How To Insert PowerPoint Slides and Presentations Into Word

Updated June 24, 2022

Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint are two common platforms that professionals use in their daily work. PowerPoint allows users to create slideshow presentations and Word is a flexible word processing tool. If you use these programs at work, it may be helpful to learn how to insert PowerPoint slides into a Word document. In this article, we explain why you might want to insert PowerPoint slides into a Word document, provide several methods for doing so and offer tips for using PowerPoint slides in Word.

Why insert PowerPoint slides into a Word document?

Inserting PowerPoint presentations or slides into a Word document can be a good way to link related documents across the two platforms. It can add additional information or interest to a Word document and can make it a more effective educational or presentation tool. If you are using both documents from your own computer, you can link them to provide easier access. If you are collaborating with others, you can embed a PowerPoint presentation or slide in a Word document so that your colleagues can access both without independent access to the PowerPoint document.

How to insert PowerPoint slides into a Word document

Here are several methods that you can use to insert PowerPoint slides into a Word document:

How to insert a PowerPoint presentation as an embedded image object

If you embed a PowerPoint presentation into a Word document, it becomes part of the file. You can then send it to others and they can access the hidden presentation through the Word document. You can use the following steps to insert a PowerPoint presentation into a Word document as an embedded object:

Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the document you are working on.
Place your cursor where you want to insert the PowerPoint presentation.
In the upper left corner, locate the "Insert" option and click on it.
Locate the "Text" group and click on the drop-down arrow to the right of "Object."
Select "Object" from the drop-down menu.
When the dialog box appears, look for the "Create from File" tab at the top and click on it.
Next, find the button that says "Browse" and select it.
In the next dialog box, locate the PowerPoint file you want to embed in the Word document and click on it.
Click "OK" to exit the dialog box.
When you return to the "Object" dialog box, you should see the file name in the text box under "File name."
Ensure that the two boxes labeled "Link to file" and "Display as icon" are not selected.
Click "OK" to leave the "Object" dialog box.
Once you exit, Word will insert an image of the first slide in the PowerPoint presentation into the Word document.
You can then resize the image to fit your document.
While Word embeds the full PowerPoint file in the document, it will not appear unless you click the image.
When you click on the image of the first slide, the presentation will open in the PowerPoint program.
If you want to leave the PowerPoint presentation, you can press Esc on your keyboard return to Word.

How to embed a PowerPoint presentation into a Word document as an icon

You can use these steps to insert a PowerPoint presentation into a Word document as an embedded icon:

Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the document you are working on.
Find the location where you want to insert an icon link to the PowerPoint presentation and place your cursor there.
Locate "Insert" on the toolbar and click on it.
Find the "Text" group and click on the down arrow to the right of "Object."
When the drop-down menu appears, click on "Object."
When the "Object" dialog box appears, locate the "Create from File" tab and click on it.
Locate the text box under the words "File name" and click on "Browse" to the right of it.
When the dialog box appears, locate the PowerPoint file you want to embed in the Word document and click on it.
Next, click "Ok" to close.
You will then see the file location in the text box under "File name."
Locate the box next to "Display as icon" and select it.
You can then choose between a variety of icon styles.
When you finish, click "OK" to exit the "Object" dialog box.
Word will then insert an icon into the document.
If you click on the icon, the presentation will open in PowerPoint.
If you want to leave PowerPoint, you can press Esc on your keyboard to return to Word.

How to embed a PowerPoint slide into a Word document

You can use these steps to embed a single PowerPoint slide into a Word document:

Open PowerPoint and navigate to the presentation that contains the slide you want to insert into a Word document.
On the left side of the screen, locate the thumbnail image of the slide you want to insert and click on it.
You can then hold Ctrl and press C on your keyboard to copy the slide.
Alternatively, you can right-click on the thumbnail and select "Copy" from the ribbon.
Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the document that you want to insert the slide into.
Place your cursor where you want to insert the slide.
Press Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste the slide into the document.
Alternatively, you can right-click where you want to insert the slide and select "Paste."
An image of the slide will appear in your Word document.
You can resize, position and format the image like any other image in Word.

How to insert a PowerPoint slide into a Word document without opening PowerPoint

This is an alternative method that you can use to insert a PowerPoint slide into a Word document:

Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the document you want to use.
Place the cursor where you want to insert the PowerPoint slide.
Locate "Insert" in the toolbar and click on it.
In the "Insert" menu, look for the "Add from Files" button and click on it.
When the drop-down menu appears, look for your PowerPoint presentation on the list.
If you don't see the document, click "Show More Files."
Once you find the presentation, click on it.
When the "Insert From File" panel appears on the right, scroll to find the slide that you want to insert.
Find the "Insert Slide" option in the bottom right of the thumbnail and click on it to place the slide in the document.
The slide will then appear as an image in the document.
If you want to edit the image, use the options in the "Picture Format" menu.

How to link a PowerPoint slide or presentation to a Word document

In some cases, you may want to link to a PowerPoint presentation instead of embedding it in the Word document. This ensures that the original size of the Word document stays the same. This method is unsuitable if you are sending the document to someone else because they will require access to the PowerPoint presentation independently of the Word document. Follow these steps to link a PowerPoint slide or presentation to a Word document without embedding it:

Open Microsoft Word and the file you want to edit.
Place your cursor where you want to place a link to the PowerPoint presentation.
Locate "Insert" in the toolbar and click on it.
Locate the "Text" group and click on the down arrow to the right of "Object."
In the drop-down menu, click on "Object."
Locate the "Create from File" tab at the top of the dialog box and click on it.
Select "Browse" to the right of the text box.
Locate your presentation in the "Browse" dialog box and click on it.
Once you finish, click "OK" to exit.
You will then see the file location of your PowerPoint presentation in the text box under "File name."
Locate the box next to the words "Link to file" and select it.
Word will then insert a link to the PowerPoint presentation as an image.
When you click the image the presentation will open in PowerPoint.

How to unlink a PowerPoint slide or presentation for its source

You can use the following steps to unlink a PowerPoint slide or presentation from its source:

Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the document you're working on.
Find the linked object in the document.
Right click on the linked slide or presentation.
Next, click "Linked Slide Object" if it's a slide or "Linked Presentation Object if it's a full presentation.
On the ribbon, find "Links" and click on it.
Find the link you want to disconnect and then click the option labeled "Break Link."

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Tips for using PowerPoint slides in Word documents

These are several tips to help you use PowerPoint and Word effectively together:

Keep your goal in mind: Before choosing one of the above methods for inserting a PowerPoint slide or presentation, it's often helpful to determine what your needs are. If you want to share the document with others, it might be better to embed the PowerPoint presentation, while if it's for your use on your own computer, it may be preferable to link them in order to avoid increasing the file size.
Consider file format changes: If you choose to save your Word document in a different file format, this could affect how your linked and embedded PowerPoint presentations behave. For example, if you want to keep your PowerPoint elements available, avoid converting the file into a PDF, as it will eliminate the hidden PowerPoint presentation.
Format your images: Once you insert a PowerPoint presentation or slide into Word as an image, you can enhance the appearance of your presentation by formatting it. You can consider resizing the image, aligning it right or left, changing its orientation or placing it within a section of text with text wrapping.

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