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How to Open .key Files on Windows 10/11 [Step-by-Step]

You can use iCloud to open keynotes files

6 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Keynote is the presentation software included with Apple’s office suite. The application is Apple’s alternative toMS PowerPoint. However, Windows doesn’t support Keynote’s KEY file format.

Consequently, there is hardly any Windows software compatible with that format type. This doesn’t mean you can’t open Keynote presentations in Windows, but most users convert them to a compatible format.

How can I open KEY files on a PC?

1. Open Key files with PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress

A great and easy way of opening KEY file presentations is to use good oldMicrosoft PowerPointor the free LibreOffice Impress app. In fact, nowadays, any presentation software can be used to open KEY files.

Unfortunately, not all the programs will use all the features of the original KEY presentation. You may lose the formatting and if you had any transition effects they might be also lost.

However, any of these programs, including PowerPoint and Impress will allow you to open, start the presentation, or even save the KEY files.

You can save them but, of course, you won’t be able to do that in the original format. Microsoft PowerPoint will save the file as a PPT or PPTX format while LibreOffice Impress will offer the ODP and ODPX formats additionally.

After you edit the KEY presentation, all you need to do is to save the file by selecting theSaveoption in both apps and choose the format you want to use with the presentation.

These great tools are also great for converting the files before sending the presentations to someone who doesn’t have a Mac computer but as mentioned earlier, they will lose formatting and effects so edit them before sending.

Microsoft Powerpoint

⇒Get LibreOffice Impress

2. Open KEYs With File Viewer Lite

There are, however, a few universal file opener programs that open loads of format types. TheFile Viewer Litesoftware opens more than 150 format types, and that includes Keynote’s KEY files!

You can open the Keynote presentations with that software, but it doesn’t include any editing options. File Viewer Lite is also freeware that’s compatible with Windows platforms fromXPup.

You can check out File Viewer Lite on thiswebsite page. Press theDownload Nowbutton there to save the software’s setup wizard, and then open its installer.

If the KEY presentation is on a Mac, save it to a USB flash drive; and move the file to a Windows folder.

File Viewer Lite supports drag and drop so that you can drag Keynote files from File Explorer (or the desktop) onto the software’s window to open them in FVL.

⇒Get File Viewer Lite

3. Open Keynote files in iCloud

To open and edit a Keynote presentation with more Windows software, you’ll probably need to convert its format type. However, you can still edit KEY presentations in Windows with Apple’siCloud.

ICloud is a range of cloud-based services that includes the Keynote, Pages, and Numbers web apps. As such, you can set up an iCloud account and open and edit a KEY file in a Windows browser.

This is how you can open a KEY file in theKeynote web app.

4. Convert KEYs to PPT or PDF Format

Converting files to alternative formats is the usual way to open documents, presentations, and images that Windows doesn’t widely support. Of course, you’re not exactly opening a KEY file by changing its format.

However, converting presentation andtext documentfiles to alternative formats doesn’t usually have much impact on their formatting.

If you need to edit a Keynote file, PowerPoint’s PPT is probably the best format to convert it to as that’s more widely supported by Windows presentation applications.

PDF is one of the best universal file formats, but mostPDF viewer softwaredoesn’t include editing options. You can convert KEY files to both PPT and PDF formats with the ZAMZAR web tool as follows.

5. Convert the presentation to ZIP format

ZIP is a compressed archive format that you can convert KEYs to. You can preview the contents of a Keynote presentation by converting KEY files to ZIP format.

Any of the solutions you would choose, you will get perfect access to your KEY files and even edit them. If you have any other ideas don’t hesitate to bring them forward in our comments section below.

How to Open .key Files on Windows 10/11 [Step-by-Step]#

How can I open KEY files on a PC?#

1. Open Key files with PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress#

Microsoft Powerpoint#

2. Open KEYs With File Viewer Lite#

3. Open Keynote files in iCloud#

4. Convert KEYs to PPT or PDF Format#

5. Convert the presentation to ZIP format#