powerpoint the presentation cannot be opened your antivirus

FIX: The Presentation Cannot be Opened in PowerPoint (Solved).

PowerPoint is a powerful tool that can be used to create or view presentations. One of the common errors that PowerPoint users have encountered is " Sorry, PowerPoint can't read file…The Presentation cannot be Opened. Your Antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation ", or " PowerPoint found a problem with content in PPT file ."

This generally happens if the system is blocking the file or because of certain settings in PowerPoint application.

If you have problems opening a PowerPoint file on your system don’t panic. In this guide, we have compiled some fixes that will help you to solve the following PowerPoint errors:

• PowerPoint found a problem with content in PPT file.
• Sorry, PowerPoint can't read PPTX file.
• Presentation Cannot be Opened.

How to FIX: Cannot open PowerPoint file in Windows 10.

Before proceeding with the methods listed below to fix errors when trying to open a PowerPoint presentation, try the following:

1. Check the name of the PowerPoint file you can't open and make sure it doesn't contain any dots other than the dot before the "pptx" extension. Files with such names sometimes are flagged are malicious by the antivirus programs.

For example, if the PowerPoint file is named "Presentation_File.19.10.2020.pptx", then remove all other dots from the name except the ".pptx" (e.g. rename the file to "Presentation_File_19_10_2020.pptx")

2. If the PowerPoint file comes from a trusted source and your antivirus program blocks the file, temporarily disable your antivirus program and then try to open the PPT file.

Method 1: Unblock the PowerPoint File

If you are seeing the error "Sorry, PowerPoint can't read .PPTX file" in a PowerPoint file downloaded from the internet or received as an attachment in your mail, then unblock the file and then try opening it by using the steps below.

1. Right-click on the PowerPoint file that is not opening and choose Properties from the menu.

2a. In the properties window, make sure you are in the General tab.

2b. At the bottom of the window, check the Unblock option next to the security warning message "This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer ", and then click Apply & OK to save the setting.

3. Finally try to open the PowerPoint file that you cannot open.

Method 2. Turn Off the Protected View settings in PowerPoint.

1. Open the PowerPoint application. 2a. Click on the File menu and…

2b. …choose Options from the left-hand side.

3. From the PowerPoint Options window, choose Trust Center at the left and click to to open the Trust Center Settings.

4. In the Trust Center window that opens:

1. Choose Protected View from the left-hand side. 2. Untick all the three options from the right side as shown below. 3. Click OK to apply the change.

5. Click OK again to close the PowerPoint Options window. 6. Now try to open PowerPoint presentation.

Method 3: Create a copy of the PPT file that does not open.

In some cases, a presentation cannot be opened because it is either damaged or stored in a wrong/corrupted location on the disk. So try to copy the presentation to a different location (folder) on the disk. To do that:

1. Select the damaged PPT File.

2. Press CTRL + C keys to copy the PPT file.

3. Navigate to your desktop (or any other location you want) and press the keys Ctrl+V to paste the file.

4. Now try to open the presentation.

Method 4: Create a blank PPT file in the same location as the damaged PPT file. *

* Note: Although this method may seem a little weird, it seems to work in some cases.

1. Open PowerPoint application. 2. From the File menu click New and then click Blank Presentation .

3. Now press the Ctrl+S keys to open the "Save As" window.

4. In the Save As window, browse to the location where the damaged PPT file is present.

* Note: In this case, the problematic PPT file is in Desktop, hence navigating to the Desktop location.

5. Give a suitable name to the Presentation and Save it to the same location where the damaged Presentation is.

6. Try to open the damaged PPT file.

That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

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Error: Can't read file, or Presentation cannot be opened

If you've arrived at this article because you got an error message that PowerPoint can't read a file or that the presentation cannot be opened, it's likely that Microsoft 365 has blocked the file for security reasons. You can unblock the file so it can be opened:

Open Windows File Explorer (Open Start in Windows and type File Explorer .)

Locate the problematic file on your computer.

Right-click the file and select Properties .

In the Properties dialog box, look for an Unblock button near the bottom right. If it exists, click Unblock , then click Apply , and then click OK to dismiss the dialog box.

Now, attempt to open the presentation again. Right-click the file in File Explorer and select Open .

Still having trouble?

If you're having a problem with PowerPoint that's not resolved here, please contact us for technical support.

For a discussion about why Microsoft 365 blocks files, read Block or unblock external content in Microsoft 365 documents .

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Powerpoint Antivirus Issue Print

Modified on: Thu, 13 May, 2021 at 1:50 PM

"The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation."

• Open powerpoint. Click on the file tab in the top-left, then click on options.

• Click on Trust Center in the left pane, then click the trust center settings button.

• Click on protected view in the left pane, uncheck all checkboxes

• Click on Trusted locations in the left pane, click on add new locations, then browse…

• Navigate to C:\users\YourUsername by typing it in the address bar at the top, hitting enter, then hit OK

• Check the box that says "Subfolders of this location are also trusted". Keep hitting OK buttons to apply the settings until you just see powerpoint.

• Try opening the powerpoint that was giving you trouble.

Let us know if you need any assistance!

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Cannot Open PowerPoint Presentations in Windows 10

When the issue occurred, the following error message is displayed:

Powerpoint found a problem with content in X:\Path\Filename.pptx. Powerpoint can attempt to repair the presentation. .tj-content-link-unit-responsive { width: 120px; height: 90px; } @media(min-width: 320px) {.tj-content-link-unit-responsive { width: 160px; height: 90px; } } @media(min-width: 360px) {.tj-content-link-unit-responsive { width: 180px; height: 90px; } } @media(min-width: 400px) {.tj-content-link-unit-responsive { width: 200px; height: 90px; } } (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); If you trust the source of this presentation, click Repair.

User is presented with “Repair” or “Cancel” button. But clicking or tapping on Repair does not fix the issue. Instead, it throws another error message with a “Show Help” button:

Sorry, Powerpoint cannot read X:\Path\Filename.pptx.

Upon clicking on “Show Help”, the following message is displayed:

The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation.

The issue seems to happen as Windows 10 and PowerPoint app try to protect and block suspicious files from been accessed or executed. Try the following fixes which can help to resolve the issue.

Method 1: Unblock the PowerPoint Files

• Right click the affected PowerPoint presentation.
• Choose Properties from the the pop-up context menu.
• Click OK or Apply .
• Open the PowerPoint file again.

Method 2: Disable Protected View in PowerPoint

• Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint program.
• Go to File -> Options .
• Enable Protected View for files originating from Internet
• Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
• Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments
• Click or tap OK when done.

Method 3: Reinstall Microsoft Office

Try to uninstall Microsoft Office and then reinstall Microsoft Office in Windows 10 may help to eliminate the problem. Then, you can try to open the PowerPoint presentations again.

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Corrupted Presentation Recovered Magically

When I tried opening the file directly, PowerPoint said file is corrupted . Tried to repair it but it was in vain.

Then I opened it with google chrome browser. The same file downloaded again. When I tried to open the downloaded file directly with PowerPoint, alas! it opened.

Same thing happens when I downloaded it from Free Download Manager (FDM). (Actually I tried opening it using Firefox. Since Firefox is integrated with FDM that happened.)

But when I tried to open it using Internet Explorer ("Save As..") the newly saved file was as the same as the original. For Microsoft Edge nothing happened.

This was what PowerPoint had to say: The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation.

So I turned "Real Time Protection" off in my Virus Guard (Defender) and tried to open it again but the same message popped up.

There were some other .pptx files in the same folder of the original file and they open just fine.

Although the original file doesn't open in PowerPoint, it's shown in the preview pane without a problem.

The HEX files of both the original and the cleaned are identical.

My problems are:

Why PowerPoint treat the two files differently?(Although the HEX files are identical.)

Is there some cleaning mechanism involved when we download a file? (For instance when a download is completed in Edge, it does a further processing saying "Scanning".)

If so, what are the changes made to the file by that cleaning process? (The properties were identical for both original and cleaned one.)

Is there any inbuilt security system in PowerPoint?

Are there any other factors/reasons contributing to this scenario?

What are the other situations in which this phenomena can be exploited?

• microsoft-powerpoint

• Then how was it possible? @Ramhound –  user2974951 Jan 5, 2017 at 14:03
• if there's no difference between the cleaned one and the original, how come PowerPoint says original is corrupted and opens cleaned one without a problem? –  user2974951 Jan 6, 2017 at 2:22
• Let us continue this discussion in chat . –  user2974951 Jan 6, 2017 at 2:25
• Where did I asked about edge? –  user2974951 Jan 6, 2017 at 4:09
• It wasn't about Edge, but browsers in general. –  user2974951 Jan 6, 2017 at 4:53

If PowerPoint gives you error messages when you try to open a file you've downloaded from the internet, right-click the file's icon, choose PROPERTIES, then on the General tab of the Properties dialog box, check for a button marked UNBLOCK.

If it's there, click it. Close the Properties dialog box and try opening the file again.

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Fix Sorry, PowerPoint Can’t Read Error Message

Has this ever happened to you? You try to open a PowerPoint presentation and get an error message saying “Sorry, PowerPoint can’t read this file”. It’s frustrating, especially when you need access to that file right away.

Don’t worry – in most cases, this error is easy to fix. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the most common solutions to get your PowerPoint file opened quickly.

Why You Get the “Can’t Read” Error

There are a few potential reasons why PowerPoint gives you this unhelpful “can’t read” error:

• Corrupted File : The PowerPoint file itself has become corrupted or damaged in some way, making it unreadable to PowerPoint. This can happen if there was an error when the file was created, saved, transferred, etc.
• Incompatible Version : The PowerPoint version used to create the presentation is not compatible with the version you are trying to open it with. For example, trying to open a PowerPoint 2013 file in PowerPoint 2010.
• Blocked File : If the PowerPoint file came from an internet download or email attachment, your computer’s security settings may have automatically blocked it from opening to protect your system from potential viruses.
• Antivirus Software : Similar to the above, antivirus software can sometimes block PowerPoint files it deems potentially unsafe.

8 Solutions to Fix “Can’t Read” Error

Now that you know what’s most likely causing the error, here are the best ways to get your file opened.

1. Repair the File

If the file itself has become corrupted, PowerPoint has a built-in repair utility that may fix it. To use it:

• In PowerPoint, go to the File menu and choose Open .
• Browse to and select your problematic file.
• A dialog box appears about repairing the file. Click Repair .
• PowerPoint will attempt to repair the file to recover data tables, shapes, etc.
• Try opening the presentation – the repair may have fixed it!

This method is hit-or-miss but worth trying first before more complex solutions.

2. Open in Safe Mode

Sometimes corruption prevents PowerPoint from opening properly. But Safe Mode loads a minimal version which may bypass the errors.

To access Safe Mode:

• Close PowerPoint if open.
• Browse to PowerPoint in your Start menu.
• Right click the PowerPoint app icon.
• Select Open in Safe Mode .
• Open your presentation – this stripped down mode may let it open!

3. Convert the File Format

If the presentation was created in an older, incompatible PowerPoint format, converting it to a newer one may help.

To convert it:

• In PowerPoint 365/2021/2019, go to File > Open
• Browse to your presentation and select it.
• At the bottom, use the Open and Repair dropdown menu.
• Choose Open and Convert instead.
• PowerPoint will save a converted copy – open this new file!

4. Unblock the File

If Windows has blocked the file, you need to unblock it first. Here’s how:

• In File Explorer, browse to the PowerPoint file.
• Right click the file and select Properties .
• On the General tab, look for an Unblock button near the bottom.
• Click Unblock and then OK.
• Try opening the presentation again!

5. Disable Protected View

PowerPoint’s Protected View can also block files. To disable it:

• Open PowerPoint and go to File > Options .
• Click Trust Center on the left, then Trust Center Settings .
• Uncheck the box for “Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet”.
• Click OK twice to close the windows.
• Now try opening your file again!

6. Add File Location as Trusted

You can add file folders as trusted locations in PowerPoint not to be blocked.

To do this:

• Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trusted Locations.
• Click Add New Location .
• Select the folder that contains your PowerPoint file.
• Click OK three times to close all windows.
• Try opening the file again – it should now work!

7. Turn Off Antivirus Temporarily

Like Windows security, antivirus software can also block PowerPoint files from opening.

To disable temporarily:

• Open your antivirus software interface.
• Find the option to disable virus/threat protection and turn it off.
• Start PowerPoint and try opening your file again!
• When done, re-enable your antivirus protection.

Just don’t forget to turn protection back on again afterwards!

8. Update PowerPoint

Sometimes the issue is caused by a bug in PowerPoint, and it gets patched in an updated version.

To update PowerPoint:

• In PowerPoint 365, go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now .
• For older versions, open your Office suite from Start and select Update.
• Follow the prompts to download the latest PowerPoint version.
• Once updated, try your file again – a fixed bug may now let it open!

When All Else Fails, Repair the File

If you still get the “Sorry, PowerPoint can’t read” error after trying all other solutions, your file itself is likely corrupt beyond repair.

In this case, you need file recovery software that can repair PowerPoint documents. Programs like Stellar Repair have advanced algorithms designed to reconstruct corrupt PowerPoint files and restore the data.

The repair tool scans your file, identifies errors, fixes components like slides and shapes, and saves a working copy. It’s not free but often worth the cost when you desperately need that file!

Don’t Lose Hope!

The “can’t read file” error can definitely be frustrating. But as you’ve seen, this issue can almost always be successfully resolved using one or more of the methods above.

Whether it’s file corruption, blocked access, antivirus conflicts or an outdated version of PowerPoint, the solutions here should get your presentation opened so you can access the important contents again.

About The Author

Vegaslide staff, related posts.

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Problems with Microsoft PowerPoint ¶

On Windows 10, Microsoft PowerPoint of Office 2016, Office 2013, Office 2010 or most other versions cannot open, view or play the PowerPoint presentations ( .ppt , .pptx , and other file extensions) that were previously downloaded from email or Internet, or synced through ICDC Disk, DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive and etc.

When the issue occurred, the following error message is displayed:

Powerpoint found a problem with content in X:\Path\Filename.pptx . Powerpoint can attempt to repair the presentation. If you trust the source of this presentation, click Repair.

User is presented with Repair or Cancel button. But clicking or tapping on Repair does not fix the issue. Instead, it throws another error message with a Show Help button:

Sorry, Powerpoint cannot read X:\Path\Filename.pptx .

Upon clicking on Show Help , the following message is displayed:

The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation.

The issue seems to happen as Windows 10 and PowerPoint app try to protect and block suspicious files from been accessed or executed. Try the following fixes which can help to resolve the issue.

Method 1: Unblock the PowerPoint Files

Right click the affected PowerPoint presentation.

Choose Properties from the the pop-up context menu.

On the General tab, select (tick) the check box for Unblock at the bottom.

Click OK or Apply .

Open the PowerPoint file again.

Method 2: Disable Protected View in PowerPoint

Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint program.

Go to File -> Options .

In the PowerPoint Options dialog box, go to Trust Center , and click on Trust Center Settings button in the left panel.

In the Protected View tab, deselect the following 3 options to disable Protected View which open files in restricted mode:

• Enable Protected View for files originating from Internet
• Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
• Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments

Click or tap OK when done.

Method 3: Reinstall Microsoft Office

Try to uninstall Microsoft Office and then reinstall Microsoft Office in Windows 10. It may help to eliminate the problem. Then, you can try to open the PowerPoint presentations again.

Powerpoint 2013 Issue Opening Presentation

When I open a powerpoint presentation that I created I get the following message:

The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation. I have disabled the AV and the error message still occurs. I have tried both Powerpoint 2003 and Powerpoint 2007.

To try to insert slides into a blank presentation, follow these steps or make use of following resources where you can find different solutions for damaged PowerPoint documents

https://onlinefilerepair.com/en/powerpoint-repair-online.html PowerPoint repair online https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d86b2642-590d-4234-a173-f777ad40a0d7/powerpoint-file-crashes-powerpoint-upon-opening?forum=officeitproprevious http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/how-to-open-powerpoint-file/

The steps, which are mainly required for this solution, are shown below:

Open MS PowerPoint program. Click on Office button (on top of the left side).

A window will be appearing. Now select corrupt PowerPoint file from the system directory.

Click on the arrow of Open button. A list will be scrolled down.

From the list, click on Open and Repair. After some seconds, the file will be repaired and opened. Note: Though this solution efficiently works with corrupt files, but if it does not work we must try the following solutions.

Try to open a corrupt file in OpenOffice.org Impress.

Open a corrupt file in MS Word. If it gets opened, we can recover at least the text part of the presentation file.

Try to import the slides from the damaged file into a new file.

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• Answers and Comments

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Trouble opening downloaded .ppt files in Powerpoint 2013

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Unable to open Powerpoint files since Windows 10 upgrade

I upgraded to Windows 10 last week.  Since then, I am unable to open any powerpoint files sent to me by email or archived on a network drive.  I have tried to open at least a dozen different files.  Files on my local hard drive open just fine.  Files saved to my hard drive through dropbox also open.

The error message I get is: "Powerpoint found a problem with content in C:\{file name}

"Powerpoint can attempt to repair the presentation.

"If you trust the source of this presentation, click Repair."

Clicking repair does not fix the problem.  The error notice then reads: "Sorry, Powerpoint cannot read C:\{file name}."

Clicking on the "Show Help" produces this [non]explanation, "The presentation cannot be opened. Your antivirus program may prevent you from opening the presentation. To fix this problem, make sure your antivirus program is current and working correctly. If the problem persists and the presentation is from someone that you trust, turn off your antivirus program, and then try to open the presentation again. If you do this, make sure you turn on your antivirus program again after you open the presentation."

I have tried shutting off Windows Defender.  It does not make any difference -- the files still do not open.

Can anyone help?  This is seriously inconvenient!

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I am having the same issue.  I ran an online office repair but that doesn't seem to help the problem. 

Here are my screenshots. 

13 people found this reply helpful

Thanks for posting the images, Greg.

One additional note: When I open the same files on a Windows 7 machine, Powerpoint defaults to a "Protected View" setting, and I then need to "enable editing".  Could that be the problem here?  An error with the protected view?

Screenshot is attached.

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Right click the file's icon.

Choose Properties on the pop-up menu.

At the bottom of the General tab of the Properties dialog box, look for an UNBLOCK button; if it's there, click it.

Then try opening the file in PPT.

68 people found this reply helpful

5 people found this reply helpful

I used MS Office 2013 with Window 7. Ever since I upgraded to Windows 10, I have the same problem. Powerpoint can not open the same files it used to open when I run Window 7. Same error messages. I tried everything - disable Norton, disable Window Defender, Repair Powerpoint, Repair Powerpoint Online etc. - and nothing works. Just a waste of time and frustration. THE ONLY SOLUTION THAT WORKS is to uninstall MS Office2013 and re-install it under Window 10

Thanks for your answer.

But I tried this serveral times, uninstall and install it under Windows 10. The result was the same. After uninstall Windows 2013 with the Microsoft tool "Fix It", I got the message "Microsoft Setup Bootstrapper dosn't works". And now it's impossible to uninstall or install any program.

Now I Need realy help!

31 people found this reply helpful

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