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PowerPoint “Save as…” File Formats Break Down

There are 28 file formats available if you choose to save your presentation in anything other than PPTX. Let’s examine each of them in turn.
PowerPoint Presentation .pptx Default (XML-based) editable presentation.
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation .pptm Same as .pptx but retains embedded VBA macros.
PowerPoint 97–2003 Presentation .ppt Legacy format for compatibility with Office 2003 and earlier.
PDF .pdf Fixed-layout, cross-platform document.
XPS Document .xps Microsoft’s fixed-layout alternative to PDF.
PowerPoint Template .potx Editable design template (no macros).
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template .potm Template that can contain VBA macros.
PowerPoint 97–2003 Template .pot Legacy template format for Office 2003 and earlier.
Office Theme .thmx Colour/font/layout theme that you can apply to multiple presentations.
PowerPoint Show .ppsx Opens directly in Slide Show mode (XML-based).
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show .ppsm Show-mode file that supports VBA macros.
PowerPoint 97–2003 Show .pps Legacy show file for Office 2003 and earlier.
PowerPoint Add-in .ppam Add-in with VBA macros (ribbon buttons, automated tasks).
PowerPoint 97–2003 Add-in .ppa Legacy add-in format for Office 2003 and earlier.
PowerPoint XML Presentation .xml Plain-text XML version. Useful for tweaks like custom table styles, etc.
MPEG-4 Video .mp4 Widely compatible video; includes animations, timings, narration.
Windows Media Video .wmv Microsoft video format; good for Windows-only playback.
Animated GIF .gif Looping animation; limited to 256 colours—use for simple slide clips.
JPEG .jpg Compressed photograph-style; no transparency—smaller file sizes.
PNG .png Lossless with transparency support; ideal for graphics.
TIFF .tif High-quality, large images; often used in publishing.
Device Independent Bitmap .bmp Uncompressed Windows bitmap; large file size.
Windows Metafile .wmf Vector/bitmap hybrid; mostly for compatibility with old Windows apps.
Enhanced Windows Metafile .emf Improved WMF; better support for modern GDI rendering.
Scalable Vector Graphics .svg Fully vector, infinitely scalable; great for diagrams and icons.
Outline/RTF .rtf Text outline (headings only) in Rich Text Format; no graphics.
PowerPoint Picture Presentation .pptx Each slide is saved as a flat image—no edit-mode objects or animations.
Strict Open XML Presentation .pptx Conforms to a specific variant of the Open XML Presentation (pptx) file format, defined by the ISO/IEC 29500 standard
OpenDocument Presentation .odp Open-standard counterpart to PPTX (e.g. for LibreOffice, OpenOffice).

Windows Metafile (WMF) and Enhanced Metafile (EMF)

Both are vector graphics formats native to Microsoft’s Graphics Device Interface (GDI). They store drawing commands—lines, shapes and text—instead of pixel data, making them ideal for crisp, resolution-independent graphics in Office documents. EMF is almost always preferred: it produces sharper output when scaled, supports more advanced graphic features and is the de facto vector-export format for PowerPoint and other Windows apps. WMF still appears in legacy content or older clip-art libraries, but it is typically converted to EMF (or another modern vector format) for reliable results.

PowerPoint XML Presentation (XML) and Strict Open XML Presentation (PPTX)

Defined by ISO/IEC 29500-1 (the “Strict” variant), these are ZIP-package containers of XML parts—slides, themes, media, etc.—that conform to the strict subset of the Office Open XML standard. Use the standard PowerPoint XML Presentation (XML) files unless your clients explicitly require the Strict Open XML Presentation (PPTX). ～ #powerpoint #2k19