How to merge Powerpoint files into one file

If you need to use slides from two or more PowerPoint presentations for your school assignment or an office presentation, there are several ways to do it. You can insert individual slides, import entire presentations, or simply merge two presentations. Let's take a closer look at how to merge PowerPoint files.

Reuse slides

Reusing slides is the easiest way to include slides from one presentation in another presentation. With this method, you can control the slides you add and choose where to insert them. Here's how the slide reuse method works.

1. Launch PowerPoint on your computer and then open the document to which you want to add slides.
   
2. Find where you want to add one or more slides. Then click between two existing slides.
   
3. Click on the Insert section of the main menu.
   
4. After that, click on the New Slide icon on the left side of the menu.
   
5. Click Reuse Slides.
   
6. The Reuse Slides dialog opens. Click the Browse button. If you check the box next to Preserve source formatting, newly inserted slides will remain as they were in the original presentation. If you uncheck the box, their formatting will be adjusted to that of the main presentation.
   
7. Insert your slide. Browse the presentations and click on the one from which you want to add the slides. Click Open.
   

You will see thumbnails of available slides. Browse and select the ones you want to insert into your main document. You can click Insert All Slides to import all slides from the external presentation.

If you want to remove the theme from your main presentation in favor of the external presentation theme, you must select the Apply theme to all slides option when selecting the slides you want to insert.

This method is great if you want to add a slide or two to your main presentation. Also, if you want to add elements from various presentations to your main presentation, this is the way to go. While you can insert all slides from an external presentation via this method, it's best to go the Insert Object route for this.

Insert object

The insert object method is your best bet if you want to insert all the slides from an external presentation and keep the animations and transitions between them.

Keep in mind that once the slides are inserted into your new presentation, they will no longer be linked to the original file. As such, any changes you make to the original file will not affect any slides you have inserted into your main presentation. Conversely, if you modify the slides of your main presentation, the external file from which you copied these slides will remain unchanged.

With that out of the way, let's see how the insert object method works.

1. Launch PowerPoint and open the main presentation.
   
2. Insert a new slide. Delete the text boxes, as they should be completely empty.
   
3. Click on the Insert tab in the main menu.
   
4. Click the Object icon.
   
5. Click Create File then Browse. You will see the Insert Object dialog box. There you have to choose the Create from file option. You can enter the document address in the text box and press enter or click the browse button.
   
6. Find the external presentation you want to insert into your main presentation and double-click it.
   

Then you will only see the first slide of the imported presentation. Although you can't see them right now, the remaining slides are below.

Stretch the inserted object to fit the slide size of your main presentation to avoid any change in slide size after you play the presentation.

Once you have successfully inserted the entire object into your main presentation, you can adjust and modify it to ensure that it works properly.

Merge documents

Finally, you can choose to completely merge two PowerPoint presentations into one. Here is how this method works:

1. Open PowerPoint and open the main presentation.
   
2. Click on the Review section of the main menu.
   
3. Click the Compare button. You will find it in the Compare section.
   
4. Find the presentation you want to merge with your main presentation. Select it by double-clicking on it.
   

When the merge is complete, you'll see the Revisions pane to the right of the merged presentations.

In the Presentation Changes section, you will see the differences between the presentations and choose which changes you want to keep and which you want to remove.

The Slide Changes section shows the differences between individual slides in the two presentations. Choose the settings you want to keep for the final version.

Drag and drop

One of the easiest ways to merge two presentations is to use a drag and drop method. If you want to create two separate presentations into one or if you are working on a group project, you can merge them using this feature.

Open both presentations on your PC or Mac and make sure to minimize the PowerPoint program so you can view both at the same time.

Using your mouse, long press on the slide you need to move

You may need to do this for each slide, or you can click on the first slide, hold down the Shift key, and click on the last slide to move the whole thing into the final presentation.

Place the blade in its place.

The slide location will be highlighted with a red line.

To make things even simpler; your final presentation will automatically update to the design of the receiving document. Of course, you can always update the design of the whole document using the Design feature at the top of your presentation.

Latest Thoughts

The methods explained in this article will help you take your PowerPoint skills to the next level. You'll be able to combine and merge your presentations like a pro in just minutes.