How to Copy Slides From Another Presentation in PowerPoint (and Keep the Look)
Most presentations borrow from earlier ones. The only question is whether the borrowed slides should take on the new deck's design or arrive looking exactly as they did. PowerPoint lets you choose, two different ways.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Browse another file's slides | Home → New Slide ▾ → Reuse Slides |
| Quick copy between open files | Copy the thumbnails, paste in the other file |
| Match the new design | Paste option Use Destination Theme |
| Keep the original design | Paste option Keep Source Formatting |
| Copy a whole presentation in | Insert → Object → Create from file is not it — use Reuse Slides |
1. Reuse Slides
1. Click the slide you want the new ones to go after.
2. Home → New Slide ▾ → Reuse Slides (or Insert → Reuse Slides).
3. A pane opens on the right. Click Browse and open the other presentation. (In Microsoft 365, recent files are listed and you can search.)
4. Click a slide to insert it. Click several, or right-click one → Insert All Slides.
2. Home → New Slide ▾ → Reuse Slides (or Insert → Reuse Slides).
3. A pane opens on the right. Click Browse and open the other presentation. (In Microsoft 365, recent files are listed and you can search.)
4. Click a slide to insert it. Click several, or right-click one → Insert All Slides.
By default the slides adopt your current theme. Tick Keep source formatting (or Use source formatting) at the bottom of the pane first if you want them to look as they did.
2. Copy and paste
Open both presentations. In the source, click the thumbnails (hold Ctrl for several) and press Ctrl + C. In the destination, click where they should go and press Ctrl + V. Then click the small Paste Options icon that appears:
• Use Destination Theme — matches the deck you're pasting into.
• Keep Source Formatting — brings the original design along.
• Picture — pastes a flat image of the slide.
• Keep Source Formatting — brings the original design along.
• Picture — pastes a flat image of the slide.
Dragging thumbnails between two PowerPoint windows works too.
3. Tidy up afterwards
Keep Source Formatting brings the other deck's slide master along, so you'll now have two. If you want everything in one style later, select the pasted slides and apply a layout from Home → Layout, then delete the spare master in View → Slide Master.
Pasted slides sometimes arrive with text that doesn't quite fit. Select the slide and click Home → Reset to snap it to the layout.
4. Copy the whole thing
To merge two presentations entirely, use Reuse Slides → Insert All Slides. Sections from the other file don't come along, so re-add them.
Troubleshooting
The slides changed colour and font. They took on the destination theme. Undo and choose Keep Source Formatting.
The slides look identical but the file is now huge. Multiple masters. Delete the ones you don't need in Slide Master view, and run Compress Pictures.
Reuse Slides can't open the file. It's an old .ppt or is open elsewhere with editing locked. Save it as .pptx and close it first.
Wrapping up
Reuse Slides for browsing another file, copy and paste for two open decks. Decide up front whether the slides should match the new design or keep their own, and Reset anything that lands oddly.
