In PowerPoint, the read-only setting allows presentation authors to discourage users from editing slides. Making a PPT file read-only is a simple enough task; likewise, removing the “read-only” designation from a slide deck can be done with the click of a button.
That said, the procedure for enabling the read-only setting differs depending on whether you’re using PowerPoint in Windows, on a Mac, or on the web. Adding to the confusion is a slew of other file protection settings that also vary between operating systems.
To help you navigate the PowerPoint read-only setting like a pro, we’ve put together a guide that explains the relevant procedures in the Windows, Mac, and web-based versions of the slide maker. To eliminate confusion, we’ve supplemented the guide with instructions for using other file protection features on each of the operating systems.
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Windows guide to PowerPoint read-only files
The Windows PowerPoint app makes it relatively easy to enable and disable the read-only setting in a PPT file. The app also affords other methods you can use to discourage users from editing the presentation or accessing it altogether.
How to make a PowerPoint presentation read-only on Windows
If you’re working on a Windows machine, follow the steps below to make your PowerPoint slide deck read-only:
- Go to the File tab.
- Click the “Info” button in the dropdown menu.
- Click on the “Protect Presentation” menu right at the top, and select the “Always Open Read-Only” option. Then, go back to your presentation.
- The presentation is now read-only. Anyone who opens the file — including yourself — will see this warning beneath the ribbon:
Note that making the presentation read-only does not mean that you’re denying editing access to other users. It simply means that anyone who has the file open will need to click on that “Edit Anyway” button before they’re able to make any changes.
Other ways to protect a PowerPoint presentation in Windows
Apart from making a presentation read-only, there are three other, more powerful ways you can protect your slide deck on a Windows machine:
- Encrypt the presentation with a password
- Add a digital signature to the slide deck
- Mark a presentation as final
We discuss each of the three ways in detail below.
Encrypt a PowerPoint presentation with a password
Encrypting a PowerPoint presentation is perhaps the most robust form of protection you can give your slide deck. Once a password is set, nobody will be able to access the PPT file without typing it in first (not even you).
To encrypt your PPT file with a password:
- Navigate to File > Info > Protect Presentation > Encrypt with Password:
- Type in the password you wish to set, then click OK. PowerPoint will then ask you to reenter the password before encrypting your presentation.
- Write down the password and store it in a safe location. If you forget the sequence, you’ll lose access to the presentation forever.
How to remove password protection from a PowerPoint presentation
Now, if for some reason you decide to unencrypt the presentation, perform all of the same steps until you get to the “Protect Presentation” menu, then:
- Click on “Encrypt with Password:”
- Delete the password and hit OK. That’s it — anyone can open the PPT file without hurdles.
Add a digital signature to a PowerPoint presentation
If your PowerPoint presentation contains sensitive information, or the authenticity of its authorship is important, you can add a digital signature to the file. A digital signature is an invisible bit of code that stays with the file and confirms the authenticity of the presentation and the fact that it hasn’t been altered after getting signed. In certain cases, a digital signature can replace a notary’s seal.
To add a digital signature to your PowerPoint presentation:
- Head to File > Info > Protect Presentation > Add a Digital Signature:
- Click “Yes” when prompted to get a digital ID from a Microsoft Partner. The next steps may vary, so follow Microsoft’s prompts in the windows that appear.
Mark a presentation as final
Marking a presentation as “read-only” is meant to discourage users from making changes. Marking it as final pretty much does the same thing, but also lets users know that the file is ready to be presented, and revisions or comments (inadvertent or otherwise) are not welcome.
To mark a presentation as final, simply go to File > Info > Protect Presentation > Mark as Final:
When a user opens the PPT file, they’ll see this imposing message at the top of the deck:
How to edit read-only presentations on Windows
If you’ve been sent a read-only presentation to work on, the fix is really simple. Being read-only is more of a request for acknowledgement from you that you are making changes to the slide deck. So, you don’t need to worry about bugging the author of the file to tweak permissions or anything like that. All you have to do is click on the “Edit anyway” button that accompanies the “read-only” warning beneath the ribbon. Here’s how the button looks on a Windows device:
Mac guide to read-only PowerPoint presentations
The read-only function works exactly the same way on a Mac as it does on the Windows PowerPoint app. That said, enabling it requires a somewhat different procedure.
As a Mac user, you’ll find that other ways to discourage editing or protect the PPT file also differ.
How to make a PowerPoint presentation read-only on Mac
Start by opening the PowerPoint presentation you need to protect. Then, navigate to the File tab and click on “Always Open Read-Only” in the drop-down menu:
That’s it — your PowerPoint will now show up as read-only whenever anyone opens it:
Now that you’ve made the file read-only, the person using it needs to physically acknowledge that they plan to edit it anyway — this way, there’s less risk of the user making inadvertent changes:
If you don’t want the file to open as read-only every time, simply go back to the File tab and uncheck the “Always Open Read-Only” option:
Now, any user with whom you share the presentation will be able to edit the slides without first acknowledging that they’re making changes.
Other ways to protect a PowerPoint presentation on a Mac
The Mac version of PowerPoint offers limited options for protecting a PPT file compared to its Windows counterpart. That’s because Windows’s Information Rights Management (IRM) system, which enables users to restrict permissions, does not work on MacOS.
That said, you’re able to encrypt the PPT file with a password to control viewing and editing access.
To require a password for access to the presentation:
- Go to File > Passwords:
- Check the box under the “Password to open” header:
- Enter the new password twice, then hit “Set Password.” Now, anyone trying to open and edit the PPT file will need to type in the password to access the presentation.
If you want to limit users’ ability to open and edit the presentation, you can check the boxes under the “Password to open” and “Password to modify” headers, then follow the steps above to encrypt the file:
And if you want to restrict editing access while allowing anyone to view the PPT file, only check the box under the “Password to modify” header before setting the password:
How to edit a read-only PowerPoint presentation on a Mac
To edit a read-only PowerPoint slide deck on a Mac, simply hit the “Edit anyway” button that shows up under the ribbon:
How to make a presentation read-only in web-based PowerPoint
If you’re using the web-based version of PowerPoint, the steps for making a slide deck read-only are somewhat different. Here’s how you do it.
- With the presentation open, click on the red Share button in the top-right corner of the ribbon. Then, select the “Share” option from the dropdown menu:
- Specify who the new, view-only permission will apply to, or leave the field blank to make the presentation view-only for everyone. Then, click on the dropdown menu and click on “Can view.”
- You’ll see the new permission show up. Now, you can close the window — the presentation will remain read-only until you change these settings following the same procedure.
How to password-protect a web-based PowerPoint presentation
If you feel that the read-only setting does little to protect your slide deck from unauthorized changes, you can protect it further by creating a password. Here’s how:
- From the presentation, go to the “Share” button in the top-right corner of the ribbon, then click on “Link to this Slide”.
- In the window that pops up, go to “Settings:”
- Set your password and hit “Apply”. Now, anyone who wishes to access the presentation will need to type in this password before they can access the file.
Editing view-only web-based PowerPoint presentations
Microsoft’s “view only” permission limits your actions to, well, viewing the deck. Unlike the read-only setting on the desktop app, “view only” can only be rescinded by the presentation’s author. So, if you have a legitimate need to work on the file, you’ll need to reach out to the creator of the deck and ask them to change the permission for you.
Use Plus AI and spend less time and effort on making PowerPoint decks
PowerPoint is an acclaimed slidemaker for its versatile functionality, relative ease of use, and customization options. But if you’ve ever made a PowerPoint deck, you know how laborious the slide-creation process is. The dull, but nevertheless vital tasks, like formatting, mapping content to slides, and setting background colors can take hours, leaving you less time to polish the content and practice presenting. With a slide maker like Plus AI, you can delegate the more tedious slide making tasks to an AI model and concentrate your efforts on crafting compelling content and rehearsing your presentation delivery.
Plus AI works as a PowerPoint add-in, and you can use it to auto-generate presentations in several ways.
The easiest method is to prompt Plus AI with a detailed description of what the slide deck is about. The slide maker will produce an outline you can customize before generating a presentation-ready deck, complete with info-rich content, professional themes, layouts, fonts, and graphics. At this point, you can edit the slide content to your liking. This method works well if you don’t have materials on which to base the deck, or simply dread starting from a blank PowerPoint slide.
Alternatively, you can feed Plus AI source files, or copy-paste chosen passages into the prompt window, and get a full, auto-generated presentation in the output. This is a suitable method if you have documents from which to build the deck. And if you’ve drawn up a presentation outline, you can also prompt each slide individually.
Once Plus AI generates the slideshow, you can use its AI-powered editing features to rewrite, remix, or reformat slides (or perform these actions manually in PowerPoint).
Ready to learn more about using Plus AI in PowerPoint? Head to our resource library. There, you’ll find guides to walk you through everything from slide preparation to steps for adding videos in PowerPoint.
FAQs about read-only PowerPoint presentations
Below, we shed light on a few commonly fielded queries about the read-only status in a PowerPoint presentation.
How to save PowerPoint so it cannot be edited?
How you save a PowerPoint to prevent editing depends on whether you use the web or desktop version of the slide maker. On the web version, go to Share > Share, then select “Can view” from the dropdown menu with the pencil icon. Anyone with access to the file will only be able to view it. On the desktop app, you can discourage editing by marking the presentation read-only. To do this on Windows, head to File > Info > Protect Presentation > Always Open Read-Only. On Mac, go to File > Always Open Read Only.
How do I remove a read-only password from a PowerPoint presentation?
You can only remove a password from a PowerPoint presentation if you know what the password is. On Windows, assuming you know the password and can open the PPT, head to File > Info > Protect Presentation > Encrypt with Password, then simply delete the password and click OK. On Mac, go to File > Passwords, then uncheck the box beneath “Password to open” and/or “Password to modify” headers.
How do I remove restrictions from a PowerPoint presentation?
It depends on what restrictions are set. If you’re using the desktop PowerPoint app and the presentation is marked “Read-only” or “Final”, you can click the “Edit anyway” on the warning displayed under the ribbon. On the other hand, if you’re on the web-based app and the presentation is marked “View only,” you’ll need to ask the file’s author to grant you editing access. Password-protected presentations can only be accessed if you know the password — there’s no way to remove this restriction if you don’t. If the author has restricted access using Microsoft’s Information Rights Management system, you’ll need to reach out to them to get the restrictions lifted.
How do I remove read-only embedded fonts in PowerPoint?
On a Windows machine, open the PowerPoint presentation and navigate to File > Options > Save, then under the “Preserve fidelity when sharing this presentation” header, uncheck the “Embed fonts in the file” box. Then save the file. On a Mac, go to Preferences > Output and Sharing > Save. Under the “Font embedding” header, uncheck the “Embed fonts in a file” box, then save the PPT file.
