Why won't powerpoint export to a .pdf

Question

When trying to export a powerpoint slide as a PDF, I get the following error: "An error occurred while PowerPoint was saving the file." with no further explanation. Is there a reason that this started happening?

Answer 1

The following steps have worked for other users:

Remove any objects or elements on the slide that are not necessary, such as images or videos, and try exporting the slide again.

Check for any corrupted objects on the slide. Sometimes, a corrupted object can cause issues with saving or exporting the slide. To check for this, select all the objects on the slide and then press Ctrl + C to copy them. Create a new slide and then press Ctrl + V to paste the objects onto the new slide. Try exporting the new slide as a PDF.

Check if any objects on the slide have transparency or are overlapping. Overlapping objects or objects with transparency can cause issues with exporting. Try rearranging or adjusting the objects on the slide and then exporting again.

If the slide contains any animations or transitions, try removing them and then exporting the slide as a PDF.

Thanks,

Answer 2

Since it's just this one presentation, it probably is down to one or more corrupt slides or objects on slides. The quickest way to get to the bottom of this kind of problem is Divide & Conquer:

Make two copies of your presentation. Delete the first half of the slides from one and save. See if that one exports ok. If not, delete the second half of the slides from the other presentation and see if that one will export ok or not.

Rinse and repeat, each time starting with the half-presentation that won't export and dividing it in half again until you've narrowed it down to one or more slides that are causing the problem.

BUT before starting on this sometimes time-consuming process, you might want to start a new presentation based on the same template as this one, then copy/paste each of the slides from the old presentation into the new ones. Sometimes you get lucky and the copy/paste leaves the bad stuff behind.

Answer 3

Hi mjsteve,

I'm writing this reply to follow up on this thread, may I know if you have checked my reply? When you have time, you are welcome to come back and share any updates with us.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 4

Hi mjsteve,

Thanks for posting in the community. We are happy to help you.

According to your description, I would like to collect more information to better understand the situation.

1. How did you export the presentation to a PDF file? Normally, you can try the following methods to export it to a PDF file. Please try the other two methods. If they work well, please use them as a temporary workaround.

• File> Export
• File> Save As> select .pdf as the file format
• File> Print> choose "Microsoft Print to PDF"

2. Does the situation happen to a specific presentation or happen to all presentations? Please create a new presentation and test it again.
3. Please provide your Office version

Click File> Account, please provide a full screenshot of the interface.

Also, you can try the following suggestions to troubleshoot the situation.

1. Please make sure yourOffice is the latest version. If not, please update it, then check again.
2. Please try to set PowerPoint into Safe Mode, open and export the presentation, then check again.

Close PowerPoint first, press win + R, in the Run box, type powerpnt /safe, and click OK

3. Please try to Repair Office and choose Online Repair. After that, open the presentation and check again.

We look forward to your response. Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 5

Thank you George, none of the steps worked to resolve the issue with this particular file, however any other .ppt file that I exported to a PDF was successful, so it must be something corrupt with that particular file, possibly an embedded image. Thank you very much for your help!