If you’re a PowerPoint power user you’ve probably used a handy little feature called “Reuse Slides” from time to time. You might have already noticed after a software update that Reuse Slides is nowhere to be found!
It’s sad news for many of us, but it’s true: Microsoft officially killed off this feature.
So here’s what you need to know — what Reuse Slides did, why Microsoft retired it, and what you can do instead.
What Was “Reuse Slides”?
“Reuse Slides” was a feature that lived in a small panel within PowerPoint. It would allow you to look through slides in a different PowerPoint file (.pptx), and then pull in a slide from that file into the one you’re currently working on.
If you make PowerPoints that need to enforce company fonts, logos, colors, and layout, you can already see the draw here. Instead of having to manually add and set those elements (and risk doing something slightly off-brand), you could just open up a known show using Reuse Slides and pull in a slide that already had that info or branding material on it.
It was a big time-saver and helped businesses keep their branding straight across proposals, training materials, sales decks, and so on.
Why Microsoft Is Retiring “Reuse Slides”
It’s not a very satisfying answer, but Microsoft points out that technically, you can already do the things that “Reuse Slides” does using other methods. So it doesn’t make sense to keep supporting the more technically complicated version, at least that’s what the company says.
We say this isn’t very satisfying because those other methods just aren’t as convenient. We’ll get to those methods down below.
Overall, Microsoft is streamlining features across many products, even scaling back on some AI features after user backlash. It makes sense to simplify the program to work more effectively on the web and on mobile devices, especially when duplicate features are involved.
This just wasn’t the best place to start; that’s all.
What to Do Instead
If you were a big fan of “Reuse Slides”, here are a few options that can accomplish nearly the same end result.
1. The Drag and Drop Method
Your first option is to open up both PowerPoint files side by side. We know; kind of obnoxious on a laptop screen, but it can be done. When you find the slide you like in the other file, just click on it, then drag it over to your new project. Usually, this method preserves formatting and so on. But it won’t be perfect, and so it’s always a good idea to double-check. You might need to do some small cleanup before your show is ready to launch.
2. The Duplicate Method
Next up is simply duplicating an existing show. This option might be better if you need formatting and styles but not necessarily specific slide content — or if you want to reuse a lot of one presentation in a new one.
To do this, click or tap View, then New Window. If that isn’t there or doesn’t work, try File, then Save as…, or Create a Copy.
Save that copy as a different file name, then start modifying to suit your new purpose. This method keeps all your style work, logos, colors, and formatting — but of course it brings over every last character from the original file, so you’ll have even more cleanup to do.
3. Try Something New
Look, PowerPoint is great. Tried and true, nearly universal. But you do have other options, and some of them might be a better fit for your workflows (especially if branding is a big deal to you). Canva is one option. You might know it for quick graphics creation, but it also contains a full-on PowerPoint competitor — and it’s free.
That’s it for this week’s post. Got questions about your tech setup, PowerPoint, or alternatives? We’re here for you. Give us a call anytime.