How to Insert PDF into PowerPoint

Learn how to insert a PDF file into your PowerPoint presentation. Our guide gives you a few ways to insert your PDF as an object, as an image, and as converted PDF content to use in your slide deck quickly and with ease.

In today's world of online meetings and information sharing, effective presentations are everything. And one way to take your presentation to the next level is to insert a PDF into PowerPoint.

By doing so, you can provide a more comprehensive and coherent presentation that captivates your audience with insightful and information-rich content that’ll leave a lasting impression.

We'll go step-by-step over different ways to work with both formats and insert PDF into PPT files using the methods below:

• Insert your PDF as an object
• Insert your PDF as a picture
• Insert your PDF as converted PDF content

Depending on what you need for your presentation, we’ll walk you through each method and leave it up to you to decide which is more effective for your slide deck.

Now let’s dive in!

Insert a PDF into PowerPoint as an object

The first standard way to insert a PDF is through MS PowerPoint’s Insert Object function. It’ll let you insert a file as an object or as a link. Here’s how:

1. Open your PowerPoint file and left click where you want to insert your PDF on the slide.

2. Click on the Insert menu.

3. In the Insert menu, go to the Text section and click on Object > Create from file.

4. In the dialog that pops up, click on Browse to search for and select your PDF file.

5. Once selected, choose how you want to insert your PDF:

• Insert your PDF as an icon: Check the Display as icon option. By default, PowerPoint will choose the icon for you. To choose your own icon, click on the Change Icon button that appears, and select an image from your computer.
• Insert your PDF as a link: Check the Link box and your PDF will be clickable from the slide. It'll be a clickable linked image of the first page from your PDF.

6. Click on the OK button.

You can adjust the icon or linked image by clicking and dragging the handles to scale and resize it.

If you chose to insert your PDF as a link, go to Insert > Action > Mouse Click. Ensure that the Object action option is selected so you can click open a PDF from within PowerPoint. The PDF will open in your system’s PDF viewer.

Insert a PDF image into PowerPoint

If you only need an image from a PDF page or a graphic rather than the entire file, you can easily insert a screenshot of it from right within PowerPoint. Here's how:

1. Open your PDF to the page you want in your PowerPoint presentation.

2. Then, in your PowerPoint slide deck, go to the Insert tab > Screenshot. A preview of the Windows you currently have opened will be displayed.

4. Select the window with your PDF page. Note that you can also create a screen clipping to crop the PDF page content more precisely. This is ideal for PDF images that don’t fill the entire page.

Simply click on Screen clipping instead of selecting a window and then click and drag the cross-shaped cursor around the image.

Regardless of which screenshot method you choose, your screenshot will automatically be created, and the application will insert the PDF image into PowerPoint.

5. Adjust, resize, and move the image as needed.

Convert PDF to PowerPoint online

Another simple and effective option is to simply convert your PDF to PowerPoint and then insert your converted content into your slide deck.

The best part about this method is that you can perform the task online, hassle-free with Xodo! Just follow these steps:

1. Go to Xodo’s free PDF to PowerPoint Converter.

2. Upload your PDF.

3. Click on Convert.

4. Click on Download to save your newly converted file to your device.

5. Then open your PowerPoint presentation and go to Insert and in the Slides section click on Reuse Slides. 

6. In the side panel that appears, browse for and select the PowerPoint file you just converted, and then either click on the slide you wish to insert or click on Insert Slide underneath it.

Do this for every slide you wish to insert. Your content will be inserted after the slide you’re currently on.

Use Xodo to boost your digital document work

Now that you just learned how to insert a PDF into your presentations as a link, an object, an image, and a converted slide, there’s no limit to how effective your slide deck can be.

All it takes the right PowerPoint options and online PDF tools like Xodo that let you edit, convert, annotate, and even sign PDFs. Let Xodo's PDF tools help with the gaps in your digital document work.

Discover everything that Xodo has to offer!