DevToolsmith

PPT MIME Type

application/vnd.ms-powerpoint is the MIME type for PowerPoint 97–2003 presentations (.ppt). Here is the Content-Type header to send, the file signature, and how to configure servers and code.

MIME type
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
Extensions
.ppt, .pps, .pot
Content-Type header
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
Registered
Yes, with IANA
Compress with gzip
No, it is already compressed
Category
Documents

About PowerPoint 97–2003 presentation files

The binary PowerPoint format, in the same OLE2 container as .doc and .xls. Browsers can’t display it, so it is always downloaded.

File signature

PPT files start with D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 (OLE2 compound file). The extension and the type a browser reports for an upload both come from the file name, so check these bytes on the server before trusting a file.

Serve .ppt with the right Content-Type

Response header
Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-powerpoint
nginx (a line in the types { } block of mime.types)
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint ppt pps pot;
Apache (.htaccess or server config)
AddType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint .ppt .pps .pot
Caddy
@ppt path *.ppt *.pps *.pot
header @ppt Content-Type "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint"
Check what a server sends
curl -sI https://example.com/file.ppt | grep -i '^content-type'
# Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-powerpoint

Set the type in code

Node.js (Express)
res.set('Content-Type', 'application/vnd.ms-powerpoint');
// Or make the browser download it:
res.attachment('file.ppt');
Python
import mimetypes

mimetypes.add_type('application/vnd.ms-powerpoint', '.ppt')  # if your system doesn't know it
mimetypes.guess_type('file.ppt')[0]  # 'application/vnd.ms-powerpoint'
Go
mime.AddExtensionType(".ppt", "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint")
w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint")

Accept .ppt uploads

HTML
<input type="file" accept=".ppt,.pps,.pot,application/vnd.ms-powerpoint">

The accept attribute only filters the file picker; users can still choose another file. Listing the extension as well as the type matters, because operating systems don’t always report the type you expect.

Related types

  • .pptx (application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation): PowerPoint presentation
  • .pdf (application/pdf): PDF document
  • .doc (application/msword): Word 97–2003 document

More documents

.docx , .xls , .xlsx , .odt , .rtf , .epub . Look up any extension or type with the MIME type lookup.

Sources

Spotted a mistake? Email hello@devtoolsmith.com and we’ll fix it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MIME type for .ppt files?

application/vnd.ms-powerpoint. The full header is "Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-powerpoint".

Why does my server send the wrong Content-Type for .ppt?

Web servers pick the type from the file extension using a table (mime.types in nginx and Apache). If .ppt is missing from that table, they send a default such as application/octet-stream or text/plain. Add the mapping as shown on this page, then check the response with "curl -sI".

How can I check that a file really is PPT?

Look at the first bytes rather than the extension or the type the browser reports, which both come from the file name. PPT files start with D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 (OLE2 compound file). The MIME type lookup on this site reads them for you when you drop a file on it.