This article explains how to copy a slide in PowerPoint from another PowerPoint presentation. Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

What to Know

  • Right-click the thumbnail of the slide to be copied, select Copy, then right-click a blank area of the Slides pane where you want to place it.Alternate method: Click-and-drag the thumbnail of the slide you want to copy to the Slides pane of the destination presentation.Note: When using the click-and-drag method, the copied slide takes on the design theme of the destination presentation.

Copy and Paste Method in PowerPoint

A quick way to use slides from one presentation in another presentation is to copy the slides that you want to use and paste those slides into the new presentation.

  • Open both presentations to show them at the same time on the screen. The original presentation contains the slides you plan to copy, and the destination presentation is where they will go. The destination presentation may be an existing presentation or a new presentation.
  • On the ribbon, go to the View tab.
  • In the Window group, select Arrange All. In PowerPoint 2003, choose Window > Arrange All from the main menu.
  • In the Slides pane of the original presentation, right-click the thumbnail of the slide to be copied.
  • Choose Copy from the shortcut menu.
  • In the destination presentation, right-click a blank area of the Slides pane where you want to place the copied slide. It can be placed anywhere in the sequence of slides in the presentation.
  • Choose a Paste option. In PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, you have three options:
  • Use Destination Theme (H): The copied slide will use the same theme as the PowerPoint presentation it is pasted into.Use Source Formatting (K): The copied slide will keep the original theme and formatting as the original presentation.Picture (U): The copied slide will be pasted as a graphic into the active slide.
  • For PowerPoint 2007 and 2003, choose Paste from the shortcut menu.

Click and Drag Method in PowerPoint

If you’d rather use the mouse to copy slides from one presentation to another, follow these steps:

Open both presentations to show them at the same time on the screen. The original presentation contains the slides you plan to copy, and the destination presentation is where they will go. The destination presentation may be an existing presentation or a new presentation.

On the ribbon, go to the View tab.

In the Window group, select Arrange All. In PowerPoint 2003, choose Window > Arrange All from the main menu.

In the Slides pane of the original presentation, right-click the thumbnail of the slide to be copied.

Choose Copy from the shortcut menu.

In the destination presentation, right-click a blank area of the Slides pane where you want to place the copied slide. It can be placed anywhere in the sequence of slides in the presentation.

Choose a Paste option. In PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, you have three options:

  • Use Destination Theme (H): The copied slide will use the same theme as the PowerPoint presentation it is pasted into.Use Source Formatting (K): The copied slide will keep the original theme and formatting as the original presentation.Picture (U): The copied slide will be pasted as a graphic into the active slide.

For PowerPoint 2007 and 2003, choose Paste from the shortcut menu.

  • In the Slides pane of the original presentation, select the thumbnail of the desired slide.
  • Drag the thumbnail to the Slides pane of the destination presentation in the preferred location for the slide.
  • The pointer changes to indicate the placement of the slide.
  • Place the slide between two slides or at the end of the presentation.

When you use this method, you don’t have the option to choose which theme the newly copied slide will use. The newly copied slide takes on the design theme in PowerPoint (or design template in PowerPoint 2003) of the second presentation.

In the Slides pane of the original presentation, select the thumbnail of the desired slide.

Drag the thumbnail to the Slides pane of the destination presentation in the preferred location for the slide.

The pointer changes to indicate the placement of the slide.

Place the slide between two slides or at the end of the presentation.

If you started a new presentation and haven’t applied a design theme or design template, the newly copied slide appears on the white background of the default design template.

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