Insert Flash Movies using the Developer Tab in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

PowerPoint allows you to insert video and also online videos files within your presentation. One of the file formats that you can use for these video options is Flash SWF. However, these SWF clips may not play because of security settings. Fortunately, you can use the Developer tab of the Ribbon to insert Flash SWF movies.

First of all, make the Developer tab visible as it is not visible by default. You also need to have the updated version of Adobe's Shockwave Flash ActiveX control. To make sure, you have the current version installed, go to this site (link no longer works) using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge browsers.

Follow these steps to insert a Flash movie into PowerPoint 2016 for Windows using the Developer tab:

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to insert the Flash movie.
2. Access the Developer tab of the Ribbon, and click the More Controls button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1, below.
3. 
   Figure 1: More Controls button
3. Doing so will bring up the More Controls dialog box, as shown in Figure 2, below. Select the Shockwave Flash Object option, and click the OK button.
4. 
   Figure 2: More Controls dialog box
4. The cursor will now turn into a crosshair. Drag and place an instance of the control on the slide, as shown in Figure 3, below.
5. 
   Figure 3: Shockwave Flash Object control placed on the slide
5. With the Flash control inserted, you need to set the properties. To do so, select the inserted Flash control and within the Developer tab, and click the Properties button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 4, below.
6. 
   Figure 4: Properties button
7. Alternatively you can right-click the inserted Flash movie, and from the contextual menu, choose the Property Sheet option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 5, below.
8. 
   Figure 5: Property Sheet option
6. Either of these actions will bring up the Properties pane, as shown in Figure 6, below.
7. 
   Figure 6: Properties pane
7. Within the Properties pane, select the Movie option and type the name of your Flash SWF, as shown in Figure 7, below. No path is required since the presentation and Flash movie (SWF) are placed in the same folder. Also make sure that the EmbedMovie option remains set to False, since PowerPoint 2016's security options don't respect the True value for EmbedMovie.
8. 
   Figure 7: Properties pane with a link to the inserted Flash movie
8. Close the Properties pane and get back to the PowerPoint interface.
9. To see your Flash movie playing, play your presentation in Slide Show view, as shown in Figure 8, below.
10. 
    Figure 8: A Flash SWF movie playing in PowerPoint
10. Save your presentation often.