A simple way to lock a PowerPoint presentation is by adding password protection. This short guide shows you how to password-protect a PowerPoint presentation copy that can be opened and presented but not edited. The following instructions and screen grabs are from PowerPoint 2010 but they apply to all later versions.
When the presentation is ready to be protected:
- Go to File > Save As
- Enter a new filename
- Before saving, click the Tools button next to the Save button to expand the tools menu
- Click General Options …
In the General Options menu:
- Enter a password in the Password to modify field.
- Click OK. Re-enter the password when prompted. Do that and click OK again, then click the Save button.
- Close the file.
The presentation is now password-protected. When opened, the file prompts the user to enter the password. If they don’t know it, they can open a Read Only copy which will behave exactly like the unprotected version with any transitions, animations, etc. intact. However, no element is editable.
