How Do I Embed PowerPoint Files Into Excel?

Excel displays the first cell of a PowerPoint file.

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Embedding a PowerPoint presentation in a spreadsheet saves the entire contents of the slideshow into an Excel workbook. Once embedded, the slideshow will run directly from Excel, even if you send the workbook to another computer or delete the original PowerPoint file. To insert a slideshow in either Excel 2013 or Excel 2010, use the Insert Object window to direct Excel to the PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1

Save the PowerPoint file.

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Save your PowerPoint file to your computer. If you have PowerPoint 2013, choose "Computer" in the Save As window and click "Browse" rather than saving to OneDrive.

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Step 2

Insert an object.

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Select a cell in an Excel spreadsheet to contain the slideshow and click "Object" in the Text section of the Insert tab. Even though you want to insert a slideshow, not text, this button opens the dialog box for embedding any type of object.

Step 3

Insert from a file.

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Open the "Create from File" tab and press "Browse." Alternatively, type the full location of the slideshow into the blank box.

Step 4

Choose the slideshow.

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Browse to the PowerPoint file, select it and press "Insert."

Step 5

Set the object options.

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Check "Link to File" if you would rather link to a separate PowerPoint file instead of embedding the slideshow. Linking lowers the workbook file size compared to embedding, but unlike embedding, a linked slideshow needs to be sent separately if you share the workbook. Check "Display as Icon" if you want to show a PowerPoint icon on the spreadsheet, rather than displaying the first slide. Press "OK" after setting these options.

Step 6

Double-click a slideshow to run it.

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Drag the slideshow to reposition it. To play the slides, double-click on the slideshow.