Password-protect a presentation

You can assign a password to a presentation so that only those who know the password can open the presentation. Passwords can consist of almost any combination of numerals, capital or lowercase letters, and special keyboard characters.

A presentation can have only one password. If you change an existing password when you share a presentation with others, the new password replaces the original.

Important: There’s no way to recover your password if you forget it. Be sure to choose a password you won’t forget, or write the password down in a safe place.

If your computer or iOS device has Touch ID, you can use it to open presentations with your fingerprint alone.

Require a password to open a presentation

If you add a password after you share a presentation, be sure to notify participants.

Note: Adding a password to a presentation encrypts the file.

Change or remove a password

With the presentation open, do one of the following:

Set up Touch ID for opening password-protected presentations

If your Mac has Touch ID, you can open your password-protected presentations using your fingerprint.

To set up Touch ID for opening password-protected presentations, do both of the following:

Open a password-protected presentation with Touch ID

Note: After you set up Touch ID, you can use either your fingerprint or the password to open a protected presentation.

If you add a password to a presentation, or change an existing password, the password applies only to the version where the password was added or changed and to subsequent versions.

If the presentation is shared, to prevent others from restoring an unprotected version of the presentation or a version with an older password, stop sharing the presentation, add a unique password to it, then share the presentation again.

Note: You can also protect a presentation by requiring a separate password to stop or exit the presentation while it’s playing. This password requirement is useful, for example, when the presentation is set to play automatically in a kiosk.

SEE ALSOView, copy, and restore an earlier version of a presentationCollaborate on a shared presentation