Objective 5.2 Finalize presentations

  • 5.2.1 Protect presentations
  • 5.2.2 Inspect presentations for issues
  • 5.2.3 Proof presentations
  • 5.2.4 Preserve presentation content
  • 5.2.5 Export presentations to other formats

5.2 Contents

5.2.1 Protect presentations

After you finish preparing a presentation for distribution, you can mark it as final. This feature saves the file, deactivates most PowerPoint tools, and displays an information bar at the top of the screen to indicate that no further changes should be made to the presentation. However, you can easily override the final status and make changes to the presentation.

PowerPoint hides the ribbon after marking a presentation as final

The simplest way to control access to a presentation is to assign a password to it. You can assign two types of passwords:

Password to open

  • Assigning this type of password encrypts the presentation so that only people with the password can open and view it.
  • To open a presentation that requires a password to open, you must enter the exact password, including capitalization, numbers, spaces, and symbols.

Simple encryption protects the file

Password to modify 

  • Assigning this type of password does not encrypt the presentation. Users can open the presentation in read-only mode or enter a password to open the presentation in edit mode. 
  • To open a presentation that requires a password only to modify, you can either enter the exact password to open and modify it or open a version that you can view but not modify.

Prevent users from modifying the file

To mark a presentation as final

  1. On the Info page of the Backstage view, click Protect Presentation, and then click Mark as Final.
  2. In the message box, click OK, and then click OK in the confirmation box.

To turn off the final status

  • In the information bar below the ribbon, click Edit Anyway.
  • On the Info page of the Backstage view, click Protect Presentation, and then click Mark as Final.

To set a password for a presentation

  1. On the Info page of the Backstage view, click Protect Presentation, and then click Encrypt with Password.
  2. In the Encrypt Document and Confirm Password dialog boxes, enter the password you want to assign, and then click OK.

Or

  1. In the Save As dialog box, click Tools, and then click General Options.
  2. In the General Options dialog box, in the Password to open or Password to modify box, enter the password you want, and then click OK.
  3. In the Confirm Password dialog box, reenter the password you previously entered, and then click OK.
  4. In the Save As dialog box, click Save.

To change the password of an open presentation

  1. On the Info page of the Backstage view, click Protect Presentation, and then click Encrypt with Password.
  2. In the Encrypt Document dialog box, change the password, and then click OK.
  3. In the Confirm Password dialog box, reenter the password you entered in the previous step, and then click OK.

Or

  1. In the General Options dialog box, change the entry in the Password to open or Password to modify box, and then click OK.
  2. In the Confirm Password dialog box, reenter the new password, and then click OK.
  3. In the Save As dialog box, click Save.

To delete the password of an open presentation

  1. On the Info page of the Backstage view, click Protect Presentation, and then click Encrypt with Password.
  2. In the Encrypt Document dialog box, delete the password, and then click OK.

Or

  1. In the General Options dialog box, delete either or both passwords, and then click OK.
  2. In the Save As dialog box, click Save.