You can bring slides from an older PowerPoint deck into a new one without rebuilding them. In current Microsoft 365, copying slide thumbnails between files is the main method, with paste options for matching or preserving formatting.
Does this affect you?
Use this for PowerPoint on Windows and Mac. Microsoft removed the dedicated Reuse Slides panel from Microsoft 365 in early 2026, but the panel still exists in perpetual-license versions such as Office 2019, 2021, and 2024.
Copy slides between presentations
This works in every current version, including Microsoft 365.
- Open the source presentation and the destination presentation.
- In the source file, select the slide thumbnail you want to reuse. Use Ctrl-click or Cmd-click for several slides, or Shift-click for a range.
- Copy the selected slides.
- Switch to the destination file and click in the thumbnail pane where the slides should be inserted.
- Paste the slides.
- Use the Paste Options button to choose Use Destination Theme or Keep Source Formatting.
You can also drag slide thumbnails from one open presentation window to another. The inserted slides become normal slides in the destination deck.
Use the Reuse Slides panel in Office 2019, 2021, or 2024
This option is only for perpetual Office versions that still include the panel.
- Open the destination presentation.
- Click in the slide thumbnail pane where the imported slides should go.
- Open Home > New Slide and choose Reuse Slides.
- Browse to the source presentation.
- Click the slide thumbnails you want to insert.
- Check Keep source formatting first if the imported slides should keep their original design.
More control
Import a whole deck
Click in the source thumbnail pane, select all slides, copy, then paste into the destination deck. Choose the paste formatting option after insertion.
Understand copied-slide independence
Reused slides are copies. Changes made later in the source file do not update the copied slides, and edits in the new deck do not affect the original.
Why the button may be gone
In Microsoft 365, the Reuse Slides panel was retired because copy and paste covers the same practical workflow with source-formatting options. It cannot be re-enabled in that subscription version.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Reuse (import) slides from another presentation (2026)
- Microsoft Support – Copy and paste your slides (2026)
- Microsoft 365 Message Center – MC1179161: Reuse Slides retirement (2026)