Microsoft Office remains at top of the office management software chain. No other software has yet been able to compare to the level of functionality and ease Microsoft offers. Microsoft Office users have, at their disposal, a wide array of functions to meet a plethora of needs.
One such function is the ability to combine PowerPoint files into one. If you’ve ever wondered, how you can make your own portion of the presentation for a group project in your own time, and merge it into the final group presentation seamlessly later, then read on.
Rather than opening up multiple individual presentations, one after another, PowerPoint allows its users to merge ppt slides from individual presentations into one. Additionally, it also formats the entire presentation to make sure your slideshow retains its visual cohesion.
This article will provide the steps you require to combine PPT files while explaining how to merge two PowerPoints or more. Merging and combining ppt slides can be accomplished through two methods. One method allows us to combine ppt files by accessing the chosen presentations while the other method can merge ppts by accessing just one file.
The latter method can be accomplished through two different functions present in the PowerPoint software: ‘Reuse Slide’ and ‘Compare’. We will guide you on how to combine multiple PowerPoints into one, through both methods one by one.
Combining PowerPoint presentation slides provides the flexibility of keeping the formatting of any one of the PowerPoint files into the final PowerPoint.
We’ll start with Method 1 and then move on to Method 2
How to Merge PowerPoint Files (Method 1)
Step 1
Open PowerPoint and navigate to the file you want to merge ppt files from.
Step 2
After opening the file, in the left pane of your PowerPoint window, you will see the slides you’ve made in a list. Select the slides you want to merge into your final PowerPoint.
Step 3
Press CTRL+C to copy the slides.
Step 4
Click on the File Tab in the Ribbon and open the file you want these slides to be merged into
Step 5
Once the file is opened, in the left pane, move your cursor and click between any two slides, that you’d want the ppt to merge into.
Step 6
You will see a line highlighted between the two slides. If you want to keep the formatting of the PowerPoint that you’re merging the files into, Press CTRL+V. This will combine pptx files into the final PowerPoint and change the format of the added slides while merging the PowerPoints together.
Step 7
To keep source formatting (the formatting of the slides you have originally copied), right click between the slides you want to place the merged slides and select Paste and opt for Source Formatting.
The second method does not require you to open both the slides that you’re combining, you can merge multiple PowerPoint presentations slides from within the PowerPoint you are working on. You can use two different functions to combine multiple PowerPoints into one.
Note: The ‘Compare’ function also gives you the flexibility of editing or making any changes to the presentation when merging PowerPoint slides even after they’ve been combined with your current PowerPoint.
How to Merge PowerPoint Files with ‘Reuse Slide’
This method does not require you to open both the presentations that you’re combining, you can also merge PowerPoints together from within the PowerPoint you’re working on.
Step 1
Browse to the location of the file you want the slides merged in to and open it
Step 2
On the left, you will see the slide pane, click between the slides you want the merged slides to be placed at.
Step 3
On the home tab in the ribbon, click on the ‘New Slide’ drop-down menu. This will open a drop-down menu for you to choose from.
Step 4
Find the ‘Reuse Slide’ option and click on it
Step 5
Once you open the Reuse Slide option you will see a new window pane open up at the right of your PowerPoint slide. In this window pane look for the ‘Open a PowerPoint Slide’ option and click on it. This will open a window for you to browse to the location of the PowerPoint slide, that you want to be merged into the file you’re opening this function from.
Step 6
Navigate to the location of the file and open it.
Step 7
This will combine pptx slides from the file you have selected in the ‘Reuse Slides’ pane. You can choose the slides that you want to keep the original formatting for by checking on the; Keep Source’ formatting option given at the bottom of the Reuse Slide pane. Selecting this will keep the original theme and formatting of these slides.
Step 8
If you don’t want to keep the original formatting and would rather apply the theme of your current file to the merged files, then right click on any slide and click on Apply theme.
Step 9
After you’ve edited the formatting of the slides, you can insert them into your presentation. Do this by clicking on the slides in the ‘Reuse Slide’ pane. This will merge the PowerPoint slides by inserting them in the place you had selected by clicking, in the ‘Slide Pane’.
Step 10
You can also insert all slides by right-clicking on any slide in the ‘Reuse Slide’ pane and selecting the Insert All option. This will insert all slides into the place you had selected by clicking between slides in the slide viewing area on the left.
Method 2 – Combining PowerPoint Files Through Compare AND Merge
This method compares the slides already present in your PowerPoint with the PowerPoint you want to merge them into and merges the difference. Which means, if you merge two same PowerPoints, there won’t be any changes, but if you merge two different PowerPoints, you will get a combined PowerPoint of both files.
Step 1
Go to the File Tab in the ribbon and open the file you want other slides to be merged into. Do this by clicking on Open in the File Menu, and then navigating to the location of the file.
Step 2
Once the file has been opened, click on the Review Tab on the ribbon.
Step 3
In the review tab you will see a button for ‘Compare’. Click on it.
Step 4
Clicking on the compare button will open up a new window. Use the window to navigate to the file you want to merge into the file you’re opening the compare from. After selecting the file, click on the ‘merge’ button, to merge both files.
Step 5
This will now merge the two PowerPoints and display the changes that have been made to your original file. The changes show the difference the two files possessed and how that difference is merged together.
Step 6
This will be seen in the ‘Review Pane’ that opens up once you merged the second PowerPoint presentation.
Step 7
Scroll through the changes in the Slide pane and click on the slide you want to review. After clicking the slide, Click on the ‘Slide Change’ tab in the Review Pane. This will open up the changes made to the specific slide, to accept these changes You will see a revision checkbox, clicking on the checkbox will accept these changes.
Step 8
Repeat step 8 for all the slides that you want to compare. After comparing all slides and editing/formatting what you have of the merged slides. Click on accept in the review tab, you will now have a completely merged the PowerPoint files, as per your own formatting.
Step 9
Save the file, or ‘Save As’ to save the file with a separate title.
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