How to open .PPTM files (macro-enabled PowerPoint) on Android, Windows and Linux

A .pptm turns up in your inbox and your phone has no idea what to do with it. Or a .ppsx launches straight into a full-screen slide show when you only wanted to look at the slides. Or someone sends a .potx and you can’t tell whether it’s a presentation or a template.

All four are members of the PowerPoint family, and Folders opens them in the same presentation viewer on Android, Windows and Linux, for free. It never runs macros, so a .pptm from a stranger is safe to look at.

What is a .pptm file?

A .pptm is a PowerPoint presentation that may contain macros: small programs written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). It’s the same Office Open XML package as a normal .pptx, a ZIP of XML files, plus one extra part, vbaProject.bin, that holds the macro code. Microsoft gave macro files their own extension so you can spot them: a plain .pptx can’t contain macros at all.

Presenters use macros for quizzes, clickable menus, timers or automating repetitive changes. Attackers have long used Office macros to spread malware too, which is why recent versions of Office block macros in files that came from the internet.

Extension	What it is
.pptm	Presentation that can contain VBA macros
.ppsx	PowerPoint Show: a normal presentation flagged to open straight into the slide show
.ppsm	PowerPoint Show that can contain macros
.potx	PowerPoint template: a theme, slide layouts and sometimes sample slides, for starting new decks

The difference between a .pptx and a .ppsx is tiny: one setting inside the package tells PowerPoint to start the show instead of the editor. That’s why renaming a .ppsx to .pptx is the classic way to edit one.

How to open a .pptm file with Folders

On Android

1. Download Folders from the download section, install it and give it access to your files.
2. Find the file, usually in Download, or search for part of its name.
3. Tap it. Folders opens the slides; macros stay switched off because Folders doesn’t run them.
4. From another app, tap the attachment and choose Open with → Folders.

On Windows and Linux

1. Install Folders, browse to the file and open it.
2. On Windows, right-click it in File Explorer and choose Open with → Folders. For a .ppsx this is a nice way to see the slides calmly instead of having PowerPoint jump into the show.

What you can do with it in Folders

• View the slides at your own pace. A .ppsx or .ppsm opens on its slides like any deck.
• Present full screen when you’re ready, with next and previous.
• Speaker notes and Go to slide… for long decks.
• Slide actions: Duplicate slide, Delete slide, Move earlier, Move later, then Save.

What doesn’t work: the macros themselves. Buttons, quizzes or menus that depend on VBA do nothing in Folders, since the code never runs. Animations, transitions and editing the text on slides aren’t part of the viewer either.

A .potx opens if it contains slides. If a template holds only layouts and a theme, Folders tells you the presentation has no slides: there’s nothing to show yet. Open it in PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress to start a new deck from it.

Other ways to open .pptm files

• Microsoft PowerPoint opens all four. Open a .ppsx from inside PowerPoint (File → Open) and it opens for editing rather than as a show.
• LibreOffice Impress (free) opens them all; its macro security blocks unknown macros by default.
• Google Slides imports PowerPoint files; the macros don’t come across.

Problems opening a .pptm file?

• PowerPoint says macros are blocked. Office blocks macros in files from the internet or email. Only unblock a file if you trust the sender and expected macros: right-click it in File Explorer, open Properties and tick Unblock. To simply read it, no unblocking is needed; open it in Folders.
• The .ppsx closes when the show ends. That’s what a show file does. Open it from inside PowerPoint, rename a copy to .pptx, or view it in Folders.
• The template shows no slides. It’s a template with layouts only. Make a deck from it in PowerPoint or Impress.
• It’s password-protected. Encrypted decks need PowerPoint and the password; Folders says so and can’t open them.

Questions people ask

Is a .pptm file safe? It can contain code, so treat one from an unknown sender with care in PowerPoint and don’t enable its macros. Opening it in Folders is safe because Folders never runs macros.

How do I edit a .ppsx file? Rename a copy to .pptx, or open it from inside PowerPoint with File → Open. Either way you get the normal editor.

What’s the difference between PPTX and PPTM? They’re the same format, except a .pptm can carry VBA macros and a .pptx can’t.

How do I remove macros from a PPTM? Open it in PowerPoint and save it as a .pptx. PowerPoint warns that the macros will be dropped; that’s the point.

Related guides: how to open .PPTX files and how to open .DOTM and .DOCM files, or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.