How to Copy PDF to PowerPoint

PowerPoint / By /

Copying content from a PDF file into a PowerPoint presentation can be very useful for creating slides. There are a few easy methods to insert PDF content into PowerPoint.

Why Insert PDF into PowerPoint

There are several reasons you may want to copy content from a PDF document into PowerPoint:

  • Reuse content from PDFs in your presentations
  • Insert charts, images, or tables from PDF documents
  • Copy blocks of text from PDFs to quote in presentations
  • Add references or supporting documents to your slides

Reusing content from PDFs can save time instead of recreating the content manually in PowerPoint. Inserting charts, images, and other visual elements can enhance your presentations. Quoting relevant text from PDF articles and papers can provide credibility.

Overall, inserting PDF content helps create more engaging, informative, and professional presentations.

Method 1: Copy and Paste Text or Images

The easiest way to copy content from a PDF into PowerPoint is using the copy and paste method:

Steps

  1. Open the PDF file and PowerPoint presentation side-by-side
  2. In the PDF, select the text or image you want to copy
  3. Copy the selection (Ctrl/Command + C)
  4. In PowerPoint, paste it onto the desired slide (Ctrl/Command + V)
  5. The copied content will now appear on the PowerPoint slide

You can copy and paste text, tables, images, charts, and other visual elements from a PDF to PowerPoint slides using this method.

The advantage of this technique is its simplicity. You don’t need any special tools or software. However, if you want to copy a portion of a PDF page, this method may not work as well.

Method 2: Insert Entire PDF Pages

To insert a whole PDF page into PowerPoint, you can use the “Insert Object” feature:

Steps

  1. Open the PowerPoint presentation
  2. Navigate to the Insert tab and click on Object
  3. Select “Create from File” and choose the PDF file
  4. Check the “Link to file” box
  5. Click OK

This embeds the entire PDF page into the PowerPoint slide. You can resize or move the page around your slide. The “Link to file” option connects the inserted file to the original PDF so updates to the source file will reflect in PowerPoint.

Method 3: Screenshot Tool

Another option is using PowerPoint’s built-in Screenshot tool:

Steps

  1. Open both the PDF file and PowerPoint
  2. In PowerPoint, go to the Insert tab then Screenshot > Screen Clipping
  3. The PDF will appear minimized—select the area you want to screenshot
  4. The selected region will be inserted onto your slide as an image

While the screenshot appears as an image in PowerPoint, you can still copy and paste text from the image onto other PowerPoint slides if needed.

Tips for Inserting PDFs into PowerPoint

Here are some useful tips when inserting PDFs into PowerPoint:

  • Delete unnecessary images/content from PDFs to reduce file size
  • Use snapshots of PDFs instead of inserting whole documents
  • Paste PDF content into PowerPoint text boxes for easy positioning
  • Insert multiple pages of a PDF as separate PowerPoint slides
  • Add citations under inserted PDF content to credit sources
  • Enable hyperlinks in PDF text pasted into PowerPoint

Following these tips will help keep your PowerPoint file size manageable while properly formatting inserted PDF content.

Convert PDF to PowerPoint

Rather than copy content from a PDF into PowerPoint, you can entirely convert the PDF document into a PowerPoint presentation.

Here are some popular PDF to PowerPoint converters:

  • Adobe Acrobat: Adobe’s built-in export function converts PDFs to PPTX easily
  • PDFelement: Robust PDF software with accurate PDF to PowerPoint conversion
  • Smallpdf: User-friendly online tool to convert PDF to PowerPoint
  • Soda PDF: Intuitive web and mobile apps for PDF to PPT conversion

These converters allow you to quickly turn an entire PDF or selected pages into a PowerPoint deck while maintaining original formatting. Converting the source PDF outright can be more efficient than manually copying pieces of content.

Insert a PDF for Reference

Instead of copying content from a PDF into your presentation, you can insert the PDF file itself into your PowerPoint slideshow for reference.

This allows your audience to click the PDF icon on the slide to open and view the full source document. The PDF will appear with an icon preview on the slide.

To do this:

  1. Click Insert > Object > Adobe Acrobat Document
  2. Select the PDF file you want to add
  3. Check “Display as icon” and click OK

Now the PDF file will be embedded into the presentation. During a slideshow, viewers can click the icon to open the PDF.

This method enables you to share the full document without cluttering up slides with its contents.

Conclusion

Whether you want to copy text, images, charts, or entire pages, inserting PDF content into PowerPoint is simple.

The copy-paste method works for quick text or image transfers. For whole PDF pages, use the Insert Object or Screenshot functions. Completely converting a PDF to PowerPoint is also an option.

Following the tips above will help insert PDFs cleanly and effectively. With these techniques, integrating PDF content into your next presentation will be smooth and easy.

Related Posts