File Formats in PowerPoint 365 for Mac

How many file formats (types) can PowerPoint save to? Quick, how many file formats (types) can PowerPoint save your slides to? If you take count of every single format from the necessary to the rarely used (and forget the missing ones), then the number is 11 for PowerPoint 365 for Mac.

When you access the Save As dialog in PowerPoint 365 for Mac, you can choose the file type you want to save your active presentation, as shown in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Save as types in PowerPoint 365 for Mac

Have you ever wondered what all these file types are? The file formats in PowerPoint are divided into three sections, and they are explained below:

Common Formats

PPTX (PowerPoint Presentation)

This file type is the default save option in PowerPoint 365 for Mac. It is based on XML and can be distinctly identified as different from the older file formats for PowerPoint because it has four letters rather than three. For example, the extension is now named PPTX rather than the older PPT file extension.

PPT (PowerPoint 97–2003 Presentation)

This file type was the default format for presentations created in PowerPoint versions 2003 and earlier. Most of the time, this is known as the PowerPoint 97 to 2003 format.

POTX (PowerPoint Template)

This file type saves presentations as a template that you can use as a starter for future presentations. This file format works with newer versions of PowerPoint.

POT (PowerPoint 97–2003 Template)

This file type saves your presentation as a template, suitable to use within PowerPoint 97 to 2003. You can still open and use these in newer versions of PowerPoint.

ODP (OpenDocument Presentation)

This file type saves the presentation in a format that you can open using applications that support ODP files, such as Google Docs or OpenOffice.

Export Formats

PDF (Portable Document Format)

This file type saves your presentation as an Adobe PDF file. Once saved, PDFs cannot be ordinarily opened and edited like normal PowerPoint files.

Special Formats

PPSX (PowerPoint Show)

This file type saves the presentations as a slide show. In all respects, this is the same as a PPTX file, but when double-clicked, the PPSX file opens in Slide Show view rather than Normal view. See our PPT vs. PPS (or PPTX vs. PPSX) article to understand the differences.

PPS (PowerPoint 97–2003 Show)

This file type saves the presentations as a slide show in PowerPoint 97 to 2003. In all respects, this is the same as a PPT file, but when double-clicked, it opens in Slide Show view rather than Normal view. See our PPT vs. PPS (or PPTX vs. PPSX) article to understand the differences better.

PPTM (PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation)

This is identical to the PPTX file format, other than the fact that file type saves presentations with macros enabled.

POTM (PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template)

This file type saves the presentation as a template in the same way as POTX files, but with macros enabled.

PPSM (PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show)

This file type saves the presentation as a slide show with macros enabled and works in the same way as PPSX files.