Microsoft PowerPoint offers an in-house solution just like Word and Excel, which will allow you to merge multiple PowerPoint presentations, and still keep 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, and preserving the formatting is the primary goal. The second can combine any number of files available in a folder. Each method has its advantage and drawback. Choose wisely.
1] Reuse Slides Method
Microsoft PowerPoint offers an inbuilt tool— Reuse Slides. It allows you to import single or multiple slides to your presentation from another, without having to open the other file. When you use this option, make sure to choose the option for formatting, especially if you want to have the same theme as the source file. Any slide you add here is a copy. The source file remains intact, and no changes will be made to it. 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. It 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 useful 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 a VBA code, just like how we did to merge Excel files. It is straight forward and works better compared to the VBA code we used for Excel. The code worked fine for me well, and I was able to merge 3 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. Make the changes that I have marked as bold. Press F5, and it will execute the code
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 from them. While you can use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, but 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. Make sure to choose between the number of files to merge and the Theme of the slide as per your need. Read next: How to Merge Word Documents.
