Check Compatibility in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

Imagine this scenario: you have created a presentation within PowerPoint 2010 and are ready to share it, but you are still unsure that your client with an earlier version of PowerPoint will be able to view and edit the presentation with the exact options that you have available. And if you save this presentation as a file compatible with an earlier version of PowerPoint, there are chances that you could lose characteristics that were not available in previous version. Or worse, your editable content such as newer charts could just change to flat, non-editable pictures!

You may want to ensure that you can open your PowerPoint 2010 presentation in an older version such as PowerPoint 2003 or even earlier versions. However, many features are not functional in older versions. For example, the Shape Effects in PowerPoint 2010 (such as Reflection and Glow) appear as pictures in earlier versions of PowerPoint. And, if a video is embedded instead of being linked, the video clip will appear as a picture! To avoid these problems, you can run the Compatibility Checker in PowerPoint 2010 which finds potential compatibility issues between PowerPoint 2010 and earlier versions of PowerPoint, and creates a report to help you resolve any issues.

Follow these steps to explore the Check Compatibility feature in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:

1. Launch PowerPoint, and open any existing presentation for which you want to run the Check Compatibility feature. If you made any changes to your slides, do save your presentation before you proceed further.
2. Access the File menu, and choose the Info option to get to Backstage view, as shown in Figure 1, below. Thereafter, select the Check for Issues option to bring up a small drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 1. From the drop-down menu select the Check Compatibility option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1.
3. 
   Figure 1: Check Compatibility option selected within the Check for Issues drop-down menu
3. Doing so opens the Microsoft PowerPoint Compatibility Checker dialog box, as shown in Figure 2, below. It immediately runs a compatibility check displays the summary of the results in the same dialog box, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2.
4. 
   Figure 2: Microsoft PowerPoint Compatibility Checker dialog box

Always Run the Compatibility Checker?

Do you want to check your presentation for compatibility every time you save it in PowerPoint 97-2003 format? To do so, access the Microsoft PowerPoint Compatibility Checker dialog box, select the Check compatibility when saving in PowerPoint 97-2003 formats check-box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, above.
4. Now, review the summary of results in the Compatibility Checker. For every suggestion you will see the number of occurrences of a given problem, a Help link below will provide more info on how you can solve this problem.
5. Click the OK button to close the dialog box and return to the presentation. Make changes as required to make your presentation more compatible and run the Compatibility Checker again to determine if those issues have been resolved.
6. Save your presentation often.