Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular presentation software programs used today. However, not everyone has PowerPoint installed on their computers. Fortunately, Microsoft offers several free PowerPoint viewers so you can still view PowerPoint presentations without needing to purchase the full PowerPoint software.
PowerPoint Online
PowerPoint Online is the web-based version of PowerPoint offered for free by Microsoft. To use it, you simply need a Microsoft account, which includes any email address ending in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com or @msn.com.
With PowerPoint Online, you can:
- View, create and edit PowerPoint presentations – While not as full-featured as the desktop version, PowerPoint Online lets you perform basic editing like adding, deleting and rearranging slides, changing text, fonts, colors and inserting images.
- Share presentations – You can invite others to view or edit your presentations online and collaborate in real-time.
- Print presentations – You can download presentations as PDFs to print handouts and notes.
- Access from any device – Since it’s web-based, you can view, create and edit presentations from any laptop, desktop or mobile device with an internet connection and web browser.
It’s incredibly convenient not needing to install anything. Just go to Office.com and login to your Microsoft account to start using PowerPoint online.
PowerPoint Mobile Apps
In addition to the web app, Microsoft offers free PowerPoint mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. With these apps, you can:
- View PowerPoint presentations – The apps allow you to open and view PPT and PPTX files. Formatting, animations, transitions and media will display properly.
- Use your phone as a remote – You can connect your phone to your computer to use it as a remote control when giving presentations with slides on a bigger screen.
The main limitation is you cannot create or edit slides with the mobile PowerPoint apps. But for simply viewing presentations on the go, they work great.
Other Free PowerPoint Viewers
Aside from Microsoft’s PowerPoint Online and Mobile apps, there are other free options for viewing PowerPoint presentations without needing the full PowerPoint software installed.
Google Slides
Google’s free presentation software, Slides, allows you to view, upload and convert PowerPoint presentations. When you convert PPT/PPTX files to Google Slides format, formatting and images are preserved. You can then view, print or download the presentations as PDFs.
LibreOffice Impress
LibreOffice is a free, open source office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its presentation program, Impress, can open and view PowerPoint files with formatting intact. You can view slideshows, print handouts and export presentations as PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
The well-known free PDF reader software Adobe Acrobat Reader also lets you open, view and print PowerPoint presentations after you export them as PDF files.
Conclusion
Thanks to free web apps, mobile apps and open source software, you can view, share and print PowerPoint presentations without ever needing to purchase the full PowerPoint program.
PowerPoint Online provides basic editing capabilities for those with Microsoft accounts. And the mobile apps make it easy to view decks on phones and tablets.
So if you ever need to work with PowerPoint files but lack the desktop software, rest assured there are plenty of reliable free options available from Microsoft and third parties.
