Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program,<ref name="Britannica-lead">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> developed by Microsoft.

It was originally created by Robert Gaskins, Tom Rudkin, and Dennis Austin<ref name="Britannica-lead" /> at a software company named Forethought, Inc.<ref name="Britannica-lead" /> It was released on April 20, 1987,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> initially for Macintosh computers only.<ref name="Britannica-lead" /> Microsoft acquired PowerPoint for about $14 million three months after it appeared.<ref name="Britannica-acquisition-lead">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> This was Microsoft's first significant acquisition,<ref name="NYT-lead">Template:Cite news</ref> and Microsoft set up a new business unit for PowerPoint in Silicon Valley where Forethought had been located.<ref name="NYT-lead" />

PowerPoint became a component of the Microsoft Office suite, first offered in 1989 for Macintosh<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in 1990 for Windows,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which bundled several Microsoft apps. Beginning with PowerPoint 4.0 (1994), PowerPoint was integrated into Microsoft Office development, and adopted shared common components and a converged user interface.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001-lead">Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint's market share was very small at first, prior to introducing a version for Microsoft Windows, but grew rapidly with the growth of Windows and of Office.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Since the late 1990s, PowerPoint's worldwide market share of presentation software has been estimated at 95 percent.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

PowerPoint was originally designed to provide visuals for group presentations within business organizations, but has come to be widely used in other communication situations in business and beyond.<ref name="Britannica-uses-lead">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The wider use led to the development of the PowerPoint presentation as a new form of communication,<ref name="Davies">Template:Cite magazine Template:Cite web</ref> with strong reactions including advice that it should be used less,<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006">Template:Cite book</ref> differently,<ref name="Mayer-Atkinson-2004">Template:Cite web</ref> or better.<ref name="Kosslyn-2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

The first PowerPoint version (Macintosh 1987) was used to produce overhead transparencies,<ref name="CACM-Gaskins-2007-lead">Template:Cite journal</ref> the second (Macintosh 1988, Windows 1990) could also produce color 35 mm slides.<ref name="CACM-Gaskins-2007-lead" /> The third version (Windows and Macintosh 1992) introduced video output of virtual slideshows to digital projectors, which would over time replace physical transparencies and slides.<ref name="CACM-Gaskins-2007-lead" /> A dozen major versions since then have added additional features and modes of operation<ref name="austin-timeline-2001-lead" /> and have made PowerPoint available beyond Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, adding versions for iOS, Android, and web access.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Microsoft PowerPoint 2013-2019 logo.svg

Microsoft PowerPoint 2013-2019 logo

History

Creation at Forethought (1984–1987)

PowerPoint was created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software startup in Silicon Valley named Forethought, Inc.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Forethought had been founded in 1983 to create an integrated environment and applications for future personal computers that would provide a graphical user interface, but it had run into difficulties requiring a "restart" and new plan.<ref name="Brock-2017-re-Forethought">Template:Cite journal</ref>

On July 5, 1984, Forethought hired Robert Gaskins as its vice president of product development<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp to create a new application that would be especially suited to the new graphical personal computers, such as the Apple Macintosh and later Microsoft Windows.<ref name="Brock-2017-re-PowerPoint">Template:Cite journal</ref> Gaskins produced his initial description of PowerPoint about a month later (August 14, 1984) in the form of a 2-page document titled "Presentation Graphics for Overhead Projection."<ref name="presenter-proposal">Template:Cite web</ref> By October 1984, Gaskins had selected Dennis Austin to be the developer for PowerPoint.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gaskins and Austin worked together on the definition and design of the new product for nearly a year, and produced the first specification document dated August 21, 1985.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This first design document showed a product as it would look in Microsoft Windows 1.0,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which at that time had not been released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Development from that spec was begun by Austin in November 1985, for Macintosh first.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp About six months later, on May 1, 1986, Gaskins and Austin chose a second developer to join the project, Thomas Rudkin.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp Gaskins prepared two final product specification marketing documents in June 1986; these described a product for both Macintosh and Windows.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At about the same time, Austin, Rudkin, and Gaskins produced a second and final major design specification document, this time showing a Macintosh look.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Throughout this development period, the product was called "Presenter". Then, just before release, there was a last-minute check with Forethought's lawyers to register the name as a trademark, and "Presenter" was unexpectedly rejected because it had already been used by someone else. Gaskins says that he thought of "PowerPoint", based on the product's goal of "empowering" individual presenters, and sent that name to the lawyers for clearance, while all the documentation was hastily revised.<ref name="Indezine-2012">Template:Cite interview</ref>

Funding to complete development of PowerPoint was assured in mid-January 1987, when a new Apple Computer venture capital fund, called Apple's Strategic Investment Group,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> selected PowerPoint to be its first investment.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp A month later, on February 22, 1987, Forethought announced PowerPoint at the Personal Computer Forum in Phoenix; John Sculley, the CEO of Apple, appeared at the announcement and said "We see desktop presentation as potentially a bigger market for Apple than desktop publishing."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh shipped from manufacturing on April 20, 1987, and the first production run of 10,000 units was sold out.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Acquisition by Microsoft (1987–1992)

By early 1987, Microsoft was starting to plan a new application to create presentations, an activity led by Jeff Raikes, who was head of marketing for the Applications Division.<ref name="raikes-history-pt2-2010-hist">Template:Cite web A transcript of the relevant section is also available. </ref> Microsoft assigned an internal group to write a specification and plan for a new presentation product.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They contemplated an acquisition to speed up development, and in early 1987 Microsoft sent a letter of intent to acquire Dave Winer's product called MORE, an outlining program that could print its outlines as bullet charts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During this preparatory activity Raikes discovered that a program specifically to make overhead presentations was already being developed by Forethought, Inc., and that it was nearly completed.<ref name="raikes-history-pt2-2010-hist" /> Raikes and others visited Forethought on February 6, 1987, for a confidential demonstration.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp

Raikes later recounted his reaction to seeing PowerPoint and his report about it to Bill Gates, who was initially skeptical:<ref name="raikes-history-pt2-2010-hist" />

When PowerPoint was released by Forethought, its initial press was favorable; the Wall Street Journal reported on early reactions: Template:" 'I see about one product a year I get this excited about,' says Amy hora, a consultant in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 'People will buy a Macintosh just to get access to this product.Template:' "<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On April 28, 1987, a week after shipment, a group of Microsoft's senior executives spent another day at Forethought to hear about initial PowerPoint sales on Macintosh and plans for Windows.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp The following day, Microsoft sent a letter to Dave Winer withdrawing its earlier letter of intent to acquire his company,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in mid-May 1987 Microsoft sent a letter of intent to acquire Forethought.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As requested in that letter of intent, Robert Gaskins from Forethought went to Redmond for a one-on-one meeting with Bill Gates in early June 1987,<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-history" />Template:Rp and by the end of July an agreement was concluded for an acquisition. The New York Times reported:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Microsoft's president Jon Shirley offered his company's motivation for the acquisition: Template:" 'We made this deal primarily because of our belief in desktop presentations as a product category. ... Forethought was first to market with a product in this category.Template:' "<ref name="Shirley-comments">Template:Cite news</ref> Microsoft had 50% market share in Macintosh applications, and led in three categories; Raikes said that after the acquisition it would lead in five categories. (Forethought distributed the database Filemaker, which Microsoft wanted to continue marketing.) The company intended for Forethought to be its Silicon Valley base to develop and market future graphics software,<ref name="keefe19870803">Template:Cite magazine</ref> so set up within its Applications Division, an independent "Graphics Business Unit" for PowerPoint, the first Microsoft application group distant from the main Redmond location. The company hoped to hire employees uninterested in living in Washington state.<ref name="Shirley-comments" /> All the PowerPoint people from Forethought joined Microsoft, and the new location was headed by Robert Gaskins, with Dennis Austin and Thomas Rudkin leading development. PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh was modified to indicate the new Microsoft ownership and continued to be sold. A year after the acquisition, Gaskins reported that all seven Forethought PowerPoint employees had stayed with Microsoft, and the Graphics Business Unit had hired 12 employees, many of whom did not want to move to Redmond. The GBU had moved to a new location on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California; it was much larger than needed for 19 people, but Gaskins wrote that he and Microsoft wanted future capacity as the company grew in Silicon Valley.<ref name="GBU-first-year-1988">Template:Cite web</ref>

A new PowerPoint 2.0 for Macintosh, adding color 35 mm slides, shipped in May 1988,<ref name="GBU-first-year-1988" /> and again received good reviews.<ref name="pournelle198901">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The same PowerPoint 2.0 product re-developed for Windows was shipped two years later, in mid-1990, at the same time as Windows 3.0.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Much of the color technology was the result of a joint development partnership with Genigraphics, the dominant presentation services company.<ref name="GBU-first-year-genigraphics">Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 3.0, which was shipped in 1992 for both Windows and Mac, added live video for projectors and monitors, with the result that PowerPoint was thereafter used for delivering presentations as well as for preparing them. This was at first an alternative to overhead transparencies and 35 mm slides, but over time would come to replace them.<ref name="CACM-2007-Gaskins-history">Template:Cite journal The first three versions are described in the sidebar, "Presentation Formats and PowerPoint," p. 17.</ref>

Part of Microsoft Office (since 1993)

Template:See also PowerPoint had been included in Microsoft Office from the beginning. PowerPoint 2.0 for Macintosh was part of the first Office bundle for Macintosh which was offered in mid-1989.<ref name="mac-office-1989">Template:Cite news</ref> When PowerPoint 2.0 for Windows appeared, a year later, it was part of a similar Office bundle for Windows, which was offered in late 1990.<ref name="win-office-1990">Template:Cite news</ref> Both of these were bundling promotions, in which the independent applications were packaged together and offered for a lower total price.<ref name="mac-office-1989" /><ref name="win-office-1990"/>

PowerPoint 3.0 (1992) was again separately specified and developed,<ref name="austin-timeline-2001-lead" /> and was advertised and sold separately from Office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was, as before, included in Microsoft Office 3.0, both for Windows and the corresponding version for Macintosh.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A plan to integrate the applications themselves more tightly had been indicated as early as February 1991, toward the end of PowerPoint 3.0 development, in an internal memo by Bill Gates:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The move from bundling separate products to integrated development began with PowerPoint 4.0, developed in 1993–1994 under new management from Redmond.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The PowerPoint group in Silicon Valley was reorganized from the independent "Graphics Business Unit" (GBU) to become the "Graphics Product Unit" (GPU) for Office, and PowerPoint 4.0 changed to adopt a converged user interface and other components shared with the other apps in Office.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001-lead" />

When it was released, the computer press reported on the change approvingly: "PowerPoint 4.0 has been re-engineered from the ground up to resemble and work with the latest applications in Office: Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, and Access 2.0. The integration is so good, you'll have to look twice to make sure you're running PowerPoint and not Word or Excel."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Office integration was further underscored in the following version, PowerPoint 95, which was given the version number PowerPoint 7.0 (skipping 5.0 and 6.0) so that all the components of Office would share the same major version number.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Although PowerPoint by this point had become part of the integrated Microsoft Office product, its development remained in Silicon Valley. Succeeding versions of PowerPoint introduced important changes, particularly version 12.0 (2007) which had a very different shared Office "ribbon" user interface, and a new shared Office XML-based file format.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This marked the 20th anniversary of PowerPoint, and Microsoft held an event to commemorate that anniversary at its Silicon Valley Campus for the PowerPoint team there. Special guests were Robert Gaskins, Dennis Austin, and Thomas Rudkin, and the featured speaker was Jeff Raikes, all from PowerPoint 1.0 days, 20 years before.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since then major development of PowerPoint as part of Office has continued. New development techniques (shared across Office) for PowerPoint 2016 have made it possible to ship versions of PowerPoint 2016 for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web access nearly simultaneously,Template:Citation needed and to release new features on an almost monthly schedule.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> PowerPoint development is still carried out in Silicon Valley Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010, Jeff Raikes, who had most recently been President of the Business Division of Microsoft (including responsibility for Office),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> observed: "of course, today we know that PowerPoint is oftentimes the number two—or in some cases even the number one—most-used tool" among the applications in Office.<ref name="raikes-history-pt2-2010-hist" />

Sales and market share

PowerPoint's initial sales were about 40,000 copies sold in 1987 (nine months), about 85,000 copies in 1988, and about 100,000 copies in 1989, all for Macintosh.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums">Template:Cite book Rounded unit sales figures are from the revenue tables (p. 403) adjusted to calendar years (p. 170) with the transfer pricing indicated (p. 182).</ref> PowerPoint's market share in its first three years was a tiny part of the total presentation market, which was very heavily dominated by MS-DOS applications on PCs.<ref name="PC-market-share-2005">Template:Cite web</ref> The market leaders on MS-DOS in 1988–1989<ref>Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref> were Harvard Graphics (introduced by Software Publishing in 1986<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) in first place, and Lotus Freelance Plus (also introduced in 1986<ref>Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref>) as a strong second.<ref>Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref> They were competing with more than a dozen other MS-DOS presentation products,<ref>Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref> and Microsoft did not develop a PowerPoint version for MS-DOS.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After three years, PowerPoint sales were disappointing. Jeff Raikes, who had bought PowerPoint for Microsoft, later recalled: "By 1990, it looked like it wasn't a very smart idea [for Microsoft to have acquired PowerPoint], because not very many people were using PowerPoint."<ref name="raikes-history-pt2-2010-hist" />

This began to change when the first version for Windows, PowerPoint 2.0, brought sales up to about 200,000 copies in 1990 and to about 375,000 copies in 1991, with Windows units outselling Macintosh.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp PowerPoint sold about 1 million copies in 1992, of which about 80 percent were for Windows and about 20 percent for Macintosh,<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp and in 1992 PowerPoint's market share of worldwide presentation graphics software sales was reported as 63 percent.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp By the last six months of 1992, PowerPoint revenue was running at a rate of over $100 million annually ($Template:Formatprice in present-day termsTemplate:Inflation-fn).<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sales of PowerPoint 3.0 doubled to about 2 million copies in 1993, of which about 90 percent were for Windows and about 10 percent for Macintosh,<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp and in 1993 PowerPoint's market share of worldwide presentation graphics software sales was reported as 78 percent.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp In both years, about half of total revenue came from sales outside the U.S.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" />Template:Rp

By 1997 PowerPoint sales had doubled again, to more than 4 million copies annually, representing 85 percent of the world market.<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Webarchive</ref> Also in 1997, an internal publication from the PowerPoint group said that by then over 20 million copies of PowerPoint were in use, and that total revenues from PowerPoint over its first ten years (1987 to 1996) had already exceeded $1 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since the late 1990s, PowerPoint's market share of total world presentation software has been estimated at 95 percent by both industry and academic sources.<ref name="Thielsch-Perabo-2012-history">Template:Cite journal Embedded citations: (1) Template:Cite conference (2) Template:Cite news</ref>

Operation

The earliest version of PowerPoint (1987 for Macintosh) could be used to print black and white pages to be photocopied onto sheets of transparent film for projection from overhead projectors, and to print speaker's notes and audience handouts; the next version (1988 for Macintosh, 1990 for Windows) was extended to also produce color 35mm slides by communicating a file over a modem to a Genigraphics imaging center with slides returned by overnight delivery for projection from slide projectors. PowerPoint was used for planning and preparing a presentation, but not for delivering it (apart from previewing it on a computer screen, or distributing printed paper copies).<ref name="CACM-2007-Gaskins-operation">Template:Cite journal The first three versions are described in the sidebar, "Presentation Formats and PowerPoint," p. 17.</ref> The operation of PowerPoint changed substantially in its third version (1992 for Windows and Macintosh), when PowerPoint was extended to also deliver a presentation by producing direct video output to digital projectors or large monitors.<ref name="CACM-2007-Gaskins-operation" /> In 1992 video projection of presentations was rare and expensive, and practically unknown from a laptop computer. Robert Gaskins, one of the creators of PowerPoint, says he publicly demonstrated that use for the first time at a large Microsoft meeting held in Paris on February 25, 1992, by using an unreleased development build of PowerPoint 3.0 running on an early pre-production sample of a powerful new color laptop and feeding a professional auditorium video projector.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-Gaskins-operation">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

By about 2003, ten years later, digital projection had become the dominant mode of use, replacing transparencies and 35mm slides and their projectors.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-Gaskins-operation" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result, the meaning of "PowerPoint presentation" narrowed to mean specifically digital projection:<ref name="Yates-and-Orlikowski-2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

In contemporary operation, PowerPoint is used to create a file (called a "presentation" or "deck") containing a sequence of pages (called "slides" in the app) which usually have a consistent style (from template masters), and which may contain information imported from other apps or created in PowerPoint, including text, bullet lists, tables, charts, drawn shapes, images, audio clips, video clips, animations of elements, and animated transitions between slides, plus attached notes for each slide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After such a file is created, typical operation is to present it as a slide show using a portable computer, where the presentation file is stored on the computer or available from a network, and the computer's screen shows a "presenter view" with current slide, next slide, speaker's notes for the current slide, and other information.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Video is sent from the computer to one or more external digital projectors or monitors, showing only the current slide to the audience, with sequencing controlled by the speaker at the computer. A smartphone remote control built in to PowerPoint for iOS (optionally controlled from Apple Watch)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and for Android<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> allows the presenter to control the show from elsewhere in the room.

In addition to a computer slide show projected to a live audience by a speaker, PowerPoint can be used to deliver a presentation in a number of other ways:

• Displayed on the screen of the presentation computer or tablet (for a very small group)<ref>Template:Cite web (This mode of operation was available since version 1.0.)</ref>
• Printed for distribution as paper documents (in several formats)<ref>Template:Cite web (This mode of operation was available since version 1.0.)</ref>
• Distributed as files for private viewing, even on computers without PowerPoint<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Packaged for distribution on CD or a network, including linked and embedded data<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Transmitted as a live broadcast presentation over the web<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Embedded in a web page or blog<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Shared on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Set up as a self-running unattended display<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Recorded as video/audio (H.264/AAC), to be distributed as for any other video<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Some of these ways of using PowerPoint have been studied by JoAnne Yates and Wanda Orlikowski of the MIT Sloan School of Management:<ref name="Yates-and-Orlikowski-2007" />

They found that some of these ways of using PowerPoint could influence the content of presentations, for example when "the slides themselves have to carry more of the substance of the presentation, and thus need considerably more content than they would have if they were intended for projection by a speaker who would orally provide additional details and nuance about content and context."<ref name="Yates-and-Orlikowski-2007" />

Other platforms

PowerPoint for mobile

PowerPoint Mobile is included with Windows Mobile 5.0. It is a presentation program capable of reading and editing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, although authoring abilities are limited to adding notes, editing text, and rearranging slides. It can't create new presentations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Use PowerPoint Mobile. Microsoft. Retrieved September 14, 2007.</ref> Versions of PowerPoint Mobile for Windows Phone 7 can also watch presentation broadcasts streamed from the Internet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, Microsoft released PowerPoint Mobile for Windows 10 as a universal app. In this version of PowerPoint users can create and edit new presentations, present, and share their PowerPoint documents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint for the web

Template:Further PowerPoint for the web is a free lightweight version of Microsoft PowerPoint available as part of Office on the web, which also includes web versions of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.

PowerPoint for the web does not support inserting or editing charts, equations, or audio or video stored on your PC, but they are all displayed in the presentation if they were added in using a desktop app. Some elements, like WordArt effects or more advanced animations and transitions, are not displayed at all, although they are preserved in the document. PowerPoint for the web also lacks the Outline, Master, Slide Sorter, and Presenter views present in the desktop app, as well as having limited printing options.<ref name="osupport-ppt">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultural impact

File:Presentation in Progress.jpg

A PowerPoint presentation in progress

Business uses

PowerPoint was originally targeted just for business presentations. Robert Gaskins, who was responsible for its design, has written about his intended customers: "... I did not target other existing large groups of users of presentations, such as school teachers or military officers. ... I also did not plan to target people who were not existing users of presentations ... such as clergy and school children ... . Our focus was purely on business users, in small and large companies, from one person to the largest multinationals."<ref name="Gaskins-Sweating-Bullets-2012-cultural">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Business people had for a long time made presentations for sales calls and for internal company communications, and PowerPoint produced the same formats in the same style and for the same purposes.<ref name="Gaskins-Sweating-Bullets-2012-cultural" />Template:Rp

PowerPoint use in business grew over its first five years (1987–1992) to sales of about 1 million copies annually, for worldwide market share of 63 percent.<ref name="Sweating-Bullets-2012-salesnums" /> Over the following five years (1992–1997) PowerPoint sales accelerated, to a rate of about 4 million copies annually, for worldwide market share of 85 percent.<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Webarchive</ref> The increase in business use has been attributed to "network effects", whereby additional users of PowerPoint in a company or an industry increased its salience and value to other users.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

Not everyone immediately approved of the greater use of PowerPoint for presentations, even in business. CEOs who very early were reported to discourage or ban PowerPoint presentations at internal business meetings included Lou Gerstner (at IBM, in 1993),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Scott McNealy (at Sun Microsystems, in 1996),<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Webarchive</ref> and Steve Jobs (at Apple, in 1997).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> But even so, Rich Gold, a scholar who studied corporate presentation use at Xerox PARC, could write in 1999: "Within today's corporation, if you want to communicate an idea ... you use PowerPoint."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Uses beyond business

At the same time that PowerPoint was becoming dominant in business settings, it was also being adopted for uses beyond business: "Personal computing ... scaled up the production of presentations. ... The result has been the rise of presentation culture. In an information society, nearly everyone presents."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1998, at about the same time that Gold was pronouncing PowerPoint's ubiquity in business, the influential Bell Labs engineer Robert W. Lucky could already write about broader uses:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Over a decade or so, beginning in the mid-1990s, PowerPoint began to be used in many communication situations, well beyond its original business presentation uses, to include teaching in schools<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in universities,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> lecturing in scientific meetings<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (and preparing their related poster sessions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), worshipping in churches,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making legal arguments in courtrooms,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> displaying supertitles in theaters,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> driving helmet-mounted displays in spacesuits for NASA astronauts,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> giving military briefings,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> issuing governmental reports,<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> undertaking diplomatic negotiations,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> writing novels,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> giving architectural demonstrations,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> prototyping website designs,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> creating animated video games,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> editing images,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> creating art projects,<ref name="Vienne">Template:Cite news</ref> and even as a substitute for writing engineering technical reports,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and as an organizing tool for writing general business documents.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

By 2003, it seemed that PowerPoint was being used everywhere. Julia Keller reported for the Chicago Tribune:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cultural reactions

As uses broadened, cultural awareness of PowerPoint grew and commentary about it began to appear. "With the widespread adoption of PowerPoint came complaints ... often very general statements reflecting dissatisfaction with modern media and communication practices as well as the dysfunctions of organizational culture."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Indications of this awareness included increasing mentions of PowerPoint use in the Dilbert comic strips of Scott Adams,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> comic parodies of poor or inappropriate use such as the Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or summaries of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Nabokov's Lolita in PowerPoint,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a vast number of publications on the general subject of PowerPoint, especially about how to use it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Out of all the analyses of PowerPoint over a quarter of a century, at least three general themes emerged as categories of reaction to its broader use: (1) "Use it less": avoid PowerPoint in favor of alternatives, such as using more-complex graphics and written prose, or using nothing;<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006" /> (2) "Use it differently": make a major change to a PowerPoint style that is simpler and pictorial, turning the presentation toward a performance, more like a Steve Jobs keynote;<ref name="Mayer-Atkinson-2004" /> and (3) "Use it better": retain much of the conventional PowerPoint style but learn to avoid making many kinds of mistakes that can interfere with communication.<ref name="Kosslyn-2007" />

Use it less

Template:See also An early reaction was that the broader use of PowerPoint was a mistake, and should be reversed. An influential example of this came from Edward Tufte, an authority on information design, who has been a professor of political science, statistics, and computer science at Princeton and Yale, but is best known for his self-published books on data visualization, which have sold nearly 2 million copies as of 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2003, he published a widely-read booklet titled The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, revised in 2006.<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006" /> Tufte found a number of problems with the "cognitive style" of PowerPoint, many of which he attributed to the standard default style templates:<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006" />

Tufte particularly advised against using PowerPoint for reporting scientific analyses, using as a dramatic example some slides made during the flight of the space shuttle Columbia after it had been damaged by an accident at liftoff, slides which poorly communicated the engineers' limited understanding of what had happened.<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006" />Template:Rp For such technical presentations, and for most occasions apart from its initial domain of sales presentations, Tufte advised against using PowerPoint at all; in many situations, according to Tufte, it would be better to substitute high-resolution graphics or concise prose documents as handouts for the audience to study and discuss, providing a great deal more detail.<ref name="Tufte-2003-2006" />

Many commentators enthusiastically joined in Tufte's vivid criticism of PowerPoint uses,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and at a conference held in 2013 (a decade after Tufte's booklet appeared) one paper claimed that "Despite all the criticism about his work, Tufte can be considered as the single most influential author in the discourse on PowerPoint. ... While his approach was not rigorous from a research perspective, his articles received wide resonance with the public at large ... ."<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> There were also others who disagreed with Tufte's assertion that the PowerPoint program reduces the quality of presenters' thoughts: Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at MIT and later Harvard, had earlier argued that "If anything, PowerPoint, if used well, would ideally reflect the way we think."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pinker later reinforced this opinion: "Any general opposition to PowerPoint is just dumb, ... It's like denouncing lectures—before there were awful PowerPoint presentations, there were awful scripted lectures, unscripted lectures, slide shows, chalk talks, and so on."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Much of the early commentary, on all sides, was "informal" and "anecdotal", because empirical research had been limited.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref>

Use it differently

Template:See also A second reaction to PowerPoint use was to say that PowerPoint can be used well, but only by substantially changing its style of use. This reaction is exemplified by Richard E. Mayer, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has studied cognition and learning, particularly the design of educational multimedia, and who has published more than 500 publications, including over 30 books.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mayer's theme has been that "In light of the science, it is up to us to make a fundamental shift in our thinking—we can no longer expect people to struggle to try to adapt to our PowerPoint habits. Instead, we have to change our PowerPoint habits to align with the way people learn."<ref name="Mayer-Atkinson-2004" />

Tufte had argued his judgment that the information density of text on PowerPoint slides was too low, perhaps only 40 words on a slide, leading to over-simplified messages;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mayer responded that his empirical research showed exactly the opposite, that the amount of text on PowerPoint slides was usually too high, and that even fewer than 40 words on a slide resulted in "PowerPoint overload" that impeded understanding during presentations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mayer suggested a few major changes from traditional PowerPoint formats:<ref name="Mayer-Atkinson-2004" />

• replacing brief slide titles with longer "headlines" expressing complete ideas;
• showing more slides but simpler ones;
• removing almost all text including nearly all bullet lists (reserving the text for the spoken narration);
• using larger, higher-quality, and more important graphics and photographs;
• removing all extraneous decoration, backgrounds, logos and identifications, everything but the essential message.

Mayer's ideas are claimed by Carmine Gallo to have been reflected in Steve Jobs's presentations: "Mayer outlined fundamental principles of multimedia design based on what scientists know about cognitive functioning. Steve Jobs's slides adhere to each of Mayer's principles ... ."<ref name="Gallo-2009">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Though not unique to Jobs, many people saw the style for the first time in Jobs's famous product introductions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Steve Jobs would have been using Apple's Keynote, which was designed for Jobs's own slide shows beginning in 2003, but Gallo says that "speaking like Jobs has little to do with the type of presentation software you use (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) ... all the techniques apply equally to PowerPoint and Keynote."<ref name="Gallo-2009" />Template:Rp Gallo adds that "Microsoft's PowerPoint has one big advantage over Apple's Keynote presentation software—it's everywhere ... it's safe to say that the number of Keynote presentations is minuscule in comparison with PowerPoint. Although most presentation designers who are familiar with both formats prefer to work in the more elegant Keynote system, those same designers will tell you that the majority of their client work is done in PowerPoint."<ref name="Gallo-2009" />Template:Rp

Consistent with its association with Steve Jobs's keynotes, a response to this style has been that it is particularly effective for "ballroom-style presentations" (as often given in conference center ballrooms) where a celebrated and practiced speaker addresses a large passive audience, but less appropriate for "conference room-style presentations" which are often recurring internal business meetings for in-depth discussion with motivated counterparts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Use it better

Template:See also A third reaction to PowerPoint use was to conclude that the standard style is capable of being used well, but that many small points need to be executed carefully, to avoid impeding understanding. This kind of analysis is particularly associated with Stephen Kosslyn, a cognitive neuroscientist who specializes in the psychology of learning and visual communication, and who has been head of the department of psychology at Harvard, has been Director of Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and has published some 300 papers and 14 books.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kosslyn presented a set of psychological principles of "human perception, memory, and comprehension" that "appears to capture the major points of agreement among researchers."<ref name="Kosslyn-et-al=2012">Template:Cite journal</ref> He reports that his experiments support the idea that it is not intuitive or obvious how to create effective PowerPoint presentations that conform to those agreed principles, and that even small differences that might not seem significant to a presenter can produce very different results in audiences' understanding. For this reason, Kosslyn says, users need specific education to be able to identify best ways to avoid "flaws and failures":<ref name="Kosslyn-et-al=2012" />

The many "flaws and failures" identified were those "likely to disrupt the comprehension or memory of the material." Among the most common examples were "Bulleted items are not presented individually, growing the list from the top to the bottom," "More than four bulleted items appear in a single list," "More than two lines are used per bulleted sentence," and "Words are not large enough (i.e., greater than 20 point) to be easily seen." Among audience reactions common problems reported were "Speakers read word-for-word from notes or from the slides themselves," "The slides contained too much material to absorb before the next slide was presented," and "The main point was obscured by lots of irrelevant detail."<ref name="Kosslyn-et-al=2012" />

Kosslyn observes that these findings could help to explain why the many studies of the instructional effectiveness of PowerPoint have been inconclusive and conflicting, if there were differences in the quality of the presentations tested in different studies that went unobserved because "many may feel that 'good design' is intuitively clear."<ref name="Kosslyn-et-al=2012" />

In 2007 Kosslyn wrote a book about PowerPoint, in which he suggested a very large number of fairly modest changes to PowerPoint styles and gave advice on recommended ways of using PowerPoint.<ref name="Kosslyn-2007" /> In a later second book about PowerPoint he suggested nearly 150 clarifying style changes (in fewer than 150 pages).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kosslyn summarizes:<ref name="Kosslyn-2007" />Template:Rp

In 2017, an online poll of social media users in the UK was reported to show that PowerPoint "remains as popular with young tech-savvy users as it is with the Baby Boomers," with about four out of five saying that "PowerPoint was a great tool for making presentations," in part because "PowerPoint, with its capacity to be highly visual, bridges the wordy world of yesterday with the visual future of tomorrow."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Also in 2017, the Managerial Communication Group of MIT Sloan School of Management polled their incoming MBA students, finding that "results underscore just how differently this generation communicates as compared with older workers."<ref name="mit-sloan-2017">Template:Cite web</ref> Fewer than half of respondents reported doing any meaningful, longer-form writing at work, and even that minority mostly did so very infrequently, but "85 percent of students named producing presentations as a meaningful part of their job responsibilities. Two-thirds report that they present on a daily or weekly basis—so it's no surprise that in-person presentations is the top skill they hope to improve."<ref name="mit-sloan-2017" /> One of the researchers concluded: "We're not likely to see future workplaces with long-form writing. The trend is toward presentations and slides, and we don't see any sign of that slowing down."<ref name="mit-sloan-2017" />

U.S. military excess

Use of PowerPoint by the U.S. military services began slowly, because they were invested in mainframe computers, MS-DOS PCs and specialized military-specification graphic output devices, all of which PowerPoint did not support.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> But because of the strong military tradition of presenting briefings, as soon as they acquired the computers needed to run it, PowerPoint became part of the U.S. military.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

By 2000, ten years after PowerPoint for Windows appeared, it was already identified as an important feature of U.S. armed forces culture, in a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal:<ref name="WSJ-Jaffe-2000">Template:Cite news</ref>

U.S. military use of PowerPoint may have influenced its use by armed forces of other countries: "Foreign armed services also are beginning to get in on the act. 'You can't speak with the U.S. military without knowing PowerPoint,' says Margaret Hayes, an instructor at National Defense University in Washington D.C., who teaches Latin American military officers how to use the software."<ref name="WSJ-Jaffe-2000" />

After another 10 years, in 2010 (and again on its front page) the New York Times reported that PowerPoint use in the military was then "a military tool that has spun out of control":<ref name="NYT-Bumiller-2010">Template:Cite news</ref>

The New York Times account went on to say that as a result some U.S. generals had banned the use of PowerPoint in their operations:<ref name="NYT-Bumiller-2010" />

Several incidents, about the same time, gave wide currency to discussions by serving military officers describing excessive PowerPoint use and the organizational culture that encouraged it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Template:Webarchive</ref> In response to the New York Times story, Peter Norvig and Stephen M. Kosslyn sent a joint letter to the editor stressing the institutional culture of the military: "... many military personnel bemoan the overuse and misuse of PowerPoint. ... The problem is not in the tool itself, but in the way that people use it—which is partly a result of how institutions promote misuse."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The two generals who had been mentioned in 2010 as opposing the institutional culture of excessive PowerPoint use were both in the news again in 2017, when James N. Mattis became U.S. Secretary of Defense,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and H. R. McMaster was appointed as U.S. National Security Advisor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Artistic medium

Musician David Byrne has been using PowerPoint as a medium for art for years, producing a book and DVD and showing at galleries his PowerPoint-based artwork.<ref name="Vienne"/> Byrne has written: "I have been working with PowerPoint, the ubiquitous presentation software, as an art medium for a number of years. It started off as a joke (this software is a symbol of corporate salesmanship, or lack thereof) but then the work took on a life of its own as I realized I could create pieces that were moving, despite the limitations of the 'medium.Template:Single double<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2005 Byrne toured with a theater piece styled as a PowerPoint presentation. When he presented it in Berkeley, on March 8, 2005, the University of California news service reported: "Byrne also defended [PowerPoint's] appeal as more than just a business tool—as a medium for art and theater. His talk was titled 'I ♥ PowerPoint'. Berkeley alumnus Bob Gaskins and Dennis Austin were in the audience. Eventually, Byrne said, PowerPoint could be the foundation for 'presentational theater,' with roots in Brechtian drama and Asian puppet theater."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After that performance, Byrne described it in his own online journal: "Did the PowerPoint talk in Berkeley for an audience of IT legends and academics. I was terrified. The guys that originally turned PowerPoint into a program were there, what were THEY gonna think? ... [Gaskins] did tell me afterwards that he liked the PowerPoint as theater idea, which was a relief."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The expressions "PowerPoint Art" or "pptArt" are used to define a contemporary Italian artistic movement which believes that the corporate world can be a unique and exceptional source of inspiration for the artist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They say: "The pptArt name refers to PowerPoint, the symbolic and abstract language developed by the corporate world which has become a universal and highly symbolic communication system beyond cultures and borders."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The wide use of PowerPoint had, by 2010, given rise to " ... a subculture of PowerPoint enthusiasts [that] is teaching the old application new tricks, and may even be turning a dry presentation format into a full-fledged artistic medium,"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> by using PowerPoint animation to create "games, artworks, anime, and movies."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint Viewer

PowerPoint Viewer is the name for a series of small free application programs to be used on computers without PowerPoint installed, to view, project, or print (but not create or edit) presentations.<ref name="view-presentation-without-ppt">Template:Cite web</ref>

The first version was introduced with PowerPoint 3.0 in 1992, to enable electronic presentations to be projected using conference-room computers and to be freely distributed; on Windows, it took advantage of the new feature of embedding TrueType fonts within PowerPoint presentation files to make such distribution easier.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same kind of viewer app was shipped with PowerPoint 3.0 for Macintosh, also in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Beginning with PowerPoint 2003, a feature called "Package for CD" automatically managed all linked video and audio files plus needed fonts when exporting a presentation to a disk or flash drive or network location,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also included a copy of a revised PowerPoint Viewer application so that the result could be presented on other PCs without installing anything.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The latest version that runs on Windows "was created in conjunction with PowerPoint 2010, but it can also be used to view newer presentations created in PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2016. ... All transitions, videos and effects appear and behave the same when viewed using PowerPoint Viewer as they do when viewed in PowerPoint 2010." It supports presentations created using PowerPoint 97 and later.<ref name="view-presentation-without-ppt" /> The latest version that runs on Macintosh is PowerPoint 98 Viewer for the Classic Mac OS and Classic Environment, for Macs supporting System 7.5 to Mac OS X Tiger (10.4).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It can open presentations only from PowerPoint 3.0, 4.0, and 8.0 (PowerPoint 98), although presentations created on Mac can be opened in PowerPoint Viewer on Windows.<ref>Template:Cite web A diagram shows "which versions of PowerPoint can open/save which other versions" up to version 9.0 for Windows ("PowerPoint 2000").</ref>

Template:As of, the last versions of PowerPoint Viewer for all platforms have been retired by Microsoft; they are no longer available for download and no longer receive security updates.<ref name="PPT-Viewer-retired">Template:Cite web</ref> The final PowerPoint Viewer for Windows (2010)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the final PowerPoint Viewer for Classic Mac OS (1998)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are available only from archives. The recommended replacements for PowerPoint Viewer: "On Windows 10 PCs, download the free ... PowerPoint Mobile application from the Windows Store,"<ref name="PPT-Viewer-retired" /> and "On Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 PCs, upload the file to OneDrive and view it for free using ... PowerPoint Online."<ref name="PPT-Viewer-retired" />

Versions

PowerPoint release history

Date	Name	Version	System	Comments
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-1-mac-apr-1987"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh	Shipped by Forethought, Inc.
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-1-01-mac-oct-1987"> Template:Cite news Report of Seybold conference in late September 1987 where Microsoft introduced relabeled PowerPoint. Macworld magazine carried its first Microsoft advertisement for PowerPoint in its November 1987 issue, with the initial subhead "Introducing Microsoft PowerPoint." Template:Cite magazine</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh	Relabeled and shipped by Microsoft
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-2-mac-may-1988"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-2-01-mac-dec-1988"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh	Added Genigraphics software and services
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-2-win-may-1990"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Windows	Announced with Windows 3.0, numbered to match contemporary Macintosh version
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-3-win-may-1992"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Windows	Announced with Windows 3.1
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-3-mac-sep-1992"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-4-win-feb-1994"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Windows
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-4-mac-oct-1994"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint	Template:Version	Macintosh	Native for Power Mac
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-7-win-jul-1995"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 95	Template:Version	Windows	Versions 5.0 and 6.0 were skipped on Windows, so all apps in Office 95 were 7.0<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-8-win-jan-1997"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 97	Template:Version	Windows	Support ended on February 28, 2002<ref name="support.microsoft.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-8-mac-mar-1998"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 98	Template:Version	Macintosh	Versions 5.0, 6.0, and 7.0 were skipped on Macintosh, to match Windows<ref>Template:Cite web </ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-9-win-jun-1999"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 2000	Template:Version	Windows	Support ended on July 14, 2009<ref name="support.microsoft.com"/>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-9-mac-aug-2000"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2001	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-10-win-may-2001"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint XP	Template:Version	Windows	Support ended on July 12, 2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-10-mac-nov-2001"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint v. X	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-11-win-oct-2003"> Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 2003	Template:Version	Windows	Support ended on April 8, 2014<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-11-mac-jun-2004"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 2004	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-11-mob-may-2005"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile	Template:Version	Windows Mobile 5
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-12-win-jan-2007"> Template:Cite news</ref>	PowerPoint 2007	Template:Version	Windows	End of support October 10, 2017<ref name="ppt-12-win-eos">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-12-mob-sep-2007"> Template:Cite news PowerPoint was updated in November 2007: Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile	Template:Version	Windows Mobile 6
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-12-mac-jan-2008"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2008	Template:Version	Macintosh
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-14-win-jun-2010"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2010	Template:Version	Windows	Version 13.0 was skipped for triskaidekaphobia concerns.<ref name="why-no-13">Template:Cite web</ref> Support ended on October 13, 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-14-web-jun-2010">Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2010 Web App	Template:Version	Web
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-14-mob-jun-2010"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2010	Template:Version	Windows Phone 7
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-14-mac-nov-2010"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2011	Template:Version	Macintosh	Version 13.0 was skipped for triskaidekaphobia concerns<ref name="why-no-13" /> End of support October 10, 2017<ref name="ppt-14-mac-eos">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-14-symbian-apr-2012"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2010	Template:Version	Nokia Symbian
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-web-oct-2012"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Web App 2013	Template:Version	Web
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-mob-nov-2012"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2013	Template:Version	Windows Phone 8
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-winrt-nov-2012"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint RT 2013	Template:Version	Windows RT
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-win-jan-2013"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2013	Template:Version	Windows
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-iphone-jun-2013"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2013 for iPhone	Template:Version	iPhone
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-android-jul-2013"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2013 for Android	Template:Version	Android
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-online-feb-2014"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2013 Online	Template:Version	Web
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-ipad-mar-2014"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2013 for iPad	Template:Version	iPad
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-ios-nov-2014"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2013 for iOS	Template:Version	iOS
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-16-android-jun-2015"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2016 for Android	Template:Version	Android
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-15-mac-jul-2015"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2016 for Macintosh	Template:Version	Macintosh	There had been no PowerPoint 2013 for Mac.<ref name="ppt-2013-mac-none"> Template:Cite web</ref> Was version 15.0 from July 2015 to January 2018.<ref name="ppt-2016-mac-ver16"> Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-16-mob-jul-2015"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2016	Template:Version	Windows 10 Mobile
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-16-ios-jul-2015"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint Mobile 2016 for iOS	Template:Version	iOS
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-16-win-sep-2015"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2016 for Windows	Template:Version	Windows
Template:Dts<ref name="ppt-16-winstore-jan-2018"> Template:Cite web</ref>	PowerPoint 2016 for Windows Store	Template:Version	Windows
2018	PowerPoint 2019	Template:Version	Windows and other OS	This and subsequent versions (PowerPoint 2021 and Office 365 PowerPoint) are all internally version 16.0
Date	Name	Version	System	Comments

File:Powerpoint mac 2008 icon.png

Icon for PowerPoint for Mac 2008

File:Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac 2011.png

Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac 2011

PowerPoint 1.0

For Macintosh: April 1987<ref name="ppt-1-mac-apr-1987" />

Innovations included: multiple slides in a single file, organizing slides with a slide sorter view and a title view (precursor of outline view), speakers' notes pages attached to each slide, printing of audience handouts with multiple slides per page, text with outlining styles and full word-processor formatting, graphic shapes with attached text for drawing diagrams and tables.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001">Template:Cite web</ref> It also shipped with a hardbound book as its manual.<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000">Template:Cite webTemplate:Webarchive</ref>

"It produced overhead transparencies on a black-and-white Macintosh for laser printing. Presenters could now directly control their own overheads and would no longer have to work through the person with the typewriter. PowerPoint handled the task of making the overheads all look alike; one change reformats them all. Typographic fonts were better than an Orator typeball, and charts and diagrams could be imported from MacDraw, MacPaint, and Excel, thanks to the new Mac clipboard."<ref name="gaskins-cacm-2007">Template:Cite journal These versions are described in the sidebar, "Presentation Formats and PowerPoint," p. 17.</ref>

System requirements: (Mac) Original Macintosh or better, System 1.0 or higher, 512K RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013">Template:Cite web System requirements are in a table at the very end of this document.</ref>

PowerPoint 2.0

For Macintosh: May 1988;<ref name="ppt-2-mac-may-1988" /> for Windows: May 1990<ref name="ppt-2-win-may-1990" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Mac and Microsoft Office for Windows. Innovations included: color, more word processing features, find and replace, spell checking, color schemes for presentations, guide to color selection, ability to change color scheme retrospectively, shaded coloring for fills.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001" />

"It added color 35 mm slides, transmitting the resulting file over a modem to Genigraphics for imaging on Genigraphics' film recorders and photo processing in Genigraphics' labs overnight. Genigraphics was the leading professional service bureau, having developed its own Digital Equipment Corp. PDP-11-based computer systems for its artists. After a short time, though, Genigraphics itself switched to PowerPoint."<ref name="gaskins-cacm-2007" />

System requirements: (Mac) Original Macintosh or better, System 4.1 or higher, 1 MB RAM. (Windows) 286 PC or higher, Windows 3.0, 1 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013"/>

PowerPoint 3.0

For Windows, May 1992;<ref name="ppt-3-win-may-1992" /> for Mac: September 1992<ref name="ppt-3-mac-sep-1992" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 3.0 and Microsoft Office for Mac 3.0. Innovations included: the first application designed exclusively for the new Windows 3.1 platform, full support for TrueType fonts (new in Windows 3.1), presentation templates, editing in outline view, new drawing, including freeform tool, autoshapes, flip, rotate, scale, align, and transforming imported pictures into their drawing primitives to make them editable, transitions between slides in slide show, progressive builds, incorporating sound and video.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001" /> Animations included "flying bullets" where bullet points "flew" into the slide one by one, and some degree of Pen Computing support was included.<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000" />

"It added video-out to feed the new video projectors, with effects that could replace a bank of synchronized slide projectors. This version added fades, dissolves, and other transitions, as well as animation of text and pictures, and could incorporate video clips with synchronized audio."<ref name="gaskins-cacm-2007" />

System requirements: (Windows) 286 PC or higher, Windows 3.1, 2 MB RAM. (Mac) Macintosh Plus or better, System 7 or higher, 4 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" />

PowerPoint 4.0

For Windows: February 1994;<ref name="ppt-4-win-feb-1994" /> for Mac: October 1994<ref name="ppt-4-mac-oct-1994" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 4.0 and Microsoft Office for Mac 4.2. Innovations included: autolayouts, Word tables, rehearsal mode, hidden slides, and the "AutoContent Wizard".<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000" />

Introduced a standard "Microsoft Office" look and feel (shared with Word and Excel), with status bar, toolbars, tooltips. Full OLE 2.0 with in-place activation.<ref name="austin-timeline-2001" />

System requirements: (Windows) 386 PC or higher, Windows 3.1, 8 MB RAM. (Mac) 68020 Mac or better, System 7 or higher, 8 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" />

PowerPoint 7.0

For Windows: July 1995<ref name="ppt-7-win-jul-1995" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 95. Innovations included: new animation effects, real curves and textures, black and white view, autocorrect, insert symbol, meeting support features such as "Meeting Minder".<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000" />

"A complete rewrite of the product from the ground up in C++, full object model with internal VBA programmability".<ref name="austin-timeline-2001" />

System requirements: (Windows) 386 DX PC or higher, Windows 95, 6 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" />

PowerPoint 8.0

For Windows: January 1997;<ref name="ppt-8-win-jan-1997" /> for Mac: March 1998<ref name="ppt-8-mac-mar-1998" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 97 and Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition. Innovations included: "Office Assistant", file compression, save to HTML, "Pack and Go", "AutoClipArt", transparent GIFs.<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000" />

System requirements: (Windows) 486 PC or higher, 8 MB RAM. (Mac) PowerPC Mac or better, 16 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" />

PowerPoint 9.0

For Windows: June 1999;<ref name="ppt-9-win-jun-1999" /> for Mac: August 2000<ref name="ppt-9-mac-aug-2000" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2001. Innovations included: three-pane "browser" view (selectable list of slide miniatures or titles, large single slide, notes), autofit text, real tables, presentation conferencing, save to web, picture bullets, animated GIFs, aliased fonts.<ref name="belleville-ppthistory-2000" />

System requirements: (Windows) Pentium 75MHz+, Windows 95 or higher, 20 MB RAM. (Mac) PowerPC Mac 120MHz+ or better, MacOS 8.5 or higher, minimum 48 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" />

PowerPoint 10.0

For Windows: May 2001;<ref name="ppt-10-win-may-2001" /> for Mac: November 2001<ref name="ppt-10-mac-nov-2001" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows XP and Microsoft Office for Mac v.X. Innovations included: install from web, most clipart on web, use of Exchange and SharePoint for storage and collaboration.<ref name="ppt-10-win-may-2001" />

System requirements: (Windows) Pentium III, Windows 98 or higher, 40 MB RAM.<ref name="bitbetter-pptsystemreq-2013" /> (Mac) OS X 10.1 ("Puma") or later (will not run under OS 9).<ref name="ppt-10-mac-nov-2001-os-x-version">Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 11.0

For Windows: October 2003;<ref name="ppt-11-win-oct-2003" /> for Mac: June 2004;<ref name="ppt-11-mac-jun-2004" /> for Mobile: May 2005<ref name="ppt-11-mob-may-2005" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2003 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2004. Innovations included: tools visible to presenter during slide show (notes, thumbnails, time clock, re-order and edit slides), "Package for CD" to write presentation and viewer app to CD.<ref name="ppt-11-mac-jun-2004" /> "Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint 2003" was a free plug-in from Microsoft, using a video camera, "that creates Web page presentations, with talking head narration, coordinated and timed to your existing PowerPoint presentation" for delivery over the web.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Genigraphics software to send a presentation for imaging as 35mm slides was removed from this version.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

System requirements: (Windows) Pentium 233Mhz+, Windows 2000 with SP3 or later, 128 MB RAM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Mac) Power Mac G3 or better, OS X 10.2.8 or later, 256 MB RAM.<ref name="ppt-11-mac-jun-2004" />

PowerPoint 12.0

For Windows: January 2007;<ref name="ppt-12-win-jan-2007" /> for Mobile: September 2007;<ref name="ppt-12-mob-sep-2007" /> for Mac: January 2008<ref name="ppt-12-mac-jan-2008" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2007 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2008. Innovations included: new user interface ("Office Fluent") employing a changeable "ribbon" of tools across the top to replace menus and toolbars, SmartArt graphics, many graphical improvements in text and drawing, improved "Presenter View" (from 2003), widescreen slide formats. The "AutoContent Wizard" was removed from this version.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A major change in PowerPoint 2007 was from a binary file format, used from 1997 to 2003, to a new XML file format which evolved over further versions.

System requirements: (Windows) 500 MHz processor or higher, Windows XP with SP2 or later, 256 MB RAM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Mac) 500 MHz processor or higher, MacOS X 10.4.9 or later, 512 MB RAM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 14.0<ref name="why-no-13" />

For Windows: June 2010;<ref name="ppt-14-win-jun-2010" /> for Web: June 2010;<ref name="ppt-14-web-jun-2010" /> for Mobile: June 2010;<ref name="ppt-14-mob-jun-2010" /> for Mac: November 2010,<ref name="ppt-14-mac-nov-2010" /> for Symbian: April 2012<ref name="ppt-14-symbian-apr-2012" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2010 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. Innovations included: Single document interface (SDI), sections within presentations, reading view, redesign of "Backstage" functions (under File menu), save as video, insert video from web, embed video and audio, enhanced editing for video and for pictures, broadcast slideshow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

System requirements: (Windows) 500 MHz processor or higher, Windows XP with SP3 or later, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB RAM recommended for video.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Mac) Intel processor, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, 1 GB RAM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 15.0

For Web: October 2012;<ref name="ppt-15-web-oct-2012" /> for Mobile: November 2012;<ref name="ppt-15-mob-nov-2012" /> for Windows RT: November 2012;<ref name="ppt-15-winrt-nov-2012" /> for Windows: January 2013;<ref name="ppt-15-win-jan-2013" /> for iPhone: June 2013;<ref name="ppt-15-iphone-jun-2013" /> for Android: July 2013;<ref name="ppt-15-android-jul-2013" /> for Web: February 2014;<ref name="ppt-15-online-feb-2014" /> for iPad: March 2014;<ref name="ppt-15-ipad-mar-2014" /> for iOS: November 2014;<ref name="ppt-15-ios-nov-2014" /> for Mac: July 2015<ref name="ppt-15-mac-jul-2015" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2013 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2016. Innovations included: Change default slide shape to 16:9 aspect ratio, online collaboration by multiple authors, user interface redesigned for multi-touch screens, improved audio, video, animations, and transitions, further changes to Presenter View. Clipart collections (and insertion tool) were removed, but available online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Thinsp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

System requirements: (Windows) 1 GHz processor or faster, x86- or x64-bit processor with SSE2 instruction set, Windows 7 or later, 1 GB RAM (32-bit), 2 GB RAM (64-bit).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Mac) Intel processor, Mac OS X 10.10 or later, 4 GB RAM.<ref name="ppt-2016-15-mac-sys-req">Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 16.0

For Android: June 2015;<ref name="ppt-16-android-jun-2015" /> for Mobile: July 2015;<ref name="ppt-16-mob-jul-2015" /> for iOS: July 2015;<ref name="ppt-16-ios-jul-2015" /> for Windows: September 2015;<ref name="ppt-16-win-sep-2015" /> and Windows Store: January 2018<ref name="ppt-16-winstore-jan-2018" />

Part of Microsoft Office for Windows 2016. Innovations included: "Tell me" to search for program controls, "PowerPoint Designer" pane, Morph transition, real-time collaboration, "Zoom" to slides or sections in slideshow,<ref>Template:Cite web This webpage contains dated feature updates listed separately for each nearly-monthly update since the original release.</ref> and "Presentation Translator" for real-time translation of a presenter's spoken words to on-screen captions in any of 60+ languages, with the system analyzing the text of the PowerPoint presentation as context to increase the accuracy and relevance of the translations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Thinsp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

System requirements: (Windows) 1 GHz processor or faster, x86- or x64-bit processor with SSE2 instruction set, Windows 7 with SP 1 or later, 2 GB RAM.<ref name="ppt-2016-16-win-sys-req">Template:Cite web</ref>

File formats

Binary (1987–2007)

Early versions of PowerPoint, from 1987 through 1995 (versions 1.0 through 7.0), evolved through a sequence of binary file formats, different in each version, as functionality was added.<ref name="early-file-compatibility">Template:Cite web A diagram shows "which versions of PowerPoint can open/save which other versions" up to version 9.0 for Windows ("PowerPoint 2000"). </ref> This set of formats were never documented, but an open-source libmwaw (used by LibreOffice) exists to read them.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A stable binary format (called a .ppt file, like all earlier binary formats) that was shared as the default in PowerPoint 97 through PowerPoint 2003 for Windows, and in PowerPoint 98 through PowerPoint 2004 for Mac (that is, in PowerPoint versions 8.0 through 11.0) was finally created. It was based on the Compound File Binary Format.<ref name="ppt-binary-doc">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The specification document is actively maintained and can be freely downloaded,<ref name="ppt-binary-doc" /> because, although no longer the default, that binary format can be read and written by some later versions of PowerPoint, including PowerPoint 2016.<ref name="file-formats" /> After the stable binary format was adopted, versions of PowerPoint continued to be able to read and write differing file formats from earlier versions.<ref name="early-file-compatibility" /> But beginning with PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2008 for Mac (PowerPoint version 12.0), this was the only binary format available for saving; PowerPoint 2007 (version 12.0) no longer supported saving to binary file formats used earlier than PowerPoint 97 (version 8.0), ten years before.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The ".pps" and ".ppsx" file extensions are technically the same as ".ppt" and ".pptx", except they are launched as presentation instead of for editing by default.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Binary filename extensions<ref name="file-formats" />

• .ppt, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary presentation
• .pps, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary slide show
• .pot, PowerPoint 97–2003 binary template

Binary media types<ref name="mime-types" />

• .ppt, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
• .pps, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
• .pot, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint

Office Open XML (since 2007)

The big change in PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2008 for Mac (PowerPoint version 12.0) was that the stable binary file format of 97–2003 was replaced as the default by a new zipped XML-based Office Open XML format (.pptx files).<ref name="open-xml-formats">Template:Cite web</ref> Microsoft's explanation of the benefits of the change included: smaller file sizes, up to 75% smaller than comparable binary documents; security, through being able to identify and exclude executable macros and personal data; less chance to be corrupted than binary formats; and easier interoperability for exchanging data among Microsoft and other business applications, all while maintaining backward compatibility.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

XML filename extensions<ref name="file-formats" />

• .pptx, PowerPoint 2007 XML presentation
• .pptm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled presentation
• .ppsx, PowerPoint 2007 XML slide show
• .ppsm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled slide show
• .ppam, PowerPoint 2007 XML add-in
• .potx, PowerPoint 2007 XML template
• .potm, PowerPoint 2007 XML macro-enabled template

XML media types<ref name="mime-types" />

• .pptx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation
• .pptm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12
• .ppsx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow
• .ppsm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slideshow.macroEnabled.12
• .ppam, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.addin.macroEnabled.12
• .potx, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template
• .potm, application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.12

The specification for the new format was published as an open standard, ECMA-376,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> through Ecma International Technical Committee 45 (TC45).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ecma 376 standard was approved in December 2006, and was submitted for standardization through ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 WG4 in early 2007. The standardization process was contentious.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was approved as ISO/IEC 29500 in early 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Copies of the ISO/IEC standard specification are freely available, in two parts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These define two related standards known as "Transitional" and "Strict". The two standards were progressively adopted by PowerPoint: PowerPoint version 12.0 (2007, 2008 for Mac) could read and write Transitional format, but could neither read nor write Strict format. PowerPoint version 14.0 (2010, 2011 for Mac) could read and write Transitional, and also read but not write Strict. PowerPoint version 15.0 and later (beginning 2013, 2016 for Mac) can read and write both Transitional and Strict formats. The reason for the two variants was explained by Microsoft:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The PowerPoint .pptx file format (called "PresentationML" for Presentation Markup Language) contains separate structures for all the complex parts of a PowerPoint presentation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The specification documents run to over six thousand pages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Because of the widespread use of PowerPoint, the standardized file formats are considered important for the long-term access to digital documents in library collections and archives, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2016 provide options to set default saving to ISO/IEC 29500 Strict format, but the initial default setting remains Transitional, for compatibility with legacy features incorporating binary data in existing documents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> PowerPoint 2013 or PowerPoint 2016 will both open and save files in the former binary format (.ppt), for compatibility with older versions of the program (but not versions older than PowerPoint 97).<ref name="file-formats" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In saving to older formats, these versions of PowerPoint will check to assure that no features have been introduced into the presentation which are incompatible with the older formats.<ref name="open-xml-formats" />

PowerPoint 2013 and 2016 will also save a presentation in many other file formats, including PDF format, MPEG-4 or WMV video, as a sequence of single-picture files (using image formats including GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and some older formats), and as a single presentation file in which all slides are replaced with pictures. PowerPoint will both open and save files in OpenDocument Presentation format (ODP) for compatibility.<ref name="file-formats" />

See also

• Microsoft Office password protection
• PowerPoint Karaoke
• Web-based slideshow

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
  • Also available at: [1]
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite journal
  • Also available at: [2] Template:Webarchive (Feb 2015).

External links

• Template:Official website