Editing Microsoft PowerPoint (section)

=== 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