Bring a PDF or PowerPoint into Slides

Bring an existing PDF or PowerPoint presentation into Slides to keep building on it, share it online, and present from your browser. You can choose how to import it based on whether you want to edit the original content or prioritize its appearance.

Choose an import option

  • Import PowerPoint as editable slides converts supported content from a .pptx file into editable text, images, shapes, tables, and charts. Choose this when you want to be able to edit individual blocks in the Slides editor.
  • Import PDF or PowerPoint as images converts each page or slide into a single image for a more predictable visual match. You can still add new content on top and add, remove, or rearrange slides. The original text and objects within each image cannot be edited separately. This option accepts PDF, PPT and PPTX files.

You'll find both options in the editor's Import panel:

Import panel showing options to import PDF or PowerPoint as images or PowerPoint as editable slides

Both options support files up to 100 MB. Large presentations may take a few minutes to process.

Import PowerPoint as editable slides

  1. Create a new deck or open the deck you want to import into.
  2. Open Import in the editor's left sidebar.
  3. Under Import PowerPoint as editable slides, click Select PPTX file and choose your .pptx file.
  4. Review the import summary and any listed import issues.
  5. Choose Append slides at the end to keep your existing slides, or Replace existing content to replace them with the imported slides.

Images that are not already in your media library are uploaded when you confirm the import.

What to expect

Editable import prioritizes content you can work with over an exact visual match. Fonts may be substituted, and text wrapping, spacing, and layouts may change. Some chart types, shapes, visual effects, and slide transitions may be simplified or omitted. PowerPoint animations, SmartArt diagrams, and embedded audio or video are not imported.

Review your slides after importing and adjust any content that needs attention. If keeping the original appearance matters more than editing individual elements, choose the image import option instead.

Import PDF or PowerPoint as images

  1. Create a new deck or open the deck you want to import into.
  2. Open Import in the editor's left sidebar.
  3. Under Import PDF or PowerPoint as images, click Select PDF or PPTX file and choose a PDF or PPTX file.
  4. Once processing finishes, review the slide thumbnails. Click any thumbnail to exclude that slide.
  5. Check Append slides to keep your existing slides and add the imported slides at the end. Leave it unchecked to replace the current slides, then click Import.

The import preview lets you choose which slides to include:

Finished image import preview with slide thumbnails, append slides, and turn off transitions options

Troubleshooting PowerPoint imports

If you have an older .ppt file, save a copy in .pptx format in PowerPoint before importing it.

If a PowerPoint file does not import as expected, try importing it as images. If that still does not look right, export the presentation from PowerPoint as a PDF and import the PDF instead. The PDF will be imported as image slides, not individually editable text and objects.

To move in the opposite direction, export a Slides presentation to PowerPoint.