Editing Microsoft PowerPoint (section)

==File formats==
<!--[[.ppt]] redirects directly here.-->
{{Infobox file format
| name=PowerPoint Presentation
| icon = [[File:.pptx icon.svg|x75px]] [[File:.ppt icon (2000-03).svg|x75px]]
| extensions=.pptx, .ppt<ref name="file-formats">{{Cite web |url=https://support.office.com/en-us/article/File-formats-that-are-supported-in-PowerPoint-252c6fa0-a4bc-41be-ac82-b77c9773f9dc |title=File formats that are supported in PowerPoint |last=Microsoft Corporation |date=2016 |website=Microsoft Support |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807213337/https://support.office.com/en-us/article/File-formats-that-are-supported-in-PowerPoint-252c6fa0-a4bc-41be-ac82-b77c9773f9dc |url-status=live |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref>
| mime=application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint<ref name="mime-types">{{Cite web |url=http://referencesource.microsoft.com/#System.Web/MimeMapping.cs.html |title=MimeMapping.cs |last=Microsoft Corporation |date=February 22, 2014 |website=Microsoft Reference Source |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6YlfhuoTj?url=https://filetea.me/t1sQXwolO3LRPaK1USdCYKg2A |url-status=live |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |access-date=August 10, 2017 |quote=This module maps document extensions to Content Mime Type.}}</ref>
| uniform_type=com.microsoft.powerpoint.ppt<ref name="type-codes">{{Cite web |url=https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Miscellaneous/Reference/UTIRef/Articles/System-DeclaredUniformTypeIdentifiers.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40009259-SW1 |title=System-Declared Uniform Type Identifiers |date=November 17, 2009 |website=developer.apple.com |publisher=[[Apple Inc.|Apple]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724151058/http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Carbon/Conceptual/understanding_utis/utilist/chapter_4_section_1.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40001319-CH205-CHDIJFGJ |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| owner=[[Microsoft]]
| genre=[[Presentation]]
}}

=== Binary (1987–2007) ===
Early versions of PowerPoint, from 1987 through 1995 (versions 1.0 through 7.0), evolved through a sequence of binary file formats, different in each version, as functionality was added.<ref name="early-file-compatibility">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510103008/http://www.bitbetter.com/powerfaq.htm <!-- long URL needed --> |title=PowerPoint FAQ: Versions |last=<!-- author not given --> |date=May 10, 2013 |website=A Bit Better Corporation |url=http://www.bitbetter.com/powerfaq.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |access-date=August 4, 2017}} A diagram shows "which versions of PowerPoint can open/save which other versions" up to version 9.0 for Windows ("PowerPoint 2000"). <!-- backup archive at: https://www.webcitation.org/6s6Trrd1t?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510103008/http://www.bitbetter.com/powerfaq.htm --></ref> This set of formats were never documented, but an open-source ''libmwaw'' (used by [[LibreOffice]]) exists to read them.<ref>{{cite web |title=libmwaw |url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/libmwaw/ |website=SourceForge |date=April 30, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

A stable binary format (called a .ppt file, like all earlier binary formats) that was shared as the default in PowerPoint 97 through PowerPoint 2003 for Windows, and in PowerPoint 98 through PowerPoint 2004 for Mac (that is, in PowerPoint versions 8.0 through 11.0) was finally created. It was based on the [[Compound File Binary Format]].<ref name="ppt-binary-doc">{{Cite web |url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc313106(v=office.12).aspx |title=[MS-PPT]: PowerPoint (.ppt) Binary File Format (Protocol Revision 4.1) |date=June 20, 2017 |website=Microsoft Developer Network |author=Microsoft Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807204504/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc313106(v=office.12).aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/intro/specifications.shtml |title=Specifications for Digital Formats: Microsoft Office Binary (doc, xls, ppt) File Formats |last=Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |author-link=National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |date=March 2, 2017 |website=Digital Preservation, Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813223732/https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/intro/specifications.shtml |url-status=live |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2017}}</ref> The specification document is actively maintained and can be freely downloaded,<ref name="ppt-binary-doc" /> because, although no longer the default, that binary format can be read and written by some later versions of PowerPoint, including PowerPoint 2016.<ref name="file-formats" /> After the stable binary format was adopted, versions of PowerPoint continued to be able to read and write differing file formats from earlier versions.<ref name="early-file-compatibility" /> But beginning with PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2008 for Mac (PowerPoint version 12.0), this was the only binary format available for saving; PowerPoint 2007 (version 12.0) no longer supported saving to binary file formats used earlier than PowerPoint 97 (version 8.0), ten years before.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.office.com/en-ca/article/Use-PowerPoint-2007-to-open-or-save-a-presentation-in-another-file-format-50e447ac-7475-4853-b709-7e1c3e20860e |title=Use PowerPoint 2007 to open or save a presentation in another file format |last=Microsoft Corporation |date=2015 |website=Microsoft Office Support |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814173954/https://support.office.com/en-ca/article/Use-PowerPoint-2007-to-open-or-save-a-presentation-in-another-file-format-50e447ac-7475-4853-b709-7e1c3e20860e |url-status=live |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |access-date=May 23, 2015 |quote=... PowerPoint 2007 does not support saving to PowerPoint 95 and earlier file formats.}}</ref>

The ".pps" and ".ppsx" file extensions are technically the same as ".ppt" and ".pptx", except they are launched as presentation instead of for editing by default.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://notes.indezine.com/2004/08/ppt-vs-pps.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004121853/https://notes.indezine.com/2004/08/ppt-vs-pps.html|archive-date=October 4, 2021|title=PPTX vs. PPSX (Or PPT vs. PPS)}}</ref>

'''Binary [[filename extension]]s'''<ref name="file-formats" />
* .ppt, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary presentation
* .pps, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary slide show
* .pot, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary template

'''Binary [[media type]]s'''<ref name="mime-types" />
* .ppt, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
* .pps, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
* .pot, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint

=== Office Open XML (since 2007) ===
The big change in PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2008 for Mac (PowerPoint version 12.0) was that the stable binary file format of 97–2003 was replaced as the default by a new [[Zip (file format)|zipped]] [[XML]]-based [[Office Open XML]] format (.pptx files).<ref name="open-xml-formats">{{Cite web |url=https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Open-XML-Formats-and-file-name-extensions-5200d93c-3449-4380-8e11-31ef14555b18 |title=Open XML Formats and file name extensions |last=Microsoft Corporation |date=2015 |website=Microsoft Office Support |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170430175040/https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Open-XML-Formats-and-file-name-extensions-5200d93c-3449-4380-8e11-31ef14555b18 |url-status=live |archive-date=April 30, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |quote=Starting with the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office uses the XML-based file formats, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. These formats and file name extensions apply to ... Microsoft PowerPoint.}}</ref> Microsoft's explanation of the benefits of the change included: smaller file sizes, up to 75% smaller than comparable binary documents; security, through being able to identify and exclude executable macros and personal data; less chance to be corrupted than binary formats; and easier interoperability for exchanging data among Microsoft and other business applications, all while maintaining backward compatibility.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa338205%28v=office.12%29.aspx |title=Introducing the Office (2007) Open XML File Formats |date=May 2006 |website=Microsoft Developer Network |last=Rice |first=Frank |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228063121/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa338205(v=office.12).aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>

'''XML [[filename extension]]s'''<ref name="file-formats" />
* .pptx, PowerPoint 2007 XML presentation
* .pptm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled presentation
* .ppsx, PowerPoint 2007 XML slide show
* .ppsm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled slide show
* .ppam, PowerPoint 2007 XML add-in
* .potx, PowerPoint 2007 XML template
* .potm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled template

'''XML [[media type]]s'''<ref name="mime-types" /> 
* .pptx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation
* .pptm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12
* .ppsx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow
* .ppsm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slideshow.macroEnabled.12
* .ppam, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.addin.macroEnabled.12
* .potx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template
* .potm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.12

The specification for the new format was published as an [[open standard]], [[ECMA-376]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-376.htm |title=Standard ECMA-376: Office Open XML File Formats |last=Ecma Technical Committee 45 |date=2016 |website=Ecma International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714033758/http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-376.htm |url-status=live |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref> through [[Ecma International]] Technical Committee 45 (TC45).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ecma-international.org/news/TC45_current_work/OpenXML%20White%20Paper.pdf |title=Office Open XML Overview |editor-last=Ngo |editor-first=Tom |author-last=Ecma Technical Committee 45 |date=2012 |website=Ecma International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412160349/http://www.ecma-international.org/news/TC45_current_work/OpenXML%20White%20Paper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 12, 2015 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |quote=OpenXML was designed from the start to be capable of faithfully representing the pre-existing corpus of word-processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that are encoded in binary formats defined by Microsoft Corporation. ... The original binary formats for these files were based on direct serialization of in-memory data structures ... . Technical Committee 45 (TC45) ... includes representatives from Apple, Barclays Capital, BP, The British Library, Essilor, Intel, Microsoft, NextPage, Novell, Statoil, Toshiba, and the United States Library of Congress. |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The Ecma 376 standard was approved in December 2006, and was submitted for standardization through [[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34]] WG4 in early 2007. The [[Standardization of Office Open XML|standardization process]] was contentious.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Magee |first1=Liam |last2=Thom |first2=James A. |date=2014 |title=What's in a Word? When one electronic document format standard is not enough [pre-print] |journal=Information Technology & People |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=482–511 |issn=0959-3845 |doi=10.1108/ITP-09-2012-0096 |url=https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:29076/n2006050256.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813152222/https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:29076/n2006050256.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |quote=The case of the standardisation of two ISO electronic document formats, the ''OpenDocument Format'' (ODF) and ''Office Open XML'' (OOXML) ... In this case, the attempt to design a ''de jure'' standard in fact produced even greater entrenchment of the existing ''de facto'' standard it was designed to replace.}}</ref> It was approved as [[ISO/IEC 29500]] in early 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000395.shtml |title=OOXML Format Family—ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA 376 |last=Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |author-link=National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |date=February 21, 2017 |website=Digital Preservation, Library of Congress |type=Format Description ID:fdd000395 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811221108/https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000395.shtml |url-status=live |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> Copies of the ISO/IEC standard specification are freely available, in two parts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/c071691_ISO_IEC_29500-1_2016.zip |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811222524/http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/c071691_ISO_IEC_29500-1_2016.zip |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-08-11 |title=ISO/IEC 29500-1:2016, Fundamentals and Markup Language Reference |last= ISO/IEC JTC 1 |author-link= ISO/IEC JTC 1 |date=2016 |website=International Organization for Standardization |access-date=August 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/c071692_ISO_IEC_29500-4_2016.zip |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811222524/http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/c071692_ISO_IEC_29500-4_2016.zip |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-08-11 |title=ISO/IEC 29500-4:2016, Transitional Migration Features |last= ISO/IEC JTC 1 |author-link= ISO/IEC JTC 1 |date=2016 |website=International Organization for Standardization |access-date=August 9, 2017}}</ref> These define two related standards known as "Transitional" and "Strict". The two standards were progressively adopted by PowerPoint: PowerPoint version 12.0 (2007, 2008 for Mac) could read and write Transitional format, but could neither read nor write Strict format. PowerPoint version 14.0 (2010, 2011 for Mac) could read and write Transitional, and also read but not write Strict. PowerPoint version 15.0 and later (beginning 2013, 2016 for Mac) can read and write both Transitional and Strict formats. The reason for the two variants was explained by Microsoft:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.office.com/2012/08/13/new-file-format-options-in-the-new-office/ |title=New file format options in the new Office |last=Knowlton |first=Gray |date=August 13, 2012 |website=Microsoft Office Blogs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512003108/http://blogs.office.com/2012/08/13/new-file-format-options-in-the-new-office/ |url-status=live |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref>

{{Blockquote| ... the participants in the ISO/IEC standardization process recognized two objectives with competing requirements. The first objective was for the Open XML standard to provide an XML-based file format that could fully support conversion of the billions of existing Office documents without any loss of features, content, text, layout, or other information, including embedded data. The second was to specify a file format that did not rely on Microsoft-specific data types. They created two variants of Open XML—Transitional, which supports previously-defined Microsoft-specific data types, and Strict, which does not rely on them. Prior versions of Office [that is, 2007] have supported reading and writing Transitional Open XML, and Office 2010 can read Strict Open XML documents. With the addition of write support for Strict Open XML, Office 2013 provides full support for both variants of Open XML.}}

The PowerPoint .pptx file format (called "[[PresentationML]]" for Presentation Markup Language) contains separate structures for all the complex parts of a PowerPoint presentation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/office/gg278335.aspx |title=Structure of a PresentationML document (Open XML SDK) |last=Microsoft Corporation |date=July 27, 2012 |website=Microsoft Developer Network, Office Dev Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814062849/https://msdn.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/office/gg278335.aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://officeopenxml.com/anatomyofOOXML-pptx.php |title=Presentation ML (pptx) |last=Office Open XML Consortium |date=2012 |website=Office Open XML |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508143517/http://officeopenxml.com/anatomyofOOXML-pptx.php |url-status=live |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref> The specification documents run to over six&nbsp;thousand pages.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000399.shtml |title=PPTX Transitional (Office Open XML), ISO 29500:2008–2016, ECMA-376, Editions 1–5 |last=Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |author-link=National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |date=January 1, 2017 |website=Digital Preservation, Library of Congress |type=Format Description ID: fdd000399 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811222524/https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000399.shtml |url-status=live |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |quote=The standards documents that specify this format run to over six&nbsp;thousand pages.}}</ref> Because of the widespread use of PowerPoint, the standardized file formats are considered important for the long-term access to digital documents in library collections and archives, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/series/challenge/formats_challenge.html |title=Setting Standards (Office Open XML and PDF/A) |last=Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |author-link=National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program |date=2008 |website=Digital Preservation, Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220030311/http://www.digitalpreservation.gov//series/challenge/formats_challenge.html |url-status=live |archive-date=February 20, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |quote=Library staff have participated in a technical committee working toward the standardization of the Office Open XML specifications, which ... will make it easier for libraries and archives to preserve a large body of digital material by ensuring that the content is generated in formats for which the specifications are published and will be maintained under the auspices of a standards organization. Specifically, this standard is based on the formats used by the latest version of Microsoft Office and supports all features in the various versions of Microsoft Office since 1997.}}</ref>

PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2016 provide options to set default saving to ISO/IEC 29500 Strict format, but the initial default setting remains Transitional, for compatibility with legacy features incorporating binary data in existing documents.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/e969fc0a-9fcd-4efe-bf6d-79ea8c34360f |title=What is the default file format for saving in MS Office 2013? |last=Meng |first=Max |date=May 20, 2013 |website=Microsoft Technet Forums |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921163748/https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/e969fc0a-9fcd-4efe-bf6d-79ea8c34360f/what-is-the-default-file-format-for-saving-in-ms-office-2013-is-it-still-the-transitional-ooxml-or |url-status=live |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref> PowerPoint 2013 or PowerPoint 2016 will both open and save files in the former binary format (.ppt), for compatibility with older versions of the program (but not versions older than PowerPoint 97).<ref name="file-formats" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blog.zamzar.com/2012/04/17/open-old-powerpoint-presentations-in-office-2007-and-office2010/ |title=Open Old Powerpoint Presentations in Office 2007 and Office 2010 |last=Zamzar |author-link=Zamzar |date=April 17, 2012 |website=Zamzar Blog |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606185325/https://blog.zamzar.com/2012/04/17/open-old-powerpoint-presentations-in-office-2007-and-office2010/ |url-status=live |archive-date=June 6, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref> In saving to older formats, these versions of PowerPoint will check to assure that no features have been introduced into the presentation which are incompatible with the older formats.<ref name="open-xml-formats" />

PowerPoint 2013 and 2016 will also save a presentation in many other file formats, including [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] format, [[MPEG-4]] or [[Windows Media Video|WMV]] video, as a sequence of single-picture files (using image formats including [[GIF]], [[JPEG]], [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]], [[TIFF]], and some older formats), and as a single presentation file in which all slides are replaced with pictures. PowerPoint will both open and save files in [[OpenDocument technical specification#Document representation|OpenDocument Presentation]] format (ODP) for compatibility.<ref name="file-formats" />