Reducing PowerPoint File Size

Are your students having problems downloading or printing your PowerPoint presentations? If you include pictures in your presentations, chances are the answer is yes. When the picture file sizes are big, the PowerPoint file size is big. When the file size is too big, it is difficult for users to download the file at home or even print the file at school. Here are a few tips on creating PowerPoint presentations that don't break the file size bank.

File size goal
According to OnlineConversion.com, it will take a 56K modem 5 minutes to download a 2 MB file. And, if you start asking your students about their Internet connections, I bet you'll find many who have 56K modems. We recommend you try to make your PowerPoint (and other files) as close to 1 MB or less as you can. Confused by all the kilos, megas, and gigas? Here is a quick guide:

KB - Kilobytes
MB - Megabytes
GB - Gigabytes

1000 KB = 1 MB
1000 MB = 1 GB
1000 GB = 1 Terabyte

Use Insert to add pictures
The first step is to make sure you are inserting pictures into PowerPoint the correct way. Instead of finding your picture and dragging into PowerPoint, go to the Insert tab and choose Picture. (If you have dragged and dropped pictures into PowerPoint, the compression (see next step) will not work.)



In the window that pops up, locate the picture you want to insert, and choose Insert. The picture should now appear on your PowerPoint slide. Resize it to the size you want by dragging one of the corners.

Compress pictures
The file size of your PowerPoint presentation partially depends on the original size of the pictures you have inserted. As an example. I created a two slide presentation with two pictures. The original picture sizes were 1.6 MB and 1 MB. When I saved the presentation (without any text or backgrounds), the file size was 2.7 MB. Oops. I've already gone over my limit of 1 MB! The next step is to compress the pictures.

Make sure one of your pictures is chosen in PowerPoint by left clicking once on a picture. Click on the Format tab under Picture Tools. Choose Compress Pictures.



Make sure "Apply to selected pictures only" is unchecked so that all of your pictures will be compressed. Click on Options.



Use the following compression settings. Click OK.



I have now reduced the picture file sizes (from 1.6 MB to 95 KB and from 1 MB to 41 KB) and hence reduced the Power Point file size (from 2.7 MB to 224 KB).

Use simple backgrounds
Another way in which you can reduce PowerPoint file size is to use simple backgrounds (solid color). eLearning and presentation design professionals will tell you that the most effective way you can use PowerPoint is to start with a blank slide. Don't be tempted by all the PowerPoint themes! They increase file size and make it difficult to print the slides. But, you want something interesting you say? Compare these slides. The first is a theme with an inserted picture.



I created the following two slides in seconds using the Format toolbar for pictures. (Picture Style presets, Picture Shape, and Recolor) Which do you like better?





Chunk information
If you are thinking about the math, you'll realize from above that if two pictures makes a 200 KB PowerPoint file, then I can only fit ten pictures before reaching the 1 MB limit. It really depends on the pictures you are using. But, if you find yourself creating a 100 slide PowerPoint presentation, consider 'chunking' the information into separate presentations. This will make it easier for students to find the information they need AND it will be easier to download and print.

I hope these tips have helped you understand file size and what you can do to reduce it. Stay tuned for more tips on how to save PowerPoint presentations for viewing and printing.

Photo from scol22 at stock.xchng