GraphPad Prism graphs display incorrectly in PowerPoint on macOS

The issue

Presentations with embedded Prism graphs created in MS PowerPoint on Windows may not render correctly when opened in the MS PowerPoint desktop app on macOS. Reported symptoms include missing axis labels or numbering, rotated text not displaying properly, and missing fill colors, shading, or annotations.

The same slides display correctly on the Windows desktop version and in MS PowerPoint Online. The issue has been reproduced on Prism 11.0.0 with recent MS PowerPoint for Mac builds, including 16.105.26011018.

Why does this issue occur?

This issue is not specific to GraphPad Prism. The root cause lies in how the MS PowerPoint desktop app for macOS renders embedded Windows-format vector graphics (WMF, EMF, EMF+) and OLE objects. Any content produced on Windows in these formats, from Prism or from other applications, is subject to the same rendering failures when the presentation is opened in MS PowerPoint for Mac.

Supporting evidence:

• The same files render correctly in MS PowerPoint Online and Google Slides.

• Earlier MS PowerPoint for Mac builds (16.103 / 25110922 and 16.101 / 25091314) are not affected.

• Other applications with documented reports of the same or very similar symptoms in PowerPoint for Mac include:

  • MS Excel - charts copied from Excel on Windows and pasted into PowerPoint (as EMF/Enhanced Metafile) can show missing legend items, clipped labels, or shifted elements after paste (link), with the same recommended workarounds (paste as PNG, or embed as a chart object).

  • MS PowerPoint - Figure Rendering Issue on Mac OS (link). User on PowerPoint for Mac 16.106 (26020821), figures broken in desktop, fine in PowerPoint Online and virtual Windows. The user later clarifies the embedded format is PNG, but also notes “.emf have some problems” too. Partial match.

  • MS PowerPoint - Suddenly cannot display images correctly (link). Broken in desktop only, fine in Online and on Windows; resolved by rolling back to PowerPoint 16.102.2 (25102623). Content was native PowerPoint shapes, not Windows-embedded vector graphics. Same rollback pattern as our issue, different content type.

  • MS PowerPoint - Images partially rendered (link). Broken on PowerPoint for Mac 16.105.2 on macOS Tahoe 26.2, fine in PowerPoint for the Web. Content was grouped Microsoft Office Graphic Objects. Different content type and different specific symptom (clipping rather than missing labels/colors).

What are the workarounds?

For new presentations:

1. Export Prism graphs on Windows as PNG or TIFF (not WMF, EMF, or EMF+) and insert them as images. Note that these are raster images that cannot be edited and may appear pixelated when scaled. You may want to consider a higher DPI to get better and crisper quality.

2. Build the presentation on macOS using Prism for Mac and PowerPoint for Mac.

For existing presentations:

1. Open the file in MS PowerPoint Online, where graphs render correctly.

2. Roll back to an earlier MS PowerPoint for Mac build that does not produce the issue.

3. Open the .pptx in Google Slides and download it again as .pptx; this converts embedded graphics to PNG.

4. Work with the affected presentations directly in Google Slides.

These workarounds may not be practical for large libraries of existing decks or for collaborative workflows where all users would need to change how they embed Prism content.

Is there a fix?

There is currently no fix available from the Prism side, as the root cause appears to be in the MS PowerPoint desktop app for macOS. However, some sources seem to indicate that a fix may be in progress on the Microsoft side.