Convert PowerPoint 97–2003 .ppt files to PDF
This PPT to PDF converter turns old PowerPoint presentations — .ppt decks, .pps slide shows and .pot templates from PowerPoint 97 to 2003 — into PDFs with one slide per page. The slides are laid out by LibreOffice Impress running inside your browser, so text stays real, selectable text, and pictures, shapes, tables and backgrounds keep their positions.
Old decks turn up in lecture archives, training packs, conference downloads and shared drives untouched since the mid-2000s. Phones, cloud-drive previews and browsers often refuse the binary .ppt format, while a PDF opens anywhere, prints as handouts and can’t be edited by accident. Because the conversion happens on your device, confidential board, client or exam decks are never uploaded.
How to use the PPT to PDF Converter
- Drop your
.pptor.ppsfiles on the box, or click it to choose them —.pptxand.odpfiles work too. - Leave Include hidden slides off to match PowerPoint’s own PDF export, or tick it to keep backup slides. Tick Add speaker-notes pages for handouts with your notes.
- Pick a PDF/A type if the file is going into an archive or a formal submission.
- Press Convert to PDF. The first time, approve the one-time 79 MB LibreOffice download; afterwards it starts in seconds.
- Look through the preview of the first slides, then download the PDF — or every PDF in one ZIP.
PPT to PDF Converter features
Selectable, searchable text
LibreOffice Impress exports slides as real PDF text and vector graphics, not screenshots, so you can search and copy from the PDF.
Hidden slides handled
Hidden slides are skipped by default, just as PowerPoint does; one tick includes them.
Speaker-notes pages
Add notes pages — each slide shown above its speaker notes — for rehearsal copies and handouts.
Right page shape
Each PDF page takes the presentation’s own size: 4:3 for most decks from the PowerPoint 2003 era, 16:9 and custom sizes kept as they are.
Batch and ZIP
Convert a folder of lectures in one run and save them as a single ZIP file.
Runs on your device
LibreOffice works in a Web Worker inside your tab; your slides never leave your computer.
Why .ppt files are hard to open
.ppt is PowerPoint’s binary file format (documented by Microsoft as MS-PPT), the default from PowerPoint 97 until PowerPoint 2007 introduced .pptx. A .ppt is a compound file packed with binary records for slides, masters, text and pictures — office suites read it, browsers and most phone apps don’t. .pps is the same format set to open straight into the slide show, and .pot is a template.
For modern .pptx decks, PowerPoint to PDF draws the slides without the large download. To keep a deck editable in an open format, use PPTX to ODP.
What carries over into the PDF
| Slide content | In the PDF |
|---|---|
| Text, bullets, tables, shapes and pictures | Kept as vector text and graphics |
| Slide masters, backgrounds, footers and slide numbers | Kept |
| Charts and WordArt from PowerPoint 97–2003 | Kept in most cases; unusual effects may be simplified |
| Animations, transitions, sound and video | Not included — a PDF shows each slide in its final state |
| Hidden slides | Left out unless you tick Include hidden slides |
| Speaker notes | Optional notes pages |
| Fonts the converter doesn’t have | Replaced by a similar font; Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri and Cambria have metric-compatible stand-ins |
Tips for presentation PDFs
- Notes pages add one page per slide, with the slide above its speaker notes — handy for study copies, but the PDF gets longer.
- Photo-heavy decks make large PDFs; shrink them for email with Compress PDF, or join several lectures into one handout with Merge PDF.
- PowerPoint 95 and older formats can’t be read by LibreOffice. Open such a file in a PowerPoint version that still accepts it and save it as .ppt or .pptx first.
- Use a recent Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer or Android phone, with about 1.5 GB of free memory. Safari and iPhone browsers don’t support the cross-origin isolation LibreOffice needs yet.
PPT to PDF Converter FAQ
How do I convert PPT to PDF for free?
Drop the .ppt file above and press Convert to PDF. The first time, allow the one-time 79 MB LibreOffice download; after that each deck converts in about a second. No sign-up and no watermark.
Is the text in the PDF selectable?
Yes. LibreOffice exports slides as real PDF text and vector graphics, so you can search, select and copy from the PDF.
Are hidden slides and speaker notes included?
Hidden slides are left out by default, as in PowerPoint; tick Include hidden slides to keep them. Tick Add speaker-notes pages to add a page per slide with its notes.
Is my presentation uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser with LibreOffice compiled to WebAssembly. Only the converter is downloaded, from the jsDelivr CDN.
Why does the page say my browser isn’t supported?
LibreOffice needs multi-threaded WebAssembly, which only works on cross-origin-isolated pages. Safari and every iPhone browser don’t support that yet; use Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer or Android phone.
Can I convert a PowerPoint 95 file?
No. LibreOffice can’t read PowerPoint 95 and older formats. Save the file as .ppt or .pptx in a PowerPoint version that opens it, then convert it here.