powerpoint presentation saving format

Save your presentation file

As with any software program, it is a good idea to name and save your presentation immediately, and save your changes frequently while you work.

In PowerPoint, you can save your desktop presentation to your local drive (such as your laptop), a network location, a CD, a DVD, or a flash drive. You can also save it as a different file format.

On the File tab, select Save .

Do of the following:

To save to your local drive, such as your laptop, a flash drive, CD or DVD drive, select Computer .

To save to a SharePoint Library, select SharePoint .

Under Save As > Recent Folders , select Browse , pick a path and file folder, and then name the file.

Select Save .

Save your presentation file in a different file format

Note:  To save files in PDF (.pdf) or XPS (.xps) file formats, see Save or convert to PDF or XPS .

On the File tab, select Save As .

Under Save As , do one of the following:

Under Recent Folders , select Browse , pick a path and file folder, and then name the file.

In the Save as type list, pick the file format that you want.

Save your presentation in an earlier version of PowerPoint

In PowerPoint 2013 and newer versions, you can save files to an earlier version of PowerPoint by selecting the version from the Save as type list in the Save As box. For example, you can save your PowerPoint presentation in the newest PowerPoint Presentation format (.pptx), or as a PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (.ppt).

PowerPoint 2013 and newer versions use an XML-based .pptx file format introduced in the 2007 Office release. These files can be opened in PowerPoint 2010 and PowerPoint 2007 without special add-ins or loss of functionality. For more information, see Open XML Formats and file name extensions .

Open Document format

Microsoft 365 supports the ability to save a presentation file in the OpenDocument Presentation format (.odp).

When you use the Save As or Save a Copy command, the option to save in .odp format is listed at the end of the Save as type list of options.

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How to Save a PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: May 26, 2022

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 51,103 times. Learn more...

A PowerPoint presentation is an excellent way of presenting information or ideas to an audience. The software is easy to use and offers a lot of cool effects for your slideshows, too. But, what's all the use of this if you don't even know how to save your finished PowerPoint? This wikiHow will teach you how to save your file.

Design your PowerPoint presentation.

• You don't have to wait until you're totally finished to save your work. It can help to save along the way, too, to ensure you don't lose any progress.

Open the File menu when you're ready to save.

Choose the Save or Save As option.

Decide where to save the presentation.

Name and save your presentation.

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• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Understanding PowerPoint File Formats

It’s possible to use PowerPoint for years without ever thinking about the various file formats that are available to you. By learning about PowerPoint’s file formats and options, however, you can do a much more effective job of creating presentations, backing them up, sharing them with colleagues, and protecting the information that they contain.

Ordinary PowerPoint Presentations

When you save a simple PowerPoint presentation, you give it a name, and PowerPoint adds the file extension .pptx. Your Sales Presentation file becomes Sales Presentation.pptx .

If your PowerPoint presentation contains one or more macros, PowerPoint will automatically detect their presence and save your presentation as a .pptm file. You can force PowerPoint to save a presentation that includes macros as a .pptx file, but PowerPoint won’t let you play the macros that you’ve included in your slide slow. So it’s best to let it save your file with the .pptm extension.

If you need to share your presentation with a colleague who is using an older version of PowerPoint, then save your slides as a .ppt file. PowerPoint 97 through 2003 cannot open and process .pptx or .pptm files.

If you’re using PowerPoint 2007 or newer, you should always save your work in .pptx format (or in .pptm format if you’ve used macros in your presentation). The options described below are additional ways to save your work. Be sure to save them first as ordinary .pptx or .pptm files before you save them in any of these other formats.

PowerPoint Shows

If you want to give your PowerPoint presentation to a friend or colleague, and you don’t want them to change anything, then save your presentation as a PowerPoint Show file. Your colleagues can display your slides, but they will be unable to change any part of your presentation.

There are three types of PowerPoint Shows: Save an ordinary presentation as a .ppsx file. If you’re using macros in your presentation, save it as a .ppsm file. If you’re sending your slide show to somebody who is using PowerPoint 97 through 2003, then create a .pps PowerPoint Show file.

Be sure to save your presentation as a plain vanilla (.pptx) file or as a macro-enabled (.pptm) file. If you’ve only saved the Show file, you won’t be able to make changes to your presentation.

PowerPoint Picture Presentations

Picture Presentations add an additional layer of protection to your work. To the casual observer, a PowerPoint Picture Presentation looks like an ordinary PowerPoint slideshow. But when you save your work as a Picture Presentation, each slide is converted to a simple image.

Slides contain text objects, image objects, animations, transitions, and many other special effects. By contrast, Picture Presentations contain only snapshots of your slides.

If somebody wants to copy your work, they can see each of the images and retype the text. They can even grab (and re-crop) the images. But they cannot capture any of the magic that is PowerPoint.

If you create a Picture Presentation, be sure to give it a unique name. If you only save the Picture Presentation .pptx file, you won’t be able to modify your presentation in the future.

Windows Media Videos

You can convert your PowerPoint presentation to an ordinary Windows Media Video (.wmv) file, and play it using the built-in Windows Media Player or any other video player. Your .wmv file can be enjoyed by any Windows or Mac user, even if they don’t have PowerPoint installed on their computer.

As always, don’t make your .wmv file the only version of your slideshow or you’ll be very disappointed when you want to make changes to the presentation.

Outline/RTF

PowerPoint lets you turn your slideshow into plain text. This is handy if you want to move some of the presentation’s text to your website or blog.

When you create a rich text format (.rtf) file, you save only the text. You lose all of the images, animations, slide-to-slide transitions, and other non-text objects.

It’s easy to save your presentation as a portable document format (.pdf) file. These .pdf files can be opened on any Windows, Mac, Unix/Linux, iOS, or Android device. The resulting file, however, is a static document. Don’t expect to see slides fade in and out. All of your animated objects will become static.

You can save your slides as an XML Paper Specification (.xps) file. That’s a fancy way to say that if you double-click your .xps file in Windows Explorer, the operating system will open your file using its built-in XPS Viewer.

The XPS format is ideal for sending your slideshow to users who have neither PowerPoint nor Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on their computers. As with the .pdf format above, .xps files have text and images, but no animation.

If you’re happy with this year’s Financial Results slideshow, and you want to create next year’s presentation using the same colors and fonts, then save your current presentation as a template, and use it over and over.

As you may have guessed, save your work as a .potx file for use in PowerPoint 2007 and newer, as a .potm file for a 2007 or newer macro-enabled presentation, and as a .pot file for use on PowerPoint 97 through 2003.

Office Themes and Backups

Because Microsoft PowerPoint is part of Microsoft Office, you can use two Office file types to make your PowerPoint work easier and safer.

You can save your presentation theme as an Office .thmx file. Future PowerPoint presentations, as well as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, can use this Office theme to set their fonts and colors. This results in a consistent look and feel to all of the Office documents that you present to prospects and customers.

Autosave is built into most Office applications, including PowerPoint. If you experienced a power outage and hadn’t saved your PowerPoint presentation before you lost power, it’s possible that there’s a recent version of your slideshow in the Office Autosave library. If you click File , click Open , and click Recover Unsaved Presentation , you may be pleased by the information that PowerPoint saved for you.

The Bottom Line

There’s no need to memorize all of the PowerPoint file extensions and options that are available. But be sure that you’re including all of these files when you do your regular on-site and off-site backups. And bookmark this blog page so that you can return to it when you need to save or open a PowerPoint presentation in one of the less popular file formats.

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Save presentations

Save an opened presentation with the same name.

To save the opened presentation with the same name in the opened location, do one of the following:

• On the File tab, click Save .
• Press Ctrl+S .

Save the opened presentation with a different name in the local PC

On the File tab, click Save As to open the Save As pane:

• On the left side of the Save As pane, select the This PC option.
• If needed, change the location by clicking the More options... option to open the Save As dialog box,
• Type the name of your document and click the Save button.

Save the opened presentation in a different location

To save the presentation in any other location, do the following:

   1.   On the File tab, click Save As , then on the Save As pane, click the Browse button:

   2.   In the Save As dialog box, choose the location you need:

Optionally, you can change the name of the file and the file format.

Save a presentation in a different format

PowerPoint allows saving a presentation in different formats. To save a presentation in another format, do one of the following:

Some of the most popular:

• PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx) - the default format, can open only in PowerPoint 2007 and higher or on an earlier version with a compatibility pack installed. See more about Compatibility mode .
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm) - the format open in PowerPoint 2007 and higher that supports the storage of VBA or macro code.
• PowerPoint 97-2003 (*.ppt) - format supported by PowerPoint 97, 2000, 2002 (XP) and 2003. See more about Compatibility mode .
• PDF (*.pdf) - see more about how to save a presentation in PDF format .
• PowerPoint Template (*.potx) is a template file compatible with PowerPoint 2007 and higher.
• PowerPoint 97-2003 Template (*.pot) - a template file supported by PowerPoint 97, 2000, 2002 (XP) and 2003.
• Office Theme (*.thmx) - see more about Office Themes .
• PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx) - see more about how to save a presentation as Presentation Show .
• MPEG-4 Video (*.mp4) - A video version of the presentation using MPEG-4 format.
• Windows Media Video (*.wmv) - A video version of the presentation using WMV format.
• Graphics formats (*.gif, *.jpg, *.png, *.tif, *.bmp) - see more about how to save a presentation as pictures .
• Strict Open XML Presentation (*.pptx) - a variant of XML that fully supports the Open XML standard.
• OpenDocument Presentation (*.odp) - a presentation that conforms to the new OpenDocument standard for exchanging data between applications.

Automatically save presentations

Saving a document periodically as you work is crucial to prevent information loss. Making PowerPoint save automatically will reduce the chance of losing data in case of a power failure or other interruption.

   1.   On the File tab, click Options :

   2.   In the PowerPoint Options dialog box, on the Save tab, under Save presentations :

• Click the Save AutoRecover information every checkbox,

By default, the location is C:\Users\<user_name>\ AppData\ Roaming\ Microsoft\ PowerPoint , where <user_name> is your logged Windows name.

   3.   Click OK to close the dialog box.

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The compatibility mode in PowerPoint

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Presentation Design
• January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

• Change the slide order
• Reset your layout
• Change the slide dimensions
• Use PowerPoint Designer
• Format text
• Format objects
• Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Here is how the program is laid out:

• The Application Header
• The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
• The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
• The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

• The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

• Online Pictures
• Screenshots
• Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

• Title Slide
• Title and Content
• Section Header
• Two Content
• Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

• A SmartArt graphic,
• A 3D object,
• A picture from the web,
• Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

• A picture from the web

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

• Click on the  Picture  icon
• Find  a picture on your computer and select it
• Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

• Using graphics in PowerPoint
• Inserting icons onto slides
• Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
• How to embed a video in PowerPoint
• How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

• The background color automatically changes across all slides
• The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
• The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

• Gradient fill
• Picture or texture fill
• Pattern fill
• Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
• In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
• Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
• Select  Fonts
• Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

• Select the  element
• Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

• Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
• Click on the little star  next to the slide
• Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

• Navigate to the  Animations tab
• Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

• Select the  slide
• Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
• In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

• Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
• Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

• Navigate to the  File tab
•  Select  Save As  on the left
• Choose  where you want to save your presentation
• Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
• Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

• Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
• Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

• Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
• Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
• Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
• Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
• Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

• How to print multiple slides per page
• How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
• How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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PowerPoint Tips: Over 25 Ways to Save a Presentation

by getmygraphics | PowerPoint Tips | 1 comment

PowerPoint, and frankly lots of other programs, allow you to save out, export, publish, etc. in numerous ways. Many of the ways will have complete relevance to you and some of them won’t. But most of them will have perfect relevance to you and you didn’t even know! Get ready for the # ways to Export/Save/Publish in PowerPoint 2016.

• PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx): This format is the default PowerPoint file. It will always automatically save out in this file type. All features and elements are the same.
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (.pptm): This format allows for VBA coding (Visual Basic Applications). This allows for coding variables and tracking elements that PowerPoint doesn’t normally handle on its own.
• PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (.ppt): This format allows your presentation to be compatible with the older versions of PowerPoint. Be aware that you may lose the functionality of most features that are present in the current version.
• PDF (.pdf): Saving as a PDF will allow you to keep the format of the PowerPoint (not necessarily the functionality) and permits it to be shared across platforms.
• XPS Document (.xps): XPS is a similar and less used version of a PDF. The difference comes in how you view the document. You don’t need a viewer to view the file, similar to how a PDF is viewed.
• PowerPoint Template (.potx): This allows you to save out a project as a template (kind of self explanatory). You can then used the saved project (template) to create other projects with the same project skeleton.
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (.potm): This format allows you to make a project and save it out as a template, but it allows for basic coding to push your template further than PowerPoint can on its own.
• PowerPoint 97-2003 Template (.pot): This is like the other template format files, but this one is able to function in the older versions of PowerPoint.
• Office Theme (.thmx): This format allows you to save out themes (such as the built-in themes that PowerPoint contains) that you have created while in the project.
• PowerPoint Show (.ppsx): This format is actually very helpful when you are wanting to look as professional as possible. When you sent this file over to your boss or someone like that, it will automatically open up in the Slide Show View. The ability to edit and modify the presentation will be disabled.
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show (.ppsm): Similar to the PowerPoint Show file, this will allow a presentation to have Macros (a basic coding language, otherwise known as VBA coding) built into it that will run in a slide show setting.
• PowerPoint 97-2003 Show (.pps): This is simply a slideshow that will pop open as it is clicked on. It is compatible with the older versions of PowerPoint.
• PowerPoint Add-In (.ppam): This format allows you to save out your project as an add-in. Meaning that you can modify the project with VBA coding and special add-in commands that you can then insert into other PowerPoint software systems (on other computers).
• PowerPoint 97-2003 Add-In (.ppa): This format will save your project in a way that an add-in can be inserted into an older version of PowerPoint.
• PowerPoint XML Presentation (.xml): This format lets you save out your presentation with text and binary information only. This is helpful for some people who are coding and dabbling in VBA.
• MPEG-4 Video (.mp4): This saves the project as a video, allowing you to present it on systems don’t have PowerPoint installed. Every computer will play a video file. The only thing that you need to do before hand is set a time for each slide, so you can modify the video to meet your needs.
• Windows Media Video (.wmv): This format is very similar to the other video file that you can save it out as. There is hardly any differences worth mentioning.
• GIF Graphics Interchange Format (.gif): This is format that converts your project into images that will show in the order that they are created. It will repeat over and over as long as it is specified. It is very good for web sources and minimal graphic projects.
• JPEG File Interchange Format (.jpg): This is similar to the GIF, only that it supports around 16 million colors. This format is best when you desire an interchanging graphic of complex photos and assets.
• PNG Portable Network Graphics Format (.png): This format converts all the slides within your project into photos. This is a versatile format, allowing you to use the photos in any manner that you may need them for. Such as web images, or just print them off on a piece of paper. You can even put images of your presentation into another presentation!
• TIFF Tag Image File Format (.tif): This format allows you to skew and blow up the images of your slides as much as is needed. It is similar to the PNG format.
• Device Independent Bitmap (.bmp): This converts your project into bitmaps. Which is a multitude of little dots that make a photo of each of your slides. This can also be blown up to the desired size.
• Window Metafile (.wmf): This is a file that converts your project into a 16 bit graphic. It is only used on very old versions of Windows.
• Enhanced Windows Metafile (.emf): This file format converts your project into a 32 bit graphic. Also only to be used on very old versions of Windows.
• Outline/RTF (.rtf): This format is a text only format that allows you to easily share information with people who may not have the same version of PowerPoint as you. It is macro, and note free.
• PowerPoint Picture Presentation (.pptx): This format turns every slide into a photograph. It is similar to the PNG formats. No editing can occur after your project has been saved out in this format. Be careful, because the extension for this format is the same as the default format, you need to change the name of this file to avoid making your project uneditable.
• Strict Open XML Presentation (.pptx): This format is similar to the other XML format. It has a few changes that will disable you from seeing some features when crossing your project over to an XML processor.
• OpenDocument Presentation (.odp): Saving out your project in this format will allow you to open the presentation in Google Docs and Open Office Impress. It can also be opened in the default PowerPoint software.

In almost every software program, there is a Save feature that can make or break your project/game. PowerPoint allows you to save your projects in a variety of different ways to meet all the needs and specifications that you require. Let me know in the comment section below how these 28 awesome PowerPoint tips have helped you in discovering new ways to create an amazing presentation.

PowertPoint tips: 1.Saving as MPEG-4video (.mp4) Saves projects as video; make sure to set time for each slide before hand to be able to modify video to meet needs.

2. Powerpoint Show (.ppsx) for professional presentations. When sharing the file with other, it will automatically open up as a slide show. I like the ideas of sharing with other and know that they will not be able to make any changes or modification for my file.

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File Formats and Export Options in PowerPoint – Part 1

The export function.

PowerPoint offers several formatting options for exporting presentations. You can display your presentations on many different devices or share them with colleagues, employees or other interested individuals. You can also control what content is accessible to the viewer. In this article, you will learn how to access the four primary export options in PowerPoint, what their specific features are and how they are used.

Here is how to find the export function in PowerPoint:

1. Click on File .

2. From the menu on the left, select Save & Send .

3. Under File Types , there are various export options.

Export Options in PowerPoint:

Saving as pdf or xps document.

PDF is a universal format for text and image documents that is compatible with many different programs and systems. It looks the same whether it is viewed on a device running iOS or Windows. XPS is a format developed by Microsoft that is similar to PDF but is less common and works mainly with Microsoft. PDF exports are highly recommended for presentations. The format can be displayed on almost all devices and preserves your layout and visual design. You can even use a PDF document instead of a PowerPoint file (.ppt or .pptx), no longer requiring PowerPoint nor PowerPoint Viewer to be on the device.

Creating a Video

A presentation can also be exported to a video. The default setting for slide duration is stored, and the slides automatically transition when the video plays. The video is saved as a Windows Media Video (WMV) file (with PowerPoint 2013 or later, videos can also be saved as an MPEG4 file) that can be played on many different devices. With additional software applications (except for HandBrake), you can convert the file to another format when needed. Another useful option is Record Slide Show under Slide Show. With this, you can manually set slide duration, animation timing and triggers. You can also incorporate an audio track (your computer must be equipped with a microphone and speakers) to narrate the slide show.

Package Presentation for CD

This option allows you to export the presentation along with all custom views, linked files and fonts onto a CD or USB stick. This function is helpful for complex presentations that rely on customized fonts, graphics, video or sound files – it supports everything. The exported files are designed to play automatically from the disk once loaded. However, PowerPoint Viewer must be installed on the presentation device for it to work properly.

Create Handouts

This option allows you to transfer a presentation to Microsoft Word and later adjust and optimize it for printing. Before exporting to Word, you can select how many slides will be displayed on one page, how the content is formatted and whether to leave additional space for taking notes. The presenter can provide handouts to help prepare the audience or enable them to follow along during the presentation. In Word, contents can be adapted, reduced or expanded quickly without having to change the original presentation. Handouts can also be made available in digital form by saving them as Word or PDF documents.

In parts two and three of this blog series, find out which file formats are available in PowerPoint as well as the best-suited applications for each file type.

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PowerPoint 2016  - Saving Presentations

Powerpoint 2016  -, saving presentations, powerpoint 2016 saving presentations.

PowerPoint 2016: Saving Presentations

Lesson 4: saving presentations.

/en/powerpoint2016/creating-and-opening-presentations/content/

Introduction

Whenever you create a new presentation in PowerPoint, you'll need to know how to save in order to access and edit it later. As with previous versions of PowerPoint, you can save files to your computer . If you prefer, you can also save files to the cloud using OneDrive . You can even export and share presentations directly from PowerPoint.

Watch the video below to learn more about saving and sharing PowerPoint presentations.

Save and Save As

PowerPoint offers two ways to save a file: Save and Save As . These options work in similar ways, with a few important differences.

• Save : When you create or edit a presentation, you'll use the Save command to save your changes. You'll use this command most of the time. When you save a file, you'll only need to choose a file name and location the first time. After that, you can just click the Save command to save it with the same name and location.
• Save As : You'll use this command to create a copy of a presentation while keeping the original. When you use Save As, you'll need to choose a different name and/or location for the copied version.

About OneDrive

Most features in Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint, are geared toward saving and sharing documents online . This is done with OneDrive , which is an online storage space for your documents and files. If you want to use OneDrive, make sure you’re signed in to PowerPoint with your Microsoft account. Review our lesson on Understanding OneDrive to learn more.

To save a presentation:

It's important to save your presentation whenever you start a new project or make changes to an existing one. Saving early and often can prevent your work from being lost. You'll also need to pay close attention to where you save the presentation so it will be easy to find later.

• If you're saving the file for the first time, the Save As pane will appear in Backstage view .

• The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to save the presentation.

• The presentation will be saved . You can click the Save command again to save your changes as you modify the presentation.

You can also access the Save command by pressing Ctrl+S on your keyboard.

Using Save As to make a copy

If you want to save a different version of a presentation while keeping the original, you can create a copy . For example, if you have a file named Client Presentation you could save it as Client Presentation 2 so you'll be able to edit the new file and still refer back to the original version.

To do this, you'll click the Save As command in Backstage view. Just like when saving a file for the first time, you'll need to choose where to save the file and give it a new file name .

To change the default save location:

If you don't want to use OneDrive , you may be frustrated that OneDrive is selected as the default location when saving. If you find this inconvenient, you can change the default save location so This PC is selected by default.

Using AutoRecover

PowerPoint automatically saves your presentations to a temporary folder while you are working on them. If you forget to save your changes or if PowerPoint crashes, you can restore the file using AutoRecover .

To use AutoRecover:

• Open PowerPoint. If autosaved versions of a file are found, the Document Recovery pane will appear.

By default, PowerPoint autosaves every 10 minutes. If you are editing a presentation for less than 10 minutes, PowerPoint may not create an autosaved version.

If you don't see the file you need, you can browse all autosaved files from Backstage view . Just select the File tab, click Manage Presentation , then choose Recover Unsaved Presentations .

Exporting presentations

By default, PowerPoint presentations are saved in the .pptx file type. However, there may be times when you need to use another file type , such as a PDF or PowerPoint 97-2003 presentation . It's easy to export your presentation from PowerPoint in a variety of file types.

• PDF: Saves the presentation as a PDF document instead of a PowerPoint file
• Video: Saves the presentation as a video
• Package for CD: Saves the presentation in a folder along with the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer, a special slide show player anyone can download
• Handouts: Prints a handout version of your slides
• Other file type: Saves in other file types, including PNG and PowerPoint 97-2003

To export a presentation:

In our example, we'll save the presentation as a PowerPoint 97-2003 file.

• Click the File tab to access Backstage view .

You can also use the Save as type drop-down menu in the Save As dialog box to save presentations in a variety of file types. Be careful to choose a file type others will be able to open.

Sharing presentations

PowerPoint makes it easy to share and collaborate on presentations using OneDrive . In the past, if you wanted to share a file with someone you could send it as an email attachment. While convenient, this system also creates multiple versions of the same file, which can be difficult to organize.

When you share a presentation from PowerPoint, you're actually giving others access to the exact same file . This lets you and the people you share with edit the same presentation without having to keep track of multiple versions.

In order to share a presentation, it must first be saved to your OneDrive .

To share a presentation:

• The Share pane will appear.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about different ways to share a presentation.

Share Options

This pane will change depending on the sharing method you select. You'll be able to choose various options to control how you share your presentation.

Share with People

From here, you'll be able to invite others to view or edit a presentation. We recommend using this option because it gives you the greatest level of control and privacy when sharing a presentation.

From here, you can share your presentation directly through Microsoft Outlook .

Present Online

From here, you can share your presentation online as a live presentation . PowerPoint will generate a link that others can open in their web browser.

Publish Slides

From here, you can use PowerPoint to post entries directly to your blog if you use one of the supported blogging sites, such as SharePoint Blog, WordPress, and Blogger.

• Open our practice presentation .
• Use Save As to create a copy of the presentation. Name the new copy Saving Challenge Practice . You can save it to a folder on your computer or to your OneDrive .
• Export the presentation as a PDF file.

/en/powerpoint2016/slide-basics/content/

How to Fix the “An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file” Error

Prevent yourself from losing hours of work

Do you see an “An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file” error message while trying to save a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation? There’s a good chance the location you’re saving your file in is not accessible . Here are a few ways to get around this problem.

Other reasons your presentation doesn’t save include a corrupt presentation file, the PowerPoint app experiencing a problem, your Microsoft Office login session having an issue, and more.

Close Your Presentation if It’s Open in Another App

One reason you can’t save your presentation in PowerPoint is that your presentation is open in another app. That other app may be preventing further changes from being made to your file, causing PowerPoint to display an error message.

In this case, check all your open apps and ensure none are using your PowerPoint file. If an app is using the file, close the file in that app and then retry saving the file in PowerPoint. That should resolve your PowerPoint error.

Save the File in Another Location

You may get the “An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file” error if the location you’re saving your file is inaccessible. This usually happens with the external storage devices (hard drives or the cloud) that you use with your computer.

In this case, you can resolve the issue by saving your presentation in a folder on your local storage. Later, you can copy the file to your external storage device using File Explorer if you want.

• While your presentation is open in PowerPoint , select the File menu in the app’s top-left corner.
• Choose Save As on the left and Browse in the middle column.

• Select a folder on your local storage and choose Save .
• If your file is saved successfully, open that folder using File Explorer , copy the file, and paste it to your external storage device.

If you fixed your issue using the above method, it’s worth running a disk checkup scan on your storage device to ensure it’s free from any errors.

• Open This PC , right-click your storage, and choose Properties .
• Access the Tools tab and select Check in the Error checking section.

• Follow the on-screen instructions to find and fix issues with your drive.

Fix PowerPoint’s Save Issue by Using a Different File Format

When you face issues saving a presentation, it’s worth using an alternate file format to see if your file is saved. For example, use the PPT format if you have trouble saving your file in the PPTX format.

• Launch your presentation with PowerPoint .
• Select File in the app’s top-left corner.
• Choose Save As on the left and select Browse in the middle column.
• Select the Save as type drop-down menu and choose a file format different from the current one. Then, select Save .

Repair Your PowerPoint Presentation

Your PowerPoint presentation may be corrupt, causing issues with the app’s save operation. Many reasons can cause your presentation file to get corrupted, including viruses and malicious apps.

To get around that, use PowerPoint’s built-in repair option. This option repairs your faulty presentation and then opens the file in the app.

• Open PowerPoint , select Open on the left and choose Browse in the middle column.
• Find and single-click your presentation.
• Select the down-arrow icon next to Open and choose Open and Repair .

• Allow PowerPoint to repair your file.

Create a New PowerPoint Presentation From Your Existing Slides

One way to recover the slides and their changes from your current presentation is to make a new presentation and paste all your current slides in it. This way, you’ll have a new presentation containing all the slides from your faulty one.

• Open your faulty presentation with PowerPoint .
• Select the first slide in the left sidebar.
• Choose all slides by pressing Ctrl + A on your keyboard.

• Copy all the slides by pressing Ctrl + C .
• Make a new presentation using Ctrl + N .
• Press Ctrl + V to paste all your copied slides in your new presentation.
• Save your new presentation by either pressing Ctrl + S or selecting File > Save .

Resolve Your Save File Error by Signing Out and Back Into Your Office Account

Your Office account’s login session may have an issue , causing your Office files not to save. You can refresh this session by logging out and back into your Office apps.

You’ll need your Office account login details, so keep those handy.

• Open PowerPoint on your computer.
• Select Account in the left sidebar.
• Choose Sign out in the User Information section on the right.

• Choose Yes in the prompt. Note that this will log you out of all your installed Office apps, including Word and Excel.
• Log back into your Office account in PowerPoint .

Repair Your Microsoft Office Installation

If your “An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file” error is still not resolved, PowerPoint’s core app files might be corrupt. You can’t fix these files yourself, so use Office’s built-in repair tool to fix any issues with your apps’ core files.

• Open Control Panel on your PC .
• Select Uninstall a program in the utility.
• Choose your Microsoft Office installation on the list and select Change at the top.

• Choose Yes in the User Account Control prompt.
• Select the Quick Repair option and choose Repair .

• If your issue persists, select the Online Repair option and choose Repair .

Reinstall Microsoft Office

If nothing else works, uninstall and reinstall the entire MS Office suite on your computer. Doing so removes all your Office apps, including PowerPoint, and reinstalls all these apps. This helps fix any issues with these programs.

• Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I .
• Select Apps in Settings.
• Find and choose Office on the list. Then, select Uninstall .

• Choose Uninstall in the prompt.
• Reinstall your version of Microsoft Office on your computer.

Resolve PowerPoint’s Save Issues on Your Computer

PowerPoint’s “An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file” error can make you lose all the changes you’ve made to your presentation. Luckily, this error is relatively easy to fix, and you can use the above methods to do just that.

Once you’ve gotten around the problem, use the usual save method, and PowerPoint will retain all your presentation changes.

Mahesh has been obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade or so ago. Over the last few years, he's written a number of tech articles on various online publications including but not limited to MakeTechEasier and Android AppStorm. Read Mahesh's Full Bio

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How-To Geek

How to change an entire presentation's formatting in powerpoint.

You don't need to change a PowerPoint presentation's formatting one slide at a time. You can do it all at once in the Master View. Here's how to use this time-saving feature.

If you’re wanting to reuse a PowerPoint presentation but would like to clear the slideshow's formatting, there’s no need to do it slide by slide---you can do it all at once. Here’s how.

First, open the PowerPoint presentation with the formatting you want to edit. To illustrate the before and after, here’s what we’ll be working with in this example.

Looking even closer, here are the formats our current slideshow is using:

• Colors: Gallery
• Headings: Gill Sans MT
• Body: Gill Sans MT
• Effects: Gallery
• Background Style: Style 10
• Background Graphics: Wooden Flooring

Once you’re ready to reformat, select the “ Slide Master ” option in the “Master Views” group of the “View” tab.

The first child slide is selected by default. Be sure to choose the parent slide above it, or the changes won’t take place for every slide.

If you want to assign a new theme to the presentation, you can do that here. Select “Themes” from the “Edit Theme” group and choose your desired theme from the drop-down menu.

Each theme comes with its own unique set of fonts, colors, effects, and so on---and there's certainly no shortage of items to choose from. If you want to stick with your current theme but change some of the individual formatting options, you can do so with the options available in the “Background” group.

Here are the different options available for reformatting:

• Colors: Changes all the colors used in your presentation, as well as the color options available in the color picker.
• Fonts: Changes all the headings and body fonts used in the presentation.
• Effects: Changes the appearance (shading, border, etc.) of objects in your presentation.
• Background Styles: Choose the background style for the selected theme.
• Hide Background Graphics: Hide (or unhide) background graphics that come with a theme. This can only be used on each slide type in the Master view.

To make changes, select the option from the menu and choose your desired change from the menu that opens. For example, if we wanted to change our colors from “Gallery” to “Green Yellow,” we’d select “Colors” from the “Background Group” and then choose “Green Yellow” from the drop-down menu.

Related: How to Change the Default Font in PowerPoint

Repeat these steps for whichever options you’d like to change. We’ll make the following changes to our slideshow in this example:

• Colors: Green Yellow
• Headings: Calibri
• Body: Calibri
• Effects: Glossy
• Background Styles: Style 10
• Hide Background Graphics: Title Slide only

Once you’ve made the desired changes, select the “Close Master View” button in the “Close” group.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

You’ll now see the changes applied throughout the entire presentation.

And a closer look shows all the finer details.

That’s all there is to it!

How to Save a Powerpoint Slide as a Picture: A Step-by-Step Guide

Saving a PowerPoint slide as a picture is a handy trick for creating graphics, sharing information, or preserving a slide’s content. You can easily convert individual slides or an entire presentation into images, such as JPEGs or PNGs, to use elsewhere. Let’s dive into the simple steps to make this happen.

Step by Step Tutorial: Saving a PowerPoint Slide as a Picture

Before we start, remember that saving your PowerPoint slide as a picture allows you to use it in different ways, such as inserting it into other documents or sharing it on social media.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint Presentation

Open the PowerPoint presentation that has the slide you want to save as a picture.

When you open your presentation, make sure you are on the slide that you want to save. If you have multiple slides to save as pictures, you’ll need to repeat the process for each one.

Step 2: Click on “File”

Click on the “File” tab located in the upper-left corner of the screen.

This will open a menu where you can see various options for managing your PowerPoint file.

Step 3: Choose “Save As”

From the “File” menu, choose “Save As” to open the dialog box for saving your file.

This step is essential because it takes you to the area where you can select different file formats for saving your slide.

Step 4: Select Save As Type

In the “Save As” dialog box, click on the “Save as type” dropdown menu and select the image format you want, such as JPEG or PNG.

Choosing the right format is important depending on how you plan to use your image. JPEG is great for smaller file sizes, while PNG offers higher quality with a transparent background option.

Step 5: Save

After selecting the file type, click “Save,” and a prompt will ask if you want to save all slides or just the current one. Make your choice, and the slide(s) will be saved as picture(s).

If you choose to save all slides, each slide will be saved as a separate image file, which can be useful for creating a series of graphics.

After completing these steps, your PowerPoint slide will be saved as an image file in the location you specified. You can now use this picture in various ways, like making it part of a document, using it in a video, or simply sharing it with colleagues or friends.

Tips: Saving a PowerPoint Slide as a Picture

• Always save your original PowerPoint file before converting slides to avoid any loss of content.
• Use the PNG format if you need a transparent background for your slide image.
• High-resolution slides make for better quality pictures, so consider your slide’s design and text size.
• If you’re saving multiple slides, organize them in a dedicated folder for easy access.
• You can also use the “Export” feature to save slides as images, which gives you additional options like resolution settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i save multiple slides as one picture.

No, each slide is saved as a separate image file. If you need them in one picture, you’ll have to combine them using an image editor.

What resolution will my saved picture have?

The resolution of your saved picture will depend on the original slide’s quality and the image format you choose when saving.

Can I save my slides as pictures on a Mac?

Yes, the process is similar on a Mac. The menu options might be slightly different, but the functionality is the same.

Is it possible to save slides as pictures in bulk?

Yes, you can save all slides in a presentation as images by selecting “Save Every Slide” when prompted during the save process.

Can I edit the picture after saving it?

Yes, once saved as an image file, you can edit it with any image editing software.

• Open the PowerPoint presentation.
• Click on “File”.
• Choose “Save As”.
• Select Save As Type.
• Save the slide as a picture.

Converting PowerPoint slides into pictures is a piece of cake once you know how. Whether you’re looking to spice up your documents, create standout social media posts, or simply want to preserve your slides’ content, following the steps outlined above will get the job done quickly and efficiently. With the added tips and answers to common questions, you’ll be a pro at saving PowerPoint slides as pictures in no time.

Remember, the format you choose can impact the quality and size of your image, so choose wisely based on your needs. And, if you run into any trouble along the way, don’t hesitate to refer back to these steps or reach out to someone with a bit more PowerPoint savvy. Happy saving!

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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How to Save a Slide in PowerPoint Individually? [Quick Tip!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

There are times when we want to either just print or share just a single slide from our PowerPoint presentation. It might seem a bit difficult to do so initially, but the process is actually quite simple!

To save a slide in PowerPoint, select the slide from the slide preview panel on the left part of your screen. Press “Ctrl+C” to copy it. Now, click on the “File” tab, and open a “Blank PowerPoint Presentation”. Press “Ctrl+V” to paste the slide. Press “Ctrl+S” to save the single slide presentation.

In this article, I will share with you how you can save just one slide from an existing PowerPoint presentation.

Plus, I will also show you how to save a single slide as an image so that you can avoid the changes in the color and the look of the slide when you move it to a new presentation.

So, without further adieu, let’s get started!

1. How to Save a Single Slide in PowerPoint?

There are actually two different ways in which you can save a single slide in PowerPoint. The first method is where you copy the slide into a new presentation and save it separately. Another method is where you can save a single slide as an image!

Let’s take a look at both the methods below –

Method 1 – Save a Single Slide Using a New Presentation

If you want to extract and save a single slide from an existing PowerPoint presentation, the best thing for you to do is to copy the slide and paste it into a blank PowerPoint presentation.

Related Read – Check out my other article on How to Copy and Paste in PowerPoint that provides you with tips to help retain the design and formatting of your original slide.

Then, save the Powerpoint presentation that contains the single slide that you just pasted in it.

This method allows you retain editing capabilities to the single slide that you move into a new presentation.

Here are the steps that you need to follow –

Step 1 – Copy the Slide

The first step is to copy the slide that you want to save as a presentation. To do that, first, select the slide from the “ Slide Thumbnail View ” on the left part of your PowerPoint window by clicking on it.

Then, “right-click” on the slide. From the options that are displayed in the menu, click on “ Copy “.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut “ Ctrl+C ” to copy the slide once it has been selected.

Step 2 – Open a Blank Presentation

The next step is to move this slide into a new presentation. For that, first, we will need to open a blank presentation.

To open a blank presentation in PowerPoint, click on the “ File ” tab on the top. You will be taken to the backend view.

From the backend view, simply click on the “ New ” option on the left, and then select the “ Blank Presentation ” option.

This will open a new blank PowerPoint presentation.

You can also press “ Ctrl+N ” to open a new PowerPoint presentation and avoid all the above steps.

Step 3 – Paste the Copied Slide

Once the new presentation is open, simply click on the first slide in the new presentation, and paste the slide that you have copied from the original presentation.

You can “ right-click ” on the first slide, and from the options that appear, click on “ Paste “.

Alternatively, you can also simply click on the first blank slide in the new presentation and press “ Ctrl+V ” to paste the copied slide.

Step 4 – Choose the “Keep Source Formatting” option

Once you’ve pasted the slide from the original presentation into a new blank presentation, you will notice that sometimes the formatting of the slide (meaning the color and font) doesn’t get carried over.

This can be annoying as you really don’t want to spend time recreating the slide!

To solve this problem, click on the small “clipboard” icon underneath the slide that you just pasted in the new presentation. A dropdown menu will appear.

Simply, choose the “ Keep Source Formatting ” option from the dropdown.

This option will basically retain the way text, image and other elements were formatted in the original presentation.

Step 5 – Delete Additional Slides

Now, all you are left to do is delete any additional slides that may be present in the new presentation.

To delete the slides from the presentation, select it by clicking on it. Then, right-click and choose the “ Delete Slides ” option.

You should be left with only a single slide that you copied from the original presentation.

Step 6 – Save the Presentation

The last step of the process is the make sure that you save the presentation.

To save a PowerPoint presentation, click on the “ File ” tab. Then, from the backend view, click on “ Save “.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut “ Ctrl+S ” to save a PowerPoint presentation.

You will be prompted with a new window asking you to choose a destination to save the file. Navigate to the specific folder where you want to save the file. Then, click “ Save “.

Method 2 – Save a Single Slide as an Image

If you are in a hurry and don’t really care about being able to edit the slide once it has been moved separately, then perhaps you should use this method.

Saving an individual slide as an image in Microsoft PowerPoint is quite an easy process.

It requires 4 easy steps as follows:

Step-1: “Right-click” on the slide

The first step is to go to the slide you want to save as an image and “Right Click” anywhere on the slide. This will open a drop-down menu.

Step-2: Select the “Save as Picture…” option

From the drop-down menu, click on the “Save as Picture…” option. This will open a new window.

In this window, you can select the folder you want to save the slide as a picture in. You can also rename the image by typing in the “File name” box.

Step-3: Select your preferred image format

Below the “File name” box, click on the “Save as type” option. This will open a dropdown menu containing all the standard image format options. Click on your preferred format to select it.

I would recommend using the “ JPEG ” file format especially if you only plan to email this to a client or a team member.

If you plan to project it on a screen or print this slide on a huge paper, you would perhaps be better off going with the “PNG” file format.

Step-4: Click on the “Save” button

After naming your slide and selecting the image format, click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the new window. This will save the selected single slide as an image.

How to Save One Slide in PowerPoint as a Picture on Mac?

You can follow a similar process to the one mentioned in the previous section even on Mac. However, you can also use the export function and save just one slide as a picture in PowerPoint on Mac.

Here’s how to save just one slide as a Picture in PowerPoint on Mac –

Step-1: Select your preferred slide

First, click on the specific slide you want to save as a picture. Be sure to select the entire slide rather than a single element in the slide.

Step-2: Click on the “Export” option

In the “Primary Menu” bar at the top of your screen, click on the “File” option, which will open a dropdown menu. From the dropdown menu, select the “Export” option.

Step-3: Click on the “File Format” box

Clicking on the “Export” option will open a pop-up menu. At the bottom of the pop-up menu, click on the “File Format” box. This will open a dropdown menu containing various file formats.

Step-4: Select the preferred file format

In the dropdown menu under the “File Format” box, there are three image formats which are “JPEG” , “TIFF” and “PNG.”   Select your preferred image format.

My recommendation would be to choose the “JPEG” file format as that doesn’t significantly increase the size of the image and also maintains a decent quality for most purposes.

Step-5: Click on the “Save Current Slide Only” option

Once you select your desired file format, you will see two new options appear below the “File Format” box. Among the two options, click on “Save Current Slide Only.”

Step-6: Click on the “Export” button

To complete the process, click on the “Export” button which is located at the bottom of the pop-up window. Thus, the selected individual slide will be saved as a picture on your computer.

2. How to Save a Single Slide in PowerPoint as a PDF?

Another option is to save a single slide in PowerPoint as a PDF file. This is great especially when you want to send the slide to a client. Sending a file in a PDF format looks more professional.

Here’s what you need to do to save a single slide in PowerPoint as a PDF –

Step-1: Select the Slide

The first step is to select the slide that you want to save as a PDF file.

Step-2: Click on the “File” Tab and choose “Print”

At the top left corner of your screen, click on the “File” menu to open it. In the “File” menu, select the “Print” option from the sidebar at the right side of your screen.

Step-3: Select the “Microsoft Print to PDF” option

Once the “Print” option is open, click on “Printer” and select the “Microsoft Print to PDF” option from the dropdown menu.

Step-4: Click on the “Custom Range” button

Now, under the “Settings” section, click on the top-most option which says “Print All Slides.” From the dropdown menu, click on the “Custom Range” button.

After that, click on the “Slides” box and type in the slide number of the slides that you want to save as PDF.

Step-5: Click on the “Print” button

Now, click on the “Print” button to open a pop-up window. Type in the name of the PDF in the “File name” box and click on the “Save” button to save the selected slide as a PDF.

3. How to Save All Slides in PowerPoint as a Picture?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can save either an individual slide or an entire presentation as image files. Check out my other article where I’ve gone in-depth on how to save a PowerPoint as a picture . Make sure you check out the article for all the visual references and tips.

I’m also highlighting the process below but if you need to see the process with visual aids, check out the article linked above.

Step-1: Open the “File” menu

At the top-left corner of your PowerPoint window, you will find the “File” tab, which is the first option in the ribbon. Click on the “File” option to open a variety of options.

Step-2: Click on the “Save As” option

With the “File” menu opened, click on the “Save As” option from the sidebar located at the left side of your screen and select the folder where you want to save the pictures in.

To save the slides as pictures in a new folder, click on the “New Folder” button and type in the folder name.

Step-3: Click on “Save As Type”

The “Save As Type” drop-down menu is located in the text box that says “PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx).”

Click on the text box to open a dropdown menu. Scroll down the menu and select your desired image format from “JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)” , “PNG Portable Network Graphics Format (*.png)” , “TIFF Tag Image File Format (*.tif)” or “Scalable Vector Graphics Format (*.svg).”

After selecting your preferred image file format, click on the “Save” button beside the “Save As Type” box. This will open a new dialogue box.

Step-5: Click on the “All Sides” button

Now, all you have to do is click on the “All Slides” button from the dialogue box to save all the slides of your presentation as image files.

Please Note – Each slide will be saved as a separate image arranged serially by slide number in your selected folder when you save a complete PowerPoint presentation as an image.

4. How to Print a Single Slide in PowerPoint?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the process of printing an individual slide is similar to the process of saving the slide as a PDF file. Open the “Print” option from the “File” tab and then follow the 3 basic steps:

Step-1: Select the “Add Printer…” option

In the “Print” menu, click on the “Printer” box. From the dropdown menu, select the “Add Printer…” option.

This will prompt you to connect your printer to the computer. If your printer is already connected to your computer, click on it to select it.

Step-2: Select your preferred slide

Next, click on the “Settings” button and select the “Custom Range” option from the drop-down menu. In the “Slides” box below, type in the slide number of your preferred slide.

Step-3: Click on the “Print” button

Now, all you have to do is click on the “Print” button for your printer to print the single PowerPoint slide you have selected.

Credit to cookie_studio (on Freepik) for the featured image of this article (further edited)

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Top 7 Ways to Fix Microsoft PowerPoint Not Saving Files on Windows

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he's a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

It can be annoying when you have spent hours working on an important presentation, and Microsoft PowerPoint fails to save the file on your Windows computer. When this happens, the app typically displays a somewhat ambiguous error that reads, ‘An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file.’ If you face the same problem, this guide can help.

This problem can arise from various factors, like insufficient permissions, corrupted slides, or an outdated app. Before switching to PowerPoint’s web version or look for an alternative presentation program, try out the following fixes to resolve the problem.

1. Make Sure the File Is Not Opened Elsewhere

Having a PowerPoint file open in multiple apps can prevent you from changing it. You need to first ensure that your PowerPoint file isn’t open in any other program.

Such issues can also arise if the file is opened in File Explorer’s Preview Pane. Several users on the Microsoft forums reported fixing the problem by disabling the Preview Pane in File Explorer . You can also give it a try.

Press the Windows + E keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer. Click the View menu at the top, go to Show, and deselect the Preview pane option. Try saving your file after this and see if it works.

2. Save the File in Another Location

A lack of relevant permissions to access a specific directory on Windows could prevent PowerPoint from saving files. To fix this, you can try saving the file in a different directory. In the PowerPoint app, press Ctrl + Shift + S keyboard shortcut to bring up the Save As dialog box. Select a new location for the file and hit Save.

If you can’t save the file in the PPTX format, use the ‘Save as type’ drop-down menu to select the PPT format and hit Save.

3. Copy Your Presentation to a New File

If PowerPoint can save only a specific PPT, there might be a problem with the file itself. In that case, you can resolve the issue by copying the slides from the problematic PowerPoint file and pasting them into a new file. Here are the steps for the same.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint file and select any slide. Then, press Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut to select all the slides.

Step 2: Right-click on your selection and choose Copy.

Step 3: Press Ctrl + N keyboard shortcut to create a new PowerPoint file, and press Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut to paste your slides.

Step 4: Press Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut and then save your file.

4. Remove ActiveMovie Control From Microsoft Visual Basic Userform

Another thing you can do when PowerPoint displays ‘An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file’ message is to remove the ActiveMovie control from Microsoft Visual Basic Userform. Here’s how you can go about it.

Step 1: In the PowerPoint app, switch to the Developer tab and click the Visual Basic option.

Step 2: Click the Insert UserForm icon on the toolbar and select UserForm.

Step 3: Click the File menu at the top and select Remove UserForm.

Step 4: Select No to continue.

Step 5: Click the File menu again and select ‘Close and Return to Microsoft PowerPoint.’

Try to save your file once again and see if it works.

5. Sign Out and Sign Back In

Authentication problems with your Office account can sometimes prevent PowerPoint from saving your files. You can sign out of the app and sign back into the app to fix the problem.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint app and click the File menu at the top.

Step 2: Switch to the Account tab and click the Sign out option.

Sign back into the app with your account and check if the issue persists.

6. Update the PowerPoint App

Using an outdated version of the PowerPoint app can also cause such problems. Hence, it’s a good idea to ensure that you are running the most recent version of PowerPoint, especially if you have disabled automatic Office updates .

Step 2: Select the Account tab. Click on Update Options and select Update Now.

7. Run the Office Repair Tool

Running the Microsoft Office repair tool is an effective way to fix issues with Office apps like PowerPoint. So, if nothing works, you can run the Office repair tool as a last resort.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Installed apps from the list.

Step 2: Locate the Microsoft Office suite on the list. Click the menu icon next to it and select Modify.

Step 3: Select Quick Repair and click on Repair.

If PowerPoint still won’t save files, repeat the above steps and try an Online Repair instead. This will allow the Office repair tool to perform a thorough repair operation and download any files from the internet if required.

Preserve Your Work

Encountering errors while saving your PowerPoint files is the last thing you want after hours of work. Hopefully, one of the above solutions has proven useful, and you can save your PowerPoint files on Windows.

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Last updated on 03 July, 2023

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May 10, 2024

How to convert text to PowerPoint

Want to use an existing doc to give you a jumpstart on creating your slideshow? We’ll show you a few ways to convert text to PowerPoint both online and on your desktop.

One of the best ways to get a jumpstart on creating a slideshow is by using existing content. You may have a text, Word, or PDF file that has the text you need for your slides. Using any of the three methods listed here, you can convert text to PowerPoint easily.

Note : If you use Microsoft Word on the web, you may notice an option to export the document to a PowerPoint presentation. However, as of this writing, the feature does not work consistently.

Method 1: Convert text to slides with Plus AI

Using Plus AI for Google Slides and Docs , you can upload a file or paste the text. So, you can use whichever is quickest or easiest at the time. Then, simply download the slideshow and open it in PowerPoint.

• Visit Google Slides , sign in, and create a Blank presentation.
• Open Extensions , select Plus AI , and pick New presentation with Plus AI .

• Select New presentation on the left and optionally, choose a template to get started.

• Pick Upload a file and then Choose file . You can use a Word, PDF, PowerPoint, or text file. Alternatively, click Paste in text if you want to go that route.

• Make any other adjustments you like and click Generate Presentation .

• When your slideshow appears, you can make any changes you like and also use Plus AI to add more slides, rewrite your content, or remix the slide layout.

• To download your presentation as a PowerPoint , go to File > Download and pick Microsoft PowerPoint .

You can then open your downloaded file in PowerPoint.

Tip : You can also enter a prompt or instructions and let the Plus AI create the content for your slideshow!

Method 2: Convert a Word outline to PowerPoint on the desktop

If you use Microsoft Office on your desktop, you can import an outline to PowerPoint using a Word document.

• Start by creating the outline for your presentation using the Outline View in Word. Go to the View tab and pick Outline in the Views section of the ribbon.

• Use Level 1 for each slide title and subsequent levels for the slide content. Using an example shown below, there are three Level 1 statements beginning with “How to” which will produce three sides. Then, each “Steps for” statement is Level 2 for the content on the corresponding Level 1 slide.

• Save and close the Word document; you cannot import it into PowerPoint if the file is open.
• Launch PowerPoint and create a new slideshow or open an existing one.
• Go to either the Home or Insert tab, open the New Slide menu, and pick Slides from Outline .

• Browse for, select the Word outline document, and click Insert .

You’ll then see your outline transformed into a PowerPoint slideshow where you can then spruce it up, add more slides, or make whatever edits you like.

Remember, if you want to intelligently transform text into a presentation, you can use an attractive template with Plus AI and save time from trying to enhance the appearance later.

Method 3: Convert text to PowerPoint with a file converter

One more way to quickly transform text into a PowerPoint slideshow is using an online file converter . By uploading a Word document, text file, or PDF, you can convert the text into a PowerPoint file and download it.

There are several free tools for this task including Convertio and CloudConvert. As an example, we’ll use Convertio.

• Visit Convertio and confirm you’re on the Online Presentation Converter page.
• Use Choose Files to upload the document from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

• When the file displays, choose PPT or PPTX per your preference in the drop-down menu to the right.
• Select Convert .

• When the conversion completes, click Download to obtain the file.
• Access the Downloads in your web browser or head to your Downloads folder and open the file.

You’ll then have your document converted to a PowerPoint presentation where you can adjust the appearance, change the slide size, and add media.

Depending on the format of your original document, this might not be what you’re looking for. In that case, you might want to use one of Plus AI’s free presentation converter tools that will intelligently use AI to convert your PDF or Word documents into presentations .

Alternatively, you can sign up for the Plus AI add-on and use all of these features directly in Google Slides. 

If you want to convert text to PowerPoint for a head start on your presentation, these different methods should have you covered. For flexibility, templates, and editing tools, Plus AI is the perfect option, but you can also import a Word outline or use an online file converter if you prefer.

Can ChatGPT convert text to PPT?

You can use ChatGPT to generate the content for your PowerPoint presentation. Check out our how-to for creating a PowerPoint slideshow with ChatGPT for complete details.

How do I copy text from Word to PowerPoint?

If you only want to add a certain portion of text from a Word document to a PowerPoint slide, you can simply copy and paste it.

Open both documents, select the text in Word, and right-click to pick Copy . Go to the slide in PowerPoint, place your cursor where you want the text, and right-click to pick one of the Paste Special options.

How to convert a PDF to PowerPoint?

You can turn a PDF into a PowerPoint presentation easily using Plus AI in Google Slides. Then, simply download the file and open it in PowerPoint.

In Google Slides, open Extensions > Plus AI > New presentation with Plus AI . Select Upload a file , choose your PDF, and follow the remaining prompts. Then, pick File > Download > Microsoft PowerPoint to obtain your presentation.

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Windows 11 excel to powerpoint

I am currently running windows 10 and I have an excel document that hooks to a potm file and generates a powerpoint presentation.

When users attempt to execute it from a windows 11 machine, I can see the excel doc hooking into the database and pulling the information however the powerpoint is generating a blank file. Any recommendations on how to get this resolved? Thanks in advance

***Moved From Windows / Windows 11 / Files, folders, and storage***

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• Microsoft Agent |

Dear Austin Briles,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

We understand that you are displaying an error when converting Excel file to PowerPoint in your system.

To help you further identify the cause of the issue, please share more information with us:

1.What is the version of Excel or Office you are using?Microsoft 365 or other?

You can open any office component, click File on the top left, click Account at the bottom and check the product information on the right to see exactly what product is shown.

2. You said Excel document connected to the potm file, how do you connect the file information? Is it through the Excel data - get data in the connection? Or do you connect it in other ways?

3. You said that users can see the connection database when they run the program on Windows 11, did you share your file with others? Did you share your files with others or did you perform the operation on another computer?

4. You said you can see the database connection, what is the main information of the database you are connecting to? Is your Excel connected to the potm file? Or is it something else?

5. You indicated that a new blank file was generated, can you open or view the previous file, or can you only view the new blank file information?

If you don't mind, you can share the corresponding error page information with us, or share your file information with us via private message, and we will further help you to confirm through your file.

Looking forward to your reply, the detailed information you share with us will help us provide you with a more detailed solution.

Best Regards,

Zenobia.Z | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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Good afternoon, sorry for the delayed response as I did not receive a notification that a reply was submitted.

Microsoft 365 is being used. The excel document pulls the data using the get data function. I shared the excel document and potm file with others and confirmed they have proper credentials to be able to execute the report. I confirmed that when they simply open the potm file, it shows the template but when executing the excel macro to generate the powerpoint slides, it comes up blank.

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Convert Pages, Numbers, or Keynote files to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and more

You can also convert Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files to Pages, Numbers, or Keynote files.

Convert Pages, Numbers and Keynote files

Convert Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files to Pages, Numbers, or Keynote

Check file format compatibility

Convert pages, numbers, and keynote files.

To open a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, convert the file in the appropriate iWork app first. You can convert files on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or online at iCloud.com. When you convert a file, you create a copy in the new format. The original file remains intact.

Convert a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file on iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Choose a format for your document:

To convert a Pages document to Word, choose Word.

To convert a Numbers spreadsheet to Excel, choose Excel.

To convert a Keynote presentation to PowerPoint, choose PowerPoint.

You can also convert to PDF and a variety of other file formats depending on the iWork app you're using.

To save the converted file on your device or to iCloud Drive:

On iPhone or iPad, tap Save to Files, then choose a location.

On Mac, click Save, then choose a location.

To share the converted file:

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On Mac, click Send a Copy, choose how you want to send your file, then send the file.

Convert a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file online at iCloud.com

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iCloud lets you open, edit, and share your files from a supported browser on a Mac or PC.

Sign in to iCloud.com with your Apple ID. If you don't have an Apple device, learn how to create an Apple ID .

Double-click Pages, Numbers, or Keynote.

Choose a format for the document. The converted file downloads to your browser’s default download location.

Convert Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files to Pages, Numbers, or Keynote files

You can convert files on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or online at iCloud.com. The original file remains intact after you convert it.

Convert a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file to a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file on iPhone or iPad

Open the iWork app that you want to convert the file to. For example, if you want to convert a Word document to a Pages document, open the Pages app.

Locate the file you want to convert in the document, spreadsheet, or presentation manager, then tap the file. If you don’t see the document manager, tap the Back button, then tap the file that you want to open.

If a file is dimmed, it’s not in a compatible format and you can’t open it. You can try to open the file in another iWork app.

Convert a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file to a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file on Mac

You can convert a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file to a Pages, Numbers, or Keynote file from the Finder or from the appropriate app:

From the Finder, Control-click the file, choose Open With, then choose Pages, Numbers, or Keynote.

From the Pages, Numbers, or Keynote app, choose File > Open, select the file, then click Open. If a file is dimmed, it’s not a compatible format.

When the file opens, you might get a message that fonts are missing or that the file will look different in other ways. You might see also see warnings when you open documents created in older versions of the app.

Convert a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote for iCloud

Choose the iWork app that you want to open.

Double-click the file.

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are compatible with a wide variety of file types.

Pages file format compatibility

You can convert Pages documents to these types of files:

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Rich Text Format (RTF/RTFD) (on iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

Plain Text files (TXT) (on iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

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Image (JPEG, PNG, or TIFF)

You can open these types of files in Pages on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and online at iCloud.com:

All Pages versions

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Plain Text files (TXT)

Numbers file format compatibility

You can convert Numbers spreadsheets to these types of files:

Microsoft Excel Office Open XML (XLSX) 1

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Tab Separated Values (TSV) (on iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

Numbers ’09 (Mac only)

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You can convert Keynote presentations to these types of files:

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Animated GIF (on iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

Movie (MOV) (on iPhone, iPad, and Mac), in Apple ProRes or HEVC format

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