PPT2000: Importing Word for Windows Document into PowerPoint

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This article was previously published under Q198212

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SUMMARY

It is possible to import an entire Word for Windows document, complete with body text, and have the paragraphs of text placed correctly on the slides during the initial generation of a PowerPoint presentation. The Word document has to be formatted as an outline with different indentation levels and saved as a Rich Text Format (RTF) file.

MORE INFORMATION

In Outline view, give the first heading a first-level indent, which corresponds with Word for Windows "heading 1" style. You must drag the heading to the left of its initial position.
Select the entire paragraph you want to have as body text on that slide. Set it as indent level 2, which corresponds with Word for Windows "heading 2" style. Typically, you must drag the paragraph to the right of its initial position.

You can tell if the items are in the correct position by noting that the heading line has a plus next to it, and is as far to the left as possible. The body paragraph has a dash next to it, and should be indented so that it is about five spaces to the right of the beginning of the text on the heading line.
Repeat these steps for the entire document. Save it as an RTF file.
Start a new presentation in PowerPoint.
On the View menu, point to Master, and then click Slide Master.

Change the body text to a smaller point-size so that when the text is imported it is less likely to overflow the slide area. You can later modify this text style.
While in Title Sorter or Slide Sorter view, click Slides from Outline on the Insert menu and select your RTF file.
The slides are generated, complete with body text.