I have Microsoft Office software open on a Mac for 10 hours a day and while the program is very stable, there are a few occasions where it can crash. I have my theories why some of these happen, but even if they are just superstition, I would recommend anyone to set a very aggressive autosave window (5 minutes or less) and hit save before going into specific actions.
- If Dropbox (and probably Box as well) start syncing a file that you have open in PowerPoint you are at risk. Especially when they are large and saving takes more than a second. You can see the Dropbox icon moving when it is syncing, to be save cancel sync for the time that you are editing
- The same problem (and in a much bigger way) is Apple Time Machine backup. If Time Machine backs up a big PowerPoint file while you have it open you go down. Stop Time Machine backup, or install a utility that enables you to control when backups are happening. (There are many of them here, I have not tried these, so at your own risk)
- Rapid clicking and editing of data charts, open one, edit one, close one, change one. Excel might get confused, is waiting for some input from PowerPoint, who is waiting for input for Excel. Always hit save before and after major data chart manipulations.