PowerPoint files can become corrupted due to various reasons like power failure, system crash, virus attack, or improper shutdown. A corrupt PPT file fails to open in WPS Office PowerPoint and displays errors. Fixing such damaged presentations is possible in most cases. This article provides step-by-step instructions to repair corrupt PPT files using WPS Office.
Symptoms of Corrupt PPT File
Here are some common symptoms that indicate your PowerPoint presentation is corrupted:
- You get an error message like “WPS Spreadsheets cannot open this file” when trying to open the PPT
- The file fails to open and WPS Office crashes or freezes
- The presentation opens but displays garbled text and graphics
- Slides are missing or out of order in the presentation
Causes of Corrupt PPT Files
Some common reasons why a PowerPoint file can get corrupted are:
- Sudden system shutdown or power failure while the file was still open
- Software crashes or freezes while editing the presentation
- Virus or malware infection
- Storage device errors like bad sectors
- Transfer errors while copying the file
Corruption can occur in the file header, data segments, or sections that store slide text, formatting, animations, etc. This makes the file unreadable.
How to Repair Corrupt PPT in WPS Office
WPS Office provides an inbuilt Files Repair utility to fix corrupt PPT and recover damaged presentations. Follow these steps:
1. Open Corrupt Presentation in WPS Office
Launch WPS Presentation and use File > Open to browse and select the corrupt PPT file on your system.
An error prompt is displayed showing issues detected in the file.
2. Click on ‘Fix File’ Button
In the error prompt, click on the Fix File button to activate the Files Repair function.
Alternatively, you can also access File Repair from the Tools tab in WPS Office.
3. Select Corrupt File and Start Analysis
In the File Repair interface, click on Repair Damaged File and select the corrupt presentation to add it for analysis and fixing.
Multiple damaged files can be added simultaneously.
4. Preview Repaired File
After the analysis completes, preview and verify the fixed presentation from the file list to check if it opens properly without issues.
5. Save the Repaired PPT File
Finally, select a new location and click on Save to store the recovered and repaired PowerPoint presentation.
Note: Do not overwrite the original damaged file.
Tips to Avoid Corrupt PPT Files
Here are some useful tips to prevent corruption of PowerPoint files:
- Maintain a backup copy in cloud storage or external drives
- Use a reliable antivirus utility to keep malware away
- Close presentations properly before system shutdown
- Avoid transferring open PPT files between devices
- Handle storage media carefully to prevent errors
Repair FAQs
Can I recover animations, videos, and graphics in the fixed file?
Yes, the File Repair feature restores slide content including text, images, shapes, animations, video, and audio content.
What if File Repair fails to fix the presentation?
Try repairing again after updating WPS Office to the latest version. Also, maintain a regular backup to restore data if repair fails.
Is there any risk of more damage to the corrupt file?
No, the file analysis and repair process is read-only and does not modify the original corrupt file in any way, eliminating risks of overwriting.
Conclusion
Unexpected PowerPoint file corruption can disrupt important presentations and data loss. Using the inbuilt File Repair function of WPS Office quickly diagnoses errors and fixes the corrupt PPT file in a few simple steps. This restores access to the damaged presentation. Along with repair, having a contingency backup plan is equally essential to handle such document corruption issues.
