Convert PPTX (PowerPoint) to PDF

Convert PPTX to PDF when the deck goes further than your own screen: to a client, to a conference, to a print shop. A PDF opens on any computer, and the slides will not shift because someone runs an older PowerPoint.

What happens when you convert PPTX to PDF

PowerPoint plays a deck, PDF pins it down. While the file stays in PPTX, each slide depends on the fonts installed for the viewer and on the program they open it with. In a PDF the page is already assembled and looks the same for everyone.

A slide becomes a page: the order holds and so do the proportions. A wide 16:9 slide stays wide, a 4:3 one stays square.

• Text stays text: search works in the finished PDF, and a phrase can be selected and copied.
• Pictures, diagrams and charts sit on the page exactly where they sat on the slide.
• Animations and transitions do not carry over: objects that used to appear on a click are visible from the start.
• Speaker notes stay in the deck, only the slides reach the pages.
• An unusual corporate typeface is swapped for a close one, and then a line takes slightly more or less room.

On the slide	In the PDF
Text box	Text you can search and copy
Object animated on click	Object sits on the page with the rest
Slide transition	Simply the next page
Embedded video	A still frame, nothing plays
Speaker notes	Not included
Link to a site	The link text is visible

How to convert

1. Upload your PPTX file to this page.
2. Check that the target format is PDF.
3. Start the conversion and wait for the finished file.
4. Download the PDF and page through it before you send it on.

Who needs a deck as pages

• Send a proposal to a client who may not have PowerPoint at all.
• Submit a talk to a conference, since organisers almost always ask for PDF.
• Give a layout to a print shop so it sees the same type size and margins you do.
• Attach slides to a thesis or a report as one file next to the written part.
• Circulate a handout after a meeting without letting anyone edit the source.

What to look at in the deck first

1. Delete draft slides, because everything left in the file reaches the pages.
2. Check whether text overflows its boxes, since a PDF page keeps it exactly where it sits now.
3. Swap a rare corporate font for a common one if a line has to fall precisely on the layout.
4. Spell link addresses out in the text when the deck is going to be printed.

Tips

• The slide sets the page shape. A 16:9 layout printed on A4 leaves wide bands at the top and bottom, so a deck meant for paper is easier to build in 4:3.
• Heavy photos make a heavy file. If the PDF travels by email, shrink the images while you are still in the deck.
• Check colour in grey. Light text on a coloured shape blends into the background on a black and white printer.
• Keep the source. A PDF is awkward to edit, so send the PPTX along with it when the deck will still be reworked.

Where to go next

• The deck was saved by an early PowerPoint version: the PPT to PDF converter takes that file.
• A contract or report from Word travels with the slides: prepare it with the DOCX to PDF converter.
• A budget or data table comes as an attachment: build it with the XLSX to PDF converter.

Frequently asked questions

Do animations survive?

No, a PDF page is static. Anything that appeared on a click on the slide stands in place from the first moment in the PDF.

Do speaker notes end up in the PDF?

No. The slides themselves go into the file, the notes stay in the deck.

Can text be copied out of the finished PDF?

Yes. Slide text does not become a picture, so search finds it and the cursor selects it.

What about a font the recipient does not have?

The recipient no longer needs the font, since a PDF shows the page as it was assembled. A rare typeface is replaced during that assembly by a close one, which usually shows up in line length.

How does converting PPT differ from PPTX?

PPT comes from early PowerPoint versions and is built differently inside. The result is the same, slides as pages, but that file goes on the PPT to PDF converter page.