Many users, when sharing PowerPoint files via email, can end up realizing that the file is too big to be sent via their email service provider because of its excessive file size. While there are many third-party apps that enable sending large files via sharing links, not only can they be less secure to use for confidential documents, but the files might take a while to download by the recipient due to the heavy file size. therefore, Compressing a PowerPoint presentation can help you avoid such issues.
Compress a PowerPoint Presentation File
There are different methods by which you can compress a PowerPoint file and elements within the file to reduce the file size and make your slide deck more manageable.
1. Compress Images in PowerPoint
The most common method to reduce the file size of a PowerPoint presentation is to compress slide images. This method is also quite useful if you’re wondering how to compress a ppt file for email since it provides the option to reduce the images down to a very low resolution of 96 PPI, which is usually sufficient to make the presentation small enough for an email attachment.
To compress one or more images in PowerPoint, select an image from the presentation, go to the Picture Format tab, and select Compress Picture from the Adjust menu.
From the dialog box that appears, you can choose various compression options. If you want only to compress the selected image, check Apply only to this picture checkbox. The compression options available from the given dialog box can be used to reduce the size of the current or all images in the presentation file for print (220 PPI), web (150 PPI), and email (96 PPI), or you can choose the default resolution.
2. Compress Video and Audio in PowerPoint
Video and audio files can take up a lot of space and make PowerPoint presentations difficult to manage due to their large file size. If you have media files added to PowerPoint that are heavy, your presentation might also lag in SlideShow mode. To compress video and audio files in PowerPoint, go to File > Info > Compress Media. Select a lower resolution of the media files from the drop-down menu to reduce their file size.
This will reduce the file size for video and audio files, with information regarding how much the files were compressed.
You can play to preview the media files to ensure the quality of the converted media files is satisfactory. Suppose you aren’t satisfied with the compression quality and reduced file size. In that case, you can also compress the media files using third-party tools, including online converters like CloudConvert and ZamZar or media file conversion apps like HandBrake, Xilisoft audio/video converter, Freemake audio/video converter, etc.
3. Remove Heavy Graphics and Slide Elements
Another easy method to compress PowerPoint is to remove unwanted elements to reduce the file size. You can either do this directly from slides or edit the layouts of the deck via View > Slide Master.
4. Replace Media Files with Links and Embedded Content
You can also replace certain files that might be making your slides heavy. Embedding the media files directly via online sources like YouTube or by adding links to media instead of embedding files in your presentation will significantly reduce file size.
5. Convert PowerPoint File to Compress File Size
If you don’t need to present your slides as a PowerPoint file, Converting PowerPoint presentations to a different format, such as PDF, can compress the file size. This will also remove media files such as audio and video files that you can instead add as a clickable link for the recipient prior to conversion.
6. Compress a PowerPoint File using a File Compression Format
To share a PowerPoint file online in a compressed format, you can convert it to a ZIP file or use a number of formats supported by your operating system or third-party apps such as RAR, 7z, GZIP, TAR, XZ, WIM, etc. The compression feature is often integrated via the right-click context menu or long tap for mobile operating systems.
Some of the most famous tools known to provide a high file compression ratio and various security features for file compression include 7-Zip, WinRAR, WinZIP, PeaZip, etc.
Compressing PowerPoint files can have pros and cons, including loss of media quality or inability of the recipient to open the file if it’s in a compression format that requires a specific app that he/she might not have. Therefore, you should pick a mode of compression that is convenient enough for you and the recipient of the file.
