy ...

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 nine minus 1?

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 menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.