how to open presentation in computer

How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation? [Complete Guide!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Knowing how to master the PowerPoint application starts with the basics. If you are just starting out with Microsoft PowerPoint, the first thing you need to know is really how to open a PowerPoint presentation!

To open or view an existing PowerPoint file, double-click on the file from the folder. Alternatively, open the PowerPoint application. Then, click on “File>Open>Browse”, and locate the file on your computer to open it. To open a new presentation file, simply click on “File>New>Blank Presentation”.

The process of opening a PowerPoint presentation is actually quite simple and it only takes a few seconds. So, in this article, first we will take you through the process of opening a presentation step-by-step in a visual manner. Then, I will provide answers to all questions related to opening a PowerPoint presentation!

So, let’s get started!

[A Quick Note Before We Begin – for this article, I will be using one of the presentation templates from Envato Elements . With Envato Elements, you get access to thousands of presentation designs with unlimited downloads so you never run out of options again. Plus, you get free previews so you know exactly what you’re getting before buying! It is also very affordable. Check out their pricing here ]

1. How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation? 

There are a couple of different methods in which you can open a PowerPoint file. Both the methods are actually quite easy.

The first method requires the least number of steps. To open or view a PowerPoint presentation simply locate the PowerPoint file on your computer, and double-click on it. You can also right-click on the file, and from the dropdown menu, click on “Open”.

The second method requires you to start the PowerPoint application first.

If you do not see the PowerPoint icon on your desktop or taskbar, just go to the search bar and type ‘PowerPoint’ using your keyboard to find it. After opening the PowerPoint application, all you have to do is select your presentation file to open it. Just follow the steps below:

1a. How to Open a New PowerPoint Presentation?

Follow the steps below to open/create a new PowerPoint Presentation:

Step-1: Click on the “File” Menu button

At the top left side of your Microsoft PowerPoint application, you will find the ‘File’ menu option. The first step is to click on it.

Step-2: Click on “New”, and select the “Blank Presentation” button

Then, from the PowerPoint Backend view, you need to click on “ New “.

Now on your screen, you will find an option that says ‘Blank Presentation’ for you to click on. A new PowerPoint presentation with a blank slide will be created once you click on it.

You can also choose to click on any of the templates below to go with a pre-made design theme.

1b. How to Open an Existing PowerPoint Presentation?

It is common to have PowerPoint presentation files saved in different folders of your computer. There are two very easy ways to open these existing PowerPoint presentation files.

You can either open an existing PowerPoint file by browsing to the folder it is stored in and double-clicking on the file. Or you can open it from the Microsoft PowerPoint application itself. I’ll discuss both of the ways below:

Opening an existing PowerPoint Presentation file from the file location

Step:-1: Go to the folder your PowerPoint Presentation file is stored in

Open the folder where you had saved your PowerPoint presentation file. It could be on any of your local drives, or if you have recently downloaded the file, it could be on the ‘Downloads’ folder.

Step-2: Double-click on the PowerPoint Presentation file.

‘ Left click’ on the file twice using your mouse to open it. You can also ‘Right click’ on the file once and from the dropdown menu click on the ‘Open’ option to open the file on your Microsoft PowerPoint application.

Opening an existing PowerPoint Presentation from the Microsoft PowerPoint Application

Step-1: Open the Microsoft PowerPoint application and go to the “File” menu

The first thing you have to do is open the Microsoft PowerPoint application and click on the “ File ” menu option on the top-left corner of the screen.

Step-2: Click on ‘Open’, and then ‘Browse’

Clicking on the File option will open the background view of PowerPoint. Then, click on “ Open “

In the ‘Open’ tab, you will find all the Presentation files you have used/viewed recently under the ‘Recent’ section. If the file you want to open is not present here, simply click on ‘Browse.’

Step-3: Go to the file location click on it to select it.

After that, a window will pop up using which you can use to choose the file you want to open. Go to the folder containing the PowerPoint presentation file and select it by ‘Left-clicking’ on its name.

Step-4: Click on ‘Open.’

After selecting the file, click on ‘Open’ to get the job done. You can also edit the slides by clicking on ‘Enable Editing.’

You can follow any of the two methods mentioned above to open an existing PowerPoint Presentation file.

1c. Shortcut Key to Open a Presentation in PowerPoint 

You can open both a new PowerPoint Presentation as well as an existing PowerPoint file using shortcut keys.

Here are the shortcut keys to open a PowerPoint presentation –

• To open a new PowerPoint presentation – Press “Ctrl+N” (Cmd+N on Mac)
• To open an existing PowerPoint presentation – Press “Ctrl+O” (Cmd+O on Mac)

Remember, in order to use the above shortcut keys, you need to open the PowerPoint application first on your computer.

2. How to Open a PowerPoint Online? (Using OneDrive)

Microsoft PowerPoint can also be saved online. Microsoft actually has integration with its own cloud service called OneDrive. In fact, if you are using Microsoft Office 365 , you also get free cloud storage of up to 1 TB with your account!

When you try to open an online version of a PowerPoint file, you will need to do so using OneDrive. In the following steps, I will show you how to open a PowerPoint Presentation file online using OneDrive:

Step-1: Click on the “File” menu

The first step, as usual, is to click on the “ File ” menu option. This will open the backend view of PowerPoint.

Step-2: Click on “Open” and choose “OneDrive”

From the backend view, click on the “ Open ” option. Then, click on “ OneDrive “. You may need to login into your OneDrive account. Then, navigate to the respective folder containing the PowerPoint file.

Step-3: Select the File and Click “Open”

Navigate to the designated folder on OneDrive that contains the PowerPoint file. Select it and then click “Open”.

PowerPoint will then download the file for you. Once it opens the online file, you will notice that the “ Autosave ” feature in PowerPoint will be turned on.

This basically means, every time you make a change to the file, it will automatically reflect in the file saved online in OneDrive!

How to Open and View a PowerPoint file in OneDrive?

You can also view the same PowerPoint file using your internet browser. All you need to do open the OneDrive login page and log in to your OneDrive account using your email address and password.

Once you are logged in into your OneDrive account, follow the below mentioned steps –

Step-1: Locate your PowerPoint file and Click on it

If you already have the file uploaded, then simply navigate to the respective folder, locate the file and click on it.

Step-2: Start Editing the File

Your file will be opened in a new tab on your browser. You can directly start editing the PowerPoint file online!

The best part is, you don’t even need to have the PowerPoint application installed to edit, open or view a PowerPoint presentation online file!

3. How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation in Google Slides? 

Google Slides in one of the most popular online tools out there for creating and opening presentations. You can also use Google Slides to open you PowerPoint Presentation file with just a few clicks. Follow the steps below:

Step-1: Go to Google Slides and click on ‘Open File Picker’ option

To open a PowerPoint Presentation in Google Slides, the first step is to log in to your Google account and go to Google Slides. Then, click on the “ Open File Picker ” option – the icon that looks like a file folder (see the image above).

Step-2: Go to the ‘upload’ section for uploading the presentation file

Since Google Slides is cloud-based, the next step is to upload the Presentation file. To do that, from the pop-up window, go to the ‘Upload’ section. Now click on ‘Select a file from your device.’

Step-3: Locate your PowerPoint Presentation file and click on ‘Open.’

From the pop-up window, go to the folder containing the Presentation file and select it. Then click on ‘Open’ to upload the file from your computer. It might take a few seconds to upload and load the Presentation file on Google Slides. That’s it!

4. How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation in Keynote on Mac? 

To open a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation on Apple’s Keynote application, just follow the steps below:

Step-1: Open ‘Keynote’ and locate your PowerPoint Presentation file

On your Mac Computer open the ‘Keynote’ application. From the window, navigate to the folder containing the PowerPoint Presentation file.

Step-2: Select your Presentation file and click on ‘Open.’

After locating your PowerPoint Presentation file on Keynote, simply click on it to select it. Then click on ‘Open’ to access it. A window might appear stating that some changes were made while importing the file, which is quite normal for highly customized PowerPoint files.

Step-3: View or Edit the PowerPoint file in Keynote

Once the file is opened in Keynote, you can now view or edit the file directly in Keynote just as you would on any other presentation design application!

5. How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation Without PowerPoint? 

Incase you do not have PowerPoint installed on your computer or do not have access to PowerPoint, you can still open a PowerPoint presentation file through various means. I’ll be discussing some of the ways to open a PowerPoint Presentation without PowerPoint below:

Method 1 – Using Online Tools

If you don’t have PowerPoint installed on your computer, you can still view a PPT or PPTX file. One of the best ways to view it is using online tools.

Two of the most commonly used FREE online tools are ‘Google Slides’ and ‘One-Drive’ . Both these methods have been discussed previously in this article. Thus, I would recommend going through them once again if you need some help on that.

Method 2 – Using Aspose Slides Viewer

Another method is using the “Aspose Slides Viewer”. Using this online tool, you can open your Presentation files. It supports PPT, PPTX, PPS, and ODT files that are amongst the most common PowerPoint Presentation formats.

Here’s how to use Aspose Slides Viewer tool to open PowerPoint Presentations –

Step-1: Go to Aspose Slides Viewer using an Internet Browser

The first step is to open your Internet Brower and go to: https://products.aspose.app/slides/viewer

Step-2: Click on ‘Drop or upload your file’

Once the webpage is done loading on your browser, click on ‘ Drop or upload your file.’

Step-3: Locate your file and click on ‘Open’

From the pop-up window, go to the folder containing the PowerPoint Presentation file and select it. Then click on ‘Open’ to upload the file from your computer to Aspose Slides Viewer. Once the upload is finished, you will be able to view the PowerPoint Presentation on your screen.

The good part about Aspose Slides Viewer is that it is completely FREE. When viewing the ppt file, it shows a surprisingly accurate representation of the presentation. You can also edit the PPT file. However, the options are quite limited. So, it can be used for basic text editing at the very best!

Method 3 – Using Third-Party Applications

There are a few Third-Party Applications out there, which you can use to Open PowerPoint Presentation files. Two of the most common among them are ‘LibreOffice Impress’ and ‘Kingsoft Presentation Professional.’

LibreOffice supports almost all types of PowerPoint files including PPT, PPTXS, PPTX, PPTS. It allows you to not only open PowerPoint presentations but also make necessary customizations. You can download it for free from here .

Kingsoft Presentation Professional is another standard presentation tool with lots of in-built features. It is quite similar to Microsoft PowerPoint and supports PPT and PPTX files. Download Kingsoft Presentation Professional from here .

6. How to Open PowerPoint in Presentation Mode? 

You can directly open your PowerPoint Presentation file in Presentation Mode, instead of having to normally opening it first and then changing the view mode. This might be time saving for some, as you will be able to start your presentation with just a few clicks. Follow the step-by-step guide below to find out the process:

Step-1: Go to the folder which contains your PowerPoint Presentation file

Go to the folder on your computer where you have saved your PowerPoint Presentation file. ‘Right Click’ on the file to open a dropdown menu.

Step-2: Click on ‘Show’

From the dropdown menu, click on the fourth option that says ‘Show.’ This will directly open the PowerPoint file in Presentation Mode.

If you have a “.pps” or “.ppsx” file, you don’t need to right-click on it. These files are designed to be directly open as slideshow!

7. How to Open PowerPoint in Safe Mode? 

Opening Microsoft PowerPoint in Safe Mode means opening the application without any add-ons, extensions, or other forms of customizations you might’ve made.

AutoCorrect and a few other features will also not work while in Safe Mode. You can both open the Microsoft PowerPoint application in safe mode or a particular PowerPoint Presentation file.

I’ll be discussing both of them below:

Opening the Microsoft PowerPoint Application in Safe Mode

Step-1: Press ‘Ctrl’ while opening the Microsoft PowerPoint Application

To open the Microsoft PowerPoint application in Safe Mode, hold the ‘Ctrl’ button of your keyboard and ‘Left Click’ on the Microsoft PowerPoint Icon on your taskbar, start-menu, or desktop.

Step-2: Click on ‘Yes’ to enable Safe Mode.

A dialogue box will appear where you will be asked if you want to start Microsoft PowerPoint in Safe Mode or not. Click on ‘Yes’ to open the PowerPoint in Safe Mode.

Opening a specific PowerPoint Presentation on Safe Mode:

To open a specific PowerPoint Presentation file on Safe Mode, follow the steps below:

Step-1: Hold the ‘Ctrl’ Key and click on the PowerPoint file

Browse to the folder on your computer where you have you have saved your presentation file. Now, while holding the ‘Ctrl’ button on your keyboard, ‘Left-click’ on the file to open it on Safe Mode. A dialogue box will appear on your screen.

Step-2: Click on ‘Yes’ in the Prompt that opens up

You will now be asked if you want to open this PowerPoint file in Safe Mode. Click on ‘Yes’ to get the job done!

8. How to Open a PowerPoint Presentation on Zoom?

Zoom meetings has now become an integral part of our lives, both in terms of work and education. The global pandemic has forcefully replaced on-stage presentations with virtual ones and Zoom is one of the most popular choices for it.

Related Article – How to Give a Presentation on Zoom? [A Complete Step-by-Step Guide!]

If you want to open a PowerPoint presentation on Zoom, follow the steps mentioned below –

Step-1: Open the PowerPoint presentation on your device

The first step is to open the PowerPoint Presentation file on your computer using Microsoft PowerPoint. You can do that by either ‘ Left-Clicking’ on the file from its location or going to the ‘Open’ tab on Microsoft PowerPoint and selecting the file from the ‘Browse’ option.

I have discussed this in detail on the points above.

Step-2: Open Zoom meeting and click on ‘Share Screen’.

Join or launch a Zoom meeting where you will be sharing your PowerPoint presentation. Click on the option that says ‘Share Screen’ at the bottom.

Step-3: Click on ‘Share’ option

A new window will pop-up where you will find all the applications opened on your computer. Hover your cursor over the ‘ PowerPoint Slide Show’ window and click on it. Now click on the option that says ‘Share’ at the bottom right corner of your screen.

Step-4: Open the PowerPoint presentation in Zoom

Once you click on ‘Share’ , the PowerPoint presentation file will be opened in Zoom and all the participants in the meeting will be able to view your screen. You can stop sharing your screen by clicking on the option that says ‘Stop Share.’

More PowerPoint Related Topics

• How to Crop a Picture in PowerPoint? [Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial!]
• What is a Presentation Clicker? [And How to Use it!]
• How to Convert a PowerPoint to PDF? [A Simple Guide!]
• PowerPoint vs Google Slides: Which is Better? [ULTIMATE Test!]
• How to Change Bullet Style in PowerPoint? A Complete Guide

Credit to drobotdean (via Freepik) for the featured image of this article

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How to Open a Presentation in PowerPoint

Before you can work on a presentation that you or someone else has previously created and saved, you need to open it. You can locate a presentation on your computer and simply double-click to open it, or you can open a presentation from within PowerPoint.

Open an Existing Presentation

Press Ctrl + O .

The Open screen appears and gives you a few ways to find a presentation to open.

• Recent displays a list of presentations that you’ve recently opened.
• Shared with Me displays files others have shared with you on OneDrive or SharePoint Online.
• OneDrive and/or SharePoint let you browse through your files stored on these cloud services, if you have them.
• This PC lets you browse through your Documents folder for files to open.
• Browse opens a dialog box, where you can browse through your computer’s folders, drives, and network shares.

The presentation opens in PowerPoint and you can begin making edits.

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Simple Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: April 28, 2024 Fact Checked

Creating a New PowerPoint

Creating the title slide, adding a new slide, adding content to slides, adding transitions, testing and saving your presentation.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 4,322,645 times. Learn more...

Do you want to have your data in a slide show? If you have Microsoft 365, you can use PowerPoint! PowerPoint is a program that's part of the Microsoft Office suite (which you have to pay for) and is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a computer.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

• Open the PowerPoint app, select a template and theme, then like “Create.”
• Click the text box to add your title and subtitle to create your title slide.
• Click the “Insert” tab, then “New Slide” to add another slide.
• Choose the type of slide you want to add, then add text and pictures.
• Rearrange slides by dragging them up or down in the preview box.

Things You Should Know

• Templates make it easy to create vibrant presentations no matter your skill level.
• When adding photos, you can adjust their sizes by clicking and dragging in or out from their corners.
• You can add animated transitions between slides or to individual elements like bullet points and blocks of text.

• If you don't have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can use the website instead of the desktop app. Go to https://powerpoint.office.com/ to use the website version.
• You can also use the mobile app to make presentations, though it's easier to do this on a computer, which has a larger screen, a mouse, and a keyboard.

• If you don't want to use a template, just click the Blank option in the upper-left side of the page and skip to the next part.

• Skip this step if your selected template has no themes available.

• If you're creating a PowerPoint presentation for which an elaborate title slide has been requested, ignore this step.

• You can change the font and size of text used from the Home tab that's in the orange ribbon at the top of the window.

• You can also just leave this box blank if you like.

• You can also click and drag in or out one of a text box's corners to shrink or enlarge the text box.

• On a Mac, you'll click the Home tab instead. [1] X Research source

• Clicking the white slide-shaped box above this option will result in a new text slide being inserted.

• Title Slide
• Title and Content
• Section Header
• Two Content
• Content with Caption
• Picture with Caption

• Naturally, the title slide should be the first slide in your presentation, meaning that it should be the top slide in the left-hand column.

• Skip this step and the next two steps if your selected slide uses a template that doesn't have text boxes in it.

• Text boxes in PowerPoint will automatically format the bulk of your text for you (e.g., adding bullet points) based on the context of the content itself.
• You can add notes that the Presentation will not include (but you'll still be able to see them on your screen) by clicking Notes at the bottom of the slide.

• You can change the font of the selected text by clicking the current font's name and then clicking your preferred font.
• If you want to change the size of the text, click the numbered drop-down box and then click a larger or smaller number based on whether you want to enlarge or shrink the text.
• You can also change the color, bolding, italicization, underlining, and so on from here.

• Photos in particular can be enlarged or shrunk by clicking and dragging out or in one of their corners.

• Remember to keep slides uncluttered and relatively free of distractions. It's best to keep the amount of text per slide to around 33 words or less. [2] X Research source

• Slide content will animate in the order in which you assign transitions. For example, if you animate a photo on the slide and then animate the title, the photo will appear before the title.
• Make your slideshow progress automatically by setting the speed of every transition to align with your speech as well as setting each slide to Advance . [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• If you need to exit the presentation, press Esc .

• Windows - Click File , click Save , double-click This PC , select a save location, enter a name for your presentation, and click Save .
• Mac - Click File , click Save As... , enter the presentation's name in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and clicking a folder, and click Save .

Community Q&A

• If you save your PowerPoint presentation in .pps format instead of the default .ppt format, double-clicking your PowerPoint presentation file will prompt the presentation to open directly into the slideshow view. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 0
• If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create a PowerPoint presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Your PowerPoint presentation (or some features in it) may not open in significantly older versions of PowerPoint. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
• Great PowerPoint presentations avoid placing too much text on one slide. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=DBDCE00C929AA5D8!252&ithint=file%2cpptx&app=PowerPoint&authkey=!AH4O9NxcbehqzIg
• ↑ https://www.virtualsalt.com/powerpoint.htm
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-the-timing-and-speed-of-a-transition-c3c3c66f-4cca-4821-b8b9-7de0f3f6ead1#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20slide%20advance,effect%20on%20the%20slide%20finishes .

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Presentation Design
• January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

• Change the slide order
• Reset your layout
• Change the slide dimensions
• Use PowerPoint Designer
• Format text
• Format objects
• Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Here is how the program is laid out:

• The Application Header
• The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
• The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
• The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

• The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

• Online Pictures
• Screenshots
• Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

• Title Slide
• Title and Content
• Section Header
• Two Content
• Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

• A SmartArt graphic,
• A 3D object,
• A picture from the web,
• Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

• A picture from the web

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

• Click on the  Picture  icon
• Find  a picture on your computer and select it
• Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

• Using graphics in PowerPoint
• Inserting icons onto slides
• Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
• How to embed a video in PowerPoint
• How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

• The background color automatically changes across all slides
• The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
• The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

• Gradient fill
• Picture or texture fill
• Pattern fill
• Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
• In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
• Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
• Select  Fonts
• Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

• Select the  element
• Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

• Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
• Click on the little star  next to the slide
• Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

• Navigate to the  Animations tab
• Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

• Select the  slide
• Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
• In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

• Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
• Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

• Navigate to the  File tab
•  Select  Save As  on the left
• Choose  where you want to save your presentation
• Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
• Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

• Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
• Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

• Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
• Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
• Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
• Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
• Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

• How to print multiple slides per page
• How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
• How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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Google Slides is an online presentation app that lets you create and format presentations and work with other people.

Step 1: Create a presentation

To create a new presentation:

• Open the Slides home screen at Google Slides .

You can also create new presentations from the URL https://slides.google.com/create .

Step 2: Edit and format a presentation

You can add, edit, or format text, images, or videos in a presentation.

• Insert and arrange text, shapes, and lines
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• Add animations to a slide

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6 Ways to Open PPT and PPTX Files for Free

You don't have to pay for Microsoft PowerPoint to open PPT and PPTX files.

Did you just receive a Microsoft PowerPoint file and don't have PowerPoint installed on your PC? Or maybe you want to open an old file, but your Microsoft 365 subscription has already lapsed?

Regardless of why, there are plenty of reasons why you might need to open, edit, or present from a PPT or PPTX file. Sure, you could purchase the whole Microsoft Office suite, but that's an expensive endeavor, especially for a small project.

Luckily, a wide variety of alternatives will let you open up your PPT or PPTX files entirely for free. Here are six of the best.

1. Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides

First up on this list is the Chrome extension Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides. This extension is heading off this list because it is probably the easiest way to quickly and easily open and edit Microsoft PowerPoint files for free.

For most installations of Google Chrome, the Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides extensions comes installed by default. This means that you're already ready to use it.

All you have to do is open up your Chrome browser window and then drag and drop any PPT or PPTX file into the window. You can see the file if you already have the extensions installed.

If not, all you have to do is download and install the extension. Learning how to find, install, and manage extensions in Chrome couldn't be easier, so this is a pretty straightforward method, even if you don't have the extension pre-installed.

The functionality of this extension is pretty impressive. You can easily open, view, edit, and even present your PowerPoint presentations with ease. There's support for animations and even internal links, so while you won't be able to do everything you could with Microsoft PowerPoint, you can get a pretty far way with just the extension.

2. Google Slides

Next up, we have Google Slides. Google Slides is like Google Docs or Google Sheets, but for PowerPoint presentations instead of Word or Excel.

If you've never heard of Google Slides, it's a cloud-based online alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint. It lets you create slideshows online and then present or share them with others entirely from your browser.

It can also open up PPT and PPTX files. All you have to do is go to Google Slides and navigate to the header that reads File . From there, just click on Import slides , then Upload , and select your file.

You'll need to pick which slides you want to import from here. Since you're trying to open a PPT or PPTX, you probably want to select all of them, but that's up to you. From there, just hit Import slides, and you're done.

From there, you have all of the best Google Slides presentation tools you would get if you had made your presentation there from scratch, and you can save, present, and edit to your heart's desire.

3. LibreOffice Impress

Next, we have LibreOffice. LibreOffice is an open-source and entirely free program that has been in development for over ten years. It acts as a free alternative to the Microsoft Office suite and does a pretty good job of it.

LibreOffice Impress is the equivalent of Microsoft PowerPoint and functions more or less identically to how PowerPoint does—from presentation creation, editing, and of course, opening up PPT and PPTX files.

If you're aiming to create a PPT or PPTX file from scratch, this is a great option to do just that. It behaves much the same as PowerPoint does without the price tag. The interface also looks quite good, though a little dated compared to Microsoft's more modern designs.

4. Apache OpenOffice

If you want an alternative to LibreOffice, there's Apache OpenOffice. Both programs are free and open-source because they're forks of a previous project. This much is evident even in the naming conventions, with OpenOffice's equivalent to PowerPoint also being called Impress.

OpenOffice Impress does a pretty good job as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint, especially considering that the project is entirely free.

There are plenty of tools to work with, and a lot of the functionality you would expect from Microsoft PowerPoint is here. For opening and making tweaks to a PPT or PPTX file, you'll be more than fine, and for larger projects, you probably won't have much to worry about either.

Even the interface is pretty good. It's maybe not as sleek as PowerPoint, but it doesn't look bad.

5. Aspose Online PowerPoint Viewer

If you don't want to install anything on your computer, an online solution is a good place to go. Aspose's online PowerPoint viewer is a web service that allows you to upload your files to the internet to view them.

All you have to do to get going with Aspose's online PowerPoint viewer is to upload your file to the site. To do this, just drag and drop the file into your browser, or click the center of the screen to upload it using folder navigation.

From there, you're pretty much good to go. Aspose will automatically open up your PowerPoint file for viewing.

The result is pretty good and gives you a solid idea of what the file looks like, though there can be problems with some fonts not being supported. The presentation will still open but will substitute them with default fonts, which can be problematic if they are critical to your presentation.

6. Online Document Viewer

Finally, we have Online Document Viewer. This online web service allows you to upload and view documents, including PPT and PPTX files.

Online Document Viewer has some decent viewing options, such as navigation menus, rotation options, and more. There's no ability to edit your files once you've uploaded them, though, so if you were hoping to make any changes, then you're unlikely to have much success with Online Document Viewer.

Make Opening PowerPoint Files Easy

As you can see, a wide variety of different methods are available to let you open and even edit your PPT and PPTX files without spending any money on the Microsoft Office suite.

If you're trying to make an engaging presentation, there are a few better ways to do it. As long as you know how to captivate your audience and have the right tools for the job, you shouldn't have any problems.

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How to Use Microsoft's Free PowerPoint Viewers

Use PowerPoint on the web or mobile app to view, create, and print PowerPoint files for free

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In This Article

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• PowerPoint Online

PowerPoint Mobile Apps

Other free powerpoint viewers, what to know.

• PowerPoint Online is Microsoft's free stripped-down, web-based version of PowerPoint.
• Another way to get PowerPoint free is with the mobile app.
• Some non-Microsoft programs also support PowerPoint files, like LibreOffice and Google Slides.

This article explains all the different ways you can create, share, edit, print, and open PowerPoint files for free, without ever installing PowerPoint to your computer.

Instructions in this article apply to desktop and mobile users on basically any platform.

Microsoft PowerPoint Online

PowerPoint Online is the web version of PowerPoint and my absolute first pick when I need to edit a PPTX file online. It doesn't have all the features as the desktop edition but it still lets you edit existing files, create new ones, share presentations with others, and print off presentations. And all of this works from a browser, so there's nothing to download or install.

This version of PowerPoint is available if you have a Microsoft account (any email address that ends with hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com , or msn.com ) or a Microsoft 365 work or school account.

The easiest way to view or edit an existing PowerPoint file online is to drag it from your computer and drop it directly on the PowerPoint Online web page, or use the Upload link on that page. You can also save it to your OneDrive account.

PowerPoint Online is compatible with all versions of PowerPoint. You can save a presentation from PowerPoint Online back to your computer in a number of file formats, including images, PDF, PPTX, and ODP.

Microsoft also provides PowerPoint to mobile users. There's an app for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Windows 11/10 devices (mobile, PC, and Surface Hub). The Microsoft 365 app for Android and iOS also includes PowerPoint, along with Word and Excel.

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Similar to the online PowerPoint viewer, the app has you log in with your Microsoft account so that you can access all the files from your OneDrive account, the ones that are stored on your device, and PowerPoint files saved in other cloud storage services (like Dropbox, Box, and several others).

You can edit directly from the app and use the menu from an open slideshow to save as a new title and to print it off.

The two options described above are Microsoft's free methods for opening PowerPoint files, but third-party programs can be used, too.

Unless you're interested in the Microsoft 365 free trial which lets you have PowerPoint for a limited time only, check out our lists of free online presentation makers and free Microsoft 365 alternatives for some additional choices that won't cost you a dime.

You might be relieved at the variety that's available, especially if you're looking for a way to open and edit PowerPoint files in a program that doesn't resemble Microsoft's software so much.

Microsoft used to let you open slideshows without PowerPoint with their free viewer tool , but it was restricted to viewing only and is no longer available from their website.

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How to Open PowerPoint Documents Without PowerPoint

Lee Stanton Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more July 2, 2021

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to open a PowerPoint presentation but don’t have the program installed on your computer? Maybe you’re at work and forgot to bring your laptop. Or perhaps you’re using your friend’s home PC, which doesn’t have an up-to-date version of MS Office.

If this sounds like you, we’ve got some good news. There are plenty of tools that can help open that PowerPoint document, and you don’t even need to spend big to get them.

In this article, we’re going to take you through the different tools that you could use to open a PowerPoint file if you don’t have the program on your device.

PowerPoint Compatible Applications

Microsoft PowerPoint may be the Mona Lisa of presentation programs, but it’s definitely not the only well-known option in town. Whether you want to make your work stand out with some snazzy transitions and animations or need an easy-to-use tool for creating basic slide shows, there are plenty of options available on the market. These include web-based utilities like Google Docs Presentations, LibreOffice Impress, PowerPoint Viewer, NeoOffice, Slide Share, and others.

Let’s now see how each of these tools work.

1. Downloadable Programs

a) PowerPoint Online

PowerPoint Online is a cloud-based service from Microsoft that allows users to create, edit and share presentations on any of their devices. It provides high-quality presentation tools that let you design and collaborate with your team and automatically synchronize that information across your connected devices.

To use PowerPoint Online, all you need is a browser and a Microsoft account (hotmail.com, live.com, outlook.com, MSN, or even a Microsoft 365 work/school account). If you have the file on your computer, you can view it with one simple drag from your desktop to the PowerPoint web page. You can also use PowerPoint online to open files saved on Dropbox or OneDrive.

PowerPoint Online lets you share or collaborate with partners when giving presentations. So you’ll never have that awkward moment during work meetings where colleagues are trying to pass along an idea but can’t quite do so because they don’t have access to the specific content like you do.

b) PowerPoint Viewer

PowerPoint Viewer is a great tool to use if you want to view your PowerPoint presentations. It works well with password-protected documents and allows you to open, print, and share files with others. Although it doesn’t allow you to edit anything, you can see slideshows in their entirety and compile notes on ideas that may have been brewing while it was being created.

Although, Microsoft retired the original PowerPoint Viewer back in 2018, but we already have a few replacements designed for Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher. A good example would be PPTX Viewer , which offers pretty much the same tools as the application originally developed.

2. Open-Source Tools

You’ll be pleased to learn that Microsoft PowerPoint isn’t the only tool you can use to power through a slideshow. There are plenty of open-source alternatives out there that don’t involve the default software package from Microsoft. In most cases, these alternatives are as good as PowerPoint itself, if not much better. Before looking at our top picks under this category, it’s important to understand what open-source tools are.

Open-source software is software whose source code is available to the public for reuse, study, and redistribution under a list of licensing terms that indicate various copyright responsibilities. Unlike proprietary software, no one owns open-source software. Everyone can modify it and share it with others. For this reason, you should always exercise caution before using any open source program for your presentations.

Here are our top open-source presentation tools:

a) Apache OpenOffice Impress

Apache OpenOffice Impress is a free and general-purpose office software compatible with many different kinds of documents. It includes a word processor (similar to Microsoft Word), a spreadsheet application (similar to Excel), and a presentation and graphics program (similar to PowerPoint). It is available in over 100 languages and also allows you to install third-party extensions for additional functionality.

To open a PowerPoint file with the help of Apache OpenOffice Impress:

Apache OpenOffice Impress is a versatile tool that allows you to view and create striking presentations. You can even enhance your presentations with 2D and 3D graphics, special effects, and animations. The toolbar and sidebar are incredibly user-friendly. There’s a “Properties” button to help you sort through slideshows as well as a “Navigator” button to enable you to navigate around with ease. In addition, a variety of formatting tools are available in the “Style” section located at the top of every slide.

Apache Open Office Impress might not have the best graphics but it certainly won’t disappoint. That said, there’s a minor learning curve involved, and it’s unlikely that you’ll hit the ground running. But once you conquer that hurdle and learn how all of its features work, you’ll be making high-quality presentations in no time.

b) LibreOffice Impress

LibreOffice’s presentation software is also named Impress. It’s synonymous with quality presentations that are just as good as those created using PowerPoint.

To open a PowerPoint file with LibreOffice:

• Download and install the software on your computer.

LibreOffice Impress comes with a wide range of templates to choose from, but their basic layout can be tweaked by installing specific formatting add-ons. That includes animated transitions and decorative frames. So it’s a good pick if you need well-crafted presentations, complete with visual animations and powerful charts for your marketing campaign.

Libre Office and Apache OpenOffice are strikingly similar. As a result, some users use them interchangeably.

c) NeoOffice

NeoOffice is a free, open-source office suite for Mac that includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawing applications. It also allows you to open presentations initially created using LibreOffice or OpenOffice Impress.

 To open a PowerPoint presentation using NeoOffice:

• Navigate to the location of your PowerPoint document.

NeoOffice comes with several benefits. First, you don’t have to use or subscribe to any particular service to work with your documents in the software. Second, it’s always up-to-date because the developers constantly monitor the program and install the updates by themselves. They don’t have to wait for official approval from a company owner such as Microsoft or Apple to release new features. Lastly, there are no commercial restrictions on downloading copies for multiple people at once.

3. Web-Based Tools

a) Google Docs Presentations

If you want to make a presentation without using PowerPoint, Google Slides is an excellent option. It lets users easily import their presentations and share them with others conveniently through the cloud. Although it doesn’t come with the same features as Microsoft PowerPoint, it’s one of the most user-friendly presentation tools.

If you want to open a PowerPoint file using Google Docs, here are the steps:

Besides viewing the file, you can also make further tweaks as you see fit. Additionally, you can download the presentation in various formats, including PPTX, ODP, PDF, JPEG, and TXT.

b) SlideShare

SlideShare is a social media site for presentations. Users can upload their slideshows and embed them on other websites. Presentations are typically viewed by browsing topics that others have uploaded within a specific category (e.g., business, marketing).

To open a PowerPoint file using SlideShare:

• Navigate to the location of the PowerPoint document you’d like to view and then click on “Open.”

• Click on “My Uploads” to view the presentation.

SlideShare comes with its limitations. Notably, you can only upload PPT files as static slideshows with no multimedia or animation effects. In addition, the quality of the text and images you create within your presentation is low since everything is saved in a raster format (720 x 480 pixels resolution).

Despite the low resolution, SlideShare presents one of the best ways to introduce yourself and your work in an interactive format that’s easy on the eyes. You’re able to create engaging, compelling, and immediately shareable presentations that can be accessed anytime.

F requently Asked Questions

How do i use powerpoint on a smartphone or tablet .

The Microsoft Office mobile app lets you read, view, and edit PowerPoint documents on the go with your iPad, iPhone, or Android device. You can store files in the cloud and access them from anywhere. The app is designed to work around your schedule by seamlessly syncing the files on your devices to provide online and offline support.

You can use the app to open files in your Google Drive or OneDrive account and quickly transfer them between devices. What’s more, you can create a document on one device and then continue editing it later on another device. Thus, the app is perfect for co-authoring with others.

The app is readily available in both the App Store and Google Play.

Make Presentations Like a Pro

PowerPoint is an excellent program for presentations, but its alternatives may work better depending on your needs. In this tutorial, we’ve shared information on how each of the available options works and what to do to view your document. We’re confident that this information will help you choose the perfect presentation tool for your next project.

Have you tried any alternatives to PowerPoint? Let us know in the comments section below.

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6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.

How to share your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a Mac, PC, or web browser

• It's easy to share a PowerPoint presentation on your Mac or PC app.
• You can also share a presentation if you use the online version of PowerPoint.
• Sharing a presentation can help you collaborate with friends or coworkers.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

When creating Microsoft PowerPoint presentations for work or school, it's often necessary to collaborate with others on your projects.

Thankfully, it's easy to share a PowerPoint presentation no matter what version you use. The process looks fairly similar on both Mac and PC programs, as well as on the online version that can be accessed from any web browser. The online option is helpful if you don't have the Microsoft Office program downloaded to your desktop.

For all of these options, you can add a collaborator (which operates similarly to sharing Google Slides ) or opt to send your file as a presentation or PDF via email. There are also alternative methods, such as sending via social media.

Here's how to share a presentation.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple macbook pro (from $1,299.00 at apple), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart), microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), samsung chromebook (from $269.00 at amazon), how to share a powerpoint presentation on a pc.

Sharing a presentation on the PC version of PowerPoint should look similar on most computer types. The following steps and accompanying photos detail the process on a Samsung Chromebook.

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation you wish to share on your PC.

2. Click the "Share" symbol in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This should give you the option to share either the full document or just the current slide.

• If you prefer to add a collaborator instead (similar to Google Slides functions), you will need to click the orange button to save a copy of the file to your OneDrive. 

3. Choose how you'd like to share the document or slide as an attachment. You can choose to send an email via Outlook or as a message via Zoom, for example.

Additionally, when you first launch the program, you can also find a "Share" tab on the left hand side. This will provide you with the same options for sharing a file.

How to share a PowerPoint Presentation on a Mac

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation on your Mac desktop or laptop.

2. Click the "File" tab in the top left corner. 

3. Select "Share" from the dropdown menu. This will grant you the option to either send or copy a link to share, send the file as a presentation or PDF, or manage access to a shared file. Select whichever option you'd like and follow the directions to add contact information.

• If you wish to manage access and add collaborators, you will have to make sure the file has been uploaded to your OneDrive before proceeding. (If it hasn't, PowerPoint should prompt you to do so at this time.)

4. Sending the file as an email is the most common choice. Selecting this option will automatically open a new draft with the file attached. (Be sure to select "Send PDF" if you'd prefer it to send as a PDF file instead of as a presentation.) Add an address, subject, and body text before sending.

You can also share a presentation by clicking the "Share" button in the upper right hand corner. (This is similar to how it appears on a PC.)

This option is extremely helpful as it provides all of your possible options in a single pop-up. Enter a name or email address (along with an optional message) to send the document. 

You can change the permissions settings at the top before clicking "Send," "Copy Link," or "Mail" to share your work. Click "More Apps" to browse additional options, such as sending via social media or text message. Lastly, you can select "Send a Copy" to send as a traditional attachment.

How to share a PowerPoint presentation on a web browser

You can access PowerPoint online on either a Mac or PC, as long as you have your login information for Microsoft Office. Regardless of what browser you prefer to use, the steps to share a presentation are exactly the same.

1. Log in to your Microsoft Office account on your preferred web browser and open the presentation you wish to share.

2. Click the "Share" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

3. This will open a pop-up in the center of the page. Enter a name or email address (along with an optional message) to send the document. You can change the permissions settings at the top before sending the link by clicking the "Send" or "Copy Link" option. (Those who have followed these steps on a Mac will recognize that it looks similar.)

Additionally, when you open the main menu, you can click the "Share" tab on the left hand side. This will allow you to invite others to edit the presentation or embed the presentation for a blog or website. 

If you are looking to embed online, this will open a different pop-up that will generate a code for you. Select the dimensions desired and then paste the text as needed. Click the "Close" or "X" buttons to minimize the window.

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to embed a youtube video into your microsoft powerpoint presentations using a mac or pc, how to convert a powerpoint to google slides in two different ways, how to convert google slides to a powerpoint presentation in 4 easy steps , how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow, how to download and access microsoft powerpoint on your mac computer.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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How to open Microsoft PowerPoint presentations in Apple Keynote on a Mac

If you use Microsoft PowerPoint on your Mac, you can save the presentations you create and open them in Keynote, Apple’s presentation app. It’s a handy feature to use in case you can’t access Microsoft’s apps.

Every Mac comes with Apple’s iWork apps: Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheet), and Keynote (presentations). And these apps can import Office documents. Here’s how you can open Word documents in Pages, as well as export Pages documents for use in Word.

How to import Microsoft PowerPoint presentation into Apple Keynote

This procedure works with .pptx and .ppt file formats.

• Launch Keynote (it’s in the Applications folder of your Mac).

• A window may appear, explaining any changes that were made during the import process. The more complicate your PowerPoint presentation (formatting, fonts, images, etc.), the higher the possibility that a change had to be made. The simpler the document, the more your file will resemble what you created in PowerPoint.
• That’s it. The PowerPoint file should open in Keynote.

Before you start working on your presentation, look it over carefully. Formatting may have changed and you may have to fix it. There’s always a chance that so much happened during the import that you can’t use your presentation.

How to export Apple Keynote presentations as Microsoft PowerPoint documents

If you’ve been working in Pages and will eventually return to Word, you can export your document as a Word file. Here’s how.

• In Keynote, click on the File menu and move your cursor to “Export to”.

• Choose where you want to save the file and name it.
• When you click Export, this will save the file.

Author: Roman Loyola , Senior Editor

Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.

Recent stories by Roman Loyola:

• Keynote, Numbers, and Pages jump to version 14–here’s what’s new
• Oracle warns: Java users should hold off on updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4
• AI-enhanced Xcode rumored to lead Apple’s push into AI-boosted iOS, macOS

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Excel App is no longer installed on my computer

My Excel app is no longer on my computer and my saved XL files will not open. The error message wants me to open it in Notepad. The PPT, WORD, all other Microsoft apps are installed and I can open these files. When I search apps installed on my computer, Excel is not there. I have had this computer for 5 years and it was working yesterday and now it does not.

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Hello there, Sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with Excel no longer being installed and hope the following steps help resolve your issue: 1) Check Recently Installed Programs:Review the list of recently installed programs on your computer to see if Excel was inadvertently uninstalled. 1.1)You can do this by going to "Control Panel" -> "Programs" -> "Programs and Features" (or "Add or Remove Programs" on older versions of Windows). 1.2)Look for Microsoft Office or Excel in the list of installed programs. 2)Search for Excel Application: Use the search function on your computer to look for the Excel application. Type "Excel" in the search bar and see if the Excel application appears in the search results. If it does, try launching it from there. 3)Check Office Subscription Status:If you have a subscription to Microsoft Office 365, verify that your subscription is active. Sometimes, expired subscriptions can result in apps being disabled or uninstalled. 4)Run Office Repair Tool:If you have Microsoft Office installed, you can try running the Office Repair tool to repair any corrupted or missing files related to Excel. This can often resolve issues with missing or malfunctioning Office applications. 5)Reinstall Microsoft Excel: If you determine that Excel has been uninstalled from your computer, you will need to reinstall it. If you have a Microsoft Office installation disk or access to your Office account, you can download and reinstall Excel from there. 6)Check for Windows Updates: Ensure that your computer is up-to-date with the latest Windows updates. These updates can help with bug fixes and performance related issues which could be causing your problem. I hope the following solutions have been of assistance and should you have anymore problems/concerns please do not hesitate to contact me again. Thanks, Parth P.

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UC Davis Graduate Studies

Sasha Neil Pimento Named 2024 UC Davis Grad Slam Champion

Master’s student in computer science graduate group will compete at uc grad slam on may 3.

• by Gordy Sauer
• April 25, 2024

At the beginning of her UC Davis Grad Slam presentation, Sasha Neil Pimento posed a simple question to audience members. 

“Have you ever walked to a particular room in your house and then wondered: ‘Wait a minute, why did I come in here?’” Pimento asked. 

This occurrence, called the ‘doorway effect,’ is experienced inordinately by patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Leveraging this example, and using only one slide while talking for less than three minutes, Pimento then explained to a lay audience in an understandable and engaging way how her complex research could let individuals with Alzheimer’s disease manage challenges such as this to live independently for longer periods. 

In her presentation “Opening Doors for Alzheimer’s Disease Care,” Pimento shared why the intelligent applications and platforms she and her team have developed could aid memory for intentions, facilitate long-distance care-giving and better analyze disease progression. 

Currently, over 55 million people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s or other dementias and over 10 million new cases are diagnosed each year, according to  Alzheimer’s Disease International . That’s one new case every 3.2 seconds. Considered this way: Pimento’s Grad Slam presentation lasted three minutes, which translates to 56 new cases of that disease or other dementias during her presentation alone, making research breakthroughs like Pimento’s crucial to “opening doors,” as she put it.

For her efforts, Pimento won first place and a prize of $5,000 at the UC Davis Grad Slam Semi-Final round on Friday, April 12, 2024. She became only the second master’s student in the history of the UC Davis Grad Slam competition to win first place. She will now represent UC Davis at the UC Grad Slam competition on May 3. 

Resonating with a wider audience

Pimento was inspired to enter this year’s Grad Slam competition once she saw the presentation of the 2023 UC Davis Grad Slam winner, Julia Mouat, Ph.D. ’23.  Julia went on to win 2 nd place in the 2023 UC Grad Slam competition .

“I found it [Julia’s presentation] fantastic and was inspired to try it myself since I have always enjoyed giving technical presentations. When I expressed my intention to enter the contest to my advisor, Dr. Alyssa Weakley, she was very supportive and encouraged me to go for it. We both saw Grad Slam as a valuable opportunity to not only raise awareness about our Alzheimer's disease research but also share our work with a wider community,” she said.

Pimento said she thought a lot about how to personally engage the audience with her presentation. Alzheimer’s research, like all research, is intricate and technical. It was imperative for Pimento to build a narrative that was not only concise – after all, she only had three minutes to present – but also easy to understand. Then, when she and her team were pilot testing their research and an Alzheimer’s patient shared their own anecdote, Pimento knew she’d discovered her “draw.”

“An Alzheimer's patient shared how by the time they walked from one room to another, they had already forgotten their initial intention or task. This anecdote inspired me to incorporate the concept of the ‘doorway effect’ into the hook,” she said. “Many innovations and research could directly benefit societies and individuals, but only if they are made aware of the work in a comprehensible manner.”

Prepping for and participating in Grad Slam

When it came to preparing for the UC Davis competition, Pimento studied Julia Mouat’s presentation. She analyzed what made it successful to incorporate some of those techniques. In addition, she leaned on the support, guidance and suggestions of her advisor, Dr. Weakley; the GradPathways Institute for Professional Development, a division of Graduate Studies; and the one-on-one coaching offered by Dr. Beth Tweedy, STEM Librarian. She then seized different opportunities to refine her delivery. She practiced at the inaugural Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Exhibition hosted jointly by Graduate Studies and the  Graduate Alumni Network , as well as at the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) meetings. Even her mother got involved in the process: Pimento held multiple practice sessions with her.

“The road to the UC Davis Grad Slam competition was long but rewarding,” Pimento said.

She described the whole UC Grad Slam experience as “truly incredible” and was particularly excited by the opportunity to meet the other nine UC Davis Grad Slam finalists and get to know about their research. In such a high-stakes environment as a competition like Grad Slam, having that level of mutual support is crucial to excelling.

“We all connected really well with each other and also had a few laughs together, which helped us calm our nerves before presenting,” she said. “This experience is a testament to the power of collaboration and the incredible UC Davis community, and I am grateful to the entire Graduate Studies team for organizing this remarkable event.”

But the work isn’t over. Now, Pimento turns her sights on the May 3 UC Grad Slam competition. She’ll compete against the nine other campus finalists for a chance to win the grand prize, even if she sees the prize itself as secondary to the opportunity.

“I'm eager to meet and interact with the other finalists, and to learn about the fascinating research they are conducting across various disciplines. I’m also eager to network and make new connections as it will allow me to share details about our own work on technological innovations to aid Alzheimer's patients. Overall, I'm thrilled to have this platform to not only showcase our research but also to gain exposure to the remarkable projects my fellow peers are working on.”

Supporters from the Campus Community and Beyond

In its tenth year, the UC Davis Grad Slam competition continues to showcase the transformative research and scholarship driven by our graduate education community. We would like to acknowledge all of this year's Grad Slam award recipients:

• Sasha Neil Pimento, 1st Place
• Prabhash Ragbir (Ph.D. student in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), 2nd Place
• Erin Hisey (Ph.D. student in the Integrative Pathobiology Graduate Group ), 3rd Place
• Roshni Shetty (Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group), Public Impact Prize
• Roshni Shetty, People's Choice Award

Graduate Studies would also like to acknowledge that without the comprehensive support from people and organizations – both on- and off-campus – this event wouldn’t be possible. Each year, judges from the UC Davis, alumni and local community are invited by Graduate Studies to evaluate the students’ presentations. This year’s semi-final round judges were:

• Dr. Amy Hart, Program Manager for Public Scholarship and Engagement
• Dr. Denneal Jamison-McClung, Ph.D. ’03, Director of the UC Davis Biotechnology Program
• Lora Painter, Anchor/Reporter, ABC 10 Sacramento
• Rinki Sethi ’04, VP & CISO, Bill.com
• Dr. Gordon Walker, Ph.D. ’16, Social media star with over 2.5 million followers worldwide on his @FascinatedByFungi accounts

Lastly, Graduate Studies would like to thank the sponsors of the 2024 UC Davis Grad Slam event:

• GradPathways Institute for Professional Development
• UC Davis Office of Research
• UC Davis Public Scholarship and Engagement
• UC Davis Global Affairs
• Rinki Sethi

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