Keynote/PowerPoint Comparison Chart

This is a pretty good representation of what Keynote can and cannot do. Keep in mind that lots of items can be copid and pasted into Keynote from PowerPoint, Appleworks or other apps to get around some of the short comings of Keynote. The are several items on this list that Apple is going to have to add in the next version of Keynote to gain acceptance in the market.

NOTE: This chart includes PPT 2004 or Keynote 3 features, but is far from complete.

Updated 7/26/2007

Feature/Description	Keynote	PowerPoint
Notes Follow your presentation on the Primary screen	X	X
3D Transitions (Cube Spin, Mosaic, Flip)	X	some
Smooth Cross Dissolve	X	1
Soft Drop Shadows	X	X
Object Transparency	X	X
Alpha Channel Support in QT Movies	X
QT export supports transparency	X
Supports transparent image Files	X	2
Import Layered Photoshop Files	X	3
Import PDF files	X	4
Editable Design Layouts (not just a single Master page)	X
Animated Charts	X	X
Animated Tables	X	5
Group Slides (or Nest Slides)	X
Place regular Slide items UNDER a master page item	X
Automated Slide Timings & Builds	6	X
Different Automatic timing for each build	X	X
Show Looping	X	X
Crop Tool	X	X
Mask with shape tool	X
Basic Shape Tools	X	X
Seperate Fill and Stroke Transparency	7	X
Rounded Rectangle Tool	X	X
Flow Charting Tools		X
Bursts & Other Special Shape & Line Tools	X	X
Line & Arrow Tools	X	X
3D Rotation Tools		X
Art Text		X
Advanced Charting functions (Error Bars, other shapes)		X
Action Buttons		X
Hyperlinks	X	X
Multiple Automatic Bullet Boxes	6	X
Stroke & Fill on Text Boxes	X	X
Continuous Audio through show	8	X
Rotate Title and Body (or Bullet) boxes		X
3D Charting	X	X
Mouse usable during presentation	X	X
Annotate slides during show		X
Create Custom Shows	9	X
Full screen Slide Sorter	X	X
Pop-up menu during show lets you navigate and control show	X	X
Typing slide number during show jumps to specific slide	10	X
Export as PDF	X	11
Export as QuickTime	X	X
Export as QuickTime with Interactivity	X
Export as QuickTime with Music Track	13	X
Embed Original Presentation inside QuickTime movie		X
Export PowerPoint Files	X	X
Import PowerPoint Files	X	X
Import AppleWorks Presentation Files	X
Animated Gif support	12	X
More File formats coming soon...

1. Only with QuickTime transition (and I wouldn't really call it smooth)
2. Only PNG files are supported, and only in PPT 2004
3. Layered Photoshop files are flattened and given a white background
4. PDF files import with a solid white background
5. You must ungroup the Table first, making it a REAL PAIN to animate
6. You can use bullets in any text box, but there's only one "body" box per slide
7. Use the Transparency slider on the Colors Palette instead of the regular Object Palette
8. You can have a song or playlist play through the show, but you can't control the background track at all
9. You can HIDE certain slides and they won't display in your show, but it's not quite the same thing,
10. Only with Keynote version 1.1 or above
11. Only in OS X using the Print command
12. You must turn on the loop function in the QuickTime tab of the Inspector for it to loop properly
13. Keynote exports movies with a seperate audio track file, both must be present for it to work properly