POTX File (.potx): What It Is, How It Works + Sample Files

The basics

What is a POTX file?

A POTX file is a PowerPoint template: Microsoft calls it "a PowerPoint presentation template that you can use to format future presentations". Company slide designs and conference decks are usually handed out as templates. When you use one, PowerPoint doesn't open the file itself. It creates a new, untitled presentation with a copy of the template's masters, layouts, theme and any example slides, and leaves the template unchanged for next time.

Inside, a POTX is built exactly like a PPTX: XML parts in a ZIP package, defined by the Office Open XML standard (ECMA-376, ISO/IEC 29500). PowerPoint has used it since PowerPoint 2007; before that, templates were binary POT files. Word and Excel templates work the same way: see DOTX and XLTX.

Its value is in the master and layouts. Microsoft's instructions for making a template start in Slide Master view, not on the slides.
It can't contain macros. A template with VBA code must be saved as POTM.
It isn't an Office Theme (.thmx). A theme file only holds colours, fonts and effects; a template also has the master, layouts, master shapes and example content.

Anatomy

What's inside a POTX file

A POTX is a PPTX package with one different line, plus the parts that carry a template's design. Here are those parts in our sample-template.potx, a 16:9 template with its own colour scheme, a blue band on the master and four example slides.

sample-template.potx (selected XML)

First 4 bytes: 50 4b 03 04  (PK..)

[Content_Types].xml, the main part:
<Override PartName="/ppt/presentation.xml"
    ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument
                 .presentationml.template.main+xml"/>

ppt/presentation.xml:
<p:sldMasterIdLst><p:sldMasterId id="2147483648" r:id="rId1"/></p:sldMasterIdLst>
<p:sldIdLst><p:sldId id="256" r:id="rId7"/> … 4 slides … </p:sldIdLst>
<p:sldSz cx="12192000" cy="6858000"/>

ppt/theme/theme1.xml:
<a:theme name="99helpers Sample">
  <a:clrScheme name="99helpers Sample">
    <a:dk2><a:srgbClr val="1F2937"/></a:dk2>
    <a:accent1><a:srgbClr val="046EFF"/></a:accent1> … 12 colours
  <a:fontScheme name="Office">
    <a:majorFont><a:latin typeface="Calibri"/> …

ppt/slideMasters/slideMaster1.xml:
<p:sldLayoutIdLst> 11 × <p:sldLayoutId …/> </p:sldLayoutIdLst>
<p:sp><p:nvSpPr><p:cNvPr id="90" name="Top band"/> …
  <a:off x="0" y="0"/><a:ext cx="12192000" cy="274320"/>
  <a:solidFill><a:schemeClr val="accent1"/></a:solidFill>
  <a:t>Sample POTX template · 99helpers.com/file-types/potx</a:t>
<p:titleStyle> … <a:schemeClr val="tx2"/> …

ppt/slideLayouts/slideLayout1.xml … slideLayout11.xml:
Title Slide · Title and Content · Section Header · Two Content ·
Comparison · Title Only · Blank · Content with Caption ·
Picture with Caption · Title and Vertical Text · Vertical Title and Text

150 4b 03 04
The ZIP signature
The same first bytes as every PPTX and ZIP file. The file command calls all our samples, the PPTX included, "Microsoft PowerPoint 2007+".
2…presentationml.template.main+xml
The template content type
The only thing that makes the package a template. A PPTX says …presentation.main+xml here, a PPSX …slideshow.main+xml and a POTM application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.main+xml.
3<p:sldIdLst>
Example slides (optional)
Slides in a template are copied into every new presentation. Many templates include a few to show the layouts in use; sample-blank.potx has none and leaves out sldIdLst altogether.
4<a:clrScheme name="99helpers Sample">
The theme colours
Twelve colours: two dark, two light, six accents and two for links. Shapes, tables and charts that use theme colours (schemeClr) take them from here, so changing the theme recolours the whole deck.
5<a:fontScheme name="Office">
The theme fonts
A heading (major) and a body (minor) font. Text set to +mj-lt or +mn-lt follows them. Templates don't carry the font files unless fonts are embedded.
6<p:sldLayoutIdLst>
The master's layouts
Every layout belongs to a master. These are the 11 layouts PowerPoint offers under Home, New Slide; a corporate template often adds its own and removes others.
7<p:cNvPr id="90" name="Top band"/>
A master shape
A rectangle on the master, filled with accent1. Shapes placed on the master appear on every slide whose layout shows master shapes; that's how logos and footers get onto every slide.
8<a:schemeClr val="tx2"/>
Master text styles
The master's titleStyle, bodyStyle and otherStyle set the font sizes, colours and bullets that placeholders inherit. Here titles use the theme's second dark colour.
9Title Slide · Title and Content · …
The layouts
Each layout holds placeholders (title, body, picture, date, footer, slide number) at fixed positions. New slides are made from a layout; placeholders without their own position take it from the layout.

Under the hood

What makes a POTX different from a PPTX

One line in [Content_Types].xml: the content type of ppt/presentation.xml. Our sample-template.potx and sample-template.pptx hold the same masters, theme and slides, and every part in the two packages is byte-for-byte identical except that file.

Extension	Content type of ppt/presentation.xml
`.pptx`	`application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation.main+xml`
`.potx`	`application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template.main+xml`
`.ppsx`	`application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow.main+xml`
`.potm`	`application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.main+xml`

Renaming isn't converting. It changes the extension, not the content type, and apps that read the package follow the content type: in our tests, LibreOffice opened sample-template.potx renamed to .pptx as a new untitled presentation, and the PPTX renamed to .potx as an ordinary file. Use Save As.
Libraries may refuse it. python-pptx 1.0 rejects a POTX ("not a PowerPoint file, content type is '…template.main+xml'"). Switching the content type in [Content_Types].xml lets it load, and switching it back writes a template.
Templates without slides are normal. A package with masters and layouts but no sldIdLst is valid; sample-blank.potx is one. In our tests LibreOffice 24.2 opened it with one blank slide on a plain default master: it didn't import the template's master when the package had no slides. Test that case if your code reads templates.

In PowerPoint

How templates work in PowerPoint

Make one: design the master and layouts in View, Slide Master (theme, background, placeholders, logos), then File, Save As and choose **PowerPoint Template (*.potx). PowerPoint switches the folder to Custom Office Templates** for you.
Use it: File, New, Personal, and double-click the template. Double-clicking the .potx in File Explorer also creates a new presentation from it.
Edit it: in PowerPoint, File, Open the .potx itself, change it and save. The title bar shows the template's name rather than Presentation1.
Where templates live on Windows: C:\Users\<user name>\Documents\Custom Office Templates unless Default personal templates location under File, Options, Save says otherwise.
Apply a template to existing slides: Microsoft suggests creating a new presentation from the template, then copying the old slides in and choosing Use Destination Theme when pasting.
Shared templates: organisations can keep templates in a workgroup templates folder on a network share. Microsoft says that location is set in Word, under File, Options, Advanced, File Locations.

What a new presentation inherits

Masters, layouts, theme colours and fonts, master shapes such as logos, slide size, and example slides with their notes. Changing the template later doesn't update presentations already made from it.

Comparison

POTX vs POTM, POT, THMX, OTP and PPTX

Extension	What it is	Structure	Macros
`.potx`	PowerPoint template	ZIP of XML	No
`.potm`	PowerPoint macro-enabled template	ZIP of XML plus VBA	Yes
`.pot`	PowerPoint 97-2003 template	Binary, OLE2	Yes, same extension
`.thmx`	Office Theme: colours, fonts and effects only	ZIP of XML	No
`.otp`	OpenDocument presentation template (LibreOffice)	ZIP of XML	Yes, same extension
`.pptx`	PowerPoint presentation	ZIP of XML	No

Choose POTX for any template that only needs design and example content. It can't carry code, so it opens without macro prompts. Keep POT only for PowerPoint 2003 or older, and use OTP if the people using the template work in LibreOffice.

How to

How to open and convert a POTX file

PowerPoint on Windows and Mac: double-click to start a new presentation, or File, Open to edit the template.
LibreOffice Impress (free) opens a POTX as a new untitled presentation and saves one with File, Save As, PowerPoint 2007–365 Template. On a server: soffice --headless --convert-to 'potx:Impress MS PowerPoint 2007 XML Template' deck.pptx.
Turn it into a PPTX: create a presentation from it and save that, or soffice --headless --convert-to pptx template.potx.
Keynote and Google Slides: Apple's list of files Keynote opens names PPTX, and Google's list of convertible files names PPT and PPTX. Save a presentation from the template as a PPTX first.
In code: python-pptx, Apache POI and the Open XML SDK read the same parts as in a PPTX; the Open XML SDK has a separate document type for templates.
In a browser: browsers can't display POTX files, so a link to one downloads it.

Troubleshooting

Common POTX problems and how to fix them

Double-clicking opens Presentation1, not the template. That's how templates work. Use File, Open in PowerPoint to edit the template itself.
My template doesn't appear under File, New, Personal. It isn't in the folder PowerPoint lists. Move it to Documents\Custom Office Templates, or set Default personal templates location under File, Options, Save.
The template opens as a normal presentation. It's a PPTX with a .potx name. Open it and Save As PowerPoint Template, which rewrites the content type.
Changes to the slides don't reach new presentations. Design changes belong on the master and layouts (View, Slide Master), not on example slides.
Fonts are different on another computer. Theme fonts aren't stored in the template. Embed them, or use fonts everyone has.
It downloads as a ZIP file. The server sends application/zip or an unknown type. Serve it with the POTX MIME type above.

Security

Is a POTX file safe to open?

IANA's registration for the POTX type states that these documents contain no macros, and PowerPoint won't save VBA code in one. What a template does carry goes into every presentation made from it:

Links and action settings on master shapes or example slides, which can open web pages or start programs.
Embedded objects and pictures, including anything placed off the edge of a slide.
Speaker notes on example slides.
Macros need a POTM, or a binary POT, which can contain them under the same extension.

Install templates only from sources you trust, and check the master (View, Slide Master) for links or objects before sharing a template widely. Our samples contain no macros, links or embedded objects.

Free downloads

Sample POTX files to download

Free sample PowerPoint templates for testing uploads, file-type detection, converters and template handling. python-pptx built them and code set the template content type; one was saved again by LibreOffice. Each is a valid ZIP package, loads in python-pptx once its content type is switched to the presentation type, opens in LibreOffice as a new untitled presentation and converts to PDF. None contains macros.

sample-template.potx · 51.5 KBDownload

Browsers can't show this kind of file in a page. Download it to open it in the app it belongs to.

What's inside sample-template.potx

Browsers can't preview POTX files, so download it and double-click it: PowerPoint or LibreOffice creates a new, untitled presentation from it. These are the parts to look for.

A theme of its own
A colour scheme called "99helpers Sample" in ppt/theme/theme1.xml: dark slate text, a blue first accent, then amber, green, violet, red and grey.
A master shape
A blue band along the top of the slide master with the sample address in white. Every slide shows it, because it's on the master.
Master text styles
Titles in the theme's second dark colour (tx2), set once on the master and inherited by every layout.
Eleven layouts
PowerPoint's standard set, from Title Slide to Vertical Title and Text, under Home, New Slide.
Four example slides
A title slide, bullets, a picture drawn by code and a table, with speaker notes, copied into every new presentation.
The template content type
…presentationml.template.main+xml for ppt/presentation.xml. That one entry is all that separates it from sample-template.pptx.

All sample POTX files

16:9 template with example slides
sample-template.potx · 51.5 KB (52,753 bytes)
A template with its own colour scheme, a blue band on the master, titles styled on the master, 11 layouts and four example slides with notes.
- Checking that an app creates a new presentation from a template
- Testing file-type detection of templates
Download
The same package as a PPTX
sample-template.pptx · 51.5 KB (52,749 bytes)
Identical to sample-template.potx except for the content type in [Content_Types].xml: presentation.main+xml instead of template.main+xml.
- Diffing a template against a presentation
- Testing code that must tell POTX from PPTX
Download
Template without slides
sample-blank.potx · 24.2 KB (24,805 bytes)
The same theme, master band and 11 layouts with no slides at all: ppt/presentation.xml has no sldIdLst.
- Parser tests: a valid package with zero slides
- Testing apps that import masters and layouts
Download
Template saved by LibreOffice
sample-libreoffice.potx · 77.1 KB (78,924 bytes)
sample-template.pptx saved by LibreOffice 24.2 with its PowerPoint 2007–365 Template filter. It writes 11 masters with one layout each instead of one master with 11 layouts.
- Testing templates written by another app than PowerPoint
- Checking code that assumes a single slide master
Download

Ways to test with them

Template or presentation: all four files start with 50 4B 03 04, and the file command calls them all "Microsoft PowerPoint 2007+". Read the content type of /ppt/presentation.xml to tell them apart.
New presentation, not the file: open sample-template.potx in the app you're testing. PowerPoint and LibreOffice create an untitled presentation; an app that saves over the template has a bug.
Zero slides: sample-blank.potx has no slides. Thumbnailers and converters should handle it without crashing, even if they show nothing.
Several masters: sample-libreoffice.potx has 11 slide masters. Code that only reads the first master will miss layouts.
MIME types: check that your server sends application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template for .potx, not the PPTX type or application/zip.

Free to use for testing, teaching and demos, commercially or not, with no attribution needed. A link back to this page is always appreciated.

Put it online

Have a POTX file? Give it a link.

Drop a PowerPoint template on 99helpers and it gets its own link, ready to share with your team. Browsers can't display POTX files, so visitors download it and open it in PowerPoint or LibreOffice, which start a new presentation from it.

Put a POTX file online

Questions

POTX files, frequently asked

What is a POTX file?

A PowerPoint template in the Office Open XML format, used since PowerPoint 2007. Opening it creates a new, untitled presentation with the template's masters, layouts, theme and example slides.

What's the difference between POTX and PPTX?

Inside, only the content type of the main part: …template.main+xml instead of …presentation.main+xml. In use, a PPTX opens itself, while a POTX starts a new presentation and stays unchanged.

How do I edit a POTX template?

Start PowerPoint and use File, Open to open the .potx itself; double-clicking it only creates a new presentation. Make design changes in View, Slide Master, then save.

Where are PowerPoint templates stored?

On Windows, personal templates go to Documents\Custom Office Templates by default. You can change it under File, Options, Save, Default personal templates location.

How do I apply a POTX to an existing presentation?

Microsoft's method: create a new presentation from the template, copy your slides into it and paste them with Use Destination Theme.

Can I just rename .pptx to .potx?

Not reliably. The content type inside still says presentation, so apps that read it treat the file as one. Use Save As and choose PowerPoint Template.

What's the difference between POTX and THMX?

A .thmx Office Theme holds only colours, fonts and effects. A POTX template also has the slide master, layouts, master shapes and example slides.

What's the difference between POTX and POTM?

A POTM may contain VBA macros; a POTX can't. Use POTX unless the template needs code.

Related formats

Other file types explained

PPTX file POTM file POT file OTP file PPSX file DOTX file XLTX file All file types

Keep going

Host a POTX file

Put a PowerPoint template online at its own address.

Share a POTX file

Send a template as a link instead of an attachment.

Host a presentation

Publish the finished slides people can open from a link.

Sources

Last reviewed 27 October 2026.