Office Settings & Configuration

How to Make a PowerPoint Video Play Automatically More Than Once

John Wilson Oct 10, 2026 871 views

Question details

The user wants a video embedded in a slide to play automatically every time the slide is accessed from a main menu, rather than only playing on the first visit.

How to Make a PowerPoint Video Play Automatically More Than Once

Product: Microsoft PowerPoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating an interactive presentation where viewers click a choice to watch a video, return to the choices menu, and can select the same video to watch it auto-play again.
Observed behavior: PowerPoint only triggers automatic video playback on the initial entry to the slide. Subsequent visits to the same slide without restarting the slideshow only display the video's opening frame.

Before you start

Ensure your presentation is fully outlined and your videos are correctly inserted and set to 'Play Automatically' before configuring the custom navigation links.

Solution 1Recommended

Force Re-entry Using a Dummy Slide and Custom Show

Since PowerPoint does not have a built-in feature to replay automatic videos upon returning to a slide, you can trick the software into treating every visit as a fresh entry by routing the hyperlink through an invisible dummy slide.

This workaround relies on creating a temporary transition slide that automatically advances instantly. By packaging this dummy slide and the video slide into a Custom Show, PowerPoint resets the slide state, guaranteeing the automatic playback is triggered every single time the user clicks the choice.

Insert a dummy slide

In the left-hand slide thumbnail pane, right-click and insert a new blank slide immediately preceding the slide that contains your video.

Set the dummy slide to advance automatically

Select the new dummy slide. Go to the 'Transitions' tab on the ribbon. In the Timing group, uncheck 'On Mouse Click', check the box for 'After', and set the duration to 00:00.00.

Create a Custom Slide Show

Navigate to the 'Slide Show' tab, click 'Custom Slide Show', and select 'Custom Shows...'. Click 'New', give it a recognizable name, and add both the dummy slide and your video slide to the show. Click 'OK'.

Link your menu button to the Custom Show

Go to your main menu slide. Select the shape, image, or text you are using as a button. Go to the 'Insert' tab and click 'Action'. Under the 'Mouse Click' tab, select 'Hyperlink to:', choose 'Custom Show...' from the dropdown, select the show you just created, and be sure to check the 'Show and return' box.

Force Re-entry Using a Dummy Slide and Custom Show

Seamless Navigation: Because the dummy slide is set to zero seconds, the viewer will not notice it. They will click the button, seamlessly see the video play automatically, and return to the main menu when finished.

Advanced Multimedia Presentations

Create Interactive Video Presentations Easily with WPS Office

WPS Presentation offers robust tools for creating interactive slide shows, setting up custom navigation, and managing automatic video playback effortlessly.

1. Insert a blank transition slide: Open your presentation in WPS Presentation and insert a blank slide immediately before your target video slide.
2. Configure auto-advance timing: Go to the 'Transitions' tab, locate the Advance Slide settings, and set the blank slide to 'Auto After' 0.00 seconds.
3. Group into a Custom Show: Under the 'Slide Show' tab, click 'Custom Slide Shows' to group the blank slide and the video slide together into a new sequence.
4. Set up action links: On your main menu slide, apply an Action Setting to your interactive button, linking it directly to your newly created custom show with the 'Show and Return' option enabled.

Fully compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) file formats.Easily manage video playback options and custom slide shows.Create interactive menus with built-in action buttons and hyperlinking.Free to use with a highly intuitive and familiar user interface.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my PowerPoint video only play automatically once?

PowerPoint's default behavior is to trigger automatic media playback only during the initial entry onto that slide in a given slideshow session. If you navigate away and return to the same slide without fully exiting and restarting the slideshow, PowerPoint remembers the slide's previous state and only displays the video's poster frame.

Will the 'Rewind after playing' option fix this issue?

No. Checking 'Rewind after playing' in the Video Format Playback tab ensures the video resets to its opening frame after it finishes playing. However, it does not force the video to start playing automatically again when you re-enter the slide from a different part of the presentation.

Can I loop a video continuously on a single slide instead?

Yes. If you simply want the video to play over and over while the viewer remains on the slide, click the video, go to the Playback tab on the ribbon, and check the box for 'Loop until Stopped'. This is different from re-triggering the video upon revisiting the slide.

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