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For a training, I was given several large powerpoint files, each of which opens automatically like a slide show. I can't find any way to edit them. My goal is to compress them by converting them to pdf -- is there a way? I just want to be able to refer back to the contents. Static would be fine.

aparente001
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    Does this answer your question? [How can I automatically convert PowerPoint to PDF?](https://superuser.com/questions/641471/how-can-i-automatically-convert-powerpoint-to-pdf) – mashuptwice Mar 25 '22 at 19:18
  • @mashuptwice - Do I have to use a script? – aparente001 Mar 25 '22 at 19:25
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    Note that several answers mention that the functionality is already built into powerpoint. You can also find a bunch of other questions regarding your problem here: https://superuser.com/search?q=ppt+to+pdf – mashuptwice Mar 25 '22 at 19:32
  • @aparente001 [Microsoft says](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/save-powerpoint-presentations-as-pdf-files-9b5c786b-9c6e-4fe6-81f6-9372f77c47c8) you can export PowerPoint presentations as PDFs directly from within PowerPoint. – Anaksunaman Mar 25 '22 at 19:36
  • PDF is not a compression tool, and creating PDF is and has been built in to PowerPoint for quite a while now. – music2myear Mar 27 '22 at 04:25

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For a training, I was given several large powerpoint files, each of which opens automatically like a slide show.

Almost certainly because they've been saved as PPS or PPSX/PPSM files. These open automatically into slideshow view when you double-click them.

So don't do that. ;-)

Instead, start PowerPoint, then use File | Open to open the presentations. They'll open in Normal (aka editing) view.

From there you can chose File | Save As and save as PDF.

There's no guarantee that a file saved as PDF will be smaller than the original PowerPoint file; it might be considerably larger if you use a Mac.

But at least now you know how to do it and can find out for yourself.

Steve Rindsberg
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