System Requirements

Introduction

Aspose.Slides for .NET does not require Microsoft PowerPoint to be installed because Aspose.Slides is an independent Microsoft PowerPoint document creation, conversion, page layout, and rendering engine.

Supported Operating Systems

Aspose.Slides for .NET supports any 32-bit or 64-bit operating system where .NET or Mono framework is installed including (but not limited to):

Windows

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 2003 Server ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 2022 Server
  • Microsoft Windows Vista ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows XP ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 7 ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 8, 8.1 ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 10 ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Windows 11 ( x64, x86)
  • Microsoft Azure

Linux

  • Linux (Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, CentOS, Alpine, and others)

Mac

  • Mac OS X

Supported Frameworks

Aspose.Slides for .NET supports .NET and Mono frameworks:

.NET Frameworks

  • .NET Framework 2.0
  • .NET Framework 3.5
  • .NET Framework 4.0
  • .NET Framework 4.0_ClientProfile
  • .NET Framework 4.5.0
  • .NET Framework 4.5.1
  • .NET Framework 4.5.2
  • .NET Framework 4.6.0
  • .NET Framework 4.6.2
  • .NET Framework 4.5.0
  • .NET Framework 4.5.1
  • .NET Framework 4.6.0
  • .NET Framework 4.6.2
  • .NET Framework 4.7
  • .NET Framework 4.7.2
  • .NET 5
  • .NET 6
  • .NET 7
  • .NET 8
  • .NET 9
  • .NET Core
  • COM Interop support (COM, C++, VBScript)

Mono Framework

  • MONO Support in MAC and Linux platforms

Development Environments

Aspose.Slides for .NET can be used to develop applications in any development environment that targets the .NET platform, but these environments are explicitly supported:

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2012
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2015
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2017
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2019
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2022

Aspose.Slides Main Builds

Currently, there are two main builds of Aspose.Slides — Aspose.Slides.NET and Aspose.Slides.NET6.CrossPlatform.

Aspose.Slides for .NET

This is the main version of the product. It uses the standard .NET graphics engine.

  • On non-Windows platforms, you may need to install the libgdiplus library and its dependencies.
  • Prior to version Aspose.Slides 25.3, for non-Windows platforms, it was necessary to use the .NET Standard 2.0 DLL from the Aspose.Slides ZIP package.
  • Starting from version Aspose.Slides 25.3, the NuGet package can be used directly even on non-Windows systems.
  • When running on non-Windows systems, your application must include the following line at startup:
AppContext.SetSwitch("System.Drawing.EnableUnixSupport", true);
  • Starting from version 25.3, you can use this package on platforms that support .NET, such as Linux aarch64 (ARM64).

Additional Packages for Linux Alpine

When running Aspose.Slides for .NET in an Alpine Linux container, installing libgdiplus alone may not be sufficient. Alpine containers usually do not include fonts by default. If no fonts are available, rendering or conversion operations may fail with an error similar to:

System.ArgumentException: Font '?' cannot be found

To use Aspose.Slides on Alpine, install libgdiplus together with at least one font package.

Option 1: DejaVu Fonts

The recommended option is to install the ttf-dejavu package:

RUN apk add --no-cache \
    libgdiplus \
    ttf-dejavu

The ttf-dejavu package automatically installs the required font-related dependencies, such as fontconfig, encodings, mkfontscale, and mkfontdir. No additional font packages are required for most use cases.

Option 2: Microsoft Core Fonts

If your presentations use Microsoft-specific fonts, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, or Verdana, install Microsoft Core Fonts instead:

RUN apk add --no-cache \
    libgdiplus \
    fontconfig \
    msttcorefonts-installer \
    && update-ms-fonts \
    && fc-cache -fv

Use this option only when the presentations being processed require Microsoft fonts. For most scenarios, installing ttf-dejavu is simpler and more reliable.

Aspose.Slides for .NET 6 CrossPlatform

This is the version of Aspose.Slides using a custom cross-platform graphics engine developed by the Aspose.Slides team.
On non-Windows platforms, the fontconfig library may be required.

Supported Platforms

  • Windows: x86, x86_64
  • Linux: x86_64, ARM64 (aarch64)
  • macOS: x86_64, ARM64 (aarch64)

Unsupported Platforms

  • Windows 11 ARM (ARM64) — Not currently under consideration

FAQ

Do I need Microsoft PowerPoint installed for conversions and rendering?

No, PowerPoint is not required; Aspose.Slides is a standalone engine for creating, modifying, converting, and rendering presentations.

Which fonts are needed for correct rendering?

The fonts used in the presentation, or suitable substitutes, must be available in the operating system. On Linux and macOS, install common font packages to ensure consistent rendering.

For Alpine Linux containers, install at least one font package in addition to libgdiplus. The recommended minimal setup is libgdiplus with ttf-dejavu. If Microsoft fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, or Verdana are required, use msttcorefonts-installer together with fontconfig.

Why does a custom font render as a fallback or missing text on Linux?

If the font file has inconsistent or corrupted name-table entries, the Linux font-matching stack (FreeType/fontconfig) may select an invalid record, causing the font to be unresolved. Using a font version with corrected name-table records or installing a consistent replacement resolves the issue.

Why Not Open XML SDK Installation