PowerPoint can't open downloaded presentation files.

Anonymous
2013-03-19T23:56:46+00:00

Hello,

I currently own a retail version of Office 365 Home Premium 32 bit.

Every time I try to open a .ppt or .pptx file downloaded from the internet I get the following error message:

"Sorry, PowerPoint can't read (FilePath)."

There's also a "Show Help" button on the message. If I click it, the following message shows up:

"The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation."

The presentations open fine in other versions of Office and on PowerPoint Viewer 2007. I already tried turning off my antivirus and firewall and I still couldn't open the file. I spent the whole day researching and found some other threads about the same error, however none of the solutions proposed worked for me - including doing a clean reboot, reinstalling Office and changing the location of internet explorer's temporary files.

Here are some of the threads I found - I did everything they said but nothing worked still:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office\_2013\_release-powerpoint/powerpoint-2013-error-the-presentation-cannot-be/7625a247-d172-4a67-81db-1cabca405af8

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officesetupdeployprevious/thread/f5b26fb0-8f76-4bd6-8db2-1f556dbd5fb4

I have a Windows 8 64 bit operating system.

Thanks,

Daniel Lima

Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Steve Rindsberg 99,176 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2013-03-20T00:44:11+00:00

Quit PowerPoint.

Rightclick the file's icon, choose Properties.

At the bottom of the General tab, see if it offers an UNBLOCK option.

If so, choose that, close the properties dialog box.

Doubleclick the file's icon.

With luck, it'll open now.

Was this answer helpful?

1200+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

46 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
  1. Steve Rindsberg 99,176 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-09-15T15:43:54+00:00

    It sounds as though you don't actually have PowerPoint installed on your computer.

    As a test, assuming this is a Windows PC:

    • Press the Windows key + R (the Run dialog box will open)
    • Type POWERPNT.EXE
    • Press Enter

    Does PowerPoint start? 

    Note:  POWERPNT.EXE, not POWERPOINT.EXE

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-15T01:06:51+00:00

    i did try to unblock it. but it still cant be opened. everytime i clicked. a pop up shows. it says "cant open file. to find this version in your pc, check your software pulisher"

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  3. Steve Rindsberg 99,176 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-09-14T02:27:33+00:00

    Please give it another try and post the *exact* text of the error message.  It seems that something garbled the text in your last message.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-14T01:23:51+00:00

    i can find the unblock button but it still cant be open. it says " cant open. t find this version for your pc, check your software publisher"

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments