How to Open a PPTX File on iPhone or iPad

Last Updated: July 24, 2021 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to open PPTX files on iPhone and iPad. The latest versions of Microsoft PowerPoint (2007 and newer) save as PPTX files. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can open and and edit PowerPoint files using PowerPoint for iOS. If you do not have an Office 365 subscription, you can still open and view PowerPoint files using PowerPoint for iOS. You can also open, view and edit PowerPoint files using Keynote. However, PowerPoint files make not work properly in Keynote.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Using Microsoft PowerPoint

1
Open the App Store
. The App Store is the app that has a blue icon with a capital "A". Open the App Store by tapping the icon on your homescreen.
2
Tap the Search tab. The Search tab is in the lower-right corner. It has an icon that resembles a magnifying glass. This displays a search bar in the center of the screen.

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3
Type PowerPoint in the search bar. The search bar is the grey bar in the center of the screen. This displays a list of apps that match your search text.
4
Tap PowerPoint. This displays Microsoft PowerPoint and similar apps in the App Store.
5
Tap GET next to Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint has a red icon that has a sheet of paper with a "P" over another sheet of paper with graphs on it. Microsoft PowerPoint is free to download from the App Store.
6
Open Microsoft PowerPoint. After Microsoft PowerPoint is finished downloading and installing, you can open PowerPoint by tapping the icon on your homescreen, or by tapping OPEN next to Microsoft PowerPoint in the App Store.
7
Tap Open. It's in the red sidebar on the left when you open PowerPoint. It has an icon that resembles a folder. This displays the "Places" menu.
- If you open PowerPoint and it displays the last presentation you opened, tap the Back arrow in the upper-left corner to display the red bar to the left.
8
Tap … More. It's the second option in the "Places" menu. This displays the "Locations" menu, which you can use to browse files.
9
Tap the location the PPTX file is saved to. The locations are displayed in the "Locations" menu to the left. If the PPTX file is saved to your iPhone or iPad, tap On my iPhone/iPad. If it is saved to your iCloud drive, tap iCloud. You can also tap Google Drive, DropBox, OneDrive, and other cloud-based storage services.
- If you do not see the cloud based service in the Locations menu, make sure you have downloaded and installed the app from the App Store and signed in to the app. Then tap "Edit" at the top of the Locations menu, and tap the toggle switch next to the Cloud service you have installed on your device.
10
Navigate to the file. Use the window to the right to navigate to the file. If the file is saved to a specific folder, that the folder(s) to navigate to it.
11
Tap the file. Once you navigate to the file, tap it to open it in Microsoft PowerPoint. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can edit and save the PPTX file. If you do not have an Office 365 subscription, you can still view the document and play the slideshow by tapping the 'Play' triangle in the upper-right corner.
- If you have an Office 365 and you need to sign in, tap Sign In in the upper-right corner and sign in using the email address and password associated with your Office 365 account.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using Keynote

1
Open Keynote. Keynote is the app that has a blue icon with an image of a podium that's shaped like a lamp. Keynote typically comes pre-installed on most iPhone or iPad devices. When you open Keynote, it displays the Locations menu, or the last presentation you were viewing.
- If Keynote is not installed on your iPhone or iPad, you can download it for free from the App Store.
2
Tap Browse. t's the second tab at the bottom of the screen. This displays the Locations menu in a bar to the left.
- On iPad, Keynote opens the last presentation you were working on. Tap Presentations in the upper-left corner to return to the Recent Files screen. On iPhone, tap the Back arrow in the upper-left corner to return to the Recent Files screen.
3
Tap the location the PPTX file is saved to. The locations are listed in the list to the left. They include your iPhone or iPad storage, your iCloud drive and any other cloud-based drives you have on your iPhone or iPad.
- If you do not see the cloud based service in the Locations menu, make sure you have downloaded and installed the app from the App Store and signed in to the app. Then tap "Edit" at the top of the Locations menu, and tap the toggle switch next to the Cloud service you have installed on your device.
4
Navigate to the PPTX file. If the PPTX is saved to a specific folder, navigate to the folder and tap it to open it.
5
Tap the PPTX file. Once you navigate to the file, tap it to open the file in Keynote. You can view, edit and play PowerPoint files in Keynote. However, they may not work the same as they do in PowerPoint. You can edit the PPTX file using the following methods.
- Tap the slides in the bar to the left to view the slides. Tap and hold the text to edit the text in the slide.
- Tap the square icon with the plus (+) in the middle to add a new slide. It's at the bottom of the slide bar to on the left.
- Tap the 'Play' triangle to play the slide show. It's in the upper-right corner.
- Tap the paintbrush icon in the upper-right corner to edit the slide format.
- Tap the plus (+) icon in the upper-right corner to add images, text boxes, shapes, graphs, tables, and other objects.
- Tap the button with three dots (…) to open the More options menu. It's in the upper-right corner.
- To save and export your work in Keynote as a PowerPoint file, tap "…" in the upper-right corner. Then tap Export and then select tap PowerPoint.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Opening A PPTX From Email

1
Open your email app. This can be whichever app you use to check your email. If you use Apple Mail, tap the blue icon with an envelope at the bottom of the screen. If you use Gmail, or Outlook, or a different Email application, tap the app you use to check you use to check your email.
2
Tap the email with the PPTX attachment. Many email apps display a paperclip icon next to emails that have an attachment. Browse your email and tap the email with the PPTX attachment to view the email.
3
Tap the PPTX file. Most email applications display the list of attachments at the bottom of the email message. Scroll down and tap the PPTX file to open a preview of the image. This displays the file information, or a preview of the slides, or an error message, depending on your email application.
- Some email apps may require you to download the attachment before you can view it. Tap the attachment to download it.
4
Tap the Share
icon. The Share icon is the button that has a square with an arrow point up. It's in the upper-right corner of the PowerPoint images. This displays the Share menu.
5
Copy the PPTX file a presentation application. If you have PowerPoint installed on your iPhone or iPad, tap "Open with PowerPoint". It's below the red PowerPoint icon. If you would rather use Keynote, tap "Copy to Keynote". If you have a different Office program installed on your iPhone or iPad that supports PPTX files, you can tap that program as well. This opens the PPTX file in the program you choose.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Opening a PPTX file from Files

1
Tap the Files
app. The Files app is the app that has a icon with a blue folder. It's in the Dock at the bottom of the screen. This opens the File browser app for your iPhone or iPad.
2
Tap Browse. It's the second tab at the bottom of the screen. This displays the Locations menu in a bar to the left.
3
Tap the location the PPTX file is saved to. If the PPTX is saved to your iPhone or iPad, tap "On My iPhone/iPad". If it is saved to iCloud, tap "iCloud". If it is saved to a different Cloud service, such as Google Drive, or Dropbox, tap that service in the Locations menu.
- If you do not see the cloud based service in the Locations menu, make sure you have downloaded and installed the app from the App Store and signed in to the app. Then tap "Edit" at the top of the Locations menu, and tap the toggle switch next to the Cloud service you have installed on your device.
4
Navigate to the PPTX file. If the PPTX file is saved to a specific folder, tap that folder to view the contents of that folder.
5
Tap and hold the PPTX file. This displays a menu bar above the file.
- If you tap a PPTX file without holding it, it automatically opens the file in Keynote.
6
Tap Share. It's in the menu bar that appears when you tap and hold a file in the Files browser. This displays the share menu.
7
Copy the file to a presentation application. Tap the icon of the app you want to open the PPTX file in. If you want to open the file in PowerPoint, tap the red icon that has an image of a sheet of paper with a "P" over a sheet of paper with graphs on it. It says "Open with PowerPoint" below it. If you want to open the file in Keynote, tap the blue icon that has an image of a podium. It says "Copy to Keynote" below the icon. If you want to open the file in a different application, tap the icon of that application.