PowerPoint 2013 and 2016 features behave differently in earlier versions

Some PowerPoint 2013 features are unavailable or behave differently when you open the PowerPoint 2013 file in an earlier version of PowerPoint.

The screen capture below is an example of a compatibility checker alert that you could get if you create a presentation in PowerPoint 2013 (.pptx), and then try to save it as an earlier version (.ppt.) file format.

The table below includes certain features that are unavailable or degraded when you save your PowerPoint 2013 presentations in PowerPoint 97-2003.

PowerPoint 2013 component	Behavior in compatibility mode
Charts	If the presentation contains a chart where the cells appear outside of the supported row and column limit, those cells will not be saved and will not appear.
Diagrams	Diagrams that are converted to images cannot be edited unless you convert them to SmartArt graphics or shapes. For more information, see Convert a diagram created in a previous Microsoft Office version to a SmartArt graphic or shape.
Drop shadows	Soft, outer shadows are converted to hard shadows that you can edit.
Gradient outlines on shapes or text	Unavailable.
Heading and body fonts	Heading and body fonts are converted to static formatting. That is, when you open the file in an earlier version of PowerPoint you cannot change the text or the style formatting.
Levels of indentation	Some indentation levels are unavailable.
Multiple columns of text	These cannot be edited
Sections	Slides will not be grouped into sections
Shapes with or without text	These cannot be edited
SmartArt graphics with or without text	The SmartArt graphic or the text in it cannot be edited
Static Guides	If you add static guides to the slide master or to a layout in Slide Master view, the guides will not appear when opened in earlier versions of PowerPoint.
Strikethrough and double-strikethrough on text	Unavailable.
Text effects, such as shadows, reflections, and glows	Unavailable.
Themes	Some themes with shapes and placeholders can change them into pictures, which you cannot edit.
Transitions	A transition effect made available in 2013 will not be available in earlier versions
Video	Media clips inserted will be saved as pictures
WordArt Quick Styles	Unavailable.

For more information about using PowerPoint 2013 with earlier versions, see Save a PowerPoint 2013 .pptx file to a .ppt format and Use compatibility mode to work with different versions of PowerPoint.