People who use PowerPoint for digital signage and dynamic information screens, often use external pictures on their slides. When you use our software to display live news on your slides, then you can add a featured image, next to the headline. Since the news articles are coming from the internet, the pictures are also coming from the internet.

But there is a problem that everyone faces with a default Microsoft PowerPoint installation. By default, references to external pictures from the internet are blocked. Let’s try this out.

normal slide

To insert a picture on your slide, click the Insert menu option and click the Pictures button.

insert internet image

Look up the URL of the image that you want to use and paste it as the file name.

paste internet picture url

The trick now to link a picture, is to click the arrow of the Insert button, to see more options. Open it and choose Link to File.

choose link to file

As a result of this insert action, the picture behind this URL will be placed on your slide but linked to the internet source.

internet picture inserted on slide

Save the presentation somewhere and open it again. It will show you a warning: SECURITY WARNING  References to external pictures have been blocked. Enable Content.

security warning: blocked

You can click it to enable the content, but this will be for this time only. Next time that you open this, you will see the same warning again. In case you want to get rid of this permanently, click File and then Options.

powerpoint file options

Click the option Trust Center on the left and then, click Trust Center Settings.

open trust center

Choose Protected View on the left, and uncheck the option Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet.

Click OK to close.

protected view for files from internet

This is a permanent solution to refresh the linked for the internet images immediately at opening time and without warning messages.

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