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Change a PowerPoint Show File to a Working PowerPoint Presentation

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Edit a PowerPoint Show File

change file extensions from PowerPoint show to PowerPoint presentation

Change file extension from .pps to .ppt

© Wendy Russell
PowerPoint Shows

A PowerPoint show is the actual presentation that you view when you are a member of the audience. A PowerPoint presentation file is the working file in the creation stage.

When you receive a PowerPoint file, whether over the company network, or as an email attachment, you can tell from the file extension whether this is a show file or a presentation file. The show file (the end product) has a file extension of .pps on the end of the filename, such as myshow.pps while the presentation file (the working file) has a file extension of .ppt on the end of the filename, such as myshow.ppt.

Sometimes, you want to make a few subtle changes to the finished product, but all you have received from your colleague is the myshow.pps file. When you double click on the filename, it opens up as a PowerPoint show. How do you edit it?

Here are two methods to edit a PowerPoint show file.

  1. Edit in PowerPoint
    • Open PowerPoint.
    • Choose File > Open and locate the myshow.pps file on your computer.
    • Edit the presentation.
      • To continue editing at a later date, save the file as a regular presentation file (.ppt).
      • Or, choose File > Save to save it once again as a PowerPoint show.

  2. Change the file extension of the PowerPoint show
    • Right click on the filename, and choose Rename from the shortcut menu.
    • Change the file extension from .pps to .ppt
    • Double click on the new filename and it will open in PowerPoint as a working presentation file.
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