PPT vs. PPS

If you are a novice user of PowerPoint, you may sometimes get confused by a couple of PPS or PPSX presentations. You may wonder what utterly its difference is from a normal PPT or PPTX extension, and how should he view the PPS presentations in a PPT manner.

Before discussing the difference, you should be aware that no technical difference exists between PPT (or PPTX) and PPS (or PPSX) files. Both of them are based on MS PowerPoint technology.

Compare PPT & PPS

Yet the two presentation extensions show individual focus as in each definition:

PPT is the default file extension for saving presentations in MS PowerPoint 2003 and earlier, while PPTX the default in PowerPoint 2007 and later.

PPS refers to PowerPoint Show, i.e. the show mode extension in PowerPoint 2003 and earlier -- PPS files will run in "play-presentation" mode when double-clicked. Similarly, PPSX works as the show mode in PowerPoint 2007 and later.

Random exchange of extension is available for both PPT and PPS files. It means that you can rename a PPT to a PPS causing no content change; and vice versa. However, this does not work with PPTX and PPSX files, although they share much similarity.

The difference between PPT and PPS lies in how they are treated by PowerPoint. By default, PPT and PPTX files are opened in edit mode that lets you to use all the menus and commands, while PPS and PPSX files in slideshow (play-presentation) mode without a PowerPoint interface. You may need to press the ESC key to exit a PowerPoint Show when it finishes.

Convert PPT to PPS

PPS offers you a complete and stream viewing pleasure of PowerPoint presentations. To convert a PPT file to a PPS, you can try the following two methods:

Tip 1 Rename the PPT file by changing its extension to *.pps. To make that, you may need to uncheck the option "hide extensions for known file types". Or simply go to Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder options > View. Ignore the message of gloom and doom! Note that it does not work in MS PowerPoint 2007.

Tip 2 Open the file in PowerPoint and move the cursor to Save As. Scroll down in the Save as Type box till you find PowerPoint show *.pps.

Convert PPS to PPT

Is there any way of converting a PPS file back to PPT format? Of course yes. Simply open the PowerPoint Slow, go to File dropdown and resave it as a PPT. Again, note that it fails to work in 2007 MS PowerPoint due to a security check built in which checks the extension against the actual file type.

If you want to edit a PPS or PPSX file without changing the extension, take either of these tips:

1. In Windows Explorer, drag and drop the PPS or PPSX file into an empty PowerPoint window.

2. Launch PowerPoint and open a PPS or PPSX using the File/Office button or the Open option to edit a presentation.

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