What is the PTT file format?
The .ptt extension is used by MapPoint, a business mapping software tool developed by Microsoft. A .ptt file is a template used as the basis for a new .ptm map file, which contains mappings of business information packages created in MapPoint.
.ptt files can store information regarding business travel routes, sales territory data, or records imported from Microsoft Office documents. Data from .ptt templates can feed into GIS (Geographic Information Systems) applications.
Microsoft discontinued MapPoint in 2014, and no current Microsoft product opens .ptt files natively. The format relies on a proprietary OLE compound document container with no public specification.
Note: the .ptt extension is also associated with unrelated formats such as push-to-talk voice notes, so the application context is important when identifying a file.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWA MapPoint template is passive data and low-risk. The bigger practical risk is chasing a viewer: searches for "open .ptt file" lead to many ad-laden "universal file opener" sites and bogus downloads - avoid them. If your .ptt is actually a push-to-talk voice note, just open it in the app that created it.
Format details
in a nutshell- Push-to-Talk voice note (Zello / Voxer / WhatsApp PTT) - Short voice recording from a walkie-talkie style app; on WhatsApp it is a zipped audio note. By far the most common modern .ptt people search for.
- PowerPoint Template (legacy) - Old presentation-template variant occasionally seen with the .ptt extension; open in PowerPoint.
Programs that open PTT files
Windows1 app
Microsoft MapPoint (legacy)
Paid Open the .ptt only in an existing MapPoint 2010/2013 install; no longer sold or supported. Technical details
deep spec| Developer | Microsoft |
| Associated application | Microsoft MapPoint (discontinued) |
| Product status | Discontinued - Microsoft ended MapPoint sales in December 2014 |
| Format role | Map template that pre-defines settings, symbology, and layout for new MapPoint map documents |
| Companion format | .ptm - the actual MapPoint map document instantiated from a .ptt template |
| Container structure | OLE compound document (proprietary binary container) |
| Encoding | Binary, proprietary; no public file format specification exists |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream (no format-specific MIME type registered) |
| Platform | Windows only (MapPoint was never released for macOS or Linux) |
| Storable data | Territory boundaries, pushpin sets, travel-route definitions, and linked business data from Excel or Access |
| Extension conflict | .ptt is also used by push-to-talk voice-note apps and some PowerPoint template tools - unrelated to MapPoint |
| Related extensions | .ptm (MapPoint map), .mpp (MapPoint map package), .msa (Microsoft Streets & Trips atlas) |
| Magic bytes | None publicly documented; no reliable file signature for identification |
| Released | 2000s (Microsoft MapPoint) |
PTT conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about PTT files.
