How to Take PowerPoint Out of Protected View: Easy Guide

If you’ve ever opened a PowerPoint presentation and seen the words “Protected View” at the top of the screen, you may have wondered what it means and how to exit this mode. Protected View is a security feature in Microsoft Office applications like PowerPoint that helps safeguard your computer against potential threats from files originating outside of your organization or from the internet.

While this is a useful precaution, it can sometimes be inconvenient if you need to edit the presentation. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to take a PowerPoint file out of Protected View so you can make changes and work with the file normally.

Understanding Protected View in PowerPoint

Before we get into how to disable Protected View, let’s briefly discuss what it is and why it exists. Microsoft introduced the Protected View feature in Office 2010 as an added layer of security. When you open a presentation that PowerPoint deems potentially unsafe, such as one downloaded from the web or received as an email attachment from an untrusted source, it opens the file in Protected View.

In this mode, most editing functions are disabled. You can view the content of the slides, but you cannot make changes, run macros, or access external data connections. The yellow message bar at the top of the screen indicates that Protected View is active.

The purpose of Protected View is to create a “sandbox” environment that isolates the PowerPoint file from the rest of your system. This prevents any malicious code or macros embedded in the presentation from executing and potentially harming your computer. It’s an important safeguard, especially given how frequently PowerPoint files are used to spread malware.

When to Disable Protected View

In many cases, Protected View is helpful and you should leave it enabled. However, there are situations where you may need to exit Protected View to work with a presentation:

• You trust the source of the file and know it is safe
• You need to edit the content of the slides
• You want to run a macro or access external data
• The presentation is one you created yourself on a different computer

If any of these apply, you can disable Protected View for that specific file. Keep in mind that you should only do this if you are confident the presentation is secure. Disabling Protected View on an unsafe file could put your system at risk.

How to Exit Protected View for a Single File

If you just need to take a particular presentation out of Protected View on a one-time basis, you can easily do so from within PowerPoint. Here’s how:

1. With the presentation open in Protected View, locate the yellow message bar at the top of the PowerPoint window.
2. Click the Enable Editing button on the right side of the message bar.
3. PowerPoint will exit Protected View and allow you to edit and interact with the presentation normally.

Note that this only disables Protected View for this file during the current PowerPoint session. If you close the presentation and reopen it later, Protected View will activate again. You’ll need to repeat the steps above each time you open the file.

How to Disable Protected View Permanently in PowerPoint Options

If you find yourself frequently disabling Protected View for files you trust, you may want to change your PowerPoint settings to prevent those files from opening in Protected View automatically. Here’s how to turn off Protected View through the PowerPoint Options menu:

1. Open PowerPoint and click the File tab in the top-left corner.
2. Click Options at the bottom of the left sidebar. This will open the PowerPoint Options dialog box.
3. In the list on the left side of the dialog box, select Trust Center.
4. Click the Trust Center Settings button on the right.
5. In the Trust Center window, select Protected View from the left sidebar.
6. You’ll see three checkboxes that control when Protected View is activated:
   • Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet
   • Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
   • Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments
7. Uncheck the box(es) next to the scenario(s) where you no longer want PowerPoint to use Protected View. For example, if you frequently receive presentations from colleagues via email and trust those files, you might uncheck the third box.
8. Click OK to close the Trust Center, then click OK again to close PowerPoint Options.

With these settings changed, PowerPoint will no longer trigger Protected View for the file types you unchecked. Those presentations will open in regular editing mode by default.

It’s important to carefully consider which Protected View settings to disable, if any. Leaving some or all of the options enabled is the safest approach, especially if you often work with presentations from untrusted sources. You can always disable Protected View on a case-by-case basis using the Enable Editing button when needed.

Working with Trusted Locations and Publishers

In addition to unchecking the Protected View options, you can also designate certain file locations or publishers as “trusted” so that PowerPoint does not open those files in Protected View. This is helpful if you have a specific network folder or SharePoint site where you frequently access presentations that you know are safe.

To mark a folder location as trusted:

1. Open the PowerPoint Options dialog and navigate to the Trust Center as described in the previous section.
2. In the Trust Center, click Trusted Locations in the left sidebar.
3. Click the Add new location button.
4. Browse to or enter the path of the folder you want to trust, then click OK.
5. Check the box labeled Subfolders of this location are also trusted if desired.
6. Click OK to close the Trust Center and PowerPoint Options.

Now, presentations opened from that folder (and optionally its subfolders) will bypass Protected View.

Similarly, you can trust digital certificates from certain publishers so that PowerPoint presentations digitally signed with that certificate don’t open in Protected View. When you open a presentation from a trusted publisher for the first time, PowerPoint will display a dialog asking if you want to trust them. Select Trust all documents from this publisher and click OK. You can manage trusted publishers in the Trust Center under the Trusted Publishers section.

Final Thoughts

Protected View is a valuable security feature in PowerPoint that helps shield your computer from malicious code that may be embedded in presentation files. By opening untrusted files in a protected environment, it prevents potential threats from causing harm.

However, there are times when you need to exit Protected View to edit a presentation or access certain features. You can easily do this on a file-by-file basis using the Enable Editing button. Or, if you frequently work with trusted files and want to streamline the process, you can adjust your PowerPoint Trust Center settings to disable Protected View in certain scenarios or for specific file locations.

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Trish Dixon

Trish Dixon is the founder of PPTBliss and a PowerPoint expert with over a decade of experience in presentation design. Passionate about visual storytelling, Trish shares her expertise through easy-to-follow tutorials on slide design, animations, transitions, and best practices, helping professionals create impactful presentations across industries.

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