How to reduce PowerPoint file size with pictures

Compress pictures in PowerPoint

How to reduce PowerPoint file size with pictures? Imagine you are going to choose between two alternatives: one, having only plain text slides in your PowerPoint presentation, and two, adding relevant pictures. Which one of these alternatives would make your presentation more effective? 

Suppose you have a lot of experience with PowerPoint presentations. In that case, you know that a presentation is most effective when equipped with relevant pictures complimenting the subject matter. The problem with using images in your PowerPoint presentation is that they can significantly increase the final file size of your PowerPoint presentation. This may prove to be quite inconvenient. But no need to worry! You can always compress your images and get around this issue. If you use the more recent versions of PowerPoint software, you can have the advantage of automatic picture compression. Still, you can utilize several methods to make this compression even more effective in reducing your presentation’s final file size. 

This built-in feature of recent versions of PowerPoint is usually known as the Compress Pictures feature. This feature can reduce the file size of every image you use in your PowerPoint presentation using only one single step. It reduces the image resolution to the extent that it fits the kind of output you will use the image for. It might be E-mail, Screen, or Print. PowerPoint measures the resolution of every image in pixels per inch, or rather PPI. This can be transited into dots per inch (dpi) on a printout. Most computer screens can only show 96 pixels per inch; therefore, if you aim to demonstrate your presentation on-screen, you really wouldn’t need a higher resolution than 96 pixels per inch. You must still keep in mind that a higher resolution might be the best choice if you are using other forms of demonstration for your presentation. 

Table of contents

How to reduce PowerPoint file size with pictures
How to reduce PowerPoint file size with pictures

1. Manually Compress Images in PowerPoint

When you want to compress pictures in PowerPoint, you should first select one of the images in a PowerPoint project slide, then go to the ribbon menu and find Picture Format. After doing this, you should look for the Compress Pictures option in the Adjust menu and select it.

 Now the second step. After following the first step, a dialogue box will appear. In this dialogue box, you will choose the resolution you prefer for compressing the image. The options that you can choose from include: E-mail (96 PPI), Web (150 PPI), Print (220 PPI), HD (330 PPI), High fidelity, and also you can use default resolution. So you can choose any of these resolution options according to your needs. For the sake of an example, you may want to print out your document; then, you can compress the images to the minimum document size of 220 PPI to print it out. Similarly, suppose you’re going to send your document via e-mail since you are usually allowed only a limited size for incoming e-mails. In that case, you can compress the images to the minimum document size of 96ppi to send them conveniently. 

Compress Images in PowerPoint
compress pictures in PowerPoint office 365

 When trying to compress images in your PowerPoint presentation, you can choose between two options: either apply the compression to only the current image or every image in the presentation. You can also choose to delete cropped areas of the picture by checking these options before selecting OK and confirming the action. 

2. Compressing Images Before Inserting into PowerPoint To Preserve Small Size

You can also have a more operative approach to choosing images that you want to be compressed in any PowerPoint Presentation. Please pay attention that this method is quite similar to the image compression method. The only difference is that you will have a firmer grip. You can choose which photos are to be compressed and which images are left unaffected and keep their original higher resolution. 

3. Reduce the size of images losslessly using browser applications

Suppose you are tired of installing many additional applications on your device to reduce the size of images you are going to use in your PowerPoint Presentation. In that case, you can try tools such as Tinyjpeg, Tinypng, and Smallpdf. These browser applications are fantastic tools for reducing your final file size. 

Try to Optimize your project’s image dimensions before inserting them in your PowerPoint project.

Many executives find this step very dull and frustrating, so they frequently ignore and skip it. Still, you can utilize this method to reduce your final file size regardless of its low frequency of utilization! You should crop the images you aim to insert in your PowerPoint presentation prior to using any of the methods mentioned above. First of all, you should decide what the maximum limit of your slide dimensions is. You can do this simply by going to the ‘design’ tab and finding the ‘slide size’ option. 

When you have accessed ‘Slide Size,’ enter the ‘Page Setup’ section. Now you can identify the dimensions associated with each slide. Suppose you use one of the frequently used slide dimensions like Standard (4:3) or Widescreen (16:9). In that case, you should stick to the safe dimensions that would be 1024px x 768px and 1280px 720px, respectively. After this step, you can start cropping your images so that they would fit into the slide dimensions. For the sake of an example, if you have an image that is 3100px x 1900px, you can save an enormous amount of space simply by cropping it. You can use websites such as https://imageresize.org/ to resize your images to make a perfect fit in your slide canvas without wasting any time. You can also reduce the dimensions of your images using editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop. If you think such programs go a bit over your head, you can work with site-based tools as well. 

4. Insert pictures instead of copying and pasting

Try to remember this golden rule when working on your PowerPoint presentation: it’s always better to insert pictures manually instead of copy-pasting them. You should even try to avoid dragging and dropping images into your project. These alternate insertion methods (other than inserting) may change your image’s file type, omit their compression, or even bring about useless data that would only increase your final file size. You can follow these simple steps to insert a picture in your PowerPoint slide:

  • First of all, when in Normal View, bring the slide that you want to insert an image to
  • In the ribbon menu, select the Insert tab and then click Pictures (2013 and later versions) or Picture (2010 version). Another thing you can do is click on the Pictures or Picture icon in a placeholder on your slide, which will open a dialog box.
  • Go to the location of your image of choice.
  • Now, select the image that you have chosen and click Insert or simply double click on that image.

Another option that you have at your disposal is that you can link a picture file. You can connect an image by clicking the arrow next to the Insert option in the Insert Picture dialog box. After that, choose Link to File. This way, that image won’t actually be inside the project file, consequently reducing the final file size. If you intend to e-mail such a document, you must know that it won’t include your image. It is safer to copy the image in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation and bring and remember to have the entire folder with you when delivering your presentation.

5. Use a Photo Editor to Resize your Images

There are times that you only have a few photos or images with big file sizes. You can open such images in any photo editor and resize or use the “save for the web” option embedded therein. Nowadays, the colossal presentation file size has become an even bigger problem. Many people have access to professional high-resolution cameras. So it would be better to try such photo editor software to get around this issue. 

How to compress a PowerPoint file on a Mac

If you use PowerPoint for Mac, you probably are aware of the fact that you cannot reduce the file size of media such as videos or music. You can only try to compress images in the PowerPoint for Mac. If you aim to do that, you can follow these simple steps:

  1. First of all, open your PowerPoint presentation, and in the ribbon menu on top of the screen, select “File.” If you aim to compress any specific image, you should choose it prior to selecting the “File” option. 
  2. Find “Compress Pictures…” in the dropdown menu and select it. 
  3. Now, you should see a “Compression Table.” This table lists the various options with which you can compress your file. The three primary options are as follows:
  • The “Printing” option. This option can keep the highest quality of your image(s). 
  •  The “Viewing on screen” option. This option will make a reduction in the quality of your pictures by almost 30 percent.  
  • The “Sending in an e-mail message” option. This option can compress your images by another 30 percent.

You can reduce the final file size of a PowerPoint presentation without reducing your images current resolution. 

  1. You can select the option to delete your pictures’ cropped out sections. Removing such portions can contribute to a reduction in the final file size of your PowerPoint presentation. 
  2. Specify if you would rather compress every picture in the slideshow or if you desire to compress only the images you have selected. Once you have made your decision, simply click on “OK.” 

In this article, you found out how to reduce PowerPoint file size with pictures. Still need help with your doing PowerPoint?

Do My Presentation

More resources

[wpseo_address id=”0″ hide_name=”false” hide_address=”false” oneline=”false” show_state=”true” show_country=”false” show_phone=”true” show_phone_2=”true” show_fax=”true” show_email=”true” show_url=”false” show_vat=”false” show_tax=”false” show_coc=”false” show_price_range=”false” show_logo=”false” show_opening_hours=”false” hide_closed=”false”]
Back to top button