# Insert a PDF into PowerPoint

Canonical HTML: [https://pdfpix.com/guides/insert-a-pdf-into-powerpoint/](https://pdfpix.com/guides/insert-a-pdf-into-powerpoint/)

A PDF goes into a PowerPoint slide three ways: as a picture of a page, as an embedded object that opens in Acrobat, or as a link to the file. Only the picture shows the content and survives on another computer. This guide shows how to make sharp page images in your browser, how the other two behave, and which to choose for a travelling deck.

## Steps

1. **Render the pages.** Open PDF to PNG, choose the PDF, set the DPI control to 150, and pick the pages you need, such as 3 or 2-4. The pages render in this tab.
2. **Insert the picture.** On the slide choose Insert, Pictures, This Device, and pick the PNG. Two or more pages come as a ZIP; unzip it first.
3. **Crop and size.** Use Picture Format, Crop to trim margins, then drag a corner handle to fit. Hold Shift to keep the proportions.
4. **Add a live link if needed.** Select the picture, Insert, Link, and point it at the PDF's web address or the file, so a click during the show opens the full document.

## Three ways in, and what each shows

Insert, Pictures places a rendered page. The slide shows the page, it prints, it presents, and it travels with the deck. Insert, Object, Create from file embeds the PDF; the slide shows the first page as PowerPoint asked the installed PDF reader to draw it, and a click in the show opens the reader. Insert, Object with Display as icon, or a plain hyperlink, shows nothing but a symbol or a line of text, and opens the file on click.

Pictures need no software on the presenting machine. The object needs Acrobat or Reader installed and registered there, and on a Mac the object route is not available. The link needs the file at the same path or a web address that resolves. That order is also the order of reliability.

## How to insert PDF into PowerPoint as image that stays sharp

A screenshot of the PDF gives a picture at screen resolution, soft on a projector. Rendering the page from the PDF gives a picture at whatever resolution you choose. [PDF to PNG](https://pdfpix.com/pdf-to-png/) draws the page in this tab at 96 dpi by default, and the DPI control raises it. The PDF stays in the tab, and no account is needed.

150 dpi is the working choice for a slide: an A4 page becomes 1,240 by 1,754 pixels, larger than a 1080p slide in both directions. 300 dpi is for a page people will zoom into. For a scanned page or a photograph, [PDF to JPG](https://pdfpix.com/pdf-to-jpg/) makes a smaller file from the same render; for text, diagrams and anything with sharp edges, PNG.

## Inserting a PDF into a PowerPoint as an object

On Windows, Insert, Object, Create from file, Browse to the PDF, OK. PowerPoint asks the registered PDF application to draw the first page and places it. Tick Link to keep the object pointing at the file on disk instead of copying it in; untick it to embed, which grows the deck by the PDF's size. During a show, the object opens only if an Action has been set: Insert, Action, Object action, Open.

The object shows the first page and nothing else. A second page needs a second object with no way to choose the page, or a picture. A machine without Acrobat shows a grey box. For a deck that leaves your laptop, the object route is the one that fails.

## How to insert PDF in PPT as a link

Select a text, shape or picture, Insert, Link, and choose the PDF file or paste a web address. A file link records the path, and PowerPoint keeps it relative when the PDF sits in the same folder as the deck, so copying the folder keeps the link working. A web address works anywhere the machine is online. During the show, clicking the link opens the PDF in the default reader; Esc returns to the slide.

A link puts the whole document one click away and adds nothing to the file size. It shows nothing of the content, so pair it with a page image of the part the audience needs to see.

## Several pages and whole documents

Ten pages of a PDF are ten pictures. Render them all in one run, then on Windows use Insert, Photo Album to make one slide per picture in a single step. On a Mac, drag the PNGs onto the slide thumbnail pane. Set Design, Slide Size to match the page's proportions first so the pages fill their slides without letterboxing.

Turning a whole PDF into a deck with editable text is a different job: [Convert PDF to PowerPoint](https://pdfpix.com/guides/convert-pdf-to-powerpoint/) compares the editable and image routes. Ten full pages of text on slides is rarely what an audience wants; one slide with the table that matters and a link to the rest usually is.

## Size, cropping and the same job in Word

A 150 dpi PNG of a text page is a few hundred kilobytes; a full-colour page is more. Twenty pages add several megabytes to a deck. Crop each picture to the region the slide needs with Picture Format, Crop, then File, Compress Pictures at presentation quality when the deck is done. PowerPoint keeps the cropped pixels until you tick Delete cropped areas of pictures.

Word has the same three routes with the same trade-offs, and its object route works on a Mac; [Insert a PDF into Word](https://pdfpix.com/guides/insert-a-pdf-into-word/) covers it. The rest of the Office guides are under [PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint help](https://pdfpix.com/guides/office/).

## Questions and answers

### Why does my inserted PDF show only the first page?

Insert, Object embeds the whole file but draws only the first page. Render the pages you need as images and insert each one.

### Why does the PDF object show a grey box on another computer?

The object needs Acrobat or Reader installed and registered on that machine. Pictures need nothing and are the reliable route for a travelling deck.

### Can I insert a PDF into PowerPoint on a Mac?

As a picture or a link, yes. The Insert, Object route for PDFs is a Windows feature. Render the page with PDF to PNG and insert it.

### What resolution should a PDF page image be for a slide?

150 dpi. An A4 page at that setting is larger than a 1080p slide. Use 300 dpi only when the audience will zoom into the page.

### Can the audience open the full PDF from the slide?

Yes. Select the picture and add a link to the PDF file or its web address. During the show a click opens it in the default reader.

### Does rendering the page send the PDF anywhere?

No. PDF to PNG renders in this browser tab and the PDF stays there. The PNG you insert is the only file PowerPoint ever sees.

## Related pages

- [PDF to PNG](https://pdfpix.com/pdf-to-png/): Turn PDF pages into PNG images. The file stays in your browser. No upload, no account needed.
- [PDF to JPG](https://pdfpix.com/pdf-to-jpg/): Turn PDF pages into JPG images. The file stays in your browser. No upload, no account needed.
- [Convert PDF to PowerPoint](https://pdfpix.com/guides/convert-pdf-to-powerpoint/): Turn a PDF into a PowerPoint deck, one page per slide. Free, in your browser, with PDF to PowerPoint.
- [Insert a PDF into Word](https://pdfpix.com/guides/insert-a-pdf-into-word/): Put a PDF inside a Word document. Free, in your browser, with PDF to image.
- [PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint help](https://pdfpix.com/guides/office/): Find the right guide for PDFs inside Excel, Word and other software. Every guide on the job, sorted by the problem you have.