←Module 8
Lesson

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.

📘 Reading Lesson

Lesson Notes

Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.

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.

PowerPoint provides several options for getting your file out of your computer and into the hands of your audience.

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.

Share button in the upper-right corner of PowerPoint

Before sharing, PowerPoint may ask you to save the file to OneDrive if it hasn't been saved there already.

Prompt to save file to OneDrive before sharing

Enter email addresses, choose whether recipients can edit or only view, and optionally add a message before clicking Send.

Share pane with email invitation fields
💡 Use Can View instead of Can Edit when sharing with clients or stakeholders who should not modify the presentation.

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.

Email sharing options in Backstage view
  • 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.

Go to File → Export → Create PDF/XPS. Choose a location, confirm the file name, and click Publish.

Create PDF/XPS dialog in PowerPoint

Click Options before publishing to control what is included — all slides, a range of slides, or hidden slides.

PDF options dialog showing slide range settings
PDF is the best format to use when you need recipients to view but not edit your presentation.

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.

Go to File → Export → Create a Video. Choose the display quality, set how long each slide appears, and click Create Video.

Create a Video export options in PowerPoint

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.

💡 For most purposes choose Full HD (1080p). Use Presentation HD (720p) only if file size is a concern.

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.

Package Presentation for CD dialog
Despite the name, you do not need an actual CD. Copy to Folder saves everything to a location you choose, such as a USB drive or a network folder.

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.

Go to File → Info → Protect Presentation → Mark as Final.

Mark as Final option in Backstage view
Mark as Final is not a security feature. Any recipient can click Edit Anyway to remove the restriction and modify the file.

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:

  1. Export the presentation as a PDF. Make sure only slides 1 through 5 are included.
  2. Export the presentation as a Full HD (1080p) video with each slide set to display for 5 seconds.
  3. Use Package Presentation for CD to copy the file to a folder on your Desktop named Presentation Package.
  4. Open the resulting folder and confirm it contains the presentation file and any associated media.
  5. Return to PowerPoint, go to File → Info, and Mark the presentation as Final.
← Presenting Your Slideshow