When I copy and paste a Prism graph into PowerPoint 2007 or PowerPoint 2010, it pastes as a picture instead of an object.

When you copy from Prism and paste into PowerPoint, you probably want to paste an object. That means you should be able to double-click the graph in PowerPoint and edit within Prism. While this has worked fine with several older releases of PowerPoint and it works fine with PowerPoint 2013, it does not work with PowerPoint 2007 or PowerPoint 2010. Those versions of PowerPoint paste a picture, not an object. Double-clicking exposes PowerPoint's Picture Tools toolbar, and it is not possible to edit within Prism.

Bypassing the problem using GraphPad Prism 5 or 6
There are two ways to bypass this problem, and insert a Prism object in PowerPoint:

• The Send-to-PowerPoint button can be configured to send a picture, a link, or an object. (in the Preferences dialog). This works fine with PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2010. You simply need to set the preference within Prism, and then use the Send button, rather than copy and paste.

• If you prefer to copy and paste, it can be done with one extra step. When you copy a Prism graph to the clipboard, Prism copies the information needed to paste a picture, a link, or an object. When you use the paste command, PowerPoint 2007 and 2010  (unlike earlier PowerPoint versions, and unlike Word 2007 or Word 2010 or PowerPoint 2013) chooses to paste just a picture. Instead, drop the Paste menu (on the left side of the Home ribbon), choose Paste Special., and then choose to paste a Prism Project Object. You can also check an option to paste instead a link to the Prism object. When you paste a link, double-clicking will edit the original Prism file. When you paste an object, double-clicking will edit the Prism object (file) stored within the PowerPoint file.

Workaround for Prism 4
With Prism 4, the Send-to-PowerPoint button encounters the same problem -- it sends a picture, not an object, to PowerPoint 2007 or 2010. If you use Prism 4 with PowerPoint 2007 or 2010, we suggest you avoid using this button.

To place a Prism 4 graph into PowerPoint 2007 or PowerPoint 2010 as an object, follow these steps: Copy the graph within Prism, go to PowerPoint, drop the Paste menu (on the left side of PowerPoint's Home ribbon) , choose Paste Special, and then choose to paste a Prism 4 Document Object.

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We have reported this problem to Microsoft several times, by several routes, over several years, and they finally fixed the problem in PowerPoint 2013.