How to prevent users from embedding online Videos in Word

There could be times when you might not want others to play an inserted online video within Microsoft Word. In such situations, you can prevent users from playing online videos in Word with the help of this guide. It is possible to stop this setting using Registry Editor and the Local Group Policy Editor.

It is possible to insert an online video into a Word document. As there is an in-built option, you do not need to install any add-in or anything else. After inserting the video into the Word document, you can play it by clicking on it once. That is a good and a bad thing together. If you use a touchpad and your touchpad is having some issues with clicking, you might end up opening the video frequently and unintentionally. That is why you can stop Word from playing the video when you click on it.

How to prevent users from embedding online Videos in Word

To prevent users from playing online videos in Word using Registry Editor, follow these steps:

1. Search for registry editor in the Taskbar search box.
2. Click on the individual search result.
3. Click the Yes button.
4. Navigate to word in HKCU.
5. Right-click on word > New > Key and set the name as options.
6. Right-click on options > New > Key and name it as onlinevideo.
7. Close windows and restart your computer.

To learn more about these steps, keep reading.

First, you need to open the Registry Editor on your computer. For that, search for registry editor in the Taskbar search box, click on the individual search result and click the Yes button.

Once it is opened on your screen, navigate to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\word

However, if you cannot find office\16.0\word, you need to create them manually. For that, right-click on Microsoft > New > Key and name it as office. Then, repeat these steps to create other keys.

Once done, right-click on word > New > Key, and set the name as options.

Then, right-click on options > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and call it onlinevideo.

By default, it comes with a Value data of 0, and you need to keep it that way.

Finally, restart your computer.

How to block users from playing online videos in Word using Group Policy

To prevent users from playing online videos in Word using Group Policy, follow these steps:

1. Press Win+R to display the Run dialog.
2. Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter button.
3. Navigate to General in User Configuration.
4. Double-click on the Allow Online Videos to play within word setting.
5. Choose the Disabled option.
6. Click the OK button.

Continue reading to know about these steps in detail.

To get started, press Win+R > type gpedit.msc and hit the Enter button. Then, navigate to the following path:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Word 2016 > Word Options > General

Double-click on the Allow Online Videos to play within Word setting and choose the Disabled option.

Click the OK button and restart Microsoft Word.

Once you enable this setting using Registry Editor or the Local Group Policy Editor, you will start getting Word can’t play videos because your administrator has turned off the feature message when you click on a video.

Can you embed a video in a Word document?

There are mainly two ways to embed a video in a Word document. However, if you want to insert an online video, you need to copy the direct link to the video first. Then, open Word, go to the Insert tab and click the Online Videos option. After that, paste the video link, and hit the Enter button.

How do I restrict permissions in Word?

To restrict permissions in Word, you need to open the Word document first. Then, go to File > Info and click on Protect Document > Restrict Editing. Following that, choose the restrictions from the right-hand side and click the Yes, Start Enforcing Protection button.

That’s all! Hope this guide helped.

Read: How to insert a Caption in Microsoft Word.