How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016

Whenever you create a new presentation in PowerPoint, you'll need to know how to save it for later access and editing. As with previous versions of PowerPoint, you can save files to your computer. If you like, you can also save the file to a cloud service like OneDrive. You can even export and share presentations directly from PowerPoint.

Save and Save As

PowerPoint provides two ways to save files: Save and Save As. These options work in similar ways, but with a few important differences.

1. Save: When you create or edit a presentation, you will use the Save command to save your changes. You will use this command most of the time. When you save the file, you just need to select the file name and location to save the first time. Then, simply click the Save command to save the same name and location.
2. Save As: You will use this command to create a copy of the presentation while keeping the original. When you use Save As, you need to choose a different name and / or location for the copied version.

About OneDrive

Most features in Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint, aim to save and share documents online. This is done with OneDrive, this is the online storage space for your documents and files. If you want to use OneDrive, make sure you're signed in to PowerPoint with your Microsoft account.

How to save the presentation

It is important to save your presentation whenever you start a new project or make changes to the current project. Saving your ongoing work can prevent your document from being lost when a problem occurs. You will also need to pay attention to where you save the presentation to easily find it later.

1. Locate and select the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 1

2. If you are saving the file for the first time, the Save As feature will appear in the Backstage view .

3. After that, you will need to choose where to save the file and name it. Click Browse to select the location on your computer. Alternatively, you can click OneDrive to save the file to your OneDrive.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 2

4. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to save the presentation.

5. Enter the file name for the presentation, then click Save.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 3

6. Presentation will be saved. You can click the Save command again to save your changes when you modify the presentation.

You can also access the Save command by pressing Ctrl + S on the keyboard.

Use Save As to create a copy

If you want to save another version of the presentation while keeping the original, you can create a copy. For example, if you have a file named Client Presentation, you can save the file as Client Presentation 2 so you can edit the new file and still reference the original version.

To do this, you will click the Save As command in the Backstage view . Just like when you save the file for the first time, you need to choose the location to save the file and name the new file.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 4

How to change the default save location

If you don't want to use OneDrive, you might be disappointed when OneDrive is selected as the default location when saving files. If you find this inconvenient, you can change the default save location to This PC is selected by default.

1. Click the File tab to access the Backstage view mode .

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 5

2. Click Options.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 6

3. The PowerPoint Options dialog box will appear. Select Save, check the box next to Save to Computer by default, then click OK. The default save location will be changed.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 7

Use the AutoRecover feature

PowerPoint automatically saves your presentation to a temporary folder while you are working on them. If you forget to save your changes or if PowerPoint has a problem, you can restore the file with the AutoRecover feature .

How to use AutoRecover

1. Open PowerPoint. If you find automatically saved versions of a file, the Document Recovery panel will appear.

2. Click here to open an existing file. The presentation will be restored.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 8

By default, PowerPoint automatically saves every 10 minutes. If you are editing the presentation in less than 10 minutes, PowerPoint may not create an automatically saved version.

If you don't see the file you need, you can browse all files saved automatically from the Backstage view. Just select the File tab , click Manage Presentation, then select Recover Unsaved Presentations.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 9

Export presentation

By default, PowerPoint presentations are saved in the .pptx file format. However, there may be times when you need to use another file type, such as PDF or PowerPoint 97-2003. It's easy to export your presentation from PowerPoint in many different file formats.

1. PDF: Save presentations as PDF documents instead of PowerPoint files
2. Video: Save the presentation as a video
3. Package for CD : Save the presentation in a folder with Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer, a special slideshow that users can download
4. Handouts: Print a handout for your slides.
5. Other file types: Save on other file types, including PNG and PowerPoint 97-2003

How to export the presentation

In the example in this article, we will save the presentation as a PowerPoint 97-2003 file .

1. Click the File tab to access the Backstage view mode .

2. Click Export, then select the desired option. In this example, we will select Change File Type.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 10

3. Select the file type, then click Save As.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 11

4. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you want to export the presentation, enter the file name, then click Save.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 12

You can also use the Save As type drop-down menu in the Save As dialog box to save the presentation in a variety of file formats. Be careful in choosing the file type so that others can open it.

Share the presentation

PowerPoint makes it easy to share and collaborate on presentations with OneDrive. In the past, if you wanted to share files with someone, you could send the file as an email attachment. Although very convenient, this system also creates multiple versions of the same file, so it is difficult for users to organize and organize.

When you share a presentation from PowerPoint, you actually give others precise access to the same file. This allows you and the people you share to edit the presentation without having to track many different versions.

To share the presentation, it must first be saved to your OneDrive.

How to share the presentation

1. Click the File tab to access the Backstage view mode , then click Share.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 13

2. Share control panel will appear.

3. Click on the interactive buttons below to learn more about how to share different presentations.

How to save presentations in PowerPoint 2016 Picture 14

Practice!

1. Open the sample presentation.

2. Use Save As to create a copy of the presentation. Name the new copy of Saving Challenge Practice. You can save it to a folder on your computer or OneDrive.

3. Export the presentation as a PDF file.

See more:

1. Start with PowerPoint 2016
2. Create and open presentations in PowerPoint 2016
3. How to create PowerPoint photo album with effects