Creating and Opening Presentations

PowerPoint files are called presentations. When starting a new project, you will usually begin with a blank presentation.

To create a new presentation, click the File tab to open Backstage view, then select New and choose Blank Presentation.

Templates are predesigned presentations that allow you to quickly start a slideshow with built-in formatting, layouts, and color themes.

From the New screen in Backstage view, you can search for templates using the search bar or choose from suggested templates.

You can open presentations that have already been saved on your computer or OneDrive.

Click File → Open to view recent files or browse your computer to locate a presentation.

If you frequently use the same presentation, you can pin it to the Recent list so it stays easy to access.

Hover your mouse over a recent file and click the pushpin icon to pin the presentation.

If you open a presentation created in an older version of PowerPoint, it may open in Compatibility Mode.

Compatibility Mode disables certain newer features so the presentation remains compatible with older versions of PowerPoint.

To access newer PowerPoint features, you can convert a presentation from Compatibility Mode to the latest file format.

Open Backstage view, click Convert, and save the presentation as the newer format.