how to protect a powerpoint presentation from being copied

7 Ways to Protect PowerPoint Presentation from Editing!

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Isn’t it annoying when you spend hours and hours creating a visually appealing presentation and do all the hard work, only to find out that your colleague or your manager has made changes to the presentation!

Intentional or not, now you’ve got to make the changes to your presentation again; some of which could have been easily avoided if you were able to prevent the presentation file from editing.

Here’s how to protect a PowerPoint presentation file –

• Mark the presentation as “Final”
• Restrict permission to PowerPoint
• Save the presentation as a PowerPoint Show file
• Set a password to modify PowerPoint
• Convert PowerPoint to pictures
• Convert PowerPoint to a PDF
• Convert PowerPoint to a video

There are many applications of knowing how to protect your PowerPoint presentation.

So, in this article, let’s understand the 7 different ways to protect PowerPoint in further detail such that you can ensure that the person you are sharing your presentation with, will not be able to make changes to it.

Let’s get started!

1. How to Protect PowerPoint presentation from Editing?

We shall divide the 7 ways into two groups –

• Prevent PowerPoint file from editing
• Convert PowerPoint to make it uneditable

Prevent PowerPoint File from Editing

There are actually 4 ways in which you can prevent users from editing your PowerPoint presentation.

You can either mark the presentation as final, restrict the presentation by allowing access to specific users, save the presentation as a PPS file or set a password for your presentation.

All the 4 methods and the process to use them are explained elaborately in the following section –

Method 1 – Mark the Presentation as Final 

By marking the PowerPoint presentation as final, the PowerPoint file will become “Read-only” .

Although this method doesn’t restrict people from editing your file. However, they will not be able to save changes to the original file. When using this method, PowerPoint will force users to save another copy of the presentation file; thereby protecting your presentation.

This method is especially helpful when you share the presentation over the same network within your organization or even when the presentation is saved on a cloud. It is also helpful when more than one person is working on the same presentation.

It is not a perfect fix, but a quick fix to the problem for sure.

The process of marking your PowerPoint presentation as final is given below –

Step-1: Click on the “File” tab

The first step of the process is to click on the “ File ” tab, which is the first option in the ribbon of your PowerPoint presentation. This will take you to the backend view of the PowerPoint.

Step-2: Select the “Info” option

After you have accessed the “ File ” tab, select the “ Info ” option which is the 4 th option in the tab. This will take you to a new page in the “ File ” tab.

Step-3: Select the “Protect Presentation” option

The third step is to select the “ Protect Presentation ” option in the “ Info ” section (as shown in the image in step 2). It is the first of the four boxes on the “ Info ” page.

After you click on the “ Protect Presentation ” option, a drop-down menu will appear on your screen.

Step-4: Click on “Mark as Final”

From the drop-down menu, select the “ Mark as Final ” option. It is located at the very bottom of the dropdown menu (as shown in the image in step 2).

Step-5: Hit the “OK” button

After you click on the “ Mark as Final ” option, a pop-up window will appear on your screen.

Simply click on the “ O K” button and the presentation will be saved as final. Once your presentation is “Saved as Final”, you won’t be able to edit this presentation going forward.

Thus, I recommend that you make this change once you’ve finished your presentation.

Method 2 – Restrict Permission  

The next method is to restrict the permissions to edit a PowerPoint presentation.

In my opinion, this is one of the best ways to protect a PowerPoint presentation and to prevent users from editing the PowerPoint file!

By restricting permission, you will be able to allow specific users to access your PowerPoint presentation.

To use this feature in your presentation, follow step-1 through step-3 from the previous section and then follow the easy steps described below.

The first step is to click on the “ File ” tab to enter the backend view of your PowerPoint presentation.

Step-2: Click on the “Info” option

Now, click on the “Info” tab from the options in the left part of your screen.

Step-3: Select the “Restricted Access” option

The next step is to select the “ Restrict Access ” option from the drop-down menu of the “ Protect Presentation ” option. It is the 3 rd option in the drop-down menu (as shown in the image in step 2)

Once you click on the “ Restrict Access ” option, another drop-down menu will appear on your screen. Select the “ Restricted Access ” option which is the second option in the menu.

Step-4: Click on the checkbox

After you click on the “ Restricted Access ” option, a pop-up window will appear on your screen.

From the pop-up window, click on the “ Restrict permission to this presentation ” checkbox. It is located at the top of the pop-up window.

Step-5: Add the email address of the users

In the final step, all you have to do is type in the email addresses of the users with whom you want to share the presentation, in the “ Read ” option.

This will ensure that the users can only view the presentation file and not edit it. After that just click on the “ OK ” button located in the bottom right of the pop-up window.

Now, only the specified users will get permission to view the PowerPoint presentation.

Method 3 – Save the Presentation as a PPS file

Another method to prevent your PowerPoint presentation from editing and thus protecting it is to save the presentation as a PowerPoint Show file or a PPS file.

Saving a presentation as a PPS or PPSX will open the file directly in the presentation show mode when you open the file. Furthermore, when you exit the presentation show mode, the file will close and the user will not be able to access the content on the slides.

To save the presentation as a PPSX file, simply use the file “ Save As ” option, and choose the “ PPS ” file format from the “ File Format ” option.

I’ve written a detailed article on how to use the PPSX file in PowerPoint . If you need the step-by-step guide for the process, click on the link and check out the article for detailed guidance!

Method 4 – Set a Password to Modify PowerPoint  

You can also set a password in order to prevent users from modifying a PowerPoint presentation. This method will prompt a password before opening a presentation.

Although this method will not help if you want to prevent people from editing the file as you will need to provide the password even to view the file. And, once the password is entered, the users will be able to make the changes.

However, this method is super helpful when you want to protect a PowerPoint presentation and prevent it from being access by unintended users.

To set a password to modify your PowerPoint presentation, follow the easy steps given below –

As before, click on the “ File ” tab in PowerPoint. This will open the backend view in PowerPoint from where you can enable additional settings.

Step-2: Select the “Encrypt with Password” option

The first step is to select the “ Encrypt with Password ” option from the drop-down menu. It is the 2 nd option on the menu.

Step-3: Enter your preferred password

After you select the “ Encrypt with Password ” option, a pop-up window will appear on your screen. In that pop-up window, type in your preferred password in the “ Password ” box. After that, click on the “ Ok ” button.

Once you click on the “ OK ” button, you will be taken to a new page in the pop-up window.

Step-4: Re-enter the password

Now, all you have to do is to re-enter the password on this page and then select the “ OK ” button again.

Once done, your PowerPoint presentation will be password protected and users will have to enter the password to access your PowerPoint presentation.

Make PowerPoint Uneditable Permanently? 

In the 4 methods described above, you will be able to prevent or protect your PowerPoint presentation file. More importantly, you will be able to share the PowerPoint presentation with the intended users.

However, if sharing a PowerPoint file is not important, there are other ways in which you can protect your presentation and prevent it from being edited further!

Interestingly, the methods described below will allow you to make a copy of your presentation and make it completely uneditable!

There are 3 ways in which you can make your PowerPoint presentation uneditable permanently.

You can either convert the presentation into a picture or convert it into a PDF file or you can convert it into a video. Let’s take a look at the 3 methods below –

Method 1 – Convert PowerPoint to Picture

The first way to protect your PowerPoint presentation is to convert it to pictures.

To convert your PowerPoint presentation as a picture, you will have to use the “ Save As ” option from the “ File ” tab. Simply choose a picture file format from the “ File Type ” options in the “save as” window.

If you need further guidance on how to carry out this process, check out my other article on how to save PowerPoint as an image for full details.

Method 2 – Convert PowerPoint to a PDF

You can also convert your PowerPoint file to a PDF. This is actually one of the most common methods used when you want to prevent your client or colleague from editing the presentation.

The advantage to save PowerPoint as a PDF over saving it as an image is that when you save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF file, it is saved all the slides in one file just as the case would be in a presentation.

However, when you save a presentation as a Picture, the slides usually get saved as individual images.

Although the process to save a PowerPoint as a PDF is quite similar to that of saving it as an image, but if you are unsure how to do this, check out our other article on how to convert PowerPoint as PDF that details the process in an easy manner!

Method 3 – Convert PowerPoint to a Video

You can also convert your PowerPoint to a Video in order to protect your PowerPoint file!

If you have a lot of animations in your presentation, and you want to retain the animations when you show it to your colleagues or the audience, but you don’t want them to edit the file, then you can convert the presentation to a video format.

This will allow you to retain the animations, and make the presentation uneditable.

Converting a PowerPoint to a video requires you to use the “ Save As ” function. However, there are a few additional things that you may need to keep in mind.

Check out our article on how to convert PowerPoint to Video for a full guide with helpful tips.

2. How to Password Protect a PowerPoint Presentation from Opening? 

You can set a password that users will have to enter before they can access your PowerPoint presentation.

The process to password protect a PowerPoint presentation is elaborately explained in method 4 of the previous section of this article. Simply follow the steps explained in the earlier section and you will be able to add a password to your PowerPoint file.

3. How to Remove Password from a PowerPoint Presentation? 

The process of removing the password from a PowerPoint file is quite straightforward. However, it is important to know the password in order to change or remove the password protection in PowerPoint.

Let’s take a look at how to remove a password from a protected PowerPoint presentation –

3a. If You Know the Password

If you remember the password to your PowerPoint presentation, open the PowerPoint file, go to the “ Encrypt Presentation ” option in the “Info” section of the “ File ” tab and follow the steps given below.

Step-1: Open the “Encrypt Password” option

The first step is to click on the “ File ” tab. Then, from the backend view, click on the “ Info ” option.

Next, click on the “ Protect Presentation ” option, and from the dropdown, select the “ Encrypt with Password ” option.

Step-2: Clear the Password from the box

Once you’ve clicked on the “ Encrypt Presentation ” option, clear the password from the “ Password ” box.

After you’ve cleared the password, simply hit the “ OK ” button, located at the bottom right corner of the pop-up window and the password will be removed immediately.

3b. If You Forget the Password

Unfortunately, there is no direct way of removing a password from your PowerPoint file.

To do this, you will have to use third-party software that will unlock the encrypted PowerPoint file for you.

The software that we would recommend is “iSunshare” . It is free to use, and you will be able to unlock more than just PPT files. To download the software from their website, click here .

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

• Products     NTFS For Mac Smart NTFS drive writer   EaseUS BitWiper Wipe sensitive data   LockMyFile Password protect files   DupFiles Cleaner Find & remove duplicate files     EaseUS DriverHandy Driver update software     Ebook Converter Convert ebook files
• Partner     Affiliate Earn high commission   Reseller Join EaseUS reseller program   Outsourcing Service OEM & Outsourcing Service
• Support     Support Center Guides, License, Contact   Download Download installer   Chat Support Chat with a Technician   Pre-Sales Inquiry Chat with a Sales Rep

EaseUS LockMyFile

EaseUS LockMyFile is a folder / file locker which protects user's privacy and important data from theft, loss or leaks.

• Hide Files/Folders/Drives
• Deny Reading and Writing Files/Folders/Drives
• Monitor Folder Changing and Write Log

How to Protect A PowerPoint Presentation from Being Copied | Protect PowerPoint from Editing

Jean updated on Sep 22, 2023 | Home > File Lock

How to protect a PowerPoint presentation from being copied? When you need to share the important files (includes a year-end summary, secret data sheet...) with others, you may think about such questions like how do I prevent PowerPoint presentations from being copied. To secure your PPT file, you can learn seven easy solutions here.

Method 1. Add Watermark to Copyright A PowerPoint Presentation

To protect a PowerPoint Presentation from being copied, you can add watermarks to copyright your slide. Using a watermark to indicate your individual logo or company logo.

Step 1. Open the PowerPoint Presentation that you want to add a watermark.

Step 2. Click the View tab on the ribbon, go to Slide Master .

Step 3. If you want to insert a watermark on all slides, select the first parent master slide to start. If a single slide, skip the parent slide and choose the selected individual slide.

Step 4. Click the Insert tab from the ribbon.

Step 5. Click the Text Box of the Text section.

• Once a text box appears, fill in the watermark information.
• If you want to change the format of watermark shapes, go to the Format tab on the main PowerPoint ribbon.
• Head on over to the Format tab, click Send Backward, and then choose to Send to Back.

Step 6. Go to the View tab and click Normal to go back to the normal PowerPoint view.

Method 2. Protect Your PowerPoint Files with File Protection Software

Sometimes one file is easy to set restrictions manually, but it still needs to use many steps to set up. Is there a program with simple steps? Yes, EaseUS LockMyFile is a reliable software designed to lock, protect, hide files, folders from local disks and external disks. Download the file protection tool on the computer and click Protecting File button from the left side. Once you set protection on the PPT file, they can read the write-protected files, but nobody can rename, delete modify slides.

 Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7  $49.95 30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Other features of EaseUS LockMyFile:

• Use the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption algorithm to encrypt files to GFL or EXE format.
• Locking the LAN shared folder and restrict access.
• Make data unreachable or invisible with the “Hiding Files” function.
• Monitor file or folder modifying for data security.

Step 1.  Launch EaseUS LockMyFile, enter the valid email, and set password to register. 

Step 2. Click Protecting File under the Local Disk. Select Protect File(s)  , Folder  or drive from the right panel.

A. Add file(s) or folder from the specific location.

B. Click on the Protect Drive to add drive you want to protect. Select drive and click OK .

Step 3.  Check and confirm the files, folder, and drive that you want to protect.

If you want to unprotect the selected files, folder, or drive, tick the target data and click on the Unprotect button.

Method 3. PowerPoint Restrict Access

Another method to protect your data is to restrict PowerPoint access. No one can edit, copy, or print your file.

Step 1. Go to File tab > Info .

Step 2. Choose Protect Presentation and then click Restrict Access from the drop-down menu.

Method 4. Set A Password for PowerPoint File

You can also set a password on file. If anyone wants to view the slides, enter the password first.

Step 1. Choose File tab > Info .

Step 2. Click Protection Presentation and then click Encrypt with Password .

Step 3. Type the password and click OK .

Step 4. Enter the password again to confirm.

Note: Password protection isn't available to ODP (Open Document Presentation) files.

Method 5. Mark Presentation as Final and Make it Read-only

Speaking of preventing PPT files from editing, Mark as Final is a good option to mark the files as the final version and make it read-only.

Step 1. Click the File tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.

Step 2. Choose Info on the left panel, you can see the Protect Presentation part on the right side.

Step 3. Click Protect Presentation and choose Mark as Final .

Method 6. Set Modify Password for Presentation

When you save a PPT file, you can choose to set the modified password. Without a password, you can only read the content and can not modify slides.

Step 1. Go to File > Save as .

Step 2. On the Save as window, click Tools on the bottom. Click General Options .

Step 3. On the General Options window, go to "File sharing settings for this document", type your password for modifying.

Method 7. Make My PowerPoint Uneditable Permanently

How to make PPT uneditable permanently? The quick protection method is to convert PPT as an image.

Step 1. Open the File tab and select Save as on the left corner.

Step 2. Click Save as type box and choose PNG or JPEG format from the menu. Click the Save button.

Step 3. Microsoft PowerPoint will ask you whether you want to export all slides or the current slide. Choose Every Slide and click OK .

Final Words

In this article, we have listed 6 solutions to protect PowerPoint presentations from being copied or edited. Most of the methods are the built-in features of PowerPoint, so you can protect your files easily. And the straightforward software - EaseUS LockMyFile can do much more than protect files from being copied or edited.

Related Articles - ALSO ON EaseUS SOFTWARE

How to Delete Protected Files in Windows 11/10/8/7

How to Password Protect A Notepad Text File in Windows 11/10 with 3 Ways

How to Lock RAR File with Password in Windows 11/10

How to Encrypt a Zip File with Password on Windows and Mac

Success, thanks for submitting!

• Refund Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Do Not Sell

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 EaseUS. All rights reserved.

You’re using an older browser version. Update to the latest version of Google Chrome , Safari , Mozilla Firefox , or  Microsoft Edge for the best site experience.

• eLearning Blog
• eLearning Basics
• Instructional Design
• Corporate Training
• Course Selling
• Manufacturing
• Products iSpring Suite iSpring Learn
• Use Cases Onboarding Compliance Training Induction Training Product Training Channel Partner Training Sales Training Microlearning Mobile Learning
• Company About Us Case Studies Customers Partnership Course Development Contact Us Academy Blog Webinars Guides
• Community Academy Blog Webinars Guides Experts on iSpring
• Language EN English Français Deutsch Español Italiano Nederlands Português Polski 中文 日本語 العربية Indonesia
• Shopping Cart

How to Protect PowerPoint Presentations – Methods that Really Work

Table of Contents

In the Publish Presentation window, select the My Computer tab and head over to the Protection section . 

In the opened window, you can configure the security settings you need. 

1. Copyright your PowerPoint slides by adding a watermark

With iSpring Suite, you can watermark your presentation with, for example, your corporate logo or copyright notice like © 2020 John Smith . It’s possible to set the watermark’s transparency and position on the slides. You can also specify a webpage that will open when your viewers click on the watermark. It could be anything from terms of use to your profile page on a social network site.

2. Set a password

This option is pretty straightforward. You create a password and no one can view your presentation without entering it first.

3.  Restrict time

You can set a special time period when your audience will be able to view your presentation. For example, you can set up a 2-week interval when your slides will be available.

When you’re finished with the settings, save any changes and publish the slides. By default, the output presentation is saved on your PC. You can then transfer it to a pen drive or CD and distribute it to your learners or colleagues.

Method #2. Make Your Presentation Read-Only

This method won’t prevent your copyrighted PPT slides from being copied and shared, but it will protect them from being modified. The upside is that to lock a presentation from editing you don’t need any third-party services – you can do this right in PowerPoint by using the Mark as Final option. When a presentation is marked as final, other users can read and view it, but can’t make any alterations. 

To lock the slides, click the File tab in PowerPoint and choose the Protect Presentation command in the Info pane. In the drop-down menu, select Mark as Final . That will set your presentation in read-only mode.

Method #3. Restrict Permission to Selected Individuals

You can set the restriction to your readers so they can read the presentation but won’t be able to change, print, or copy the content. 

As with the previous method, you can do this right in PowerPoint. Simply go to File → Info → Protect Presentation → Restrict Access . 

However, to grant people access, you need to connect to the Rights Management Service (RMS). It is integrated into Microsoft Office and is available for faculty and staff. Ask your IT department to help you to enable RMS for your account.

Note: RMS allows employees to share restricted documents only within their company or campus. It won’t be possible to share your presentation with individuals that are not your colleagues or faculty members.

We hope this article gave you insights on ways that you can protect your PowerPoint presentations. If you know of any alternative ways to safeguard the slides, please share your ideas in the comment section. 

Useful Resources on PowerPoint

Are you a PowerPoint lover? If so, here are some other helpful articles for you:

• How to Share a PowerPoint Presentation Online
• How to Add Narration to a PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Add YouTube Video Into PPT Presentation
• How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Fast course authoring toolkit

Create online courses and assessments in record time.

Content creator:

Paulina Fox

Passionate about design and tech, Paulina crafts content that helps customers delve deeper into iSpring products.

You might also like this

Subscribe to our blog

Stay tuned to get our latest eLearning tips and tricks!

By clicking “Subscribe”, you agree to our Privacy Policy . All emails include an unsubscribe link, so that you can opt-out at any time.

We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website and also for analytics and marketing purposes. You can enable or disable optional cookies as desired. See our Cookie Policy for more details.

Manage your cookies

Essential cookies are always on. You can turn off other cookies if you wish.

Essential cookies

Analytics cookies

Social media cookies

• Slide Library
• Slide Library for PowerPoint
• Downloadable slides and shapes
• Slide Library search
• Search Library via shortcut keys
• Slide Library update alerts
• Rename or delete objects
• Share Slide Library
• Save slides or shapes to Slide Library
• Save presentation to Slide Library
• Manage Templates
• View all templates and set default
• Agenda Wizard
• Create Agenda Slides
• Update Agenda Slides
• Agenda Slide Numbering
• Navigate via Agenda
• Table of Contents
• Import Agenda Items
• Save Agenda Format
• Manage Colors
• Color Palette Toolbar
• Customize Color Toolbar
• Apply fill with outline color
• Recolor Charts
• View RGB color values & names
• Theme Color Tints and Shades
• Share Color Palette with team
• Insert Shapes
• Standard PowerPoint shapes
• Callouts / Speech Bubbles
• Hand Drawn Circles
• Harvey Balls
• Create Mini Slides
• Move to Multiple Slides
• Right Facing Centered Triangle
• Status Indicators
• Arrange and Align Shapes
• Select same color or size
• Select shapes by attribute
• Align shapes
• Align to first selected shape
• Choose Align anchor point
• Align using shortcut keys
• Copy paste position multiple shapes
• Straighten Lines
• Swap positions
• Distribute evenly
• Set Horizontal Gaps
• Set Vertical Gaps
• Squeeze or expand gaps
• Remove gaps
• Group Objects by Row
• Group Objects by Column
• Send to back, bring to front
• Send backward, bring forward
• Flip or rotate
• Group, ungroup and regroup
• Edit Shapes
• Same height, same width
• Copy paste position, size
• Resize shapes
• Slice shapes
• Multiply shapes
• Stretch shapes and fill gaps
• Toggle line weight and style
• Change margins toggle
• Chevrons same angle
• Paragraph Styles
• Save Paragraph Styles
• Apply Paragraph Styles
• Use PowerPoint Indent Increase/ Decrease to apply bullet styles
• Reset Paragraph Styles
• Ticks and Crosses bullets
• Paint Formatting
• Advanced Format Painter
• Position & Size Painter
• Table Format Painter
• Style Painter
• Text Format Painter
• Change Shape Painter
• Chart Format Painter
• Angles & Curves Painter
• Animation Painter
• Cycle Accent Colors
• Format Text
• Fit text to textboxes
• Wrap Text Toggle
• Merge Textboxes
• Split Textboxes
• Increase/ Decrease Font size
• Change Text Case
• Color Bold Text
• Delete Text or Replace
• Insert Superscript text
• Format Tables
• Create table from text boxes
• Convert table to text boxes
• Convert text to table
• Insert columns and rows
• Paste Excel data without source formatting
• Paste Excel data into text box tables
• Export Table or Box Table Data to Excel
• Set cell margins
• Express Table layout
• Table stripes
• Autofit columns
• Evenly space columns
• Align shapes over tables
• Harvey Balls for Tables
• Status Indicators for Tables
• Customizable PowerPoint Shortcuts
• Extra PowerPoint shortcuts
• Add PowerPoint shortcuts
• Search shortcut keys
• Reassign PowerPoint shortcuts
• Reset PowerPoint shortcuts
• McKinsey PowerPoint shortcuts
• F4 or Ctrl+Y redo or repeat
• Printable PowerPoint Shortcuts PDF
• How to Print a Custom Shortcuts list
• Search Shortcut Keys
• Searchable PowerPoint Shortcuts list
• Format Toolbar Overview
• Format Toolbar Layout Options
• Lock or Unlock Objects
• Lock objects
• Lock objects to the Slide Master
• Unlock objects
• Proofing Tools
• Check Formatting
• Check Fonts
• Check Template
• Check Slide Layout
• Check Content
• Check Punctuation & Spacing
• Reduce File Size
• Flip Slides
• Set Proofing Language
• Change set language for PowerPoint presentations
• Slide Numbering
• Manage Slide Numbering
• Slide Numbers with totals
• Add words to Slide Numbers
• Change Starting Slide Number
• Skip Slide Numbers on Hidden Slides
• Slide Navigator
• Footers & Footnotes
• Filename Footer
• Enlarge Footnotes
• Refine Slides
• Add summary slide
• Format slide title
• Display No Fly Zone
• Send slide to appendix
• Camouflage mode
• Format Painter
• Set Grayscale
• Format Images
• Compress file size
• Format Charts
• Charts Toolbar
• Config Options
• Customize Settings
• Dark Mode Display
• Review Slides
• Customizable Status Stamps
• Sticky Notes
• Tag slides with filename and page number
• Share Slides
• Email selected slides in PPT or PDF format
• Print selected slides
• Save selected slides
• Slide Library for Teams
• Team Slide Library
• Create multiple Team Slide Libraries
• Synchronize Team Slide Libraries
• Synchronize Team Slide Library to your company Dropbox/ Box/ OneDrive folder
• Updating your Team Slide Library
• Import entire presentation to the Slide Library
• Share Slide Library with a colleague
• Share Custom Settings
• Share Custom Settings with Team
• Getting Started
• Getting started with PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint
• Downloadable PowerPoint Elements for Slide Library
• Tutorial - How to Create Custom Paragraph Styles for PowerPoint
• Can I use PPT Productivity on a Mac?
• PPT Productivity Basic Tools Tutorial
• PPT Productivity Plus Tools Tutorial
• New Features
• August 2023 update: Color Toolbar enhancement, new icons and more
• February 2023 update: New Slide Libraries available to download!
• January 2023 Update: Agenda Wizard, Format Painters + More
• How to copy and paste formatting in PowerPoint
• PowerPoint How To
• What are the most popular PowerPoint shortcuts?
• Where are PPT templates stored? Finding templates in PowerPoint
• Pasting data into a PowerPoint table without source formatting?
• Consulting Toolkit
• How to create effective consulting slides using Minto Principles
• Missing the McKinsey PowerPoint Shortcuts?
• Missing the Accenture QPT for PowerPoint?
• Missing the BCG PowerPoint Tools?
• Missing the Bain Toolbox for PowerPoint?
• How to add Stamps or Stickers to PowerPoint slides?
• Looking for a Consulting PowerPoint Toolbar?
• Top 10 PowerPoint Hacks / Shortcuts used by strategy consultants
• PowerPoint Tips

How to protect / lock a PowerPoint presentation?

• September 28, 2020

Unless you protect your PowerPoint document, anyone with access to the .pptx file can open, copy and edit the contents. Here's a guide to how you can protect/ lock your PowerPoint presentations.

This post is part of our hints and tips for standard PowerPoint features.  PPT Productivity is a time saving add-in for PowerPoint.  If you’d like to boost your productivity in PowerPoint and save time aligning, formatting and reusing slides, visit our homepage and download the PPT Productivity free trial today!

To protect your document, go to the file tab in PowerPoint, select Info, then click ‘Protect Presentation’

In the drop-down menu, you will find 4 or 5 options for protecting presentations in PowerPoint (options available depend on which version of PowerPoint you are running): ‘Always Open Read-Only’, ‘Encrypt with Password’, ‘Restrict Access’, ‘Add a Digital Signature’, ‘Mark as Final’.

Note - This article is about general locking of a PowerPoint presentation. However if you want to lock specific shapes on your PowerPoint slide from being edited – visit PPT Productivity's website to learn more about the PPT Productivity shape locking tool for PowerPoint .

Choose which option best suits your needs:

Always Open Read-Only PowerPoint setting prevents accidental changes by displaying a yellow banner at the top of the PowerPoint presentation indicating that the presentation is read only. The reader will need to opt-in to editing the document by clicking the ‘Edit Anyway’ button

Encrypt with Password PowerPoint setting lets you password protect your PowerPoint presentation. A password will be required to open the document. It’s very important to note that if you forget the password, you will not be able to open the presentation.

If your organization uses Microsoft 365, you also have a Restrict Access option in PowerPoint. The Restrict Access option allows people to view the PowerPoint presentation, but prevents them from editing, copying, or printing. To use the Restrict Access option, you need to have Information Rights Access set up on your machine. Find more information about Information Rights Access .

A digital signature adds unique code to a message which only comes from the digital ID held by the true sender. If you choose Add a Digital Signature in PowerPoint, you will need to have a Digital Signature set up.  For more information about Digital Signatures visit the Microsoft Support Page .

Mark as Final PowerPoint setting sets the PowerPoint presentation status to Final. Typing, editing commands and proofing marks are turned off. A yellow banner noting that the document has been marked as final will appear at the top of the presentation. Readers will still be able to Edit the document if they click on the ‘Edit Anyway’ button.

Once you have decided which option is best for your needs, select the relevant option and save your document. Done!

Want to see our tools in action?

Book a personalized demo with our PowerPoint professionals

Download 30 Day Free Trial

Download your 30 day free trial - Microsoft Office for Windows

Related productivity tips

How do I get more icons in PowerPoint?

This hints and tips post gives you an overview of what icons are, why icons in PowerPoint are ...

Can I lock a shape, image or object in PowerPoint? Yes!

With PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint you can now lock shapes, images or other objects in ...

Can I unlock a locked shape in PowerPoint? Yes!

How to unlock shapes that have been locked in PowerPoint? Shapes that have been locked in your ...

How-To Geek

Can i stop people from editing my powerpoint presentation.

Your options depend on your version of Office, but you can at least make editing more difficult.

Quick Links

Use the restrict access feature (business and enterprise only), make your presentation read-only or mark it as final, password protect your presentation, save your presentation as an image.

To preserve the integrity of your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to try to prevent others from editing it. Depending on the Office version you have, there are a few things you can do to block editing, or at least make it more difficult.

You can use the Restrict Access feature to protect your PPTX file from edits, but this feature is only available for Microsoft 365 for Business or Enterprise , and the feature must be enabled by your organization's administrator in the Microsoft 365 admin panel . That means if you're using any version below Microsoft 365 for Business, such as Home or Family, then you won't have this feature.

Related: How to Find Out Which Version of Microsoft Office You're Using (and Whether it's 32-bit or 64-bit)

If you are subscribed to a version that supports this feature, and if the admin of your organization has enabled it, you can locate "Restrict Access" under File > Info > Protect Presentation.

You can then set the restriction types and file access expiration dates.

Visit Microsoft's official doc site to learn more about Information Rights Management and how to use this feature.

Making your presentation read-only or marking it as final doesn't actually make your presentation un-editable. What this does is discourage others from making edits. It's also good for preventing accidental edits, as it makes you opt-in before you're able to make any changes to the content.

Related: How to Make a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Read-only

To make your presentation read-only, or to mark it as final, open your PPTX file and click the "File" tab.

Next, click "Info" in the left-hand pane.

Now, in the Protect Presentation group, click "Protect Presentation."

Once selected, a drop-down menu will appear. You can choose between these two options to make your presentation read-only:

• Always Open Read-Only:  This asks the reader to opt-in to edit the presentation, which prevents accidental edits.
• Mark as Final:  This lets the reader know that this is the final version of the presentation.

Selecting either option will prevent the reader from editing the presentation---unless they opt-in to do so by clicking the "Edit Anyway" button in the banner.

While making your presentation read-only serves a purpose, it's a weak form of protection if you want to truly keep others from editing your content.

Related: How to Unlock Read-Only PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint has an option that lets you encrypt your presentation and only those with the password can access it. Again, this doesn't fully protect the content within the presentation, but if only those with the password have access, the chances of the presentation being edited are certainly lower.

This password isn't stored anywhere on your local machine. Be sure to store the password somewhere safe. If you forget or lose your password, you won't be able to access the presentation again.

To password protect your presentation, open PowerPoint, click the "File" tab, click "Info" in the left-hand pane, and then click the "Protect Presentation" option.

Next, click "Encrypt with Password" from the menu that appears.

The Encrypt Document window will appear. Enter your password in the Password text box and then click "OK."

Reenter the password and then click "OK" again.

Now anyone who tries to open the presentation will need the password to access it.

This method is more secure than simply making your presentation read-only. However, you're merely preventing people from opening the PPTX file. If they have the password, then they can also edit the presentation's content. Be careful who you share the password with. If you're worried the password may have been exposed , change the password immediately.

Related: How to Check if Your Password Has Been Stolen

If you want to deliver your PPTX file to someone, but don't want them to be able to copy or edit the content (easily, at least), then you can convert the PowerPoint presentation to an image file and send it that way.

Open the PowerPoint presentation, click "File," and then click "Save As" in the left-hand pane.

Browse to the location you would like to save the file and then, in the "Save As" box, choose the image file type you would like to save the presentation as. You can choose between:

• Animated GIF Format  (*.gif)
• JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)
• PNG Portable Network Graphics Format (*.png)
• TIFF Tag Image File Format (*.tif)
• Scalable Vector Graphics Format (*.svg)

Related: What's the Difference Between JPG, PNG, and GIF?

Once you save the presentation as an image, you can send it out to the desired recipients.

At the end of the day, there's no solid way to 100% protect your presentation. You can kindly ask recipients not to edit the content, password-protect your presentation so only those you want to have access to it can access it, or convert your presentation to an image or PDF , but even with these measures, if someone wants to edit something, they can always find a way.

Related: How to Save Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations as PDF Files

• Password Recovery Password Refixer Bundle Windows Password Refixer Windows 7 Password Refixer Office Password Refixer Word Password Refixer Excel Password Refixer PowerPoint Password Refixer RAR Password Refixer ZIP Password Refixer PDF Password Refixer Access Password Refixer Outlook Password Refixer SQL Password Refixer WiFi Password Refixer iTunes Password Refixer

• Support Support Center FAQs & Technical Support Download Free Download Center Resources How-to Articles Blog iSumsoft IT Blog

• How to Protect PowerPoint Presentation from Editing and Modifying

Updated: January 11, 2024

If you don't want others to open and modify your PowerPoint presentation, you can lock the presentation. Here, this guide will introduce several ways to protect a presentation file from being copied, edited, and changed by unauthorized others.

• Option 1: Marking as final
• Option 2: Restrict Access
• Option 3: Encrypt with Password

Option 1: Make the presentation read-only

If you want to let people know that a presentation shouldn't be changed, you can use the Mark as Final feature. When a presentation is marked as final, typing, editing, commands, and proofing marks are disabled or turned off and the presentation becomes read-only .

Step 1: Click the  File  tab to go to Backstage view.

Step 2: From the  Info  pane, click the  Protect Presentation  command.

Step 3: In the drop-down menu, choose the option that best suits your needs. select  Mark as Final .

Step 4: A dialog box will appear prompting you to save, click  OK .

Step 5: Another dialog box will appear, click  OK .

When you mark a presentation as final, PowerPoint asks you to save the file. The next time you open it, you will see a yellow  MARKED AS FINAL  message at the top of the file. If you click  Edit Anyway , the presentation will no longer be marked as final.

Option 2: Set Restrict Access to Prevent Others from Editing

If you want to prevent people from editing it, you can use the  Restrict Access  option:

Step 1: Click on File tab to go to Backstage view.

Step 2: In Info tab, click Protect Document button. And then select Restrict Access option.

Option 3: Set a Password for Modify Presentation

To protect PowerPoint 2010/2013/2016 presentation, use these steps as follows:

Step 1: Click on the File tab, choose Save As option. Select one location you will save this *.pptx file.

Step 2: In the  Save As  dialog, click the  Tools  button at the bottom and then select  General Options .

Step 3: Type a password in the  Password to modify  box and click  OK . Reenter the password to modify and click  OK  to confirm. When you return back to the  Save As  dialog, click  Save  to save this presentation.

Then the password to modify will lock this PowerPoint 2016 presentation and prevent it from being edited or modified. Keep your password in a safe place. If you lose or forget the password, Microsoft won't help recover it and you have to remove the password with a third-party utility like PowerPoint Protection Refixer .

Related Articles

Latest Articles

• 4 Ways to Encrypt/Password Protect an Email Attachment in Outlook or Gmail
• 3 easy ways to find out what Microsoft Word version you have on Windows
• 8 ways to make a Word Document containing images smaller without losing quality
• How to Repair Excel File Corrupted by Virus
• [Solved] Word Experienced an Error Trying to Open the File Windows 10
• How to Fix "PowerPoint Found a Problem with Content in .PPTX"

Hot Articles

• How to See Saved Passwords in MS Outlook 2016
• How to Remove Red and Green Wavy Underlines in Word Document
• Fix Picture is Blurry When Inserted to Word Document Problem
• How to Activate Microsoft Office for Free

Support Team: support#isumsoft.com(Replace # with @) Sales Team: sales#isumsoft.com(Replace # with @)

• Top Products
• Windows Password Refixer
• iPhone Passcode Refixer
• RAR Password Refixer
• iOS Refixer

Copyright © 2024 iSumsoft Studio All Rights Reserved.

Protect PowerPoint Presentation

How to protect a powerpoint being copied, restrict access & lock editing.

• Stop unauthorized access
• Stop sharing and distribution
• Strong US Gov strength encryption, DRM and licensing controls

• Stop editing, copying and screen grabs
• Stop printing or control the number of prints
• Lock PDF files to devices and locations

• on a fixed date
• after a number of days use
• after a number of views and/or prints

• revoke a document for all users instantly
• revoke individual user access to single, multiple, or all documents
• revoke access automatically after a number of views and/or prints

You only have to protect a document once in order to customize it for multiple users.

• track and log document views
• track and log document prints
• see what devices & operating systems users are using

• Ensure only authorized parties can view confidential documents
• Enforce document retention policies with automatic expiry
• Log use for proof of when documents are viewed and printed

• Protect revenue and increase ROI – reduce losses and costs
• Take control over your IPR, prevent document leakage & theft
• No cost per document or user – one fixed price for unlimited use

  Free Trial & Demo

“Fantastic product… outstanding support.”

“We would recommend Locklizard to others”

“The clear leader for PDF DRM protection”

“Our ebook sales have gone through the roof”

“Simple & secure – protects IPR from theft”

Trusted by:

Protect powerpoint slides: restrict access, prevent editing & copying, add expiration.

  How can I protect PowerPoint presentations?

So, you have invested hundreds of hours into creating your PowerPoint presentations, and now you realize you need to protect them.  Though they are often overlooked, PowerPoint presentations carry plenty of information that could harm a business.  Anything from revenue figures to acquisition prospects or client details may be presented at one point or another.

After the meeting concludes, the ppt or pptx file is often shared unprotected with the participants to recap, leading to their inevitable leak.  Training companies that sell PowerPoint presentations as part of course materials also need to prevent them from being copied and shared with users that have not purchased them, or from being edited and sold on.

Below are the security options available to protect presentation slides (.pptx files) so you can prevent them from being shared, copied and edited.

  Are PowerPoints subject to copyright protection?

You have probably wondered ‘Does copyright protect powerpoint diagrams?’.  Just as with any media, you have an inherent right to control the distribution of content inside your PowerPoint presentation (provided it was created by you).  This extends to images, text, video, etc.  However, legally holding the rights to a work does very little to prevent it from being copied and distributed without your permission.  You can add a copyright symbol and disclaimer to your PowerPoint slides, but it’s likely it’ll just be ignored and can be easily removed.  If copyright notices were an effective way of preventing unauthorized distribution, piracy would be virtually non-existent.

In other words, it’s down to you to enforce your copyright by using the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and lawyers.  You could take somebody to court every time they infringe your copyright, but that would be costly, time-consuming, and wouldn’t erase the harm they’d already done.  It’s better to take measures to stop them from being able to do so in the first place.

  Password protect PowerPoint

Applying passwords to protect PowerPoint files (PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPPX)  is the cheapest solution for PowerPoint Security (it is free with PowerPoint) but also the least secure.

There are two types of passwords that can be used to password protect PowerPoint files:

• the open password which is used to restrict access
• the modify password which is used to restrict editing

Both have major weaknesses:

• The open password can be cracked (if unknown), or shared or removed (if known).
• The modify password is very easy to remove as it does not utilize encryption.  It’s primarily intended to stop accidental editing rather than unauthorized editing.  Once a user can edit a PowerPoint they have full control over it and can remove watermarks and copyright notices.

Here’s how easy it is to remove password protection in PowerPoint:

  How to open a password-protected PowerPoint file

   How to edit a protected PowerPoint presentation

It is really easy to remove edit restrictions in PowerPoint.  Users can:

• copy and paste content to another presentation
• save or print to PDF and then convert back to PPTX format
• screenshot to bypass the restrictions

• https://passper.imyfone.com/powerpoint-password-recovery/
• https://www.elcomsoft.com/aopr.html
• https://www.isumsoft.com/powerpoint-protection-refixer/

How to password protect a PowerPoint presentation & restrict opening

If you want to add an open/viewing password to your document despite the flaws mentioned above, this is how you do it:

  How to password protect a PowerPoint presentation & restrict editing

If you’d like to lock a PowerPoint from editing with a password despite its drawbacks (perhaps you just want to stop accidental editing) here’s how:

You will see that even Microsoft warns you that an editing password is not a secure feature and will not stop malicious users from editing or copying the document.  Though it does restrict editing in PowerPoint, it only does so on a surface level.  Users can easily remove the editing protecting using the techniques outlined above.

  Lock a PowerPoint from editing by converting it to images

Before we move on to other protection solutions, it’s worth quickly clarifying claims that saving your PowerPoint presentation as images will permanently prevent editing.

You can’t easily edit or copy text from an image, right?  Well, that’s not quite true.  Optical character recognition tools can take the images and turn them right back into an editable PowerPoint file again.

  PowerPoint read only mode & preventing editing

PowerPoint’s read-only mode lets you restrict editing without the use of a password.  It does so by displaying a warning message when users try to edit text or images.

If you want to save or make a PowerPoint read only or lock PowerPoint from editing, then you need to save it as a PDF and protect it with Locklizard Safeguard.

• Recipients need to have purchased the full version of PowerPoint to view your protected presentations (the free PowerPoint Viewer does not support IRM).  This is not ideal if you work with freelancers or external parties.
• You have to specify who the recipients are when you protect the PowerPoint presentation file.  This makes it very inconvenient if you want other users to access this at a later date (you will have to protect it all over again).  Clearly, this is a system designed purely for internal use and requires you to know from the start ALL the users that will ever want to access this presentation.
• Access controls are unhelpful.  You either give users read access (no permission to modify, copy print), change access (modify, copy, but no print), or full control (same rights as the author – can modify, print, set expiry).  So, if you want users to be able to print your PowerPoint Presentations you have to let them copy, edit, modify, and change expiry too.  Far from ideal from a security standpoint.
• The system does not prevent third-party screen grabbers from taking screenshots of your PowerPoint slides.
• Links to external sources (MP3/MP4 files, etc.) are not protected, so your video and audio is available for everyone to copy and share.

In conclusion, using Microsoft IRM for PowerPoint Security is only helpful in limited situations, and it does not completely protect PowerPoint presentations.  Even Azure information protection restrictions can be bypassed if a user has been given view access.

Once your PowerPoint presentation has been converted to a PDF file, you can secure it using Safeguard PDF Security.

Safeguard PDF Security protects PowerPoint presentations from unauthorized:

• screen grabbing

Safeguard PDF Security automatically locks PowerPoint slides to authorized devices so they cannot be shared.  You restrict who can access your protected PowerPoint slides, the amount of time they can be viewed, and whether they can be printed.  And if you decide that you no longer want users to be able to view them, then you can instantly revoke access.

You choose:

• when your presentations expire (if at all) – number of views, days, prints, or fixed date
• whether they can be printed – deny or allow printing or limit the number of prints
• if they should be revoked – revoke presentations anytime regardless of where they are located
• whether content should be watermarked at view/print time dynamically with personal user identifying information

And with  Safeguard Enterprise PDF DRM  you can:

• control the locations users can view your PowerPoint presentations (country & IP location) to ensure confidential material can only be viewed from, say, the office
• track and log when slides are viewed and printed

Though it is tempting to use something like Adobe Acrobat or Foxit PDF password protection , these have the exact same problem as PowerPoint password protection – the modify permissions are easily removed and the document open protection  does not prevent unauthorized sharing.

  How to save a PowerPoint presentation as a secure PDF

The process of locking a PowerPoint presentation file to prevent it from being copied/edited is a two-step one: save to PDF, followed by protection in Safeguard Secure PDF Writer.

How to convert a Powerpoint to PDF

Note that converting a PowerPoint to a PDF will naturally remove its functionality as an interactive presentation.

How to lock a PowerPoint from editing and copying with Locklizard Safeguard

Once you have converted your PowerPoint to PDF, protecting it with Safeguard is a simple matter:

Creating a protected presentation

Encrypting a PowerPoint without passwords using Safeguard PDF DRM

Safeguard Admin System

• Distribute your protected PDF however you like, or see how to share a PDF document as a link for instructions on sharing via cloud storage.

For a more detailed guide see  how to add security to a PDF or check our blog on how to lock a Word doc , which has many parallels to PowerPoint security.

The strength of your watermarks depends on the strength of your copy protection and editing restrictions.  If your editing restrictions are easily removed then so is your watermark – the user can just delete the watermark in PowerPoint.  As we’ve already covered, PowerPoint’s editing restrictions are useless, so PowerPoint watermarks are too.

You can see how to add or insert a watermark in PowerPoint here which also explains just how easy it is for users to remove them.

  How can you set expiration in PowerPoint?

It is not possible to set a PowerPoint to expire without the help of third-party applications or IRM services.  Though there is an add-in called PPTExpire, it has been in development for years and is yet to release to the public.  Plugins of this sort also typically pose a security risk and do not work as advertised.

One option is to upload your PowerPoint to OneDrive and share a link with an expiration date.  However, this will give you far less protection than you anticipate.  Browsers are unable to effectively enforce anti-copying controls because they just do not have enough control over the operating system.

  How to set a PowerPoint to expire with Safeguard Security

In Safeguard Secure PDF Writer, choose the expiry options you want to apply:

• Expiration Date – expires on the date that you select here.
• After n days from first use – expires a number of days after it is first opened.
• Views – expires after it has been viewed n times.
• Prints – expires after it has been printed n times.

Expiry days, views, and prints are allocated on a user basis – so the same file can expire at different times for individual users.

Once you have chosen your PowerPoint expiration date options, press the Publish button.

Locklizard uses US government-strength AES encryption, public key technology, Digital Rights Management, and licensing controls to ensure your presentations remain protected regardless of their location.  If you want to make or save a PowerPoint as read only then only DRM protection can achieve this.

See our  customer testimonials  or read our  case studies  to see why thousands of organizations use Locklizard PDF security to protect, share and sell their documents securely.

Protecting Microsoft Office files

Looking to protect other MS-Office files to restrict access, copying, editing, printing and sharing?

Can PowerPoints be encrypted?

Most document formats can be encrypted, including PowerPoints.  If you password protect PowerPoint files it will encrypt them using AES encryption.

However, it’s important to be aware of the strength of the encryption and encryption mechanism .  Password-based encryption is inherently less secure, because it takes (for example) a random, 256-bit encryption key and links it to a short, human-chosen, and often insecure string of characters.  Microsoft state that “You cannot enable a strong encryption file by using password protection.”

How do I password protect PowerPoint files?

• Select File > Info.
• Select Protect Presentation > Encrypt with Password.
• In the Password field, enter the password and press OK.
• Re-enter the password to confirm it.
• Save the PPT / PPTX file so that the password takes effect.

Is there a way to encrypt PowerPoint slides?

Though you can’t encrypt individual slides within a larger PowerPoint presentation or Show, you can export those slides as a PDF and use a PDF DRM solution to encrypt them.  This has the additional advantage of not relying on password security.

Does Locklizard use asymmetric or symmetric encryption to protect Powerpoint slides?

We use both.  RSA asymmetric encryption for key exchange and AES 256 bit symmetric encryption for file encryption.

What is PowerPoint protected view or protected mode?

Protected view or protected mode is a read-only mode that is automatically applied to MS Office file types when the file has potentially come from an unsafe location.  It is used to protect users from viruses and other malicious code from being executed rather than a copy protection feature to restrict editing or make a PowerPoint read only.  It is not the same as creating a read-only file that cannot be edited.

Why can’t you bypass a password-locked PowerPoint document without brute force?

PowerPoint uses 256-bit AES to encrypt the entire pptx document or ppt files.  This form of encryption would take current computers millions of years to break, and Microsoft’s implementation does not have any known shortcuts or vulnerabilities.

However, to say that you can’t bypass the document without brute force is not true.  As a password is used to unlock the document, any of the traditional password attack methods can be utilized.  This includes obtaining it from a party who already knows it through social engineering, phishing, etc.

How do I protect a PowerPoint from being changed or make it read only?

Convert it to a PDF, then encrypt it and apply editing controls with a PDF DRM solution to make it read only.  The same applies if you want to copyright protect a pptx file to read only or make a ppt uneditable permanently.

PowerPoint’s editing protection is easily bypassed, protected view mode can be turned off, and converting to images doesn’t work either as they can be run through an OCR recognition tool.

How do I protect a PowerPoint presentation from being copied?

Unauthorized copying is all but impossible to prevent.  Instead, you need to:

• Make any copied file useless (inaccessible without a requisite license file)
• Lock the presentation to a device so it cannot be shared
• Restrict editing, copy and paste, screenshots and printing
• Add watermarks that identify users should they share a printed or photographed copy

Locklizard Safeguard DRM can achieve all of these goals, stopping users from making a copy of your presentation and protecting your important files and intellectual property.

How do I remove encryption from a PowerPoint presentation?

It depends on the method of encryption.  If you applied PowerPoint password encryption (used to password protect PowerPoint files), you’ll need to either obtain and enter the password or brute force it.  Documents encrypted with Locklizard Safeguard do not use passwords, and therefore encryption cannot be removed.  The only way to obtain an unencrypted version of the document is to ask the creator for it.

Does adding a digital signature make a PowerPoint file more secure?

A digital signature is an invisible signature used for authentication purposes.  It differs from an electronic signature (a visible image of your written signature) but can be used in conjunction with it.  A digital signature is an encrypted stamp of authentication and is created by using a signing certificate, which if issued by a reputable Certificate Authority, proves identity.

Adding a digital signature to a PowerPoint presentation confirms that the information originated from the signer and has not been altered.  Recipients need your certificate and public key to verify the signature.  So, if users remove editing restrictions from a PowerPoint presentation and alter it after it has been digitally signed then you will be alerted to this.

How do you share a PowerPoint securely?

First of all, by avoiding OneDrive and other cloud sharing services.  Browser security is too easily to manipulate and bypass, not to mention the freely available download button Microsoft provides.  So if it is your responsibility to protect PowerPoint presentations from being shared then you need to look at more secure alternatives.

The most secure way to share PowerPoint files is to save them as a PDF, protect them with Safeguard DRM, and then send the encrypted .pdc file to the recipient or distribute it by other means.  This is also the most secure way to share PowerPoint files online.  While one might be tempted to use Azure information protection (RMS) or Adobe Document Cloud security , they both have multiple security issues, are complex to setup / maintain, and costly.

If I use a password to protect PowerPoint files will it restrict access?

You can use a password to restrict access to PowerPoint files.  However, bear in mind that if you want to share a PowerPoint securely, then anyone you give the password to can share it with others or just remove it.  If you therefore use a password to protect PowerPoint files, you have no control over who can access your PowerPoint presentations or slides.

Does Locklizard provide Digital Rights Management for PPT and PPTX files?

PPT and PPTX files have to be saved to PDF format before they can be protected with Locklizard DRM.

How to save a PowerPoint as a secure PDF?

• Within PowerPoint, save the PowerPoint deck or presentation to a PDF (File menu > Save As > Save as type: PDF).
• While you can password protect a PDF the restrictions or permissions are so easy for users to remove they are not worth adding to begin with.
• If you want to secure the PDF and prevent sharing, stop copying, restrict editing, block printing, set expiration and enforce watermarks, then use Locklizard Safeguard to protect it.

Customer Testimonials

We needed to deliver e-book versions of our handbooks while not compromising on security and digital rights.  Safeguard PDF security is easy to use and intuitive. The implementation was painless and we now have a greener, more secure way of distributing training manuals.

Locklizard’s PDF protection is exactly as described – the features are highly effective and I would give it 5 stars. I would recommend Locklizard to others - their security is simple to use and fit for purpose.  It meets common needs of businesses who have information they want to protect.

We would be happy to recommend Locklizard to any company needing a flexible way to secure PDF files. Safeguard PDF Security has provided us with a very workable solution for sharing of information in a secure fashion.  The support has been excellent and very accommodating.

We can cut accounts for a user five minutes before his class starts and he is ready to go. Happy smiling customer, while we still have security and personalized watermarking. I have immense respect for the product and Locklizard provide great customer satisfaction and service.

We would recommend Safeguard to other companies for its security, cost and ease of use. It does what we expected it to do and more. Ease of use is a bonus and the implementation was very easy.  The product manual is excellent and Locklizard staff are very accommodating.

We sell a highly valued educational product in an open and competitive market so it was important to ensure we had effective security to protect our digital rights. We highly recommend Locklizard - a professional company with a competitive and professional PDF Security product.

We would absolutely recommend both Locklizard as a company, and Safeguard PDF Security.  It has transformed our study materials to the next level. Not only did this increase sales, but we also believe that it has increased our customers’ ability to learn, which is even more important!

We would recommend Locklizard Safeguard to other companies that need to protect PDF reports.  Customers have found the process of accessing the protected documents to be seamless. Implementation was easy and technical support has been very responsive to requests for help.

Our company would without reservation recommend Locklizard.  Their document DRM software opens up delivery of our new products in a timely fashion while knowing that the content will remain secure. The return on investment to our company has been immediately evident.

We use Safeguard to make sure that documents cannot be opened outside our local network or from a unauthorized computer in order to copy or print the documents. It is the most feature rich, affordable, & simple to use PDF security product on the market.

Safeguard PDF Security is simple to administer and meets our needs, consistently delivering secured manuals to our customers with ease. Return on investment has been elimination of many man hours, printing resources and postage – it is estimated that costs decreased by 50% or more.

We would really recommend Safeguard PDF Security to every publishing company for managing ePubs or e-books securely.  It is easy to secure PDF files and simple to distribute them to our authorized customers only. Locklizard also provides a good customer support experience.

The ROI for us is incalculable.  We have the security of knowing that our proprietary documents are secure.  This is the entire value of our company. I would most certainly recommend your PDF security product and already have.  The ease of implementation was surprising.

We can now sell our manuals without the need to print them first, saving time, money and helping safeguard the environment. We would recommend Safeguard PDF DRM – it is the perfect solution to sell and send e-documents securely whilst making sure someone cannot copy them.

We would recommend Locklizard to other companies without hesitation. Their PDF DRM products provide a manageable, cost effective way to protect intellectual investment and they are always looking for ways to improve them.  Moreover, their staff provide an excellent level of support.

Try Safeguard today

Start protecting your PDF files and documents from sharing & piracy

DRM Software Safeguard Safeguard Enterprise

• eCommerce API
• Command Line
• USB Protect
• Web Publisher
• Own Branding
• Custom Email

Secure PDF Viewers

SECURITY FEATURES

Purchase & Pricing Instant Quote

FAQs Locklizard Blog Knowledgebase Security Guides White Papers Viewer Demo Videos

Secure Viewers

Writers Product Manuals FREE Trial

DOCUMENT SECURITY

Share Documents Securely Protect Online Courses Stop Ebook Piracy Document Encryption Secure PDF Distribution Protect Confidential Documents Ebook DRM

Protect PDF Files

• PDF Copy Protection
• Lock PDF files
• Encrypt PDF

INDUSTRY SECTORS

Our DRM Technology

• What is DRM?
• Case Studies
• Testimonials

Locklizard vs Competitors

• Secure Data Rooms

Company Brochure

[email protected] [email protected]

Business Hours: Mon – Fri: 8AM to 5PM EST Tel (US): +1 800 707 4492 Tel (UK): +44 (0)1292 430290

© Copyright 2004-2024 Locklizard Limited. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | GDPR Policy | Cookie Policy | SITE MAP

Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Claim Your FREE Training Module and Get Your Time Back!

Protect Your Presentation (PowerPoint Picture Presentation)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Strategies & Opinions
• November 4, 2014

In this article, you will learn two different ways to protect your PowerPoint presentation by converting all your slides into pictures.

For example, your client insists that you send your presentation as a native PowerPoint file so that they can go through it slide by slide in Presentation Mode on their computer.

How do you do this while making sure that the content of your presentation isn’t easily edited or copy/pasted?

The fastest and least complicated way to protect your presentation is to turn all your slides into pictures.

There are two different methods for achieving this:

• A fast method, using the PowerPoint Picture Presentation file format
• A longer (sneakier) method, using the PowerPoint Photo Album command

The advantage of the first method is speed, the advantage of the second method is file size.

The fastest way to pull this off is to save your presentation directly as a PowerPoint Picture Presentation and you’re done!

Notice that the file size for the longer method is almost half the file size of the faster method (based on a deck of 31 slides). As such, if you are emailing a larger deck, the longer method is the way to go.

Below are the tutorials for both methods depending on whether you are looking for speed or file size.

You can also protect your presentation with a password in the Read Only Mode , see our guide here .

Trick #1: The Picture Presentation

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Youtube . To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

1. Launch the 'Save As' dialog box

Within your PowerPoint presentation, hit F12 on your keyboard, to open the Save As  dialog box and select a location on your computer to save your presentation (I’ve selected the desktop below).

2. Select the 'PowerPoint Picture Presentation' option

Within the dialog box, scroll down to PowerPoint Picture Presentation .

3. Name and save your presentation

Rename your PowerPoint presentation, click Save  and PowerPoint will go to work. When it’s done, you’ll get a message confirming that presentation has been saved to the location you selected.

Trick #2: The Photo Album Trick

Within your PowerPoint presentation, hit F12 on your keyboard to launch the Save As  dialog box.

Select a location that you will remember so that you can later retrieve the pictures (which we will do in the next step). I typically choose my desktop.

2. Select a picture file format

With a location selected, use the Save as type  drop down and select a picture file format to save your slides in. I typically choose the PNG file format but JPEG work too.

3. Click 'Save' to export all your slides as pictures

Once you’ve picked your picture file format, select Save , which presents you with a dialog box.  Select All Slides  on the left.

PowerPoint takes a moment to export all your slides as pictures and create a folder in the file location you chose in step 1 above.

So what just happened?

If you now navigate to the location you exported the slides as pictures to, you should have a folder named after your presentation, with each of your slides saved within it as a picture, named Slide 1 through however many slides you had in your presentation.

4. Open a blank document and insert a 'Photo Album'

Inside your PowerPoint presentation:

• Navigate to the Insert tab
• Select the Photo Album command to launch the photo album dialog box.

5. Navigate to where your pictures are saved

Within the Photo Album dialog box, use the File/Disk command on the left to navigate to where you exported the pictures of your slides to.

6. Select all of your pictures

Once you navigate to where the pictures are saved, select all the pictures within the folder. You can quickly do this by selecting one of the pictures and hitting CTRL + A on your keyboard for the Select All shortcut .

7. Select 'Create'

Once all of the pictures load into the Photo Album dialog box (notice they are all in the correct sequence) select Create .

8. Delete the first slide

Now that your new PowerPoint presentation is created, it has a title slide that says Photo Album . You can choose to keep this slide if you want to do something with it, otherwise select it and hit Delete .

9. Fix the slide dimensions (optional)

If you are using PowerPoint 2013 and you don’t want the widescreen dimensions, navigate to the Design Tab in the ribbon, and select the ‘Slide Size’ command on the far right. Within the drop down, select Standard (4:3) .

For additional details and help with changing your PowerPoint slide size, read our guide here .

10. Select 'Maximize Slide'

You are now presented with a dialog box. Within the dialog box, select Maximize to revert your PowerPoint presentation to the 4:3 slide size.

What do you now have?

The result is that you now have a native PowerPoint presentation, with all of your slides pasted in as pictures that cannot be directly edited. Notice that if you select the slide itself, the Pictures Tools Format Tab opens.

Note:  Make sure you make all of your adjustments to your presentation BEFORE you export everything as pictures, like properly adding your slide numbers to your presentation ( see our how to guide here ).

Once your presentation is in this picture format, no one can edit it (including you). Any changes you want to make to your presentation, will have to be made to the original PowerPoint file, and then exported as pictures again.

11. Save your PowerPoint presentation

As a last step, make sure to save a copy of your new PowerPoint presentation. Either hit CTRL + S on your keyboard for Save, or F12 on your keyboard for Save As. Once it’s saved, you can then safely send it to your client without worrying about losing the PowerPoint slideshow functionality OR leaving your content unprotected.

This is a roundabout way to protect your presentation by turning it into a photo album.

Those are two different ways to protect your PowerPoint presentation by converting your slides into pictures.  While this maintains the integrity of your content, you do lose all your animations or other special effects you applied to your slides.

I recommend using the PowerPoint Picture Presentation method simply because it is faster. The only downside of this method is it results in a larger overall file size.

If you do not need to present your PowerPoint presentation, an alternative method to protect your presentation is to convert PowerPoint to PDF .

If you enjoyed the depth of this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint speed training courses and other free resources here . 

What’s Next?

Related articles.

• Bar chart trick: Right aligning categories (PPT, Word, and Excel)
• PowerPoint settings: program level vs. presentation level
• Set Up Slide Show: Customize how your PPT presentations run
• What is the Popup Toolbar in PowerPoint?
• Strikethrough Shortcut (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) for Word, Excel & PowerPoint

About The Author

Popular Tutorials

• How to Strikethrough Text (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) in Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• How to Make Animated Fireworks in PowerPoint (Step-by-Step)
• How to Create a Flash Card Memory Game in PowerPoint (Like Jeopardy)
• Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working: Solved

PowerPoint Tutorial Categories

• Shortcuts & Hacks
• Presentation Design
• Pictures, Icons, Videos, Etc.
• New Features
• Miscellaneous
• Charts & Data Viz

We help busy professionals save hours and gain peace of mind, with corporate workshops, self-paced courses and tutorials for PowerPoint and Word.

Work With Us

• Corporate Training
• Presentation & Template Design
• Courses & Downloads
• PowerPoint Articles
• Word Articles
• Productivity Resources

Find a Tutorial

• Free Training
• For Businesses

We help busy office workers save hours and gain peace of mind, with tips, training and tutorials for Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.

Master Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Secure Your FREE Training Module and Save Valuable Time!

⌛ Master time-saving expert techniques.

🔥 Create powerful presentations.

🚀 Propel your career to new heights.

We value your privacy – we keep your info safe.

Discover PowerPoint Hacks Loved by Industry Giants - KKR, AmEx, HSBC!

Over 114,880 professionals in finance, marketing and sales have revolutionized their PPT skills with our proven methods. 

Gain FREE access to a full module of our premium PowerPoint training program – Get started today!

We hate spam too and promise to keep your information safe.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook . To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

• Get started with computers
• Learn Microsoft Office
• Apply for a job
• Improve my work skills
• Design nice-looking docs
• Getting Started
• Smartphones & Tablets
• Typing Tutorial
• Online Learning
• Basic Internet Skills
• Online Safety
• Social Media
• Zoom Basics
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Career Planning
• Resume Writing
• Cover Letters
• Job Search and Networking
• Business Communication
• Entrepreneurship 101
• Careers without College
• Job Hunt for Today
• 3D Printing
• Freelancing 101
• Personal Finance
• Sharing Economy
• Decision-Making
• Graphic Design
• Photography
• Image Editing
• Learning WordPress
• Language Learning
• Critical Thinking
• For Educators
• Translations
• Staff Picks
• English expand_more expand_less

PowerPoint 2013  - Finalizing and Protecting Presentations

Powerpoint 2013  -, finalizing and protecting presentations, powerpoint 2013 finalizing and protecting presentations.

PowerPoint 2013: Finalizing and Protecting Presentations

Lesson 28: finalizing and protecting presentations.

/en/powerpoint2013/reviewing-presentations/content/

Introduction

Before sharing a presentation, you'll want to make sure it doesn't include any information you want to keep private. You may also want to discourage others from editing your file. Fortunately, PowerPoint includes several tools to help finalize and protect your presentation

Optional: Download our practice presentation .

The Document Inspector

Whenever you create or edit a presentation, certain personal information may be added to the file automatically. You can use the Document Inspector to remove this type of information before sharing a presentation with others.

Because some changes may be permanent, it's a good idea to use Save As to create a backup copy of your presentation before using the Document Inspector.

To use the Document Inspector:

• Click the File tab to go to Backstage view .

Protecting your presentation

By default, anyone with access to your presentation will be able to open, copy, and edit its content unless you protect it. There are several ways to protect a presentation, depending on your needs.

To protect your document:

• From the Info pane, click the Protect Presentation command.

Marking a presentation as final will not prevent someone from editing it. If you want to prevent people from editing it, you can use the Restrict Access option instead.

• Open an existing PowerPoint presentation. If you want, you can download our practice presentation .
• Use the Document Inspector to check the presentation. If you're using the example, remove all personal information from the presentation.
• Protect the presentation by marking it as final.

/en/powerpoint2013/modifying-themes/content/

How To Protect PowerPoint Presentation? (4 TIPS TO KEEP YOUR PRESENTATION SAFE)

PowerPoint presentations are a valuable tool for business professionals and academics alike, providing a platform for both creativity and knowledge sharing.

However, with the ever-growing threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches, it is important to take measures to ensure these presentations are kept safe and secure.

In this article, we will explore how to protect PowerPoint presentations, outlining the benefits and risks associated with this task, as well as provide 4 tips to help you keep your presentation safe.

Table of Contents

Short Answer

One way to protect a PowerPoint presentation is to set a password.

This will ensure that only people with the password can open, edit, or print the presentation.

Additionally, it can be beneficial to save the presentation in a secure, encrypted format to ensure that even if someone were to gain access to the file, they wouldn’t be able to read the contents.

Lastly, it is important to make regular backups of the presentation so that there is a copy available if something goes wrong.

What is PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is a powerful presentation software developed by Microsoft and part of the Microsoft Office suite.

It is a versatile program that allows users to create and share engaging multimedia presentations with ease.

With PowerPoint, you can add slides, images, audio, video, animations, and more to create a professional and visually appealing presentation.

The software also offers a wide range of features, such as the ability to collaborate in real-time with others and embed interactive polls, quizzes, and surveys into your slides.

PowerPoint is an incredibly useful tool for business professionals, educators, and students alike, allowing them to communicate their ideas and messages in an engaging and effective way.

Benefits of Protecting PowerPoint Presentations

Protecting PowerPoint presentations is an important step in ensuring that your presentation is secure and remains accessible. There are numerous benefits to protecting your presentations, such as:

1. Increased Security: Password-protecting your presentation ensures that only those with the correct password can access it, thus preventing unauthorized access or sharing of your presentation. Additionally, backing up your presentation to a secure cloud storage system such as Dropbox or Google Drive makes sure that your presentation is safe from accidental deletion or malicious attacks.

2. Data Protection: By password-protecting your presentation, you can also protect the data contained within the presentation from being accessed or stolen. This is especially important if you are presenting confidential information, such as financial data, customer information, or other sensitive data.

3. Peace of Mind: Knowing that your presentation is secure and protected can provide peace of mind, allowing you to focus on the presentation itself rather than worrying about its security.

4. Increased Flexibility: Saving your presentation to a secure cloud storage system, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, gives you the flexibility to access your presentation from any device, at any time. This can be especially useful if you need to make changes to your presentation while you are away from your computer.

By taking the necessary steps to protect your PowerPoint presentations, you can ensure that your presentation is secure and remains accessible.

This can be invaluable if you are presenting confidential information or need to make changes to your presentation while you are away from your computer.

Password Protecting Your Presentation

PowerPoint presentations are an important part of any business, academic, or creative endeavor.

Whether youre delivering a keynote address, showing off your latest project, or simply demonstrating a concept to your colleagues, you want to ensure that your presentation is as secure as possible.

To protect your presentation, one of the most important steps you can take is to password-protect it.

This will ensure that only those with the correct password can access your presentation.

When password-protecting your presentation, youll want to make sure that you choose a strong and secure password.

This means that you should avoid words and phrases that are easily guessed, as well as using common combinations of letters and numbers.

Instead, try to come up with a longer, more complex password that is difficult to guess.

You can also use a password manager to help you create and store your passwords securely.

Once youve chosen your password, youll want to save your presentation with the password-protected option enabled.

This will ensure that anyone who tries to open the presentation will need to enter the correct password in order to gain access.

You should also be sure to store the password in a secure location, such as a password manager or a safe place in your office.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your presentation is secure and protected.

Password-protecting your presentation is an important step in keeping your information secure and private.

Backing Up Your Presentation

Backing up your presentation is one of the most important steps to protecting it.

It ensures that you will always have a copy of your presentation in case something happens to the original file.

There are a few different ways to back up your presentation.

The simplest way is to manually save a copy of the presentation to a secure drive or cloud storage system.

This way, you can easily access the file if needed.

Another option is to use an automated backup system, which will save a copy of your presentation at regular intervals.

Many software programs and online storage services offer automated backups, so you dont have to worry about manually saving your presentation.

Finally, you can also use a cloud-based storage system, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, to store your presentation in a secure and private location.

No matter which method you choose, its important to make sure that you regularly back up your presentation.

This way, you can be sure that you always have a copy of your presentation, even if the original file is lost or corrupted.

Utilizing Secure Cloud Storage for Your Presentation

One of the best ways to protect a PowerPoint presentation is to store it in a secure cloud storage system.

Cloud storage allows you to store your presentation in a remote server, meaning that no matter what happens to your computer, you still have access to your presentation.

Popular cloud storage services include Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

When storing your presentation in a cloud storage system, be sure to password-protect it.

This will ensure that only those with the correct password can access the presentation.

Additionally, you can also opt for two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security.

Another important step to take when using cloud storage is to make sure that you are using an up-to-date and secure service.

Old cloud storage systems may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks, so it is important to make sure that you have the most secure version available.

Additionally, you should also check the privacy settings of the cloud storage service to make sure that only those with the correct credentials can access your presentation.

Finally, it is also important to make sure that you have a backup of your presentation stored in a secure location.

By having a backup, you can ensure that your presentation is safe in the event of a system crash or accidental deletion.

You can store the backup in a separate cloud storage system or on an external hard drive.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is secure and protected.

Utilizing a secure cloud storage system and regularly backing up your presentation will help to keep your presentation safe from malicious attacks and accidental deletion.

What to Do if Your Presentation is Compromised

If your presentation is ever compromised, the best thing you can do is act quickly and decisively.

First, make sure to change your password immediately and make sure it is strong and unique.

Additionally, you should also back up your presentation on a secure cloud storage system, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, to ensure that you have a copy of the presentation in case anything happens.

If the presentation was shared with others, make sure to contact them and inform them of the situation, and ask them to delete the compromised version of the presentation.

Finally, you should also install antivirus and anti-malware software on your computer to prevent any unwanted intrusions in the future.

By taking these steps, you can ensure that your presentation is secure and protected.

Tips for Preventing a Compromised Presentation

PowerPoint presentations are a great way to convey information in an engaging and informative manner, but if the presentation is not properly secured, it can be vulnerable to theft or manipulation.

To protect your presentation, there are several steps that you can take.

First, you should password-protect your presentation.

This will ensure that only those with the correct password can access the presentation and make changes to it.

This is especially important if your presentation contains sensitive information.

Additionally, you should also back up your presentation so that if something happens to your original file, you have a copy.

Second, you can also save your presentation in a secure cloud storage system, such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

This will ensure that your presentation is safe from accidental deletion or malicious attacks.

This is especially useful if you are working on a presentation that needs to be shared with multiple people.

Third, you should also make sure to use a strong password when creating your presentation.

This will make it difficult for anyone to guess your password and gain access to your presentation.

You should also avoid using generic passwords such as password or 1234 as these are easily guessed.

Finally, you should also be mindful of who has access to your presentation.

If you are sharing your presentation with multiple people, make sure to only give access to people you trust.

If someone does gain access to your presentation, they could make changes to or even delete your presentation.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your presentation is secure and protected.

With the proper security measures in place, you can rest assured that your presentation will not be compromised.

Final Thoughts

Powerpoint presentations are a great way to communicate information in an engaging and effective way.

By following the four steps outlined above, you can ensure that your presentation is safe and secure.

Password-protecting your presentation, backing it up, and utilizing secure cloud storage are all great ways to protect your presentation.

Additionally, if your presentation is ever compromised, you should take the necessary steps to protect your data.

By being proactive and taking the right steps, you can protect your presentation and allow it to be as successful as possible.

James Wilson

James Wilson has extensive knowledge in the information technology industry.His second love, besides dealing with computers, is smart home technology. He is continually updating information to better comprehend this problem and has a deep understanding of the apartment’s support system.

Recent Posts

What Can Google Keep Do? Unleashing the Power of Organization and Productivity

Google Keep is a note-taking application that allows users to create, organize, and share notes, lists, and reminders. It syncs across devices, making it easy to access important information anytime,...

Where is Google Keep Stored? (A Detailed Overview)

Google Keep is stored in the cloud on Google's servers. This means that your notes are securely stored and accessible across all devices with an internet connection. Whether you're using Google Keep...

• Windows Store

7 Ways: Protect PowerPoint Presentation from Being Copied/Edited

Microsoft PowerPoint can help users create efficient presentations. PowerPoint is used in various fields to save important and sensitive information. Therefore, locking PowerPoint presentations can become a necessity. You might want to protect your entire presentation from editing to prevent accidental changes that could interfere with your presentation, or you might just want to lock a single slide with critical information from editing. Unless you protect the PowerPoint document, anyone with access to the PPT file can open, copy, and edit the content. In this article, we will share with you seven methods on how to protect/lock PowerPoint presentations.

Method 1: Using PowerPoint Presentation File Protection Tool

Third-party Presentation locking software like IUWEsoft Password Protect Folder Pro allows you to lock, protect, hide and disguise PowerPoint Presentation files from local hard disks and external hard drives. It ensures that only the person with the password can view the PowerPoint file.

2 Steps to Protect PowerPoint Presentation from Being Copied or Edited

Step 1: Download, install and launch the PowerPoint Presentation file lock software - IUWEsoft Password Protect Folder Pro. Click "Lock File/Folder", and then click "Open for Lock" button to select a PPT file or PPT folder from computer or USB drive.

Free Download

Step 2: Select PPT lock type (Lock PPT file without Hidden or Lock PPT file with Hidden), input and confirm password and then click Lock button to password protect PowerPoint Presentation.

Method 2: Add Watermark to Copyright PowerPoint Presentation

To prevent your PowerPoint presentation from being copied, you can add a watermark to protect your slides.

Step 1: Open a PowerPoint presentation.

Step 2: Click the View tab on the Ribbon to go to "Slide Master".

Step 3: If you want to insert a watermark on all slides, select the first parent slide to start. If it is a single slide, skip the parent slide and select the selected single slide.

Step 5: Click the "Text Box" in the text section.

After the text box appears, fill in the watermark information.

If you want to change the format of the watermark shape, go to the Format tab on the main ribbon in PowerPoint.

Go to the Format tab, click Send Backwards, and select Send Backwards.

Step 6: Go to the View tab and click Normal to return to the normal PowerPoint view.

Method 3: Restrict PowerPoint Presentation Access

Step 1: Go to File tab > Info.

Step 2: Choose Protect Presentation and then click Restrict Access from the drop-down menu.

Method 4: Encrypt PowerPoint Presentation with Password

Step 1: Choose File tab > Info.

Step 2: Click Protection Presentation and then click Encrypt with Password.

Step 3: Type the password and click OK.

Step 4: Enter the password again to confirm.

Method 5: Mark PowerPoint Presentation as Final

To prevent your PowerPoint Presentation files from editing, Mark as Final is a good option to mark the files as the final version and make PowerPoint read-only.

Step 1: Click the File tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.

Step 2: Choose Info on the left panel, you can see the Protect Presentation part on the right side.

Step 3: Click Protect Presentation and choose Mark as Final.

Method 6: Set Modify Password for PowerPoint Presentation

Modify Password can prevent others from editing PowerPoint Presentations.

Step 1: Go to File > Save as.

Step 2: Click "Tools" on the bottom. Click "General Options".

Step 3: Go to "File sharing settings for this document", type your password for modifying.

Method 7: Convert PowerPoint to Image/PDF/Video File

The final way to protect your PowerPoint presentation against editing is to convert it to a picture, PDF or video format so that it cannot be edited. Example: How to convert PowerPoint to image format.

Step 1: Open the File tab and select "Save as" on the left corner.

Step 2: Select image format (PNG/JPEG) from "Save as type" drop-down list and then click "Save" button.

Step 3: It will ask you whether you want to export all slides or the current slide. Choose Every Slide and click OK.

recent news

Posts you may like.

Top 12 Best Screen Recorder Software for Windows and Mac OS X

This article shows you the latest video recording software, including completely free without watermark, free trial, paid and free online Screen Recorder.

Top 9 Folder Encryption Software for Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista

Try the 9 best folder encryption software for Windows to encrypt, lock, hide and disguise files, folders and drives safely.

Mac Data Recovery for macOS High Sierra 10.13 and above

You have to disable System Integrity Protection and then try to perform Mac data recovery under macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13) or above.

VDB Player Pro: No. 1 Free Blu-ray/DVD/HD/SD/UHD 4K Video Player

Best Media Player software plays Blu-ray/DVD discs/folders/ISO image files, SD/3D/, 4K and 1080P HD videos and other audio formats.

All-in-One Data Recovery Wizard Pro for Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista

The flagship version of Data Recovery makes scanning faster and more complete recovery of all data from 2000+ storage devices.

Get Rewarded for Opening an Enterprise-Level VDR.

Open an enterprise data room and CapLinked will pick up the tab on a luxury reward of your choice.

CapLinked API

Integrations

Digital Rights Management

FTP Alternative

Secure Document Sharing

Legal Compliance

Document Management

Virtual Data Rooms

Due Diligence Data Room

Bankruptcy and Restructuring

Asset Sales and Purchases

Biotech and Life Sciences

Go beyond outdated help tickets.

CapLinked Blog

Whether you’re dealing with sensitive client info, for-company-eyes-only internal data or a pitch deck that’s just too good to leak, sometimes it pays to protect PowerPoint presentations. Across PC, iOS and Google platforms, you can secure your work with simple password protection, which not only helps shield the presentation from prying eyes, but can also add an extra layer of protection before anyone yourself included can make edits. 

Different platforms call for slightly different processes, but the payoff is the same across the tech spectrum: just a little extra peace of mind.

Table of Contents

Password Protect PowerPoint on PC and Mac

To prevent your PowerPoint from being opened or modified without a password on desktop platforms, you’ll follow the same process whether you’re working on Windows or iOS. Per Microsoft, this straightforward security measure works across these versions of PowerPoint:

• PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
• PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac
• PowerPoint for the web
• PowerPoint 2021
• PowerPoint 2021 for Mac
• PowerPoint 2019 
• PowerPoint 2019 for Mac
• PowerPoint 2016
• PowerPoint 2016 for Mac
• PowerPoint 2013
• PowerPoint for Mac 2011
• PowerPoint 2010

After you’ve created a PowerPoint presentation, first select “File,” then click “Info.” Choose “Protect Presentation” from the drop-down menu that appears, then “Encrypt with Password.” Type the password you’d like to use in the Password box, then hit “OK,” and you’re good to go.

Be sure to write down the password before you click “OK” as PowerPoint does not offer password recovery options if you lose the password, you’ll be out of luck. For co-work presentations, only the first person on a shared network to open the PowerPoint file and input the password will be able to edit it. If someone else attempts to open the password-protected PowerPoint presentation simultaneously, they’ll be able to view the file, but not edit it.   

Protect a PowerPoint Presentation on Mobile Devices

When you’re working with the latest version of PowerPoint on the go, you’ll secure your presentations at the app level using the built-in features of Microsoft 365 Business Premium . To get started, you’ll need to log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center. Note that you will need admin privileges to implement these security measures.

First head to “Policies,” then choose the “Add policy” option. You’ll be prompted to enter a policy name (make sure it’s straightforward and easily identifiable, like “App Security”). Choose a policy type from the “Policy type” drop-down menu this is where you’ll choose if you’re managing your policy for iOS, Android or Windows.   

Now choose “Manage how users access Office files on mobile devices” and toggle the option to require a PIN or fingerprint by which to access Office apps. New options will appear, allowing you to customize not just how you protect PowerPoint presentations, but how you protect your entire Office suite. You can choose to reset the PIN when a login fails a certain number of times, require users to sign in again when Office has been idle for a specific number of minutes, deny access to work files on jailbroken or rooted devices or decide whether or not users can copy content from Office apps into their personal apps.   

Finally, you can simply check or uncheck the boxes next to their respective icons to choose which apps will be protected, including Excel , OneDrive , OneNote, Outlook, Word, Skype for Business and of course, PowerPoint. You can also change the “Who will get these settings?” option from the default setting of all users to any security group you’ve previously created, or you can select “Restore default settings” if you no longer wish to use this added layer of security.

A Word on Encryption…

When you enable app security policies on Microsoft 365, you’ll see an additional menu titled “Protect work files when devices are lost or stolen.” Here, you can toggle the setting to encrypt work files on. Whether you want to protect PowerPoint presentations or just about any other type of file, encryption works hand-in-hand with password protection to serve as an absolutely vital security tool. This process scrambles plain text into virtually indecipherable code; only users with a key, such as a password, PIN or fingerprint ID, can unscramble that text. Ideally, even if the file is intercepted, encryption makes it unreadable to bad actors .

Unfortunately, encryption isn’t available everywhere. As PC Mag notes, the widely used Google Drive the cloud-based home to the popular PowerPoint alternative, Google Slides does not offer any sort of native encryption or password protection, potentially leaving the data of more than one billion users vulnerable .

…and How CapLinked Can Help

If you prefer Slides to PowerPoint or simply want a more secure solution that goes beyond adding a password protection to PowerPoint alone, CapLinked’s virtual data room has your back. With fewer than 10 minutes of setup, you can securely manage any type of Microsoft Office file, PDFs and other common file types across all of your teams and workspaces. If you prefer to keep your digital presentations on the cloud, CapLinked also works natively with Google Drive , Dropbox , OneDrive and Box. 

Whether you’re working with a .PPTX, spreadsheets or a PDF , everything you share on CapLinked travels via a secure connection, with enterprise-grade security certified by EU-US Privacy Shield, FISMA, HIPAA and others. And even if you’re dealing with regular old business-grade M&As , you’re still covered by military-grade 256-bit encryption, because your data can never be too safe.

Dan is a small business owner and freelance writer based in Dallas, TX. In over a decade of experience, he’s been fortunate to write and collaborate with business-facing brands including The Motley Fool, Chron, Office Depot, Fortune and more.

Microsoft – Password Protection for Presentations in PowerPoint

Microsoft – Set App Protection Settings for Android or iOS Devices

Norton – What Is Encryption, and How Does It Protect Your Data?

PC Mag – How to Encrypt a Document Stored on Google Drive

The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Google Drive Has Over One Billion Users

Recent Posts

Healthcare m&a: market trends & opportunities to know for 2024, is a strategic alliance the right structure for your deal, the ins and outs of leveraged buyouts, related articles, choose a better virtual data room​.

Or Contact Sales

(888) 799-6849

[email protected]

© 2024 All rights reserved.

• Create a presentation Article
• Add and format Article
• Design a presentation Article
• Share and collaborate Article
• Give a presentation Article
• Set up your mobile apps Article
• Learn more Article

Create a presentation

Create a presentation in powerpoint for the web.

With PowerPoint for the web running in your web browser, you can:

Create presentations that include images, videos, transitions, and animations.

Get to your presentations from your computer, tablet, or phone.

Share and work with others, wherever they are.

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Windows PC, see the PowerPoint Quick Start .

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Mac, see Office for Mac Quick Start Guides and PowerPoint for Mac Help .

Create, open, and name a presentation

Go to powerpoint.office.com .

Select New blank presentation , open a Recent file, select one of the themes , or start with a presentation template .

To name the presentation, select the title at the top and type a name.

If you need to rename the presentation, select the title and retype the name.

Add a slide

Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

Select Home > New Slide .

Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

When working in PowerPoint for the web, your work is saved every few seconds. You can select File > Save a Copy to create a duplicate copy in another location.

Or choose File > Download As to save a copy to your device.

When you're online, AutoSave is always on and saves your changes as you work. If at any time you lose your Internet connection or turn it off, any pending changes will sync as soon as you’re back online.

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.