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Quick Answer

Copy the table in Word, go to PowerPoint, right-click the slide, and select Keep Source Formatting to paste the table without breaking its layout.

How to Copy a Table from Word to PowerPoint (Without Breaking It) ​

Estimated Time to Fix: 3 minutes

Applies to: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-20

Summary ​

When you highlight a table in Word, press Ctrl + C, and then press Ctrl + V in PowerPoint, the result is usually a disaster. The columns get squished, the fonts change sizes randomly, and the borders disappear. This happens because Word and PowerPoint use different layout engines. Here is the correct way to move a table seamlessly.

Prerequisites ​

  • Both your Word document and your PowerPoint presentation need to be open.

Instructions ​

Method 1: The "Keep Source Formatting" Paste ​

This is the fastest method, but it requires using a specific paste button, not Ctrl + V.

  1. In Word, click the small crosshair icon (+) that appears in the top-left corner of your table when you hover over it. This selects the entire table.
  2. Press Ctrl + C (or right-click and select Copy).
  3. Switch to PowerPoint and navigate to your slide.
  4. Do not press Ctrl + V. Instead, right-click on an empty space on the slide.
  5. Under the Paste Options section of the menu, you will see several clipboard icons.
  6. Click the second icon from the left. When you hover over it, it will say Keep Source Formatting (K).
  7. The table will paste looking exactly as it did in Word. You can now resize it by dragging the corner handles.

Method 2: Embed as an Excel/Word Object (Best for Huge Tables) ​

If your table is very large, pasting it normally will cause it to spill off the slide. Embedding it as a "Picture" or "Object" keeps it locked in proportion.

  1. Copy the table in Word as you did in Step 1.
  2. Switch to PowerPoint.
  3. In the top-left corner of the Home ribbon tab, click the bottom half of the large Paste button (the little downward arrow).
  4. Select Paste Special... from the menu.
  5. In the window that appears, select Picture (Enhanced Metafile).
  6. Click OK.
  7. The table is now pasted as a high-quality image. It will not distort when you resize it, but you can no longer edit the text inside PowerPoint.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

If you need to paste a table but want it to look like the rest of your PowerPoint presentation (using the slide's color scheme), use Method 1, but select the first clipboard icon instead: Use Destination Styles (H).

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
The table is cut off at the bottom of the slideToo much dataPowerPoint slides are wide and short, while Word pages are tall and narrow. You may need to split the table in half in Word first, and paste it across two different slides.
The text is way too small to readScaling issuesIn PowerPoint, highlight the text inside the table and increase the font size manually on the Home tab. Do not drag the edges of the table, as that only changes the column width, not the text size.