Unlock Excel: Embed and Play Videos & Audio Directly in Your Spreadsheets

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Videos and audio are powerful mediums for communication and information sharing. A video is defined as the technology of capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing moving pictures. Audio, on the other hand, pertains to the reproduction of sound, typically through electronic means. While Microsoft Excel is widely recognized as a tool for data organization and calculation using formulas, its capabilities extend beyond mere spreadsheets. Surprisingly, Excel also allows you to embed and play videos and audio files directly within your worksheets, enhancing your spreadsheets with multimedia elements.

How to Play Video in an Excel Sheet¶

Integrating video into your Excel spreadsheets can significantly enrich your presentations, training materials, or data dashboards. By embedding videos, you can provide visual context, tutorials, or supplementary information directly within your data environment. Here’s a step-by-step guide to embedding and playing videos in Excel:

1. Activate the Developer Tab: By default, the Developer tab is not visible in the Excel ribbon. To enable it, right-click anywhere on the standard Excel toolbar. From the context menu, select Customize the Ribbon. This action will open the Excel Options dialog box.

   

2. Enable Developer Tab in Excel Options: In the Excel Options dialog box, navigate to the “Customize Ribbon” section, typically located on the right side of the window. Within the list of Main Tabs, find the “Developer” option and click the checkbox next to it. Click OK to confirm your selection and close the dialog box. You will now observe the Developer tab appearing in your Excel worksheet menu.

   

3. Insert More Controls: With the Developer tab now accessible, click on it. In the “Controls” group on the Developer tab, locate and click the Insert dropdown menu. From the dropdown list of controls, select More Controls, usually found at the bottom of the list under “ActiveX Controls”. This action will launch the More Controls dialog box.

   

4. Choose Windows Media Player: In the More Controls dialog box, scroll through the list of available controls until you find Windows Media Player. Select Windows Media Player from the list and click OK. Windows Media Player is a common ActiveX control that enables video and audio playback within applications like Excel.

   

5. Draw the Control on Worksheet: After selecting Windows Media Player, Excel will enter Design Mode automatically. You will notice your mouse cursor changes to a plus sign (+). Click and drag this plus sign on your worksheet to draw the area where you want the Windows Media Player application to appear. This action creates a bounding box for the video player in your spreadsheet.

   

6. Access Properties of Media Player: Once the Windows Media Player control is placed on your worksheet, right-click on the border of the Windows Media Player application you just inserted. From the context menu that appears, select Properties. This will open the Properties window pane, typically on the left side of your Excel window.

   

7. Open Windows Media Player Properties: In the Properties window pane, look for the Custom property, usually located near the top. To the right of the “Custom” property, you will see a button with three dots (…). Click on this button. This action will open the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, providing advanced settings for the media player.

   

8. Browse and Select Video File: Within the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, locate and click the Browse button. An “Open” window will appear, allowing you to navigate your computer’s file system. Locate and select the video file you wish to embed and play in your Excel sheet. After selecting the video file, click Open in the file dialog.

   

9. Confirm Video Selection: Back in the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, after selecting your video file, click OK to confirm your selection and close the dialog box. This step applies the selected video file path to the Windows Media Player control in your spreadsheet.

   

10. Exit Design Mode and Play Video: To start playing your embedded video, you need to exit Design Mode. On the Developer tab, in the “Controls” group, click the Design Mode button again to toggle it off. With Design Mode deactivated, you can now interact with the Windows Media Player control. Click the Play button within the Windows Media Player embedded in your Excel sheet. Your video should now begin playing directly within your spreadsheet.

    

Expanding the Video Display¶

To enhance your viewing experience, you may want to expand the video display. There are several ways to zoom or enlarge the video within Excel:

• Double-Click: Simply double-clicking on the video area can often trigger a zoom or full-screen mode, depending on the video and player settings.

• Right-Click and Zoom: Right-clicking on the video player will usually bring up a context menu. Look for a Zoom option in the menu. Selecting Zoom may present further options like “Full Screen” or different zoom percentages, allowing you to customize the video display size.

  
  * Full Screen Option: If the Zoom menu offers a “Full Screen” option, selecting it will typically expand the video to occupy your entire screen, providing an immersive viewing experience.

Controlling Video Volume¶

Managing the audio volume of your embedded video is straightforward. You can adjust the volume using these methods:

• Right-Click Volume Control: Right-clicking within the video playback area should bring up a context menu. Locate the Volume option in this menu. Hovering over or selecting “Volume” may reveal sub-options like Up, Down, and Mute. Use these options to incrementally increase or decrease the volume, or to mute the audio entirely.

• Audio Button on Video Player: Most embedded video players, including Windows Media Player, have built-in volume controls located at the bottom of the video display. Look for a speaker icon or volume slider on the player’s control bar. You can click and drag this slider to adjust the volume level directly. A mute button might also be present next to the volume control.

  

Adjusting Play Speed¶

For situations where you need to review content quickly or analyze it in detail, adjusting the playback speed of your video can be beneficial. Here’s how to control the play speed:

• Right-Click Play Speed Menu: Right-click within the video playback area to access the context menu. Look for a Play Speed option. Selecting “Play Speed” will typically present a submenu with options such as Fast, Normal, and Slow.

• Speed Options:

  • Fast: Selecting “Fast” will increase the video playback speed, allowing you to watch the video at a faster rate.
  • Normal: “Normal” will restore the video to its original playback speed.
  • Slow: “Slow” will decrease the video playback speed, enabling you to observe details more closely or follow along with complex content at a reduced pace.

  

Play, Pause, Stop, and Remove Video¶

Controlling the basic playback functions of your video is essential. You can easily Play, Pause, or Stop the video, and also remove it when no longer needed:

• Right-Click Playback Controls: Right-clicking on the video area will typically offer Play, Pause, and Stop options in the context menu. Select the desired action to control the video playback.
• Player Control Buttons: Most video players, including Windows Media Player, have standard playback control buttons at the bottom of the video display. These usually include a Play Button (often a triangle), a Pause Button (usually two vertical lines), and a Stop Button (often a square). Click these buttons to control playback directly.

• Remove Video: To remove the embedded video entirely, first ensure you are in Design Mode (Developer tab > Controls > Design Mode). Then, select the Windows Media Player control on your worksheet by clicking on its border. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove the video player and the embedded video from your Excel sheet.

  

How to Play Audio in an Excel Worksheet¶

Just as you can embed videos, Excel also allows you to embed and play audio files. This can be useful for adding voice-overs, background music, sound effects, or audio notes to your spreadsheets. The process for embedding audio is quite similar to embedding video:

1. Ensure Design Mode is Active and Select Properties: If you have just removed a video, you will see an empty box where the Windows Media Player was previously located. Right-click on this empty box (or the area where the video player was) and select Properties from the context menu. If you are starting fresh, follow steps 1-4 from the “How to Play Video” section to insert a Windows Media Player control and then proceed to right-click and select properties.

   

2. Open Windows Media Player Properties for Audio: As with video embedding, a Properties window pane will appear on the left side. Locate the Custom property and click the three-dot button (…) to the right of it. This will open the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, which is used for both video and audio settings.

   

3. Browse and Select Audio File: In the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, click Browse. In the “Open” window that appears, navigate to the location of your audio file on your computer. Select the audio file you want to embed and click Open. Supported audio formats typically include MP3, WAV, WMA, and others compatible with Windows Media Player.

   

4. Confirm Audio Selection and Play: In the Windows Media Player Properties dialog box, click OK to confirm your audio file selection. To begin playing the audio, ensure you are not in Design Mode. Click the Design Mode button on the Developer tab to toggle it off. You should now be able to hear your audio playing. The visual display for audio playback might be minimal or the same as the last used video display unless specifically customized in the properties.

   

Expanding Audio Display (Visualizer)¶

While audio itself doesn’t have a visual component in the same way as video, some audio players, including Windows Media Player, can display visualizations or album art. If your audio file has associated album art or if Windows Media Player generates visualizations, these may be displayed. The zoom options (double-click or right-click > Zoom) might affect the size of this visual display if present. However, for purely audio files, the visual aspect is secondary to the sound.

Controlling Audio Volume and Play Speed¶

Volume and play speed controls for embedded audio are accessed and function in the same way as they do for video. Right-clicking the audio display area will typically provide access to Volume and Play Speed options in the context menu. You can also often control the volume using an on-screen control if one is displayed by the audio player. The “Play Speed” options (Fast, Normal, Slow) work identically for audio as they do for video, allowing you to adjust the playback speed of the audio.

Play, Pause, Stop, and Remove Audio¶

Playback control for audio is also consistent with video. Right-clicking the audio display area will usually provide Play, Pause, and Stop options. If the audio player displays control buttons (Play, Pause, Stop), you can use these as well. To remove the embedded audio, ensure you are in Design Mode, select the Windows Media Player control, and press the Delete key.

By following these steps, you can effectively embed and play both videos and audio directly within your Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, making your data presentations more dynamic and engaging. Experiment with incorporating multimedia to enhance your Excel projects and communicate information in innovative ways.

Do you find embedding videos and audio in Excel useful for your spreadsheets? Share your experiences or any tips you have in the comments below!