PowerPoint renders Glow (Shadow) effect with only 100 dpi when saving as PDF

Hello Madoc,

thank you for your reply. 

I repaired my Office Installation using Office Online Repair, and then exported the file from PowerPoint (started in Safe Mode) again to PDF. Unfortunately, I got the same result as in the first screenshot above.

Here is the PowerPoint source file: OneDrive

Below is my version number. It is the same on all PC's, but only on my main PC the issue is present. 

Hi FamKis,

Sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused.

In case the issue related to the PowerPoint app on your PC, you could try the following suggestions to troubleshoot it:

1. Open PowerPoint in safe mode to exclude the issue is related to some third-party add-ins. Then check the result.

2. Perform Office Online Repair to fix the problem.

And if the issue persists, we would like to collect some information to further check it:

1. Which version of Office do you have? After starting PowerPoint, click on File > Account, please take a screenshot of the Product Information pane and share it with us.
2. The file link you provided has expired, could you prepare and upload an example file to OneDrive then share the link here if possible? See OneDrive - Share files and folders.

Best regards,

Madoc

Hi FamKis,

I did a test with the file on mutiple PCs, and I found that it does show different effects when exporting PDF on different PCs. When exporting PDF on one of the PCs, even the Glow effect does not display.

Because there is currently no option to manage the output resolution DPI, we suggest you send feedback to the PowerPoint development team by clicking File > Feedback in PowerPoint, which is the quickest route to get your comments to our developers’ ears is right. And if you want to, you can even tell them your email address in case they need to contact you for clarification. They read all feedback.

Appreciate your understang.

Merry Christmas and have a nice day!

Best regards,

Madoc

Hello Madoc,

thank you for trying this conversion also on your side.

I tried your suggestions as well, unfortunately without improved results.

I have uploaded a multi-page PDF file containing all results for comparison here: OneDrive

You can see from the PDF file that (on my main PC) the same problem occurs when the PowerPoint source file is not exported or saved from PowerPoint, but instead is opened directly in PDF-XChange Editor.

PDF-XChange Editor uses PowerPoint's conversion engine to open or import PowerPoint files, respectively, without even starting PowerPoint. This way, the exact same result (pixel-identical) is obtained as when exporting from PowerPoint to PDF.

I believe that the output resolution dpi value for Glow/Shadow effects must be stored in some setting or file on the PowerPoint side.

Interestingly, the result from PowerPoint 2016 (last page in the linked PDF file) seems to be of even better quality (less/no offset of the 'Glow' effect) than the official/correct results from PowerPoint 2019/365.

Thank you for any further hints as to what the problem could be.

Hi FamKis,

Thanks for your response.

I did a test with the file from our side, and what we have observed is the situation in the second picture you mentioned in the thread.

In addition to saving the PowerPoint presentation to PDF directly, you can also export it save PDF by clicking File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document, and please make sure the "Standard (publishing online and printing)" option is selected.

And in your PowerPoint, click File > Options > Advanced, uncheck "Disable hardware graphics acceleration" makes any difference.

Best regards,

Madoc