- Corrupted PowerPoint preferences file (com.microsoft.powerpoint.prefs.plist) [1]
- Background programs interfering with PowerPoint[1]
- Corrupted user account information[1]
- Issues with file permissions, especially when opening from a network share[14]
- Incompatibility issues with newer .pptx file formats in the older PowerPoint 2011[10][11]
Potential Solutions:
- Delete/reset the PowerPoint preferences file and relaunch PowerPoint[1][2][6]
- Perform a “clean startup” to disable other programs[1]
- Create a new user account and test PowerPoint with that account[1][6]
- Check file permissions if opening from a network drive[14]
- Open the file in Keynote instead as a workaround[7]
- Update Office 2011 to the latest version/service pack[6][10]
- Reinstall Office 2011 completely[12]
- Use a file conversion tool to convert .pptx to an older format
The most common recommendation is resetting the PowerPoint preferences file. If that does not resolve the issue, creating a new user account often helps determine if the problem is specific to that user profile. For networked files, ensure the user has proper permissions to access the file location.
As a legacy version of Office for Mac, PowerPoint 2011 has limited compatibility with newer .pptx formats, so conversion or upgrade to a newer Office version may be necessary if other troubleshooting does not resolve the errors.
