How to convert PowerPoint to PDF
Updated
Contents
To convert a PowerPoint presentation to PDF, open PowerPoint to PDF, add your .pptx or .ppt file, press Convert to PDF, and download the result. You get one slide per page, and anyone can open it without PowerPoint.
Each page keeps the slide's shape, so a widescreen deck is not squeezed onto a paper size. Text typed into text boxes stays text you can search and copy; words inside a picture stay part of the picture.
PowerPoint to PDF runs on a secure server. Your deck, up to 50 MB, travels over an encrypted connection and is deleted when the job ends; the download link stops working after 60 minutes. No account is needed.
Step by step
- 1Open the PowerPoint to PDF tool.
- 2In PowerPoint, unhide any slide you want in the PDF and save. Hidden slides and speaker notes are left out.
- 3Drag your .pptx or .ppt onto the box that says “Add your document, or browse”, or click it to choose the file. Remove swaps it for another.
- 4Press Convert to PDF. The deck uploads over an encrypted connection, and the button follows the job while LibreOffice converts it.
- 5When “Your PDF is ready.” appears, press Download. The link stops working after 60 minutes, so save the PDF before you close the tab.
- 6Skim the pages before you send them: a missing font or an elaborate effect can come out slightly different.
What the PDF looks like
The slides are drawn by LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, not by Microsoft PowerPoint, using its standard PDF settings. The result is usually close to what you see in PowerPoint, but not pixel for pixel: a font our server lacks is swapped for a stand-in, which can move a line break or overflow a text box, and complex effects or some SmartArt may be drawn differently.
Animations do not carry over, so bullet points that appeared one click at a time all show together. Speaker notes and slides marked hidden are not exported, and the page has no option to add them.
Several decks, and other presentation apps
The tool converts one presentation per job. For a workshop handout, convert each deck in turn, then combine the PDFs with Merge PDF. Word documents go through Word to PDF the same way.
Only PowerPoint files are accepted; any other type is refused before anything is uploaded. From Google Slides, download the deck as a Microsoft PowerPoint file first. From Keynote, export it to PowerPoint, then convert that file here.
Where your deck goes
Your presentation travels over an encrypted connection to our secure server and is deleted when the job finishes, whether it worked or not. The finished PDF's download link stops working after 60 minutes, and a daily storage rule erases the stored copy after that.
A deck over 50 MB is refused as soon as you pick it, before anything is uploaded. Decks that big usually carry large photos or video; PowerPoint's Compress Pictures command can shrink them before you try again.
Common questions
Are speaker notes included?
No. The PDF has the slides only, one per page, and the page has no option to add notes. Hidden slides are left out too, so unhide any you want before converting.
Why do some slides look different in the PDF?
LibreOffice, not PowerPoint, draws the slides. A font our server does not have is replaced by a substitute, which can move line breaks, and some effects and SmartArt may be drawn differently. Check the pages before you send them.
Can I convert a password-protected presentation?
No. The page has no password field, so a deck that needs a password to open cannot be converted. Remove the password in PowerPoint, save an unprotected copy, and convert that.
How big can the presentation be?
Up to 50 MB, one deck per conversion. A bigger file is refused when you pick it, before it is uploaded.
Is my presentation uploaded?
Yes. It travels over an encrypted connection to our secure server, which deletes it when the job finishes. The PDF's download link stops working after 60 minutes, and a daily storage rule erases the stored copy.