Have you been asked to transfer the contents of some PowerPoint presentations into PDF files , in order to make them easier to consult, but you don’t know how to do it? Do not worry. This is a very simple operation that, if desired, can be performed completely free of charge. Just use the right tools.
To find out what these “right” tools are and understand how to convert PowerPoint to PDF using them, read on. In fact, below you will find a list of software and online services that allow you to reach the goal in an extremely fast and intuitive way. In short, all you have to do is take your presentations, open them (or drag them into the browser window, in the case of online services) and press a button. Easier than that?
The resulting PDFs will contain all the text, images and graphic elements present in the original presentations. There will be no qualitative losses and the documents will be freely viewable with any program suitable for reading files in PDF format, you will not need Office or other special software. So, are you ready to get started? Good work!
Index
- How to convert PowerPoint to PDF for free
- PowerPoint (Windows / macOS)
- LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)
- Keynote (macOS)
- How to convert PowerPoint to PDF online
- Online2PDF
- Smallpdf
- iLovePDF
- App to convert PowerPoint to PDF
How to convert PowerPoint to PDF for free
The question you are asking yourself is how to convert PPT to PDF for free and I don’t want to make you wait too long: below I provide you with all the information about this procedure using the best software in the category. As I already told you at the beginning, you won’t have to do anything particularly complicated, don’t worry.
PowerPoint (Windows / macOS)
Probably the thing will be foreign to many but the simplest way to convert PowerPoint presentations to PDF files is to use the famous software from Microsoft. So, if you are using a version of Office equal to or higher than 2007, you can export your presentations to PDF simply by clicking on the File button located at the top left (or on the Office logo , if you are using PowerPoint 2007) and selecting the items Export> Create PDF / XPS Document> Create PDF / XPS from the menu that opens.
Alternatively you can also go to the File> Save As menu and select the PDF option from the Save As drop-down menu , it’s pretty much the same thing.
If you don’t have Office on your computer and don’t know how to download and install it, read my article on how to download Office . I remind you that this is a paid solution but eventually it is possible to download a trial version that can be used free of charge for a limited period of time.
LibreOffice (Windows / macOS / Linux)
In the absence of Office, you can contact LibreOffice . Haven’t you ever heard of it? Bad. It is an amazing productivity suite, free and open source, compatible with all Microsoft Office files and equipped with the PDF export function. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
If you want to download and install the software to immediately start your conversions, I invite you to read my specific guide that I have just linked to you, so you can start taking advantage of this productivity suite on your devices.
Now open LibreOffice , select the item to open a file from the menu and choose the PPT / PPTX document you want to convert. When this is open, click on File (top left) and choose the menu items Export as> Export to PDF format .
Now all you have to do is adjust any preferences relating to the PDF document to be obtained (e.g. the degree of compression, password and file permissions, and so on) using the boxes and tabs displayed on the screen, press Export again and choose the destination to save the file.
Keynote (macOS)
Are you wondering how to convert PowerPoint to PDF on Mac because you have an Apple branded computer? No problem, the operation is easily performed, as well as with PowerPoint and LibreOffice that I just told you about, even with the Apple Keynote application (you can find it for free on the Mac App Store , in case you don’t already have it).
If you only have Keynote on your Mac, to open the PPT or PPTX file to convert, just double-click on it to make it open in the software in question. In case you have more than one such application, right click on the file and choose Open with> Keynote from the list.
Now that your presentation is open in Keynote, click on File> Export As and select the target format (in this case the entry PDF… ). On the next screen you can add other options by ticking where appropriate (include skipped slides, include presenter notes and so on), after making your selection click Next … at the bottom right. All that remains is to type in the file name and then click on Export to complete the operation.
How to convert PowerPoint to PDF online
Do you need to convert multiple presentations at the same time? Don’t feel like installing other programs on your PC? No problem. There are online services that allow you to transform PowerPoint presentations into PDF documents directly from the browser , without resorting to plugins or special extensions. Let’s take a few examples of the best right away.
Please note: although the managers of the services in question ensure to delete the files uploaded to their servers within a few hours of uploading, we have no control over this, so the use of cloud-based services is always to be considered as a potential risk for privacy; avoid it if you are dealing with documents containing sensitive data.
Online2PDF
Online2PDF is a web service that allows you to convert PowerPoint to PDF totally free. It does not require registration to be used and allows you to unify the content of two or more presentations into a single PDF, however it has an upload limit: it allows you to process a maximum number of 20 files at a time for a total weight of 150 MB.
To find out how it works, connected to its main page and drag the presentations to convert to PDF in the box located at the bottom. If you want, you can also select the files to act on manually, by clicking on the Select files button .
Now, using the drop-down menu located next to the convert to item , indicate whether you want to create a single PDF file (choosing PDF file (.pdf) ) or transform each page of the presentation into a separate PDF file (in this case choosing Each page as separate PDF file). At the end of the selection click on the Convert button at the bottom and wait for the documents to be processed first and then downloaded to your PC, everything happens automatically.
If you want, before starting the conversion procedure you can also set some aspects of the final file by clicking on the Compression , View , Protection , Header / Footer and Layout tabs at the bottom and then acting on the various available items.
Smallpdf
Smallpdf is another site that allows you to transform your PPT documents into PDF, in this case, however, there is an important limitation: you can in fact work for free on only two files a day, to make more conversions you need to subscribe at cost. of 7.5 euros per month .
If you still want to try the free service, first go to this page and drag your PowerPoint file to the central pane, or click on Choose file to manually select it from the folders on your computer. The conversion will be carried out immediately and, at the end of the procedure, you will see a screen from which you can click on the Download button to download the PDF file: you will find it in the default folder on your computer.
I remind you that to access advanced features of the service, such as direct sharing of converted files, you need to upgrade to the Pro subscription plan.
iLovePDF
Continuing the roundup of online sites that allow the free transformation of PPT files into PDF, I present to you iLovePDF , a very complete portal that, without the need for any installation, allows you to modify your PDF and non-PDF files at will. In the free version it allows you to operate on only one file at a time with a maximum size of 15MB; to remove the limitations, you need to switch to a paid plan. More info here .
To use it, go to this page and you can directly drag the PPT or PPTX to convert, or click on the Select Powerpoint button to select it manually. In this case, iLovePDF also allows the use of Google Drive or Dropbox , if the file is saved on the cloud. To access these options, simply click on the appropriate icons and log in with your account.
After uploading the file, you can choose more to make a multiple conversion by clicking on the + button , otherwise just select the Convert to PDF button at the bottom right. Wait for the procedure to be completed and the file will be downloaded immediately to your default folder automatically. If the download does not start, click the Download PDF button .
In the same screen you also have other options: save the file on Google Drive, Dropbox, copy the URL to share it or delete the file (by clicking on the trash can icon).
App to convert PowerPoint to PDF
Do you need to transform a PowerPoint to PDF but don’t have access to a computer through which to perform the operation? Do you only have your smartphone handy and have you been asked to do this conversion ASAP? No problem, below I present some apps to convert PowerPoint to PDF from smartphones and tablets.
- Microsoft Office( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – unlike the PC version, Microsoft Office for smartphones is free to use. Just log in with your Microsoft account , press the icon of the four circles at the bottom right, where it says Actions , and choose Document in PDF . Then select the Browse option , find the file to convert and select it: the conversion will be performed automatically and you will have to touch the three vertical dots at the top right and choose Save as to finish the procedure.
- iLovePDF( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) – the mobile version of the web service mentioned above. To use it, tap on Tools , choosing from the Powerpoint in PDF list . Then browse the smartphone folders to choose the PPT / PPTX file to convert, tap Next , wait for the procedure to be complete and then select Go to file to access the converted file. The document will remain available by tapping on File at the bottom left and then selecting Processed files .
- PPTX to PDF Converter( Android ) – easy-to-use cloud-based app. After installing it, just open it and press the Select file button to find the PPT or PPTX presentation inside the device. After tapping on the latter, tap Convert and at the end of the operation you can download the file by touching the three vertical dots and selecting the Save item .
