How to combine multiple PowerPoint Presentations

When many people work on multiple PowerPoint presentations and then need to merge them in the end, it becomes challenging. The primary reason is the formatting. If the teams are not in sync, bringing them to the same format will become painful.

Microsoft PowerPoint offers an in-house solution, just like Word and Excel, that allows you to merge multiple PowerPoint presentations while keeping the formatting intact. The right way to do this is to ask everyone to use the same theme. Make sure to set up the PowerPoint Theme in one file and then share it with everyone.

How to Merge Multiple PowerPoint Presentations

We have three ways to merge multiple PowerPoint files. While the first one is good when you have fewer numbers, preserving the formatting is the primary goal. The second can combine any number of files available in a folder.

1. Reuse Slides Method
2. VBA Code Method
3. Copy Paste Slides.

Each method has its advantages and drawbacks. Choose wisely.

1] Reuse Slides Method

Microsoft PowerPoint offers an inbuilt tool— Reuse Slides. It allows you to import single or multiple slides from one another to your presentation without opening the other file. When you use this option, choose the formatting option, especially if you want to have the same theme as the source file.

1. Open a new or existing PowerPoint file where you want to merge the slides.
2. Select the slide after which you want to insert the slides from the source file.
3. Go to Home > New Slide > Reuse Slide.
4. Browse to select the file that you want to merge. Then click on the arrow button.
5. It will reveal all the sides available on that slide.
6. Click on the slide you want to insert, and it will instantly be added.
7. If you want to keep the format exactly as the source slide, check the box that says Keep source formatting.

Any slide you add here is a copy. The source file remains intact, and no changes will be made. Any change you make in the merged document will not become available in the original file.

One of the best parts of importing using this method is that it will keep all animations or transitions. This wasn’t the case earlier, and one had to use the Object method, followed by multiple configurations to make it work. Object Method is only helpful if you want to pack multiple files into one.

2] VBA Code Method

Since there is no native method to merge numerous PowerPoint presentations, we will have to use VBA code, just like we did when merging Excel files. The code is straightforward and works better than the VBA code we used for Excel. The code worked fine for me, and I was able to merge three PowerPoint files worth 60 slides.

In the new or existing PowerPoint file where you want to merge all the presentations, press ALT + F11.

Click in Insert > Module and paste the code inside that module. Do not bother saving it.

Sub InsertAllSlides()
'  Insert all slides from all presentations in the same folder as this one
'  INTO this one; do not attempt to insert THIS file into itself, though.

    Dim vArray() As String
    Dim x As Long

    ' Change "*.PPT" to "*.PPTX" or whatever if necessary:
    EnumerateFiles ActivePresentation.Path & "C:\PathtoSlidesYouWanttoImport", "*.PPT", vArray

    With ActivePresentation
        For x = 1 To UBound(vArray)
            If Len(vArray(x)) > 0 Then
                .Slides.InsertFromFile vArray(x), .Slides.Count
            End If
        Next
    End With

End Sub

Sub EnumerateFiles(ByVal sDirectory As String, _
    ByVal sFileSpec As String, _
    ByRef vArray As Variant)
    ' collect all files matching the file spec into vArray, an array of strings

    Dim sTemp As String
    ReDim vArray(1 To 1)

    sTemp = Dir$(sDirectory & sFileSpec)
    Do While Len(sTemp) > 0
        ' NOT the "mother ship" ... current presentation
        If sTemp <> ActivePresentation.Name Then
            ReDim Preserve vArray(1 To UBound(vArray) + 1)
            vArray(UBound(vArray)) = sDirectory & sTemp
        End If
        sTemp = Dir$
    Loop

End Sub

• Make the changes that I have marked in bold. Press F5, and it will execute the code.

It will import all the slides from all the files in that folder. However, it will lose the formatting. That is the biggest problem with the code, but it can merge any number of files, which is its most significant advantage.  Make sure to remove the VBA code once the import is complete. The code is by PPTFAQ.com.

3] Copy Paste Slides

I use this sometimes when there are multiple files, usually less than three, and I need to copy only a few slides. While you can use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, you will lose formatting. So after you copy the slide, right-click on the slide list section of the destination file and select Keep the Format.

I hope all these methods were easy to follow and you were able to merge multiple PowerPoint files. Choose the number of files to merge and the slide’s theme according to your needs.

Read next: How to Merge Word Documents.

How do you link two PowerPoint presentations together?

You can make use of the insert hyperlink option to link part of the text to another power point. When clicked, it will open the link in another instance.

How do I combine multiple PowerPoints into one PDF?

You will need to merge the PowerPoint files first and then print them as PDF files. You will need to ensure that the layout and other print settings can include all the data in the final print.