How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation (2026)
PowerPoint’s recorder captures your voice, the time you spend on each slide, and optionally your webcam — turning a deck into a self-running video. Each slide stores its own narration and timing, so you can re-record a single slide without redoing the whole thing. Here’s how to record and export.
1. Start Recording (Windows)
- Open the Record tab (or Slide Show > Record).
- Choose From Beginning or From Current Slide.
- In the recorder, click the red Record button — a countdown starts, then capture begins.
- Speak and advance slides with the arrow keys or on-screen controls.
- Click Stop, then Esc to exit.
Each slide stores its narration audio and timing automatically.
2. Start Recording (Mac)
On Mac, use Slide Show > Record Slide Show. Pick a start point, record your narration as you advance, then close the recorder. Timings and audio are saved per slide.
3. Add Webcam Video
In the recorder, toggle the camera icon on. Your webcam feed appears as a bubble in the corner of each slide while you record. Toggle the microphone and camera icons to control what’s captured.
4. Annotate While Recording
Use the pen, highlighter, or laser pointer at the bottom of the recorder to draw on slides. These ink strokes are saved and replay in the final video.
5. Re-Record a Single Slide
Navigate to the slide, click Record > From Current Slide, and record just that one. The new narration and timing replace the old for that slide only. Use Clear to remove recordings from one slide or all.
6. Export as a Video
- File > Export > Create a Video.
- Choose a resolution and confirm Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.
- Click Create Video and save as .mp4.
7. Troubleshooting
My narration wasn’t captured
Check the microphone icon was on during recording and that the right input device is selected in your OS sound settings.
The video ignores my timings
In Create a Video, make sure Use Recorded Timings and Narrations is selected, not Don’t Use.
The export is taking forever
High resolution plus webcam video is heavy. Drop to HD (720p) for a faster, smaller file.
Related PowerPoint guides: How to convert to video · How to add audio · How to use Presenter View · How to add speaker notes · How to loop a PowerPoint
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