PowerPoint file formats: choosing the right extension

The various existing PowerPoint extensions

There are a multitude of PowerPoint extensions available on the market, with each extension offering unique benefits to help you create and edit presentations.

Whether it's to add dynamic graphics, powerful animations or real-time collaboration features, it's essential to fully understand the differences between each extension and to choose the one that best fits your goals.

PPTX

The .PPTX file format is the extension used by Microsoft Powerpoint software to save presentations since 2007. It is a widely used format and compatible with many other presentation software, such as Google Slides. PPTX files contain slides, text, images, graphics, and animations. Today, it is the standard for the majority of presentations.

PPSX

The .PPSX extension is a file extension used for PowerPoint presentations. Unlike PPTX files that can be edited, PPSX files are slideshow files, which means that the presentation will launch directly in slideshow mode when opened.

Very useful for launching a slideshow directly to your audience. Attention, PPSX files can still be opened in edit mode and do not protect the presentation. Opening a presentation in PPSX would actually be the same as opening it in PPTX mode and launching presenter mode.

POTX

The .POTX file extension for a PowerPoint file is used for slide templates. These pre-formatted templates allow you to quickly create a new layout. In summary, when you open a POTX, you're opening a new instance of the presentation file. The POTX extension is useful to allow any user to create a new presentation without changing the original one. POTX are often found in companies, to allow employees to use a model without touching the basic model.

PPTM

The extension .PPTM for a Powerpoint file means that it is a presentation containing macros. These macros are small programs that allow you to automate certain tasks or add advanced features to the presentation. Macros are actually lines of code added to a PowerPoint.

However, because macros can potentially contain viruses or malicious code, it's important to always download PPTM files from trusted sources and open them cautiously. In general, PPTM files are forbidden in companies unless they have been verified.

POTM

The .POTM extension works like a POTX but with macros inside.

PPT, PPS, and POT

These PowerPoint extensions are used for presentation files created prior to the PowerPoint 2007 release. These extensions can still be opened with newer versions of PowerPoint, but they don't have all of today's features. They have been replaced by .PPTX, .PPSX, and .POTX.

PNG, JPG

You can export a presentation in images, and these formats allow you to export each of your slides in an image format, they will be named and numbered in a folder.

XML

Any presentation file can be exported as .XML, in order to have direct access to the presentation code. This use is reserved for professionals, and allows, in particular, to remove parasitic elements that could not be found via the normal editing mode of PowerPoint.

Extract a presentation

In reality, PowerPoint presentations act like ZIP archives. You can thus rename a PowerPoint file extension directly on your desktop, and replace “pptx” with “zip”. This will have the effect of displaying an archive that you can then extract. You will thus find all the images and graph elements that were used to build the presentation in this extracted archive.

How do I choose the right PowerPoint file format/extension?

To choose the right extension for a PowerPoint file, it's important to consider the type of software and benefits you want, the size of the file, and the desire to let the recipient edit a file. The most common format for PowerPoint files is .pptx, and in the majority of cases you will use this one.

The second most common is the PPSX, which allows salespeople or speakers to open their presentation in slideshow mode instantly to project the slides.

Questions about file formats

Whichsoftware to open a PPT file?

To open a PowerPoint (PPTX) file, you can use Microsoft PowerPoint, LibreOffice Impress, Google Slides, Keynote for Mac, or other software that is compatible with the PPTX file format. It is important to choose the right software to be able to view and edit the content of the file correctly.

How do I change the format of a PowerPoint file type?

To change the format of a PowerPoint file, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the PowerPoint file you want to edit
2. Go to the “File” tab at the top left of the screen
3. Select the “Save As” option
4. Choose the file format you want to use by clicking on the dropdown list next to “Type”
5. Name the file and select where you want to save the new file
6. Click on “Save” to finalize the format change

You can choose from various file formats such as PowerPoint (.pptx), PowerPoint 97-2003 (.ppt), PDF (.pdf), images, videos, etc. according to your needs. Remember to check that the selected format is compatible with the software you plan to use to read the file.