Sharing and Exporting Presentations
Learn how to share your presentation via OneDrive, export it as a PDF, create a video from your slides, and package your file for delivery on another computer.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Export a presentation to PDF, video, and other formats
- Package a presentation with its media for another machine
- Share by link with appropriate permissions
- Choose a distribution format based on the recipient's need
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
Decide what the recipient needs to do with it
You distribute the orientation deck at Lakeside Medical Associates.
Three audiences: new hires who need to watch it, a colleague who must update it next quarter, and a partner organization that only needs to read it. One format cannot serve all three.
Your task: Match the export format to what each recipient actually needs to do.
| Recipient needs to | Send | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Watch it without you | MP4 video | Preserves animation, timing, and narration |
| Edit it | .pptx via OneDrive link | Editable, and everyone stays on one version |
| Read it | Opens anywhere and cannot be altered casually | |
| Present it elsewhere | Package for CD | Bundles fonts and media into a portable folder |
Why Sharing and Exporting Matter
A great presentation needs to reach your audience in the right format. Sometimes that means sharing a live editable file; other times you need a locked PDF or a self-contained video that can play anywhere.
Decide what the recipient needs to do before choosing the format. Watch it without you means video. Edit it means a .pptx via a link, not an attachment. Read it means PDF. Present it themselves means a PowerPoint Show or a packaged folder.
Sharing via OneDrive
The Share button in the upper-right corner of PowerPoint lets you invite people to view or edit your presentation using OneDrive.
That prompt is telling you something useful: a share link points at a file in the cloud, so a local file has nothing to link to. Emailing a copy instead creates a second version that immediately starts diverging from yours.
Enter email addresses, choose whether recipients can edit or only view, and optionally add a message before clicking Send.
Sending as an Email Attachment
To attach the presentation directly to an email, go to File → Share → Email and choose one of the send options.
- Send as Attachment — attaches the editable .pptx file.
- Send as PDF — converts and attaches a PDF version.
- Send as XPS — attaches an XPS document (similar to PDF).
Exporting as a PDF
A PDF version of your presentation preserves formatting exactly as you designed it and can be opened on any device without PowerPoint installed.
PDF locks the layout and fonts so the deck renders identically anywhere, which also solves the font-substitution problem — if a recipient lacks a font you used, PowerPoint silently swaps it and your text reflows. PDF drops animation, transitions, and embedded video, so it suits a deck to be read rather than watched.
Click Options before publishing to control what is included — all slides, a range of slides, or hidden slides.
Creating a Video from Your Presentation
PowerPoint can export your entire presentation — including animations and transitions — as a standalone video file that plays without PowerPoint.
Video keeps animation, timing, and any recorded narration, which makes it the right format for training people watch on their own. Rendering a long deck takes several minutes and the file is large, so produce it the day before rather than the hour of.
PowerPoint will render the video and save it as an MP4 or WMV file. This can be shared, uploaded to a website, or played at a kiosk.
Packaging a Presentation for Delivery
If you need to present on a computer that may not have PowerPoint — or if your presentation uses linked media files — use Package Presentation for CD.
Go to File → Export → Package Presentation for CD. This bundles your presentation, all linked media, and the PowerPoint Viewer into a single folder you can copy to a USB drive.
Marking a Presentation as Final
Mark as Final signals to recipients that the presentation is complete and discourages further editing. It sets the file to read-only and displays an information banner.
Mark as Final is advisory, not protection. It sets the file read-only and shows a notice, and any recipient can dismiss it with one click. If a deck genuinely must not be altered, send a PDF; if it must be confidential, use Encrypt with Password on the same menu and consider where the file is stored.
Knowledge Check
Which export format preserves slide formatting and can be opened without PowerPoint?
What is the primary purpose of Package Presentation for CD?
Challenge
Apply what you've learned in this lesson.
Open the practice presentation and complete the following tasks:
- Export the presentation as a PDF. Make sure only slides 1 through 5 are included.
- Export the presentation as a Full HD (1080p) video with each slide set to display for 5 seconds.
- Use Package Presentation for CD to copy the file to a folder on your Desktop named Presentation Package.
- Open the resulting folder and confirm it contains the presentation file and any associated media.
- Return to PowerPoint, go to File → Info, and Mark the presentation as Final.
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