There are many methods of putting an AutoCAD drawing into Powerpoint. In most cases, we place a static image of our drawing file into the slide (and hope our client doesn't ask us to zoom in for any reason). Personally, I've found the most robust means of displaying an AutoCAD drawing file within Powerpoint is with a DWF file. Embedding the DWF viewer allows you to zoom, pan, print, and view multiple drawings all within the same powerpoint slide. And since you can create a DWF out of anything that runs on windows - technically you could place drawing files from any CAD program using the same technique (but you didn't hear that from me!).
So here are the top secret steps for doing so:
1) First you need to create a DWF out of the drawing file(s) you wish to load into Powerpoint. If you aren't on a fairly recent release of AutoCAD, or want to create a DWF out of a non-Autodesk product you can download the free DWF Writer from autodesk.com/dwf.
2) Download the free dwf viewer (don't you just love free?) from autodesk.com/dwf.
3) On the slide you wish to insert the drawing file(s), select Object from the Insert pull-down menu. Select Autodesk DWF Viewer Control from the dialog box. A DWF object icon will appear in the middle of the slide.
4) Now you need to tell Powerpoint which DWF file you want to view. Right click on the icon, and select DWF Viewer Control, Properties from the shortcut menu. Use the browse button to select the desired DWF.
Note: You will not see your drawing unless the powerpoint is in Slide Show mode.
You'll find that you can zoom, pan, and cycle through the different pages of the DWF file all within your powerpoint presentation - very impressive! You will certainly be the envy of your coworkers!
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