PPT Viewer opens .pptx and .ppt files directly inside Obsidian. Instead of trying to re-implement PowerPoint's rendering engine, it converts the deck to PDF in the background using Microsoft PowerPoint itself (or LibreOffice as a fallback), renders pages to images on demand, and presents them in a clean, distraction-free review surface.

Your original files are never modified. All generated previews live in the system temp cache — nothing is written into your vault unless you explicitly export a PDF.

Why PPT Viewer?

• You keep meeting decks, roadshow materials, and course slides in your vault, and Obsidian normally can't open them.
• HTML/CSS-based PPT renderers break on complex layouts, SmartArt, charts, and custom fonts — this plugin uses the real PowerPoint engine, so what you see is what PowerPoint shows.
• You want to review decks quickly (scroll, jump pages, fullscreen) without launching the full PowerPoint app every time.

Features

🎯 Native-Fidelity Rendering

• Real PowerPoint engine — converts decks via Microsoft PowerPoint automation (AppleScript on macOS, COM on Windows) for pixel-accurate results.
• LibreOffice fallback — if PowerPoint is not installed, LibreOffice headless takes over automatically.
• Legacy .ppt support — old binary formats go through the same high-fidelity pipeline.
• Smart cache with engine metadata — caches PDF + rendered pages in the system temp directory; when PowerPoint becomes available, LibreOffice-rendered caches are upgraded automatically.

⚡ Fast On-Demand Preview

• First page first — page 1 is rendered and shown immediately, remaining pages render in the background while you read.
• 180 DPI page images — crisp rendering via Poppler pdftoppm, with page deduplication.
• Embedded PDF fallback — if pdftoppm is unavailable, the converted PDF is displayed inline.
• Instant reopen — cached previews make subsequent opens near-instant.

🖥 Clean Review Surface

• Reviewer chrome — a minimal header with the deck name, render-engine status, and page counter that syncs as you scroll.
• HTML mode — a lightweight built-in JSZip/HTML renderer for .pptx when no native tools are available; switchable at any time.
• Refresh — clears the preview cache for the current file and re-renders in one click.
• Open External — launches the file with the system default application.
• Export PDF — writes a PDF next to the source file, only when you ask for it.

🔳 Distraction-Free Fullscreen

• True presentation fullscreen — the preview fills the entire screen, not just the pane.
• Collapsible toolbar — chrome auto-hides behind a tiny grip button; nothing else competes with your slides.
• Keyboard navigation — arrow keys, Space, and PageUp/PageDown flip pages; Esc exits.

Usage

1. Install and enable the plugin (see below).
2. Click any .pptx / .ppt file in Obsidian's file explorer.
3. Wait for the first page — a "正在生成高保真预览" splash shows while the deck converts (first open only).
4. Scroll or use the keyboard to review pages.
5. Use the header buttons to switch to HTML mode, refresh the cache, enter fullscreen, or open externally.

Install

① AI Install (fastest)

Paste this to your AI assistant (Claude Code / Cursor / Copilot / Trae):

Help me install the Obsidian plugin "PPT Viewer":
1. Download the zip from https://github.com/pherehouse/ppt-viewer/releases/latest
2. Unzip it and place the ppt-viewer folder into <my-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/
3. Tell me how to enable it in Obsidian settings

Or a single curl command:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/pherehouse/ppt-viewer/releases/latest/download/ppt-viewer.zip -o /tmp/ppt-viewer.zip
unzip -o /tmp/ppt-viewer.zip -d <my-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/

② Manual Install from GitHub

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Create <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/ppt-viewer/ and copy the files in.
3. Restart Obsidian, then enable PPT Viewer in Settings → Community plugins.

③ BRAT (recommended for tracking updates)

1. Install the BRAT plugin.
2. Add pherehouse/ppt-viewer as a beta plugin.
3. Enable PPT Viewer from the community plugins list.

Requirements & Compatibility

• Obsidian desktop (Windows / macOS). The plugin is isDesktopOnly because it drives native conversion tools.
• Best fidelity: Microsoft PowerPoint installed
  • macOS: /Applications/Microsoft PowerPoint.app
  • Windows: PowerPoint via COM automation
• Fallback: LibreOffice (soffice), searched in common locations such as /Applications/LibreOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice, /opt/homebrew/bin/soffice, /usr/local/bin/soffice, and C:\Program Files\LibreOffice\program\soffice.exe
• Optional, sharper pages: Poppler pdftoppm (brew install poppler on macOS). Without it, the converted PDF is embedded directly.
• If none of the native tools exist, .pptx files fall back to the built-in HTML mode; .ppt files require a converter.

Install the native dependencies on macOS:

brew install --cask libreoffice
brew install poppler

How It Works

flowchart TD
  A["Open PPT/PPTX in Obsidian"] --> B{"Valid cache exists?"}
  B -- yes --> R["Render cached pages"]
  B -- no --> C{"Microsoft PowerPoint available?"}
  C -- yes --> D["PowerPoint automation converts to PDF<br/>(AppleScript / COM)"]
  C -- no --> E["LibreOffice headless converts to PDF"]
  D --> F
  E --> F{"pdftoppm available?"}
  F -- yes --> G["Render page 1 first, show it"]
  G --> H["Render remaining pages in background"]
  F -- no --> I["Embed PDF inline"]
  H --> R
  D -- failed --> E
  E -- failed --> J["HTML mode (pptx only)"]

Cache lives in the system temp directory (e.g. /var/folders/.../T/obsidian-ppt-reviewer-powerpoint/... on macOS) and is keyed by source path with a cache revision and engine metadata, so caches are invalidated when the render engine or DPI changes.

Troubleshooting

• Preview is slow on first open — the deck is being converted by PowerPoint/LibreOffice. Reopens use the cache and are much faster.
• "高保真预览不可用" — install LibreOffice (brew install --cask libreoffice) or PowerPoint; check which soffice.
• Pages look slightly blurry — install Poppler (brew install poppler) so pages render as 180 DPI PNGs instead of the embedded PDF.
• HTML mode looks messy — expected for complex decks; the HTML renderer is a readable fallback, not a PowerPoint clone. Switch back with the accurate-preview button.
• Want to force a re-render — click 刷新 (Refresh) to clear the cache for the current file.

Credits & License

• Built on the Obsidian Plugin API.
• HTML mode uses JSZip for reading .pptx packages.
• Native rendering relies on Microsoft PowerPoint / LibreOffice and Poppler.

MIT © phere