How to export selected PowerPoint slides to PDF

Lots of people know that you can export a PDF from your PowerPoint presentation using the “Save as” command. However, it is less well-known that you can save selected slides as a PDF. Here are two easy ways to do this.

How to save PowerPoint slides as PDF

Select the slides that you want to include in your PDF using the thumbnails in normal view, or in slide sorter view - for example, Slides 2, 5 and 6 (pictured).

Select slides in the PowerPoint thumbnail pane

On the Ribbon, click File > Export 

Select Create PDF/XPS Document then click the Create PDF/XPS button

Create PDF from PowerPoint

In the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog, navigate to where you want to save your PDF, check you are happy with the file name and click the Options button

Choose where to save the PDF document

Important! In the Options dialiog, change the Range to Selection which tells PowerPoint to create the PDF using only the selected slides.

Configure PDF save options

Note: You can also choose to publish Handouts, Notes pages or Outline view from the ‘Publish what’ dropdown.

 

Click OK.

Then click the Publish button to save your PDF file.

Save PPT slides as PDF with Slidewise

It’s even easier to save PowerPoint as PDF with our add-in. Amongst its many talents it gives you a selection of great export options to save your slides as Images, PPTX files or in this case PDF files.

PowerPoint export 3 slides as pdf

Simply pick PDF from the format list and then choose where to save your new PDF file — that’s it!

Export slides dialog

Please let us know in the comments below if this tip was helpful, or if you have any questions.

If you work with PDF files frequently you might also be interested in our PDF Compressor.

Mike Power

Founder & CEO, Neuxpower | File Format Expert

Mike Power is the Founder and CEO of Neuxpower, a company dedicated to making digital files simple and manageable. With over two decades in the software industry, Mike has built a reputation as a product visionary and a leading expert in file formats. His consultancy experience, which includes building the central image library for Hilton Worldwide and creating the PowerPoint add-in for Mike Parkinson's Build-a-Graphic, showcases his ability to solve complex digital challenges for major clients.

Since launching the first version of NXPowerLite Desktop in 2001, Mike has developed a deep, hands-on understanding of the complex structures of Office, PDF, and image files. He is a true file format expert, able to "look inside" a document to identify the hidden issues that cause file bloat and other problems invisible to the average user.

Mike's mission is to translate this technical insight into genuinely useful software that empowers users to work more efficiently.

Experience: Over 20 years in software development, product design, and consultancy.

Specialty: Understanding the inner workings of file formats to build simple, effective solutions.

Notable Projects: Leading the Neuxpower team to develop the NXPowerLite, Slidewise and WeCompress.com products and creating custom solutions for other businesses, including a PowerPoint add-in for Billion Dollar Graphics.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-power-b6449a7/
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