How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size?
Do you want to compress the size of the PowerPoint file for easy sharing and saving space? There is no official way to reduce the size of a complete PPT file but there are methods to reduce the MBs. Sometimes files can be too big for email or sharing. Compressing PowerPoint presentation allows easy sharing and storage.
Presentations usually have visuals, videos and images that can add to the size of the file. Email service providers may not allow the attachment of files of larger sizes. This guide will teach you some simple yet effective methods to reduce the PowerPoint file size.
When is Reducing PPT Size Beneficial?
If you are not sharing your file with anyone else and don’t have storage space issue, there is no need to reduce the PowerPoint file size. Images of high quality and resolution add value to presentation but make it harder to share across different channels. Compressing presentation size can be useful when you come across any of the given situations.
Sharing Presentation via Email
Gmail and other popular email service providers allow sharing of files of certain size only. If PPT size crosses the allowed limit, you will have to compress the size of the PowerPoint file. Presentations with lots of images, visuals and videos make it harder for you to share file via email.
Limited Storage Space
Usually a PowerPoint presentation may not take more space than a few MBs. Things get tricky when you have hundreds of PPT files on your device and keep adding daily. In these situations, compressing presentations can save you enough space on your device for other resources.
Easy Sharing and Uploading
You might have to share the final PowerPoint presentation file with different team members. Sending and uploading larger files will take more time. By compressing the size of the PowerPoint file, you can instantly upload the file and share with your team members.
How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size?
There is no direct way to reduce the file size of presentation in PowerPoint software but there are some clever tricks to do so. In this section, we will explore some methods to reduce the PowerPoint file MBs.
Method 1: Reduce Presentation Size by Compressing Images
Text in your presentation does not take much space. Images, custom visuals and videos increase the size of the PowerPoint file. Follow these steps to reduce the presentation file size by compressing images.
Step 1: Open PowerPoint >> File
Once your presentation is open, go to the “File” option from the top menu and then click on the “Option” button.
Step 2: Open Advanced Settings
Clicking on “Options” will open a new window, and you can choose the “Advanced” tab from the new window.
Step 3: Image Size and Quality
Go to “Image Size and Quality” title and:
- Check “Discard editing data.”
- Uncheck “Do not compress images in the file.”
- Change default target output to 150 PPI or 96 PPI
Step 4: Confirm Changes and Click Ok
Once you are done with step 3, click the OK button, and all images in your presentation file will be compressed. You also need to keep in mind that using this method to reduce the PowerPoint size will affect the quality of images, too.
Method 2: Convert PowerPoint to PDF
Do you want other people to access the presentation as viewers only? Don’t you want to them to edit or modify the contents? If the answer is yes, sharing presentation as PDF file is an easier option.
There are online PDF converter tools that can instantly convert PowerPoint presentation to PDF for easy sharing. You need an active internet connection for this method. Here is how to compress PowerPoint file size by converting it to PDF.
- Go to the online PDF converter tool website
- Upload the PowerPoint via the upload button or drag the PPT to your tab
- Click on the convert to PDF button and wait for a few seconds
- Download your new PDF file with a smaller size and a few MBs
Using this method will reduce the size of the entire presentation file. However, viewers may not be able to edit the file anymore. It is the best method to reduce presentation files for easy sharing.
How to Reduce Image Size in PowerPoint?
Method 1 explained how to reduce the image size of all images in a PowerPoint presentation. That method will affect the quality of all images. But you can reduce the image size of any specific image also.
- Choose the image in the PowerPoint presentation.
- Go to the “Format” tab from the top menu and choose the “Compress Pictures” option
- Use the available options to reduce the size of the selected image or all images
Check both options from the compression options. Choose the lowest 96 PPI value to compress the image for email sharing.
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Conclusion- How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size?
While reducing the size of presentations, don’t forget to optimize videos. It is better to add link to an online video instead of embedding video. To reduce PowerPoint file size, compress images, use PDF format or add link to videos. The best thing to do is benefit from the powerful ChatGPT for PowerPoint add-in.