If your PowerPoint file size is too large to upload, or if you experience problems uploading your presentation file, you may need to reduce its file size by compressing the images.
If I compress my images, will I lose important information?
In most cases, it is unnecessary to show extremely high resolution images in your presentation.
- Video projectors don't have the screen resolution to display very fine image details.
- If your slides will be printed in a book, it is very likely slides will be shrunk to fit 2-3 slides per page, which will also remove much of the fine details. They may also be printed in grayscale instead of color.
Presentations are intended to communicate your ideas and observations to your audience. They are not designed to be a distribution method for high resolution images used in medical and technical applications.
Reducing File Size in PowerPoint for Windows
1. Save a copy of your original PowerPoint file. This way, if you are not happy with the results, you can return to the original presentation and try again. To save a copy:
- Click the File tab and select Save As.
- Give the copy of your presentation a different name than your original.
2. Click any image in your presentation to display the Picture Tools toolbar.
3. Click the Compress Pictures option on the toolbar to open the Compress Pictures dialog.
If you do not see the Compress Pictures option, click the Format tab.
- Uncheck the box "Apply only to this picture", unless you only want to compress the selected picture.
- Check the box "Delete cropped areas of pictures". This will get rid of picture information that isn't visible.
- For most uses, setting the Target Output to Web (150 ppi) will be good quality for projection and printing. However, if your PowerPoint is going to be available to presentation attendees as a PDF, select Print (220 ppi).
4. Click OK to apply the settings. PowerPoint may take a while to compress images, depending on how many images your presentation contains.
5. Save your presentation copy.
6. Now compare your original presentation to the compressed copy. You should see a significant change in file size.
- If you do not, return to Step #3 above and select a smaller Target Output.
- Check the picture quality in your compressed presentation, to be sure they are still clear and legible.
Now that you have a compressed copy of your presentation, try uploading it to your submission.
Keep your original presentation in case you need it!