Microsoft PowerPoint of Office 2016, Office 2013, Office 2010, or most other versions cannot open, view, or play PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx, and other file extensions). Especially for documents, PowerPoint is saved in a remote network location such as a shared folder or a network drive or has been previously downloaded from email or the Internet. Besides, PowerPoint files saved on a local hard drive or synced through DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc., may or may not be opened successfully. Windows 10, Microsoft PowerPoint of Office 2016, Office 2013, Office 2010, or most other versions cannot open, view, or play PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx, and other file extensions), especially for PowerPoint documents saved in a word network location remote such as shared folders or network drives, or have been previously downloaded from email or the Internet. Besides, PowerPoint files saved on a hard drive or synced through DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc., may or may not be opened successfully.
When the problem occurs, the following error message is displayed:
Powerpoint found a problem with content in X: Path Filename.pptx.
Powerpoint can attempt to repair the presentation.If you trust the source of this presentation, click Repair.
The user is presented with the button “Repair” or “Cancel”. But clicking or tapping on Repair doesn’t fix the problem. Instead, it throws an error message with a “Show Help” button. But clicking or tapping on Repair doesn’t fix the problem. Instead, it throws another error message with the “Show Help” button:
Sorry, Powerpoint cannot read X: Path Filename.pptx.
After clicking on “Show Help”, the following message is displayed:
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 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 opening the presentation. An 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 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 opening the presentation.
Fix: PowerPoint cannot be opened in Windows 10
The problem seems to occur when Windows 10 and PowerPoint apps try to protect and block suspicious files from being accessed or executed. Try the following fixes that might help resolve the issue. Windows 10 and PowerPoint apps try to defend and block suspicious files from being accessed or executed. Try the following fixes that might help resolve the issue.
Method 1: Unblock the PowerPoint files
- Right-click the affected PowerPoint presentation.
- Choose Properties from the pop-up context menu.
- On the General tab, select (check) the box of Unblock at the bottom.
- Click OK or Apply.
- Reopen the PowerPoint file.
Method 2: Disable Protected View in PowerPoint
- Open the Microsoft Office PowerPoint program. Microsoft Office PowerPoint program.
- Go to File -> Options .
- In the PowerPoint Options dialog box, go to Trust Center and click or tap the Trust Center Settings button in the right pane.
- In the Protected View tab, deselect the following three options to disable Protected View where files open in restricted mode:
- Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet
- Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
- Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments
- Click or click OK when done.
- Reopen the PowerPoint file.
Method 3: Reinstall Microsoft Office
Trying to uninstall Microsoft Office and then reinstalling Microsoft Office in Windows10 can help eliminate the problem. Then you can try opening the PowerPoint presentations again.