File Format & Compatibility

How to Export All PowerPoint Text to RTF or Text File

John Wilson Oct 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to export every piece of text from a PowerPoint presentation into a text or RTF file, but the built-in export misses text not placed in standard layout placeholders.

How to Export All PowerPoint Text to RTF or Text File

Product: PowerPoint
Device & OS: Windows, macOS
Scenario: Exporting presentation content to a readable text or RTF format for review or editing.
Observed behavior: PowerPoint's native RTF export only captures text visible in the Outline view. Any text inserted via 'Insert > Text Box' is completely omitted from the resulting file.

Before you start

If your presentation is stored on a cloud service like OneDrive, save a copy to your local Desktop before proceeding to prevent file access restriction errors when running VBA macros.

Solution 1Recommended

Extract All Text Using a VBA Macro

Use a VBA macro to iterate through all slides and shapes, extracting every piece of text regardless of how it was inserted.

Because PowerPoint does not natively export text boxes to RTF, a custom VBA script is required to pull text from every shape on every slide.

Save the File Locally

Ensure your presentation is saved to a local folder like your Desktop. Running macros on OneDrive-synced files can trigger access errors, especially on macOS.

Open the VBA Editor

Press 'Alt + F11' on Windows or 'Option + F11' on Mac to open the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) editor.

Insert a New Module

Click 'Insert > Module' in the top menu and paste a standard PowerPoint text-extraction macro code into the blank window.

Run the Macro

Press 'F5' or click the 'Run' button. The macro will process all slides and output your full presentation text to a specified text file.

Macro Security: You may need to temporarily enable macros in your Trust Center settings (File > Options > Trust Center) to run custom VBA code.

Solution 2

Use Native RTF Export for Outline Text

Export standard placeholders to an RTF file using the built-in 'Save As' feature.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn't my text box exporting to the RTF file?

PowerPoint's native RTF export feature only reads text from standard layout placeholders (like Titles and Content) that are visible in the Outline view. Any text placed in a custom shape or inserted manually via 'Insert > Text Box' is ignored.

Why does my VBA macro fail to save the text file on Mac?

macOS utilizes strict sandboxing for file access. If your presentation is stored on a cloud-synced folder like OneDrive, the macro may lack permission to write the output file. Moving the presentation to your local Desktop before running the macro resolves this issue.

Can I extract text from SmartArt or grouped objects?

The built-in Outline export does not capture text from SmartArt or groups. To extract this text, you must use a comprehensive VBA macro specifically written to loop through GroupItems and SmartArt nodes.

Document & File Issues