About the .PPS File Extension

Microsoft PowerPoint provides users with the ability to generate slide shows, presentation graphics, and other materials for use in business and educational settings. However, one of its drawbacks is that standard PowerPoint presentations (which usually end with a .ppt extension) can't be viewed without an installed copy of the software. This makes sharing presentations difficult, since not all users can be expected to own a copy of this very expensive package.

This is where the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer and associated .pps files come into play. PPS stands for "PowerPoint Slideshow" and are PowerPoint files that can be accessed using a free application that's available for download from Microsoft's site. This application does not allow a user to edit or otherwise alter the presentation, and .pps files cannot be edited even with standard copies of PowerPoint. They are an output-only format, much like Portable Document Format (.pdf) or PostScript (.ps) files.

It's also worthwhile noting that not all files ending with the .pps extension are necessarily PowerPoint presentations. Other applications may make use of the same extension, and these files obviously cannot be opened successfully using the PowerPoint Viewer.

Allegedly Open Office provides another program that can open .pps files, but this capability has not been verified. Also, Microsoft changed its file formats as of Office 2007. The formatting of .pps files may have been affected by this change, which means older copies of the PowerPoint Viewer may no longer work. If you've upgraded to PowerPoint 2007 and users are complaining they can no longer open your .pps files, ask them to upgrade their local copy of the Viewer to the latest one available on Microsoft's site. If this is not possible, you may need to save your .pps files in "compatibility" mode in order to make them usable with older copies of the Viewer.

No cases of .pps files being used for virus transmission have been noted. However, in 2002 the "Life Is Beautiful" virus hoax spread a false rumor that .pps files by that name contained a virus that would "erase your whole hard drive.

Associated applications to file extension PPS:

Microsoft PowerPoint

Company / developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Office

Company / developer:
Microsoft Corporation

OpenOffice.org Impress

Company / developer:
Open Source Software

Ashampoo Office

Company / developer:
Ashampoo

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