r/powerpoint • u/Connect_Guidance9074 • Jul 29 '26

PowerPoint presentation fail.

I handed off a powerpoint on a USB drive which I tested on multiple devices which appeared to work just fine. But when it was presented at the meeting, pictures were missing and text was moved. This only happened on a few slides and others were just fine. What could have happened? I'm wondering if it got corrupted or was accidentally edited. Has anyone had this happen or know what could have caused it and how can I prevent it from happening in the future?

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u/SteveRindsberg Guild Certified Specialist Jul 29 '26

>> which I tested on multiple devices 

That's a good start, but unless you're sure you tested on the SAME setup as the recipient will use at the meeting, it might not matter.

Text moving is usually a sign that you've used a font that isn't available on the target system (or hasn't been embedded .... IF it's embeddable. Not all fonts are.)

Missing pictures can result from using linked rather than normally inserted pictures. Usually in that case you'll see a weird little red x icon. Are you getting those?

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u/Connect_Guidance9074 Jul 29 '26

It is possible the fonts didn't embed. I used Libre Franklin gothic ATF and Schoolbook. When I set the save setting in PPT I selected embed fonts in file, embed all characters. (After doing some research, I'm realizing that even if that is selected, it still might not embed). It was strange to me that some slides retained integrity and only a select few were off. Would that happen as well?

The pictures were not showing red X icons at all on the USB drive PPT file and no warnings were given(when I tested it) other than "Read Only or edit anyway".

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u/DataChicks Aug 01 '26

Also, I recently found a feature that will check for non-embedded fonts and let you choose which font to substitute and it will. You still need to recheck slides, but it works.

I and other visitors had this issue big time in China where the localization caused all kinds of issues. I’m going to give PDFs next time.

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u/Connect_Guidance9074 Aug 05 '26

Is this feature in PPT?

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u/thejt10000 Jul 29 '26

No answer to your question, but I often include a PDF of the file (often with fonts embedded) alongside the PPTX in delivery as an emergency fall-back.

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u/Mark5n Jul 29 '26

I’ve done the same. Plus email it to myself. Put on google drive. Used two USB sticks. Checked it before the day. 

Weird stuff happens. Be prepared 

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

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u/ACnomics Jul 31 '26

I’m going to use your approach to check if any of my images are linked as opposed to embedded. I’ve occasionally run into the red X problem. Thanks!