Unable to open PowerPoint shows from a menu

David Roberts 0 Reputation points
2026-08-07T12:26:47.8+00:00

For many years I have been producing hyperlinked sets of PowerPoint presentations.

I have a menu presentation (show) which I place in a folder.

The menu links to a number of 'daughter' shows in a subfolder.

So, I run the Menu show, click on the link to Show 1 in the sub-folder and Show 1 runs. When Show 1 ends, I return to Menu where I can select Show 2, which will run.

As recently as 2022, that worked perfectly for me. In fact, I could copy the entire batch to a USB flashdrive and give it to someone else to run.

Now, it appears that I have to have all the presentations (shows) in the same folder. Even than, I get a message to say there is no app associated with the file - even after I have gone into Settings and added the association.

So, apparently instead of linking, I have to insert an Action which links the files using the Absolute path, which means I can not share the file via a USB.

Is there any way around this mess?

Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-08-07T12:27:11.3733333+00:00

    This behavior matches a recent change in PowerPoint rather than a broken file setup.

    PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 no longer allows the object model to open a copy of the same document multiple times in one PowerPoint session. The documented reason is to reduce complexity and avoid file corruption or data loss. In current Microsoft 365 Apps, this is by design.

    For the specific symptom where hyperlinked presentations now open in edit mode instead of Slide Show mode, the supported workaround in the available guidance is:

    1. Open each linked presentation.
    2. Go to File > Save As.
    3. Save it as a PowerPoint Show file.
    4. Update the menu presentation hyperlinks so they point to those PowerPoint Show files.

    That causes the linked file to launch directly in Slide Show mode instead of edit mode.

    If maintaining many separate linked files is becoming unreliable, the other documented workaround is to keep everything in a single PowerPoint file and use Custom Slide Shows:

    1. Put the menu and all daughter slides into one presentation.
    2. Go to Slide Show > Custom Slide Show > Custom Shows.
    3. Create one custom show for each daughter presentation.
    4. On the menu slide, add links to the relevant custom show.
    5. Enable Show and return so the presentation returns to the menu after each custom show ends.

    If double-clicking or opening Office files is also failing with messages such as "no app associated with the file" or the wrong Office app opens, run an Office repair:

    1. Select Start.
    2. Type and open Control Panel.
    3. Go to Programs > Programs and Features.
    4. Select the Office product.
    5. Choose Change.
    6. Select Quick Repair and then Repair.

    That is the documented fix for Office file-association problems.

    The available material does not provide a supported way to preserve the old relative-link behavior across separate folders on removable media while also forcing Slide Show launch. The practical supported paths in the documentation are:

    • save linked files as PowerPoint Show files, or
    • consolidate into one file with Custom Slide Shows.

    References:

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