Files with the PPSX extension indicate a slideshow 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.

PPSX 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. The PPSX format was created mainly to ease the sharing and distribution of PowerPoint presentations. Besides PowerPoint, PPSX files can also be opened with the lightweight Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer application which is free. However, once a PPSX file is saved, it cannot be edited with this type of applications.

The PPSX 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 PPSX files

The contents of a PPSX file can be extracted individually by opening it with a data compression application (i.e. WinZip or WinRAR). The XML files of a PPSX document can be opened with any basic text editor and any web browser.