Files with the POTM extension are Macro-Enabled Presentation Templates created with Microsoft PowerPoint, versions 2007 or later. PowerPoint was developed by Microsoft in 1990 and is currently the leading application for creating, editing and showcasing commercial and non-commercial presentations. It is available for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.

POTM files contain individual pages known as "slides" which are fully customizable. These may contain text, pictures, videos, graphics and other objects that can be arranged freely within the page.

Templates are created to store the entire structure of a document and are often used by companies to create a standard formatting style which may include a master slide, customized headers and footers, the company logo, special fonts, images, etc. POTM templates are then used to create multiple files which inherit all the formatting options of the POTM file.

Additionally, the POTM format may contain Macros which can also be inherited by other presentations. Embedding them into the document's structure is done via the Macro Recorder included in MS Office which can save command sequences and create macros to replicate them automatically.

The POTM format is based on the Open XML architecture which stores all content in a zipped archive. The archive contains XML, RELS and media files (if applicable) stored in three separate folders named �"docProps”, �"ppt” and "_rels". Files with the RELS extension dictate how the parts of the document connect to form a single file. This archived approach makes file content more accessible. For example images and text are stored individually within the archive.

How to open POTM files

The contents of a POTM file can be extracted individually by opening it with a data compression application (i.e. WinZip or WinRAR). The XML files of a POTM document can be opened with any basic text editor and any web browser. POTM files can be opened with a limited number of applications, the most popular being Microsoft PowerPoint and Planamesa NeoOffice (Mac OS).