PPT
PowerPoint Binary file (PPT) is the default file format used in the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation system from Office 97 to Office 2003 (later versions use PPTX). Earlier versions (PowerPoint 4.0 and earlier) had the same file format name and extension (.ppt), but were incompatible. The file format specifications for PowerPoint 4.0 and earlier versions are not available. Microsoft made backwards compatibility an optional add-on after Office 2003, and appears to have removed it altogether in Office 2010. Migration routes involve using emulation or older hardware in conjunction with a copy of Office 2001/2003. Alternatively, at least one company can provide free migration services (Zamzar).
PPT (97-2003) files can be read by the Open Source OpenOffice and LibreOffice suites; included objects from other Microsoft applications (e.g. graphs from Excel) may not be handled properly.
Sample files
References
- Microsoft spec for PowerPoint 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
- PPT 97-2007 specs
- Forensics Wiki article (archived)
- The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation (by Abraham Lincoln)
- MS Office 97-2003 legacy/binary formats security - article with lots of resources on MS Office formats, including analysis techniques, tools and parsing libraries
- Beginnings of PowerPoint: A Personal Technical Story
- File formats supported in Office 2010
- Library of Congress preservation guide
