How to Convert a Word Document Into a PowerPoint Presentation
You’ve written a Word document on a topic that you need to present before an audience, and now you need to create a presentation out of it. In the past, you’d have to create the slideshow from scratch, but Microsoft now offers a feature that will automatically convert a Word document into a PowerPoint presentation.
The feature, known as Export to PowerPoint, works only in the web versions of Word and PowerPoint. With it, you can export text, but images and videos will need to be added manually. However, this is a much easier task knowing that most of the manual labor has been done for you. The feature will also give you visual themes to pick before exporting is complete.
Create a Word Document
To get started, sign into the Microsoft 365 website to see your most recent documents and files. You can access Word or PowerPoint through a paid Microsoft 365 subscription or for free with a regular Microsoft Account.
Open Recent Document
If you haven’t yet created the Word document that you plan to convert, click the Plus button in the upper left and choose Document Word to start writing. You can also create the document using the desktop version of Word. Just make sure you’re syncing your documents through OneDrive so you can access them online.
If you already created the Word document for conversion, you should find it under Recent. Can’t find it? Click the More in OneDrive link in the lower-right corner and click My Files to view all your synced files in OneDrive.
Export to PowerPoint
While reviewing the document to make any changes or refinements, remember that only the text will be exported. Embedded images and other objects are not yet supported by the feature. Click File > Export > Export to PowerPoint Presentation (preview), and the presentation window will display a few different design themes.
Choose the theme most appropriate to the content. If you don’t like any of the suggested themes, choose the plain one at the bottom right. When done, click the Export button. Your document is converted and the theme applied. Click the Open Presentation button to view the presentation.
The file automatically opens in the web version of PowerPoint. Now, you are free to look through each slide in the presentation and decide what you like and what should be changed. You can use PowerPoint’s built-in tools to change the theme and design, modify specific slides, or add images and videos.
You may still need to do some work in order to get the presentation to your liking, but with the text now automatically exported, you will be saving a healthy amount of time and effort.