Download Article
Download Article
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 29,152 times.
Learn more...
If you have a PDF you'd like to include in your PowerPoint presentation, you can insert the file into a slide. There are two ways to do it–you can either display part of the PDF as a picture, or insert it as an object (either an icon or a thumbnail) that you can then double-click while presenting your slide show. In this guide, we'll teach you two easy ways to add a PDF to a PowerPoint on your Windows PC. You will need to have the desktop version of PowerPoint, as these options aren't available in the web version or on a Mac.[1]
Insert a PDF into PowerPoint as an Object: Quick Steps
- Select a slide in your presentation.
- Click the Insert tab and select Object.
- Select Create from file.
- Click Browse… and select your PDF.
- Choose whether to display as an icon or a thumbnail.
- Click OK to insert the PDF.
Steps
-
Go to the slide you want to add the PDF to. If you want to embed the PDF into the slide as an object, which will allow you to double-click the PDF to open it during your presentation, you can use this method to do so.[2]- If the PDF is open in another window, close it before you continue.
- When you add the PDF as an object, you can choose to display an icon for the PDF or the PDF's first page as a thumbnail. You can then double-click the icon or the thumbnail to open the PDF from within your presentation.
-
Click the Insert tab. It's at the top of PowerPoint.Advertisement -
Click Object. This opens the Insert Object window. -
Click to select Create from file. It's the first second radio button. -
Click Browse… and select your PDF file. This adds the full path to the field. -
Choose how to display the PDF in the PowerPoint. If you want to see an icon for the PDF on the slide, check the box next to "Display as icon." Otherwise, the first page of the PDF will appear as a thumbnail you can double-click. -
Click OK to insert the PDF. The box will disappear, and the PDF will load as an object in the current slide.[3]
-
Open the slide onto which you want to add the PDF. If there's something in the PDF that you'd like to add to the slide, you can capture an image of the PDF to display on the slide.- This will only work if you're using the Windows version of PowerPoint via Microsoft 365. Unfortunately, you can't perform these steps in the web version of PowerPoint.[4]
-
Open the PDF in a PDF viewer. Double-click the PDF file on your computer to open it in your default PDF viewer. -
Zoom in on the part of the PDF you want in your slide. You’ll be capturing an image of this part of the PDF to add to your PowerPoint slide. -
Change the active window back to PowerPoint. Be sure to go directly to PowerPoint from the PDF–it's important that you don't open any other programs between viewing the PDF and returning to PowerPoint.[5] -
Click the Insert tab. -
Click Screenshot. You’ll find this in the “Images” grouping. A menu will drop down containing a panel labeled “Available Windows,” and you'll see your PDF there. -
Click Screen Clipping. It's below the thumbnail previews of the “Available Windows”. Your screen will take on a frosted appearance, and your cursor will look like crosshairs (+). Additionally, the PDF will become the active window. -
Click and drag your mouse to select the content of the PDF you want. Once you release your finger from the mouse button, the area you've selected will appear on your PowerPoint slide.- Press Esc if you want to start over.
- You can now edit the image using the Picture Tools Format.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-a-pdf-on-a-slide-f8b693a0-1b96-4547-ac58-4db59bb9d2fb#id0ebbd=microsoft_365_for_mac
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-pdf-file-content-into-a-powerpoint-presentation-5e7719d5-508c-4c07-a3d4-68123c373a62
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-a-pdf-on-a-slide-f8b693a0-1b96-4547-ac58-4db59bb9d2fb#id0ebbd=microsoft_365
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-pdf-file-content-into-a-powerpoint-presentation-5e7719d5-508c-4c07-a3d4-68123c373a62
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-pdf-file-content-into-a-powerpoint-presentation-5e7719d5-508c-4c07-a3d4-68123c373a62
About This Article
1. Open Powerpoint.
2. Start a new document or open a saved one.
3. Navigate to the slide you want your PDF to appear on.
4. Open your PDF.
5. Click Insert.
6. Click Screenshot.
7. Click Screen Clipping.
8. Drag your mouse to select content.
