What happens when you convert POT to PDF
- The POT is opened by LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, on our conversion server and exported to PDF with its layout: one page per slide, with the text, images, shapes and charts as they appear on the slide.
- A PDF cannot play animations, transitions or embedded video, so each slide shows its final state. Hidden slides are skipped, and speaker notes are not included.
- A template opens as a new document based on it, so the result shows the template's own text, styles and page layout.
- Where the file uses a font our server does not have, a metric-compatible one is used instead: Carlito for Calibri, Caladea for Cambria and Liberation fonts for Arial, Times New Roman and Courier New, so lines break where they did. Unusual or decorative fonts may look different.
- Password-protected files cannot be converted, because they cannot be opened without the password.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert POT to PDF online
- Press "Choose POT files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to PDF". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each PDF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your POT and the PDF by then.
Why convert POT to PDF?
POT files usually come from company slide designs from older versions of PowerPoint. People convert them to PDF because a PDF looks the same on every device and is what forms, portals and printers ask for.
In short, POT is good at what it was made for, and PDF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. POT opens in PowerPoint, where it starts a new presentation with its design; LibreOffice Impress opens it too, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert POT to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your POT files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the POT files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PDF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose POT files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PDF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose POT files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PDF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for POT to PDF
There are no settings: each slide becomes one PDF page at its own size, in slide order. Hidden slides are skipped, as they are when you present.
If a font looks different in the PDF, the POT uses a font our server does not have. Embedding fonts when you save the presentation keeps the exact typeface.
POT vs PDF: the differences
| POT | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | PowerPoint 97 to 2003 template | Portable Document Format |
| Type | presentation | document |
| Created by | Microsoft | Adobe |
| First released | 1997 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | n/a | No |
| Animation | n/a | No |
| Vector or raster | n/a | Vector |
| Colour | n/a | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| What it holds | slide masters, layouts, colours, fonts and sometimes sample slides | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | opens in PowerPoint, where it starts a new presentation with its design; LibreOffice Impress opens it too | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | company slide designs from older versions of PowerPoint | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint | application/pdf |
About POT and PDF files
What is a POT file?
A POT holds a slide design: masters, layouts, colours, fonts and sometimes a few sample slides. Opening it in PowerPoint starts a new presentation with that design and leaves the template unchanged.
What is a PDF file?
A PDF fixes the layout of every page so it looks the same on any device. Converting a PDF to an image renders each page to pixels; converting an image to PDF wraps it as a page.
POT to PDF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- The file will not convert. It may be password protected, damaged, or saved in a newer or unusual version of the format.
Convert POT to PDF from the command line
LibreOffice does the same on your own computer, without opening a window:
soffice --headless --convert-to pdf input.potConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
POT to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting POT to PDF?
The PDF looks like the POT printed: text stays sharp and selectable, and images keep their resolution. Fonts our server lacks are replaced with close equivalents, which can change the look of unusual fonts.
Why is the PDF a different size from the POT?
A PDF embeds the fonts and images it uses, so it may be larger or smaller than the POT depending on its pictures. Text-only files usually make small PDFs.
Are my POT files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful POT to PDF conversion needs LibreOffice, the open-source office suite, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the PDF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several POT files to PDF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a PDF file?
PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer. PDF is common for documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files.
Is this POT to PDF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert POT to PDF on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.