You know that feature you didn’t think much about…
Until it disappeared?
Microsoft has officially retired PowerPoint’s much-loved Reuse Slides feature.
And for anyone who builds presentations regularly, this one stings.
Why It Actually Mattered
Reuse Slides wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t AI-powered. It didn’t get keynote attention.
But it worked.
It let you:
- Open a side panel inside PowerPoint
- Browse another presentation
- Select exactly the slides you wanted
- Choose whether to keep the original formatting
Done. Clean. Efficient.
No digging through folders.
No opening five different decks.
No messy copy-paste formatting fixes.
For businesses that care about brand consistency — logos, colors, layouts — it was a quiet productivity powerhouse.
Sales teams used it for proposals.
Managers used it for reports.
HR used it for training decks.
Instead of rebuilding presentations from scratch, you could pull polished, approved slides in seconds.
That’s real time savings.
So Why Remove It?
Microsoft says there were “duplicate ways” to accomplish the same task, and it no longer made sense to maintain overlapping features.
Technically? Fair.
Practically? Not so much.
Because while alternatives exist, they’re not as seamless.
What You Can Do Now
You can still reuse slides — it just takes more effort.
Option 1: Open both files and drag-and-drop slides.
This usually preserves formatting, animations, and media. But it’s less controlled, and small formatting quirks can creep in.
Option 2: View → New Window.
This opens a duplicate of your deck so you can build a new version while keeping the original intact.
Both methods work. Neither feels as smooth.
Why This Matters for Your Business
If your organization relies on PowerPoint for:
- Client presentations
- Sales decks
- Board reports
- Internal training
Then this change will impact workflow — especially for teams who frequently reuse branded content.
And when small workflow efficiencies disappear, productivity quietly drops.
That’s the bigger issue.
The Takeaway
Change in Microsoft 365 is constant. Features evolve. Some disappear. Others replace them.
The key isn’t resisting change — it’s adapting quickly so your team doesn’t lose time or consistency.
If your business depends on polished, repeatable presentations, make sure your team:
- Knows the feature is gone
- Understands the new methods
- Has a standardized process for maintaining brand consistency
Because the real risk isn’t losing “Reuse Slides.”
It’s losing efficiency without realizing it.
