Office Performance Issues

Fix PowerPoint SharePoint Coauthoring Memory Issues on Mac

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users experience severe memory pressure and lagging performance when coauthoring large presentation files.

Product: Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac
Device & OS: Mac (including Apple Silicon models)
Scenario: Coauthoring large or heavily edited PowerPoint files stored on SharePoint.
Observed behavior: The application causes extreme memory pressure on macOS, resulting in drastically slow performance, system lagging, and potential unresponsiveness.

Before you start

Check your Mac's Activity Monitor to verify the exact memory consumption of the PowerPoint application, and ensure both macOS and Microsoft Office are updated to their latest builds.

Solution 1Recommended

Send Diagnostic Metrics to Microsoft Support

Since this memory leak is deeply tied to the application's SharePoint coauthoring sync engine, directly reporting the issue while it occurs helps Microsoft developers identify and patch the bottleneck.

This performance issue is a known behavior under specific heavy-sync conditions on Mac. By sending real-time metrics, Microsoft receives the exact environment data needed to resolve the application's memory management problems.

Trigger the memory issue

Open the heavy SharePoint PowerPoint file and begin coauthoring with your team until the memory pressure and slow performance begin to occur.

Access the feedback tool

While the slow performance is actively happening, navigate to the top menu bar, click on 'Help', then select 'Feedback', and choose 'Report a Problem'.

Provide comprehensive details

In the feedback form, explicitly include your PowerPoint build number, macOS version, the SharePoint file size, the number of active collaborators, and the exact steps that led to the slowdown.

Include environment details: Do not skip adding the file size and collaborator count in your report, as these are the primary triggers for SharePoint memory pressure on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Try WPS Office for Smooth Presentation Editing on Mac

If Microsoft PowerPoint continues to consume excessive memory on your Mac during collaborative work, consider switching to WPS Office. It is a lightweight, highly compatible alternative that handles large presentation files effortlessly without draining your system's resources.

1. Download and Install: Get the Mac version of WPS Office from the official website and install it.
2. Open Your Presentation: Launch WPS Presentation and open your .pptx files directly without losing any original formatting.
3. Collaborate Efficiently: Use WPS Cloud to share and co-edit documents smoothly with your team, completely avoiding local memory overload.

Lightweight architecture that drastically reduces memory pressure on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.Highly compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) formats.Free to use with a familiar, easy-to-navigate user interface.Supports seamless cloud collaboration and file sharing for teams.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does PowerPoint use so much memory on Mac during coauthoring?

PowerPoint can consume excessive memory due to unoptimized real-time background syncing processes, especially when managing multiple simultaneous edits on large files stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.

Does this memory pressure issue affect Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Macs?

Yes, users have reported severe memory pressure during SharePoint coauthoring on both traditional Intel-based Macs and newer Apple Silicon Mac models.

Can reducing the presentation file size prevent memory pressure?

Yes. Compressing embedded images, removing unused slide masters, and splitting excessively large presentations into smaller files can help mitigate memory consumption during real-time coauthoring.

How do I check my PowerPoint build number on Mac for the report?

Open PowerPoint, click on 'PowerPoint' in the top left Mac menu bar, and select 'About Microsoft PowerPoint' to view your exact version and build number.

Office App Problems