How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size

by Mark Porter | Apr 28, 2023 | Presentation Design

Given that Microsoft PowerPoint presentations usually include a lot of visual aids such as images, gifs, embedded videos, charts, and graphs, it’s not unexpected that the resulting file sizes can be quite large. To address this issue, there are several techniques you can use to decrease the size of your presentation files.

Big files can be bothersome since they consume valuable storage space, reduce playback speed, and may result in emails being returned because they exceed the size limit. By reducing the size of your presentation file, you can avoid all these issues.

Don’t Copy and Paste Your Images, Insert Them Instead

While it may be tempting to copy and paste an image directly into a PowerPoint presentation, it’s important to note that doing so may result in a larger file size. If you’re not concerned with file size, this may not be an issue. However, if you’re looking to reduce the size of your presentation, be aware that copying and pasting images may reformat them to BMP or PNG file formats, which are larger than the commonly used JPG format. Therefore, if you want to minimize your file size, it’s best to use the insert function rather than copying and pasting images.

Use Smaller Image Files

To minimize the size of your PowerPoint files, it’s recommended that you insert images in smaller sizes. When inserting pictures taken at high resolution from a phone, for example, this can lead to larger PowerPoint files. To address this, you can create or send images at a lower resolution and insert them into your PowerPoint files.

When using stock images, select images at the lowest resolution that meets your quality requirements. Additionally, you can open images in an image editing program like Microsoft Picture Manager or Adobe Photoshop and save them at a lower resolution.

In PowerPoint 365, one of the leading contributors to file size bloat are 3D models. Although these are not inserted as pictures, they still count as images. For instance, one 3D model we inserted occupied 17 MB of space. As 3D models cannot be compressed like other image types, you may need to delete them or use pictures instead of 3D models to address file size concerns.

Edit Images in an Image Editor and Not in PowerPoint

If you use PowerPoint to edit an image, the software saves all those edits as part of the presentation, which can result in a larger file size. For instance, if you convert an image to black and white, PowerPoint retains the original full-color version of the image, which takes up additional storage space. Therefore, this can result in the storage of unnecessary bites, leading to larger file sizes for your presentation.

Compress All Images in the PowerPoint

Open your PowerPoint file and head over to the File tab.

Click on Save As and select Browse.

Next to the Save button, click on Tools.

Choose the Compress Pictures option from the drop-down menu.

You have the option to select the resolution type, which is based on PPI (pixels per inch), for the images in your presentation. However, you may notice that the Apply only to this picture option is not available. This is due to the way the tool is accessed, which restricts access to this option.

Once you’re satisfied with your selection, click OK.

Don’t Use Embedded Fonts

When it comes to creating presentations, embedding the fonts can be a useful step to take to ensure that the presentation looks the same on different computers, regardless of whether the fonts used are installed. However, it’s important to keep in mind that embedding fonts can lead to larger file sizes, which may result in slower performance when the presentation is being used.

Head over to the File tab and select Options located at the bottom left-hand pane.

Click on the Save tab and uncheck the box labeled Embed fonts in the file.

Press OK when done.

Save a Copy in PDF Format

To decrease the size of a presentation and share it with others, people frequently save a copy of it as a PDF (portable document format) file. During this process, it is possible to reduce the size of images by compressing them.

Click on the File tab and select Save As.

On the Save As type: select PDF and click on Save.

Reducing the size of PowerPoint presentations can be a daunting task, but it is an essential step to ensure that they are easy to share, open and navigate. Large file sizes can cause slow performance, crashes and issues when sending files through email or file sharing platforms. By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce the size of your PowerPoint presentations, improve their performance, and avoid crashes. You will also make it easier to share and store your presentations, which can be especially helpful for those who need to send or access files frequently.

Remember, the key to a successful presentation design is not just the content, but also the delivery, so make sure to take the necessary steps to optimize your files for best performance.

Free PowerPoint Resources

by Mark Porter | Apr 28, 2023 | Presentation Design

Let’s face it, turning your ideas into a presentation can be tough (unless you just ask us to do it..!) . It’s not as simple as slapping some text and images onto a slide and calling it a day. It takes time, effort, and some serious design skills to make it look polished and professional.

These free PowerPoint resources are going to make your life so much easier. No more hours wasted scouring the web for design inspiration or shelling out big bucks for fancy presentation tools.

So go ahead and take a deep breath. You’ve got this. With a little help from these free PowerPoint resources, your next presentation is going to be your best one yet.

PowerPoint Templates

Canva is an online graphic design tool that allows users to create various types of visual content such as social media banners, marketing materials, and PowerPoint graphics. It offers easy-to-use templates and tools, making it accessible even to those without graphic design experience. Canva also provides tutorials to guide users on how to use their software. One of its useful features for PowerPoint is the creation of charts and graphs.

Visme  is a cloud-based visual content creation tool that allows users to create professional and engaging presentations, infographics, reports, social media graphics, and other types of visual content. It offers a variety of templates, design elements, and customization options to make it easy for anyone, regardless of their design skills, to create visually appealing content. Visme also includes features for collaboration, analytics, and sharing of content. It is a popular alternative to other visual content creation tools like Canva and Adobe Spark.

WePik is a platform that offers a wide range of customizable graphic design resources such as templates, illustrations, icons, and more. Users can browse the website to find and download free or premium design assets that can be used in various projects, including presentations, social media, marketing materials, and more. WePik also offers a design editor where users can customize and edit the downloaded resources according to their needs.

PowerPoint Graphics

Unsplash provides a vast collection of free-to-use, high-quality photographs and images that can be used for personal or commercial projects without attribution. Unsplash was created to help photographers share their work with a wider audience, and now hosts millions of photos covering a wide variety of topics and styles. Users can search for specific images or browse collections, and can also upload their own photos to the site to be shared with the community.

Pixabay is a website where you can find a massive assortment of free stock photos, vectors, and illustrations for all your personal and business needs. All images are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, so you’re free to modify, distribute, and use them as you please. Pixabay also has an easy-to-use search feature, and you can filter images by category, orientation, size, and colour. It’s a lifesaver for anyone who needs high-quality visuals without the fuss!

PowerPoint Fonts

Font Pair is a website that helps users choose the right combination of fonts for their design projects. It provides a collection of font pairings that have been carefully curated by design professionals, making it easier for users to select fonts that work well together. The website is free to use and offers a range of font combinations, from classic and elegant to modern and bold. Users can browse the pairings by style or simply search for a specific font. Overall, Font Pair is a useful resource for anyone looking to improve the typography in their designs.

Fontsquirrel is a website that offers a large collection of free and commercial fonts for designers and creatives to use in their projects. The website has a user-friendly interface and allows users to easily browse and search for fonts by category, popularity, or alphabetical order. Fontsquirrel also offers a font matching tool that can help users identify the font used in an image or design. All fonts on the website are carefully selected and licensed for commercial use, making it a popular resource for graphic designers, web designers, and other creatives.

PowerPoint Colours

Color Lisa is a website that provides a collection of colour palettes inspired by famous works of art. The palettes are designed to help designers, artists, and colour enthusiasts create cohesive and harmonious colour schemes for their projects. Each palette includes a selection of colours that are extracted from a specific artwork, along with the RGB, HEX, and HSL values for each colour.

Canva Colors offers a wide range of colour palettes that designers can use in their projects. It offers various combinations such as monochromatic, analogous, complementary, and triadic with their respective HEX codes. Users can also create their own palettes by adjusting the shades and tones of selected colours. These palettes are free to use and can serve as inspiration for artists, designers, and anyone in need of colour ideas. The website offers a user-friendly interface with a vast collection of colour palettes, making it a valuable resource for designers and artists alike.

Adobe Color CC is a free website that offers a color wheel tool for users to create and explore color palettes. The tool allows users to select a base color, and then generate complementary, triadic, analogous, and other related color combinations. This website is particularly useful for graphic designers, artists, and anyone who needs to use color in their work. Additionally, the website provides access to thousands of user-generated color palettes, making it a great source of inspiration for new color combinations.

If you need advice or are looking for a pitch deck design service, why not get in touch?