Description of the maximum password length for a PowerPoint presentation

This article describes the maximum password length for a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The article also describes how to set a password to open or to modify a presentation in PowerPoint.

The maximum password length for a PowerPoint presentation is 255 characters. When you type a password, the cursor stops moving after the 255th character.

To set a password to open or to modify a PowerPoint presentation in PowerPoint 2003 and in earlier versions of PowerPoint, follow these steps:

1. Start PowerPoint 2002 or PowerPoint 2003, and then open the presentation that you want.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. In the Options dialog box,click the Security tab, and then use one or both of the following procedures:
   • If you want reviewers to enter a password before they can open the presentation, type a password in the Password to open box.
   • If you want reviewers to enter a password before they can save the changes to the presentation, type a password in the Password to modify box.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Confirm Password dialog box,type the password or passwords that you used in step 3 in the Reenter password to modify box, and then click OK.

To set a password to open or to modify a PowerPoint presentation in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, follow these steps:

1. Start PowerPoint 2007, and then open the presentation that you want.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save As.
3. In the Save As dialog box, click Tools, and then click General Options.
4. In the General Options dialog box, use one or both of the following procedures:
   • If you want reviewers to enter a password before they can open the presentation, type a password in the Password to open box.
   • If you want reviewers to enter a password before they can save the changes to the presentation, type a password in the Password to modify box.
5. Click OK.
6. In the Confirm Password dialog box,type the password or passwords that you used in step 4 in the Reenter password to modify box, and then click OK.

Important This article describes how to enable specific collaboration scenarios to function correctly in collaboration environments that do not include users who have malicious intent. You cannot enable a strong encryption file by using password protection.

To protect the document or the file from a user who has malicious intent, use Information Rights Management (IRM) to set permissions that will protect the document or the file.

For more information about the Office features that help enable collaboration, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
For more information about how to restrict permissions to content by using IRM, visit the following Microsoft Web site: