Locate Your Version in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

Note that we have two versions of Microsoft Office installed (highlighted in red within Figure 3, above). Yes, it is acceptable to have more than one version of Microsoft Office (and PowerPoint) installed on a single system. However, only one of these can be the default PowerPoint version. Your default version is the one that launches when you type powerpnt.exe in the Run dialog box, as explained in the preceding section.

Set/Change the Default Version of PowerPoint

So how do you change the default version? Typically the last version installed is the default version, but there are other ways to change the defaults, and all of them do not work all the time!

• You can modify the default version by right-clicking any PowerPoint file. Then choose the Open with option in the resultant contextual menu, as shown in Figure 4. This action will let you select from any available program, or even click the Choose default program option. The latter option will let you even browse to, and choose the PowerPoint version that you want to launch when you double-click a PowerPoint file.
• 
  Figure 4: Open with option lets you choose the default PowerPoint version
• You can change the default version by peeking inside your Registry. Here is a link to a post called Register the Default Version of PowerPoint. Remember that anything to do with the Registry must be done with caution. It is good to have a backup of your complete system in place, just in case.
• You can bring up the list of programs on your computer by typing appwiz.cpl in the Run dialog box, and then hitting the Enter key. Once you select the version of Microsoft Office you want to be the default, you will find an option called Change (highlighted in red within Figure 5). Click the Change option.
• 
  Figure 5: Change option to be selected
• This will bring up the window that you can see in Figure 6, below. Here select the Quick Repair radio button that you can see highlighted in red within Figure 6. Then, click the Repair button, highlighted in blue within Figure 6.
• 
  Figure 6: How would you like to repair your Office programs?
• This repairs the installation and also sets the selected version as the default one.
• This is probably the easiest way. If you want to make PowerPoint 2016 the default version, just launch Word 2016. Word might take a while to launch, and then you can close Word. PowerPoint 2016 automatically becomes the default version. This trick has also worked in the past with PowerPoint 2013, 2010, and 2007.

We Have Word, Why Can't We Find PowerPoint?

Even if you have Microsoft Office installed, that doesn't mean you have PowerPoint as well. The reason is that there are some Office editions which do not include PowerPoint; this is not so true with newer releases. If you have a version of Office 2016 without PowerPoint, it may also be that you choose a custom installation option for Office, and deselected PowerPoint? The solution is to run a Repair installation, as explained earlier on this page, and now select PowerPoint from the installation options.

See Also:

Getting Started: Locate Your Version in PowerPoint (Index Page)

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