The.pcb file extension is most commonly associated with the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation software. The PCB files contain the application settings and data that are used by the software. The.pcb file extension is also used for ACCEL or Protel printed circuit board files, P-CAD database files, PC-Doctor files, Broderbund Print Shop. The.pps file extension is almost exactly the same as the more popular and well known.ppt extension. The main difference is that a.pps file opens directly into presentation mode, whereas a.ppt file opens into design mode. Using a.pps file is therefore useful for an actual presentation itself to improve the professional nature of the delivery. Quit PowerPoint if it's running. Click the Windows desktop then press F3 (or right-click Start and choose Search) to start the Windows Search feature. Search for Files and Folders Named:.PCB. Containing: leave blank Look in: Local Hard Drives. Click Search Now.
PowerPoint add-ins help in adding new capabilities that can polish your presentation in many ways. But when the time comes to uninstall theseadd-ins for whatsoever reason, you might be surprised to find their menu customizations, such as buttonsthat represent add-in features still exist! Click those menu extensions and nothing may happen, but these menu options are still there!
In another scenario, you may have customized your PowerPoint menus and toolbars to a large extent. Now, you want to restore everything to apristine state, almost like how the interface looked when you first installed PowerPoint.
In either case, it is possible to lose all these customizations. The key to this solution lies in PCB files. So what's a PCB file? Let's learnmore.
A PCB file is a PowerPoint Settings file where PowerPoint stores every customization you make within the program interface. These customizations include the appearance of new add-in menus and toolbars.
Whenever PowerPoint launches, it looks for this PCB file within a typical location:
C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftPowerPoint
If no PCB file is found, PowerPoint creates a new one! In other words, PowerPoint restores all defaults. Therefore, this creation of a new PCBfile can be put to advantage. First, we need to rename or delete the errant PCB file. Follow these steps to do so:
- Make sure PowerPoint 2016 is closed. Then navigate to the path mentioned below:
- C:Users<UserName>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftPowerPoint
- Substitute <UserName> with the user name set for your computer.
- Within this folder, you will find a PCB file, as shown in Figure 1 below. You may see more than one PCB file here,and this happens if you have multiple versions of Microsoft Office installed on your system. For PowerPoint 2016, the file you need will be namedPPT16.pcb or similar.
Figure 1: PCB file location- Now, you can either delete the PCB file or you can rename it with a .bak or another extension. We highly recommendthat you rename rather than delete the file! For this example we will rename the file with a .bak extension, as shown inFigure 2 below. You can also always delete the PCB file later once a new PCB is created, and everything seems to be working well.
Figure 2: PCB file renamed- Now, launch PowerPoint 2016. It might take a while to load since a new PCB file is being created. At this point of time, get back tothe original folder that contained the PCB file. You'll notice that a new PCB file has been created.
PowerPoint Versions and PCB File Names
The file names of the PCBs indicate which version of PowerPoint they influence:PPT16.pcb relates to PowerPoint 2016
PPT15.pcb relates to PowerPoint 2013
PPT14.pcb relates to PowerPoint 2010
Don’t see the PCB file extension? Your file extensions need to be made visible. To learn more, look at ourShow File Extensions tutorials.
Safely Working with PCB Files
Always keep a backup copy of your PCB file. This backup file may come handy when you want to roll back PowerPoint's customizations to an earlierstage.Also, never rename or delete a PCB file while PowerPoint is still open.
Dec 03, 2020 • Filed to: Recover & Repair Files • Proven solutions
How To Open Pcb File Powerpoint Presentation
'When I am working on an important PowerPoint presentation file, but it suddenly closed. I did not save the work which I did. How do I recover a PowerPoint that was not saved?'
There is no doubt that many people often use Windows Office tools like PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Notepad in daily work. But more of a sudden there are certain chances that you might accidentally delete your important files after your work is done. Also, some forget to save their PowerPoint files after they are done with them. Panic may be the first action if you encounter such a situation. But now you don’t need to worry about that as this article will provide you with 3 comprehensive PowerPoint recovery solutions to help you recover unsaved PowerPoint presentation, the ultimate way to recover PowerPoint files is get Recoverit Data Recovery software to get started.
Solution 1. With 'Recover Unsaved Presentations'
If you forget to save the PowerPoint file you are working on and then it just lost due to some reasons, please keep calm and try the below-given simple steps to get it back quickly.
Step 1. Open the PowerPoint on your PC
Step 2. Click on the File tab in the upper left corner > Choose Open > In the 'Recent' section, click Recover Unsaved Presentations in the bottom right corner.
Step 3. The Saved Drafts folder will open. Find your file and double click on it to open. Then save the file.
Tip: The files in the Unsaved folder are temporary files. It is highly recommended to recover and save the data you need as they might be lost soon.
Solution 2. Using the AutoRecover function
Besides, there is another way that can help recover unsaved PowerPoint files – AutoRecover function. First, you need to check if it has been enabled. Follow the simple steps below.
Option 1:
Step 1.Open a PowerPoint presentation > choose the File tab > Select Options > Go to Save
Step 2. Make sure that you have checked the box saying 'Save auto-recover info every x minutes', and the box saying 'Keep the last Auto recovered version if I close without saving'
Option 2:
If you have AutoRecover enabled beforehand, you can go to find your unsaved PowerPoint file by following the 2 simple steps.
Step 1. Copy the file destination path from 'AutoRecover file location'.
Step 2. Open Windows Explorer, paste the path on the address bar and hit 'Enter' to search the lost unsaved PowerPoint file.
Tip: It is advised to save the document while you are working on it. There is a shortcut key to save the file while working, which is Ctrl + S, which automatically saves your document.
Solution 3. Recover Deleted PowerPoint Files with Recoverit Data Recovery
If the above-mentioned solutions can't help you out with the PowerPoint lost problems, you can check the following steps to recover unsaved/deleted PowerPoint files with Recoverit Data Recovery for Windows. It can easily undelete your lost or delete PowerPoint presentations with 3 steps, also it can recover Word document and other lost files. Download and install Recoverit on your computer and retrieve your PowerPoint back.
Step 1. Select a location where stored PowerPoint
Launch Recoverit Data Recovery on your PC, select a disk where the PowerPoint files were stored before and next.
Step 2. Scanning lost PowerPoint from disk
And then the software will start scanning the disk to search for your lost or delete PowerPoint files, it will take a while for the scan to complete.
Step 3. Preview and recover PowerPoint files
How To Open Pcb File Powerpoint Free
After scanning, all recovered data files will display on the result. You can preview some files like photo, video, music, office files, select your PowerPoint and click the 'Recover' button to get it back.
Follow these 3 steps to rescue your lost PowerPoint files, also you can check the following video tutorial on how to use Recoverit Data Recovery software to restore your PowerPoint presentations.
Video Tutorial on Unsaved/Deleted PowerPoint Files Recovery
I hope that 3 ways can help you recover accidentally closed PowerPoint without saving, otherwise, if you working on Mac, you should download Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac and follow the same steps to restore lost PowerPoint files.
Rescue & Fix Files
- Recover Document Files
- Repair Document Files
- Recover & Repair More
- Clear & Delete File