Duplicating slides in PowerPoint Online can save you time and effort when creating presentations. Instead of having to build each slide from scratch, you can easily make copies of existing slides and modify them as needed.
Why Duplicate Slides
Here are some of the key benefits of duplicating slides in PowerPoint Online:
- Saves time – Rather than recreating the same layout over and over, duplicating slides allows you to reuse slide structure and content elements quickly. This speeds up the process of building presentations.
- Maintains consistency – Keeping slides uniform in terms of style and branding maintains consistency across your presentation. Duplicating slides enables you to preserve this cohesiveness with ease.
- Leverages previous work – If you’ve already put effort into designing an effective slide, duplicating allows you to take advantage of that effort instead of starting back at square one.
How to Duplicate Slides
Duplicating slides in PowerPoint Online is simple. Here are the step-by-step instructions:
1. Open the Presentation
First, open the PowerPoint Online presentation you want to work with using your web browser. Make sure you’ve saved the presentation to OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams to access it online.
2. Select the Source Slide
Next, in the left sidebar Thumbnails pane, click the slide you want to duplicate to select it. This will be the source slide you’ll make a copy of.
3. Right-Click, Duplicate
With the source slide selected, right-click on the slide’s thumbnail and choose Duplicate Slide from the context menu.
Duplicate slide context menu in PowerPoint Online
4. Edit the Duplicate
A copy of the selected slide will be inserted immediately after the original. You can now edit the duplicate slide as needed by clicking on it in the Thumbnails pane.
That’s all there is to it! Now you have an exact copy of the slide that you can modify while keeping the original intact.
Duplicating Multiple Slides
You can duplicate multiple slides at once in PowerPoint Online using the following shortcuts:
- Sequential slides – Click the first slide, press and hold Shift, click the last slide to select a range, right-click and choose Duplicate Slide.
- Non-sequential slides – Press and hold Ctrl/Command, click each slide you want to duplicate, then right-click and select Duplicate Slide.
Inserting Duplicates
By default, duplicate slides are inserted right after the original slides. But you can also choose exactly where you want duplicates inserted:
- Copy the source slides using the Duplicate command
- In the Thumbnails pane, select a slide where you want the duplicates inserted
- Right-click and choose Paste to insert copies of the source slides there
You now know how to swiftly duplicate slides in PowerPoint Online. Use this to reuse slide content more efficiently across your presentations.
Alternative: Copy and Paste Slides
As an alternative to duplicating, you can also copy and paste slides:
- Select the source slide(s)
- Press Ctrl/Command + C to copy them
- Click where you want slides inserted
- Press Ctrl/Command + V to paste the copied slides
This achieves the same result as duplicating slides. The only difference is paste inserts copies of the slides without also retaining the originals.
Troubleshooting Duplicating Issues
Here are solutions for common issues when duplicating slides in PowerPoint Online:
Duplicates appear blank
If you find duplicates appear blank after insertion, there may have been a glitch in the duplication process. Try deleting them, reselecting the source slides, and duplicating again.
Can’t duplicate slides
If right-clicking a slide doesn’t show the Duplicate Slide option, make sure you have editing permissions enabled on the presentation. Without edit access, duplication may not be allowed.
Duplicates don’t match source formatting
By default, pasted or duplicated slides inherit the theme formatting of the presentation they are being inserted into. To retain source formatting, click the Keep Source Formatting button after inserting.
Next Steps
Now that you know how to duplicate slides, here are some next things you may want to do:
- Reorder duplicate slides using drag and drop in the Thumbnails pane
- Quickly modify duplicates using global editing options
- Make backups before duplicating slides in case you need to revert changes
- Review overall presentation flow and continuity after inserting duplicates
- Add custom animations and transitions to duplicated slides
Duplicating slides is an easy way to accelerate your PowerPoint Online workflow. Master the technique and put it to use in your next presentation!
