how to compress a powerpoint presentation

Reduce the file size of your PowerPoint presentations

If the file size of your presentation is too large, try the following tips to make it more manageable.

Compress pictures in your presentation

Select a picture in your document. The Picture Format tab appears.

On the Picture Format tab, in the Adjust group, select Compress Pictures .

Under Compression options , do any of the following:

Make sure that Apply only to this picture is not selected so that the changes you make here will apply to all pictures in the document.

Select Delete cropped areas of pictures . This option removes the cropped picture data but note that if you delete the cropped picture data, you won't be able to restore it.

Under Resolution , select Use default resolution .

Under Compression options , do either of the following:

Select Delete cropped areas of pictures . This option removes the cropped picture data but note that if you delete the cropped picture data, you won't be able to restore it.

Delete image editing data and lower default resolution

By default, when you edit an image, the data from the original is retained (to ensure the image can be restored). Discarding it means that you can't restore the changes you make, but it will reduce your file size. Lowering the default resolution for images also reduces your overall file size.

Go to File > Options > Advanced .

Under Image Size and Quality , do the following:

Select Discard editing data . This option removes stored data that's used to restore the image to its original state after it's been edited. Note that if you discard editing data, you won't be able to restore the image after you edit it.

Make sure that Do not compress images in file is not selected.

Reduce the character set of embedded fonts

To make your presentation more sharable with others who don't have the same fonts in their system, it's typical to embed the fonts you use. However, embedded fonts will increase your file size. To minimize the file increase, embed only those characters used in the presentation.

Go to File > Options > Save .

Note:  If you've used custom fonts and want others to edit the presentation, select Embed all characters .

Reduce the file size of your Excel spreadsheets

Reduce the file size of your Word documents

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How-To Geek

How to reduce the file size of a powerpoint presentation.

Need to chip off some KB from your presentation's file size? Try some of these handy tips.

Quick Links

Convert your presentation to the pptx format, insert your pictures—don’t copy and paste, do image edits in an image editor—not in powerpoint, compress all of the images in your presentation, don’t use embedded fonts, link to files instead of embedding them, don’t store a thumbnail for the presentation, remove personal and hidden information from your presentation, turn off autorecover, copy everything into a new presentation, a possibility: unzip the presentation and compress it.

Considering that Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are generally accompanied with tons of images, gifs , embedded videos , charts , graphs, and other content, it’s no surprise that you get some pretty big files. Here are a few steps you can take to reduce a presentation's file size.

Large files can be annoying. They take up loads of precious disk space, slow down playback performance, and can cause emails to bounce back due to exceeding the file size limit. You can prevent all of these things by reducing the file size of your presentation.

We’ve mentioned it before, but the first thing you’d think of when considering file size reduction is images—and for a good reason. Image files can be quite large. There are steps you can take to reduce the size, such as compressing the images in the presentation. If you suspect the reason your PowerPoint file is so large is due to images, then be sure to read the article we’ve written on how to reduce the size of Office documents that contain images .

Related: How to Reduce the Size of a Microsoft Word Document

We do have some additional tips to add if you followed these steps but still need to reduce your presentation’s file size.

Microsoft released the PPTX format in Office 2007. Still, it’s not uncommon to see PPT files floating around. So what’s the difference between a PPT and PPTX  file? The PPTX version compresses all of the content within the presentation. If you have a PPT file and convert it into a PPTX file, you’ll notice a decrease in the file size.

Converting the file is as simple as pressing a button and choosing the file type. Go ahead and open your PPT file, head over to the “File” tab, and then click “Convert.”

Windows File Explorer will appear. You’ll notice the Save As type is set as "PowerPoint Presentation." This is the PPTX file type. Click “Save.”

Your PPT file will now be converted to a PPTX file. As you can see, the size of the file has been reduced.

HTG Presentation 2 is our PPT file, and HTG Presentation 3 is our PPTX file. Merely converting the file type reduced the size by 335 KB.

While this isn’t a breathtaking drop in file size, we managed to reduce a Word document file size from 6,001 KB to 721 KB. It all depends on what’s inside the file. With any luck, this will be the only step you need to take. If not, keep reading.

It’s tempting to copy and paste an image in PowerPoint instead of using the insert function. This won’t be an issue if you’re not concerned about file size, but if you are, then beware of copy and paste—it may reformat your image to BMP or PNG. Why is this an issue? Both of those file formats are larger than JPG.

You can see in the above screenshot that the PNG file is 153KB compared to the 120KB JPG file of the same image. Each time you copy and paste a JPG file to PowerPoint, and it gets converted to PNG, you’re adding a bit of unnecessary file size to the presentation. Using the insert function will ensure your images are inserted as intended.

When you insert an image in PowerPoint, it’s best to make sure that it doesn’t need any edits. If it does require edits, you’re better off doing it in an image editor. Why? When you use PowerPoint to edit your image, it stores all of those edits as part of the presentation. For example, when you change an image to black and white, PowerPoint retains the full-color image as well. That’s a lot of extra bites being stored.

If you don’t have an image editor ( you do ) or you simply must use PowerPoint, be sure to tell PowerPoint to discard all of that excess data saved from the edits . It won't save you as much space as working in a dedicated editor, but it will help.

You can compress images in PowerPoint one at a time or all at once. If you’re looking to do the latter, here’s how.

Open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, and then select “Save As” in the left-hand pane.

Next, select “More Options,” which you'll find under the area where you would name your file and choose the file type.

The “Save As” window will appear—this time with a few extra options available to you. Next to the “Save” button, click “Tools.”

In the drop-down menu that appears, select “Compress Pictures.”

The “Compress Pictures” window will appear. Here, you can choose the resolution type of the images (based on PPI) in the presentation. You’ll also notice that you’re not able to select the “Apply only to this picture” option in the “Compression Options” group. That’s because, due to the way we accessed this tool, this option isn’t available.

Note:  If you do want to compress a single picture, select it and then head to Picture Tools Format > Compress Pictures.

Once you’re happy with your selection, click “OK.”

Be sure to save your presentation afterward.

We get why you might want to embed fonts—you might be making a Star Wars themed presentation and, as a result, anyone you may be sharing the presentation with is not likely to have those special fonts available to them. Embedding the fonts in your presentation could prevent issues down the line, but it comes at the cost of increased file sizes.

In general, unless you are sure you need to display a particular font, we recommend turning off font embedding.

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

On the “Save” tab, untick the “Embed fonts in the file” checkbox and then click “OK.”

We saved a copy of our presentation with all fonts embedded, without fonts embedded, and with only the fonts used in the presentation embedded. Look at the difference if file sizes:

Convinced yet?

Consider the difference in file size if you embed an entire YouTube video in your presentation instead of linking back to it. Embedding an entire video will significantly increase the size of your presentation. There are certainly some valuable benefits when embedding a file vs. linking to it (such as when the recipient might not have internet access to play the video), but if the file size is an issue, just don’t do it.

Way back when Office let you save thumbnail images of your presentation so that you could get a sneak preview of the file when searching for it in File Explorer. Windows has grown to be more sophisticated, so it no longer requires the help of Office applications to do this. But, the option is still available.

We ran a little test to see the difference in file size with and without this option enabled. Here are the results:

With the thumbnail option enabled, our file size was 2,660 KB. Without the option enabled, the file size was reduced to 2,662 KB, saving a total of 7 KB.

This is a pretty small save, but when we tested it with a Word document, the difference was significant, showing 721 KB without the option enabled, and 3,247 KB with the option enabled.

While this is a large gap between applications and it’s not exactly clear why the difference is so large, it’s still an option worth exploring. To disable the feature, open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, and then select “Properties” found on the right-hand side, then “Advanced Properties.”

You’ll now be in the “Summary” tab of the “Properties” window. At the bottom of the window, uncheck the box next to “Save preview picture,” and then click “OK.”

Microsoft Office will store your personal information (such as author name) and hidden properties within your presentation. Getting rid of this information can save you a bit of space.

Open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, select the “Check for Issues” option, then select “Inspect Document."

The “Document Inspector” window will appear. Make sure the “Document Properties and Personal Information” box is checked, and then click “Inspect."

In the next window, select “Remove All.” The information will now be removed, saving you a few KB of space.

We don’t necessarily recommend this, and it should only be used as a last resort effort. AutoRecover is an essential tool in Office, and if you’ve ever lost a document before saving, then you understand precisely what we mean.

Each time Office uses AutoRecover, it adds a little to the size of the file. To turn AutoRecover off, head over to the “File” tab and select “Options” found at the bottom of the left-hand pane.

In the “Save” tab of the “Options” window, uncheck the box next to “Save AutoRecover information ever xx minutes.”

If you save and exit out of the presentation immediately, you won’t notice a difference. Over time though, as you continue to progress through the presentation, the AutoRecover feature will add KB to your file.

While you’re creating your presentation, PowerPoint will save various things in the background to help you out. We’ve mentioned how to turn off a lot of these features, delete data PowerPoint saves, and so on, but there’s always a chance something slipped through the cracks, and PowerPoint stored some information you don’t need. Copying your content over to a new presentation may be a good solution to the problem.

This may be a bit of a hassle though as, with PowerPoint, you’ll need to copy and paste each slide (and master slides). Once you do though, the new presentation won’t have any of the previous background saves, AutoRecover information, or previous versions of the file. As a result, you should see a change in file size.

While we can’t tell you exactly how much this will reduce your file size since each presentation will be different, it’s worth a shot.

As we mentioned earlier, a PPTX file is a compressed file (which is why the size is much smaller than an old-school PPT file). This means you can open it with a tool such as 7-Zip or WinRar, extract all the files from your PPTX, add them to a compressed archive, and then rename the archive to a PPTX file extension.

We had some issues here, though.

In Rob’s testing with his Word document, it successfully reduced the size of the file from 721 KB to 72 KB. However, it corrupted the file in the process. In my testing with my 2,614 KB file, it didn’t corrupt it, but it only reduced it to 2,594KB—a total of only 20 KB. We’re unsure what’s at play here, so if you want to give this a go, be sure to have a backup copy of your file before doing so.

That’s all the tips we've got for reducing the size of your PowerPoint presentation. We’re always looking for new and interesting ways to reduce the size of our files, so if you have any tips, let us know in the comment section, and we’ll be happy to test them out!

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How to Reduce Powerpoint File Size

Last Updated: March 29, 2022

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 976,376 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to lower a PowerPoint presentation file's size by compressing its images on a Windows or Mac computer, or by clearing the editing data on a Windows computer. There is currently no option to delete the editing data of PowerPoint presentations on a Mac.

Compressing Images on Windows

• If your PowerPoint file isn't yet open, first open it by double-clicking it.
• It doesn't matter which picture you double-click, since all of them will open the appropriate tab.

Compressing Images on Mac

Removing Edit Data on Windows

Expert Q&A

• Using JPEG files rather than other file formats will cut down on your presentation's overall size. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• When formulating a presentation, using the default plain backgrounds in your slides will make your file smaller than if you upload detailed backgrounds. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you can't get your PowerPoint file to shrink down enough to send it via email, you can upload it to a cloud service (e.g., Google Drive) and send an email with a link to the file instead. Your recipient will be able to download the file from Google Drive. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Reducing your images' quality will make a noticeable difference in your PowerPoint's overall quality. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Reduce-your-file-size-631d1d48-a56b-4fd4-ad66-091dd201db10?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US&fromAR=1#bmpp
• ↑ http://www.isumsoft.com/it/reduce-powerpoint-file-size-in-office-2016/

About This Article

1. Double-click an image. 2. Click Compress Pictures . 3. Remove the check mark from “Apply only to this picture.” 4. Select a lower DPI. 5. Click OK . 6. Click File . 7. Click Options . 8. Click Advanced . 9. Click Discard editing data . 10. Click OK and save the file. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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10 Ways to Compress PowerPoint Presentations to Reduce File Size

10 Strategies to Compress or Reduce the Size of Large PowerPoint Presentations

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 21, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft ®  PowerPoint ® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can compress or reduce the size of large PowerPoint presentations in several ways. The most common strategy to reduce the size of a PowerPoint file is to compress pictures, video and audio. However, you can also use other methods to make files smaller including saving media and PowerPoint files in other formats and converting or removing embedded objects.

In this article, we'll look at 10 ways to compress or reduce the size of a PowerPoint presentation:

• Compress pictures
• Insert pictures instead of copying and pasting
• Use smaller image files
• Convert images to a different file type
• Save a copy of images with artistic effects
• Compress audio and video
• Link to audio or video files
• Convert Excel charts and other embedded objects
• Save a copy of large PowerPoint files
• Save a copy in PDF format

Note: Buttons and Ribbon tabs may display in a different way (with or without text) depending on your version of PowerPoint, the size of your screen and your Control Panel settings. For PowerPoint 365 users, Ribbon tabs may appear with different names. For example, the Picture Tools Format tab may appear as Picture Format.

To view file size in PowerPoint:

• Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
• Click Info. In the Properties area, file size is listed beside Size.

Once you've completed the following strategies, close and save the PowerPoint file, reopen it and check the file size again. You can also view file size in Windows 10 File Explorer or Windows Explorer in older versions of Windows.

Recommended article : How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint

Do you want to learn more about PowerPoint?  Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom  PowerPoint courses >

1. Compress pictures

One of the most common ways to reduce file size is to compress one or all of the pictures in your PowerPoint file. You may want to try this with one picture at a time to be sure you are satisfied with the result after compression.

To compress a picture:

• In Normal View, select a picture on image on a slide.
• Click the Picture Tools Format or Format Picture tab in the Ribbon.
• In the Adjust group, click Compress Pictures. A dialog box appears.
• Select the check box to Apply only to this picture if you want to compress only the current picture or uncheck this option if you wish to compress all pictures in the presentation.
• Select the check box to Delete cropped areas of pictures if you have cropped images and want to permanently delete the areas you have removed by cropping.
• Choose the desired document resolution.

Don't forget to check pictures in Slide Master View (click the View tab in the Ribbon and then click Slide Master) as you may want to compress or delete those images as well.

Also, be sure to check image(s) after you compress them to be sure to are satisfied with the quality of the image(s). If you create a copy of the presentation before compressing the image(s), you can revert to the original if necessary.

2. Insert pictures instead of copying and pasting

It's best to insert pictures, rather than copying and pasting (or dragging and dropping) into the PowerPoint file. When you copy and paste (or drag and drop) an image into a presentation, it can lose compression, change file type and also bring in other data that can increase file size.

To insert a picture onto a PowerPoint slide:

• In Normal View, display the slide where you want to insert a picture.
• Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon and click Pictures (2013 and later versions) or Picture (2010). You can also click the Pictures or Picture icon in a placeholder on a slide. A dialog box appears.
• Navigate to the location of the picture.
• Select the picture and click Insert or double-click the picture.

You also have the option of linking to a picture file by clicking the arrow beside Insert in the Insert Picture dialog box and then choosing Link to File. However, the picture is not actually "in" the file (which reduces file size) and if you email the document, the pictures will not be included. If you use this strategy, it's best to copy the picture to the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation and be sure to bring the entire folder with you when you deliver the presentation.

3. Use smaller image files

It's best to insert pictures in smaller sizes to reduce the size of your PowerPoint files. For example, if you are inserting pictures from a phone taken at a high resolution, this will result in larger PowerPoint decks. Create, save or send images at a lower resolution and insert the lower resolution images into your PowerPoint files.

If you're using stock images, select images at the lowest resolution (at the quality level you require). You can also open an image in an image editing program (such as Microsoft Picture Manager or Adobe Photoshop) and then save it at a lower resolution.

In PowerPoint 365, one of the biggest culprits causing inflated file size is 3D models. Although 3D models are not inserted as pictures but rather as 3D models, they are images. One 3D model we inserted took up 17 MB of space. You can't compress 3D models like other types of images so you may need to delete 3D models or use a picture instead of a 3D model if file size is an issue.

4. Convert images to a different file type

Prior to inserting an image in PowerPoint, you can open it in an image editing program (such as Microsoft Picture Manager or Adobe Photoshop) and then use Save As to save the image in another format.

The format that will result in the smallest size is usually JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group format) or JPG. The JPEG compression algorithm significantly reduces the file size of images.

You can also save images in PowerPoint in different formats:

• Right-click the picture. A drop-down menu appears.
• Select Save As Picture. A dialog box appears.
• Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image.
• Enter a name for the file and select a format such as JPG or PNG.
• Click Save.
• In the PowerPoint presentation, delete the original image.
• Click Insert and then click Picture(s).
• Navigate to the location with the image you saved.
• Double-click the image.

5. Save a copy of images with artistic effects

When you apply an artistic effect to an image, PowerPoint retains two copies of the image (the original and a copy with the artistic effects). This allows the user to reset the image but can significantly increase file size. Compressing pictures also doesn't normally have any effect on images where you have applied artistic effects.

If you have applied an artistic effect (such as blur) to an image, you can reduce file size using the following method:

• Right-click the image with the artistic effect. A drop-down menu appears.
• Enter a name and select a file type (usually JPG or PNG).
• In the PowerPoint presentation, delete the image with the artistic effect.
• Navigate to the location with the image you saved with the artistic effect.

6. Compress audio and video

In 2010 and later versions of PowerPoint, audio and video files are copied into presentations rather than linked to the original files. You can improve playback performance and reduce PowerPoint file size by compressing audio and video files in your presentation.

Files can be compressed at different quality levels.

In PowerPoint 2013 and 2016, you can compress to the following quality levels:

• Presentation Quality – select this option to save space but maintain overall audio and video quality.
• Internet Quality – select this option and quality will be comparable to media which is streamed over the web.
• Low Quality – select this option if space is limited, such as when you are sending presentations via e-mail.

In PowerPoint 2019 and 365, you can compress to the following quality levels:

• Full HD (1080p) – select this option to save space while maintaining overall audio and video quality.
• HD (720p) – select this option to save space and the quality will be comparable to media which is streamed over the Internet.
• Standard (480p) – select this option when space is limited, such as when you are sending presentations via e-mail.

The following compression options appear in PowerPoint 2019 or 365:

Note: Some older video file formats may not compress or export properly. Embedded subtitles and alternate audio tracks will be lost in the compression process.

To compress media in PowerPoint:

• Open the presentation that contains the audio or video files you want to compress.
• Save a copy of the presentation so you can retain a copy of the file with the original media.
• In the copy, click the File tab in the Ribbon.
• Click Info.
• In the Media Size and Performance area, click Compress Media. A dialog box appears.
• Select the desired compression option. A dialog box appears indicating that media compression is in progress. PowerPoint will indicate how much space is saved.
• When compression is complete, click Close.

7. Link to audio or video files

You also have the option of linking to audio or video files. When you insert an audio or video file, click the arrow beside Insert in the Insert dialog box and then choose Link to File. Linked audio or video is not actually "in" the presentation (which reduces file size) and if you email the presentation, the media files will not be included if you have linked to audio or video files. Linking was the default behavior in PowerPoint 2007 and earlier versions for video and larger audio files.

If you choose to link to audio or video files, t's best to copy the media files to the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation and be sure to bring the entire folder with you when you deliver the presentation.

Note: You cannot apply certain types of formatting to linked video files.

8. Convert Excel charts and other embedded objects

Embedded objects such as Excel charts or worksheets can also increase file size. If you convert embedded objects to images, it can impact the size or your presentation. You can also reduce file size by breaking links to Excel files.

If you want to convert embedded objects into pictures, you can ungroup them or cut and paste them back into PowerPoint.

To ungroup an object:

• Select the chart or embedded object.
• Click the Format tab in the Ribbon. This tab may appear as Drawing Tools Format, Drawing Format or Shape Format.
• Select Group and then Ungroup. A dialog box appears asking if you want to convert the object to a PowerPoint object.

To cut an object and paste it back into a presentation as a picture:

• Select the embedded chart or object.
• Press Ctrl + X to cut it.
• Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
• Click the arrow below Paste to display the drop-down menu and then choose Paste Special.
• Select an image type (such as JPEG) and click OK.

If you have links to Excel files, you can reduce file size using Edit Links to Files. Check out How to Break, Update or Change Links to Excel Charts or Worksheets in PowerPoint for more information on how to break links.

9. Save a copy of large PowerPoint files

It's a good idea to save a copy of a large PowerPoint files periodically using Save As and give the file a different name (i.e. Sales Presentation and the date). If you save a copy using Save As, version history and some editing data is removed during the process and this will reduce file size. This can also help avoid corrupted files.

To save a copy of a PowerPoint presentation:

• Choose Save As. If necessary, click Options or More Options. A dialog box appears.
• Navigate to the desired location.
• Enter a new name for the presentation.

10. Save a copy in PDF format

It's also common to save a copy of a presentation as a PDF (portable document format) file to reduce the size and then share it with others. You can compress images during the process.

To save a PowerPoint presentation as a PDF (and compress images):

• Choose Save As and then click Options or More Options if necessary. A dialog box appears.
• Navigate to the desired location and enter a name for the file. You can use the same name since the extension will be different (PDF).
• Under File Type, select PDF.
• Click Tools on the bottom right of the dialog box. A drop-down menu appears.
• Select Compress Pictures. A dialog box appears.
• Click the desired compression option.

Large file size is a common problem in PowerPoint and you can use these strategies to reduce the size of your PowerPoint presentations. Compressing the size of your decks should also help to improve speed and avoid crashes.

This article was originally published on November 6, 2016 and has been updated for clarity and content.

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How to compress a PowerPoint file so that it loads faster and doesn't take up as much space

• You can easily compress a PowerPoint file's size, which makes it easier to share and save.
• When you compress your PowerPoint, you'll have to reduce the quality of any music, videos, or pictures you have in your slideshow.
• Once you've compressed your PowerPoint, it will load faster, but the media in it may not look as good.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

At some point in your slideshow-creating life, you've probably saved a PowerPoint presentation and realized that the file size is entirely too large. 

Larger file sizes make PowerPoints more difficult to send and save, and they also make each slide take longer to load.

One of the easiest ways to quickly reduce a PowerPoint presentation's file size is to compress it. When you compress a PowerPoint, you'll reduce the quality and size of every media file in the presentation. This includes videos, audio clips, animations, and photos.

If you compress them down to an appropriate size, your file size will be much smaller. However, your photos, videos, and other media probably won't look or sound as sharp.

Here's how to compress your media files in PowerPoint on a Mac or PC.

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1. In the ribbon or menu bar at the top of the screen, click "File." Make sure that "Info" is selected in the left sidebar.

2. Click "Compress Media." Depending on whether your version of PowerPoint was made before or after 2016, this button will either be next to the label "Multimedia" or "Media Size and Performance."

3. Choose one of the three options for media quality from the dropdown menu. These will differ based on which version you have as well, but they boil down to: 

• Select the highest quality option if you want to maintain high quality media for in-person presentations. 
• Select the middle option for quality akin to media found on the internet. 
• Select the lowest quality option if your file needs to be as compressed as much as possible — for example, if you need to send it via email.

How to compress a PowerPoint file on a Mac

In the Mac version of PowerPoint, you can only reduce the file size of images, not videos or music.

To do this:

1. Open your PowerPoint slideshow and click "File" in the menu bar at the top of the screen. If you only want to compress specific images, select them before clicking "File."

2. In the dropdown menu, click "Compress Pictures..."

3. You'll be shown a "Compression Table," which lists all the different ways you can compress the file. You'll have three main options:

• "Printing" will keep your pictures at the highest quality possible.
• "Viewing on screen" will reduce the quality of your pictures by about 30 percent.
• "Sending in an e-mail message" will compress them by another 30 percent or so.

You can also pick the fourth and last option, which will keep each picture's current resolution, but try to reduce the file size in other areas.

4. Select whether you'd like to delete parts of your pictures that have been cropped out — doing so will help reduce the file size.

5. Choose whether you'd like to compress every picture in the slideshow, or just the ones that you selected beforehand. Once you've decided, click "OK."

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to embed a youtube video into your microsoft powerpoint presentations using a mac or pc, how to convert google slides to a powerpoint presentation in 4 easy steps, how to convert a powerpoint to google slides in 2 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

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• Main content

How to compress PowerPoint files.

Want to save space on your computer? Learn how to compress a PowerPoint to save space and make your presentation easier to share.

Need to learn how to compress Microsoft PowerPoint files but not sure where to begin? Whether you want to save space on your device or avoid file size issues in an email, compressing your PowerPoint is a great way to keep file sizes to a minimum and make your presentation easier to store and manage.

When is compressing a PowerPoint file beneficial?

While a PowerPoint in its original quality is great for presenting, it may not always be the easiest to share and store on your computer. Compressing PowerPoint files is a great way to save space while keeping your hard work.

Here are a few reasons you may want to compress your PowerPoint:

• Improve shareability over email. Most email platforms limit the file sizes that you can share. If your Powerpoint contains a lot of content, especially photos and videos, it may be more difficult to share over email. Compressing the PowerPoint ensures that the same content is shared, just as a smaller file size.
• Have more storage space on your computer. By compressing your PowerPoint file, you leave room for more important documents to be stored on your computer.
• Boost productivity. By spending less time waiting for a file to upload, you can place your attention on other important tasks.

Steps: How to compress a PowerPoint file.

There are a few different methods you can try within the PowerPoint application and outside of it to reduce your PowerPoint file size and easily be able to share and save your content.

You can reduce the size and quality of any images in the presentation, reduce audio and video content, compress the PowerPoint as a PDF, compress it as a zip file, or swap any 3D models with static images.

Compress a PowerPoint file by reducing the size and quality of your images.

While there’s no way to compress the entire file in PowerPoint, you can reduce the size and quality of all the images to reduce the whole presentation’s size.

Instead of going through your complete presentation and editing your images one by one (which you can do if you want), there’s an easy way to compress all your image files at once:

• Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
• Click File on the top toolbar and choose Options > Advanced.
• Check “Discard editing data.”
• Uncheck “Do not compress images in file.”
• Select 150 PPI or lower in the Default resolution dropdown menu.

These steps will reduce the file size of all the images in your presentation, effectively compressing the entire PowerPoint. The more pictures you have, the more it’ll compress the file.

Compress a PowerPoint file by reducing the size of audio and video files.

Audio and video content takes up a lot of storage space in a presentation.

You can reduce the size of audio and video files by following these steps:

• Click on the File tab in the upper-left corner.
• Select Info from the dropdown menu.
• Click Compress Media. There are three options for compression.
• Choose your compression option. Click Close once the file is done compressing.

Ensure the file is compressed to your liking. If the compression does not meet your standards, adjust the settings as needed.

Compress a PowerPoint file as a PDF.

An easier way to compress a PowerPoint is to first convert the PPT to a PDF using an online PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat online services. PDF files are smaller and easier to share than PowerPoints.

To convert your PowerPoint to a PDF, follow these easy steps:

• Visit the online PDF converter tool.
• Upload the PowerPoint you want to convert.
• Let the software do its magic.
• Download your new PDF file.

The PDF file should be much smaller than the original PowerPoint, making it easy to store and share. If the file size is still too big, you can reduce it even further by compressing the PDF online .

Compress PowerPoint files as a ZIP file.

By changing the PowerPoint to a ZIP file, the whole presentation size will be reduced.

Use these steps to transform your PowerPoint into a ZIP file:

• Click File in the upper-left corner.
• Choose the Open option.
• Right-click the project you wish to compress. Additional options will appear.
• Choose “Send to” and more options will appear.
• Find the option named “Compressed (zipped) folder.” Choose this option to compress the file.

Compressing PPT files on macOS and Windows.

In the macOS PowerPoint, you can reduce the file size of images but not music or videos.

Here are the steps to compress your PowerPoint on a Mac:

• In PowerPoint, click File. If you only want to compress certain images, select them before you click File.
• From the dropdown menu, click Compress Pictures.
• Printing — highest quality.
• Viewing on Screen — reduces image quality by 30%.
• Sending in an email message — compresses images by another 30% or so.
• Choose whether or not you’d like to delete portions of the photos that have been cropped out. By doing this, you can reduce the file size.
• Decide whether you want to compress every photo in the slideshow or only the ones you already selected. Click OK when done.

For Windows, follow these instructions:

• Click File and make sure Info is selected in the left sidebar.
• Click Compress Media. Depending on the version of PowerPoint, the button will either say Multimedia or Media Size and Performance.
• Choose the highest quality option if you want to maintain the presentation quality for in-person presentations.
• Choose the middle option for a presentation best suited for the internet.
• Choose the lowest quality option for the highest compression so you can easily share the PowerPoint over email.

Tips on how to reduce PowerPoint file size.

There are a few methods that can help reduce your PowerPoint file size.

• Analyze image quality. Presenting high-quality images, audio files, and videos can create a more engaging experience for your audience. Each time you compress images, double-check to be sure they still look presentation-ready.
• Replace 3D models. While 3D models are a unique component of presentations, they take up more storage space. Opting for similar static images may be the best option for sharing your presentation.
• Convert images to JPEG. If your photos are in the PNG format, you may want to make them JPEGs. You can easily do this in PowerPoint by right-clicking the pictures and then choosing “Save as Picture.” From there, under “Save as Type:,” choose the option named JPEG. Save, and you’re done.

More resources to work with your files.

After compressing PowerPoint files, here are additional ways to work with your documents:

• Learn two ways to convert a PDF to Google Slides for presentation.
• Discover how to delete a slide in PowerPoint .
• Learn how to redline documents in Word .
• Discover how to convert a PPT to Google Slides .

Discover what more you can do with Acrobat online services to simplify editing and managing your PowerPoint and PDF files.

Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Compress PowerPoint Presentations

How to Compress PowerPoint Presentations

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.

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Compress PowerPoint to reduce the file size

02.12.20   •  #powerpointtips.

Sometimes, the file size of your PowerPoint presentation can get very big. In some cases, that can be annoying, e.g. when trying to send the slides via email, but not being able to do so because the file is too large. Usually, pictures and videos are the reason why presentations become too big. The good news are that you can easily compress pictures and embedded media files by following the steps listed below.

Compress images

Compress videos and audios.

• Convert PPT into a PDF file
• Get rid of 3D-models

Compress PPT as ZIP- file

PowerPoint offers the option to compress all images at once or choose single pictures to reduce their file size. Keep in mind, that compressing an image will automatically reduce its quality as well. If you don't need to reduce the file size, better use the highest quality resolution as possible.

There are two ways to compress images within your PPT file which nearly work the same way:

Compress selected pictures

• Select the image you want to compress or any picture if you wish to reduce the size of all graphics
• Navigate to the Picture Tools Format tab and select Compress Pictures

• A new menu pops up. Choose your compression options and make sure to check "Delete cropped areas of pictures" and uncheck "Apply only to this picture" (if you want to compress all images)
• High fidelity: preserves quality of the original picture
• HD (330 ppi): good quality for high-definition (HD) displays
• Print (220 ppi): excellent quality on most printers and screens
• Web (150 ppi): good for web pages and projectors
• E-mail (96 ppi): minimize document size for sharing
• Use default resolution

Compress all images while saving the PPT file

• Open your presentation. Go to File in the PowerPoint menu
• Click Save as and then Browse
• In the window that opens, click on Tools (right beside Save )
• Select Compress Pictures and choose the resolution you need To save even more space, you can additionally choose Delete cropped areas of pictures to remove the parts of pictures which you cropped in PowerPoint.
• Click OK and then Save

Video and audio files can increase your PPT size a lot. It's a good idea to compress those if you want to make some space. Some PowerPoint versions make it possible to decrease the media size in PPT but if this option is missing in your program, online video compressors are the solution.

Compress videos and audios in PPT

• Go to File in the PowerPoint menu
• Open the Compress media drop down
• Choose a compression file size. Don't reduce the quality too much and check if the appearance of your media doesn't look too grainy on the actual projector you will be presenting on

Online video compressor

There are plenty of online video compressors which you can use to reduce the video size in advance. For example, the website FreeConvert makes it easy to decrease the file size without having to download anything. This way you can integrate a smaller media file into PPT.

Links instead of videos

Instead of importing a video to your PPT slides, including a link to your PowerPoint presentation can save a lot of space. If your video is somewhere on YouTube or other online video-sharing platforms, include a link and use it when you're presenting. But notice: a link can only be used, if you're connected with wifi. Watching videos online, can take time and a bad connection might give you some unwanted breaks during your presentation. In this case, saving the video on your disk and opening it separately can save time and still reduce the size of the PPT.

Convert PPT to PDF

By converting a PowerPoint file into a PDF, the size will reduce automatically. During the process, images get compressed and some media (audio, videos, 3D models..) get removed. If you want to change the PowerPoint slides at all time, this method might not be the right one for you, as PDF files can't get edited the way a PowerPoint can. Hence, converting PPT into PDF only makes sense if your presentation will work as a handout and if the PDF files options are enough for you.

• Click Export
• Hit the Create PDF/XPS button
• Choose a location in which you want to save your PDF file
• Click Publish

Get rid of 3D models

The Office 365 subscription makes it possible to add 3D models to your PowerPoint slides. Nevertheless, those media require much space since they transport a lot of information. In order to minimize the PPT file, exchanging the 3D model with a normal image will easily reduce the size of your PowerPoint file.

If you need to share your PPT with someone, a ZIP- file format might help you to reduce the size of the PowerPoint. Even though, this method can save some place temporally, it might not be enough to send it via email. Uploading it to file-sharing platforms, such as GoogleDrive, DropBox, OneDrive or other websites and sharing its link to download the PPT, can be the better option. (Using an USB for sharing the presentation without the need to decompress anything would be the best solution)

Here's how to convert a PPT into a ZIP- file format:

• Select the file you want to minimize in the File Explorer
• Right-Click the file and hit Send to
• Choose the Compressed (zipped) folder option

If you want to decompress a ZIP- file into its original PowerPoint format:

• Right-Click on your ZIP- folder
• Select Extract All... or the similar operation of your program
• Choose a File Location to extract your file to, or extract it at the place you are currently at

How can I reduce the size of a PowerPoint file?

There are several ways to reduce the file size of a PowerPoint. You can compress images, videos and audios, convert your presentation into a PDF file, get rid of 3D models or compress the PowerPoint as a ZIP-file. We explained for you how all of this works in our blog.

How do I compress a video in PowerPoint?

To compress videos in PowerPoint, go to "File" in the PowerPoint menu and then click on "Info". Then open the drop-down menu "Compress media" and select the size of the compression file. Be careful not to reduce the quality too much and check that the quality of your video on the projector you will be presenting on is not too bad.

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About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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Compress PPT Presentations Online

May 8, 2023 by Hung Nguyen

Learn how to reduce the size of your PPT files significantly, at no cost, using Smallpdf. No watermark, no registration, and no installation.

We’ve come across many large PPT files in our years of compressing digital documents, from sales pitches to lecture material and business proposals. Usually, the need to reduce the size of these files comes from having to share them via email, where the file size cap is around 20 MB. Compressing PowerPoint files also comes in handy to save storage space, be it on your local computer or an otherwise pricey cloud service such as Dropbox. You can use our online compress tool to shrink your PPT down significantly and thus make your life easier and save some money.

How to Compress a PPT File for Free

Upload your ppt to the compress tool ., choose “basic compression.”, click on “export as” and choose powerpoint..

Convert, compress, and download your PPT using Smallpdf

You can get started with compressing your PowerPoint presentation for free right away. You don’t need a Smallpdf account—just go to the tool and drop your file in!

Will the Document’s Formatting Remain the Same?

We aim to maintain the layout and quality of your document as close to the original PPT as possible. We actually first turn your PowerPoint into a PDF document; then, our compressor looks for repeating patterns in the data and replaces them with unique identifiers. This is actually what makes your file smaller. This process doesn’t touch attributes like fonts and the layout of your PPT, so they should stay just as they are.

Smallpdf caters to millions of users every month and uses the most reliable software on the internet to convert, edit, and compress files. So, you can trust that we’ll produce only the absolute best conversion quality.

There are extra measures that you can take to be absolutely sure that the final content resembles its original form. You can “embed” the fonts of the text in your PowerPoint presentation. You’ll find this option under “Preferences” in PowerPoint. Doing this will ensure that the fonts remain the same, even when we don’t have the same ones on our servers.

You can repeat the above process for each file if you need to compress multiple PowerPoint files or want to compress images and other formats. Smallpdf accepts all Microsoft Office files and JPG images. If you go Pro, you can also compress files in batches, and we’ll conveniently store them in a zip file for you. Why not sign up for a 7-day free Pro trial before fully committing?

And that’s all there is to it! Enjoy compressing your PPT and be sure to explore the many other tools we offer.

Hurray for smaller presentations!

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How to Reduce the Size of a PowerPoint Presentation

Sometimes, after creating a presentation, you come to realize that its size is bigger than what you expected and, thus, you need a way to reduce the space it takes up on your drive or storage device.  In this Slidesgo School tutorial, we are going to give you some hints on how to decrease the size of a PowerPoint file . 

Reducing the size of the images

Changing the resolution, lowering the amount of characters from embedded fonts, exporting the presentation as a pdf.

• Open your PowerPoint presentation.
• Select an image.
• The Format tab will appear at the top of the screen. Go to that tab and click Compress Pictures.

A dialog box will appear, where you can choose whether to:  

• Apply the changes only to the selected picture or all of them.
• Delete all cropped areas (please note that if you choose this option, these areas will be deleted and you will not be able to restore the image to its original state).
• Under “Resolution”, we recommend that you select “Use default resolution”.
• Open your PowerPoint presentation, go to the File tab and click Options. Then, select the Advanced tab.
• Under “Image Size and Quality”, check “Discard editing data” and uncheck “Do not compress images in file”.

There’s an option that allows you to set the default resolution (measured in ppi). We recommend that you choose one that suits your presentation mode. 

To minimize even more the size of the file, you should embed only the characters used in the presentation. This, however, will limit some editing capabilities for other users who do not have the same font already installed on their computers. To do this, go to: 

• File tab > Options > Save.

Under “Preserve fidelity when sharing this presentation”, check the following boxes: 

• Embed fonts in the file.
• Embed only the characters used in the presentation.

Pro Tip: If you have used fonts that you would like to keep or you think other users will need when editing this presentation, check “Embed all characters” instead of “Embed only the characters used in the presentation”. 

If you want to reduce the size of the file even more, you can convert it to PDF. This will generate another file with the same contents, but lighter. It’s a good solution, especially if you need to send the file to other people. 

To do this, go to: 

• File tab > Save as Adobe PDF.
• If you do not have Adobe PDF installed, this option will not appear. In that case, go to the File Tab, click Save as and select “PDF” from the “Save as type” drop-down list.

For more information on how to set up the different options for exporting as a PDF, please refer to our How to Export Your Presentation as a PDF File tutorial.  All the GIFs for this tutorial show our Cool Birthday Party template. If you like it and you want to use it to organize a nice party, just click on the title and you will be able to download it.  Note: Regarding the instructions listed on this tutorial, we are assuming you are using the PowerPoint version included within Office 365. If you have a different version, some of the options might change. Please visit Microsoft Support for more information if that is the case. 

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How to compress PowerPoint presentations and reduce picture file size

• Written by: Richard Goring
• Categories: PowerPoint design , PowerPoint productivity
• Comments: 28

Media-rich presentations are great. Including high-quality images and videos often adds hugely to audience engagement, but it also adds file size. Adding to your file size means that your presentation is likely to sit on the unfriendly size of email etiquette, but it also means your PowerPoint will run a lot slower (and it may crash – see this article for more on that ). But is there an answer? Absolutely. Here are five ways to compress PowerPoint file size for easy emailing and speedy running of your presentation.

View our tips in this video.

The content from the video can be found in the article below.

Method 1: Compress PowerPoint presentations using in-built tools

Did you know PowerPoint has a built-in picture and video compression tool? Well it does, and it’s really easy to use.

• Select a picture on any slide and go to the Picture Tools Format tab on the ribbon.
• Choose Compress Pictures in the top left corner: the pop-up box shows you the resolution options you have for the image. For most purposes the web resolution of 150ppi is fine, but if it’s a particularly large screen you’re using, or you’re going to print it, maybe choose the print 220ppi option. This reduces the resolution of the image down to that level, which should help reduce the file size of the image a bit.
• If you uncheck the first box, you’ll apply that resolution change to all of the images in the deck, pushing the file size down further.
• It’s interesting to note that if you crop an image in PowerPoint, the cropped portion of the image is still there, just hidden away. That also adds to the file size of the PowerPoint, so checking the second box will delete any of these hidden areas, potentially reducing your file size quite a bit more.
• Navigate to the File tab in PowerPoint, and the Info page should be selected.
• If you have video files in your PowerPoint the first button on this page will be to ‘Compress Media’. Click this button and choose the quality you want PowerPoint to compress your file to. 1080p is fine for almost any application, and in many instances 720p will work well too.
• Once you’ve chosen a video resolution, you’ll see a new window open showing the progress of the compression. It’ll also tell you how much space has been saved after the compression has been completed – handy.
• Check your video after it’s compressed to make sure it still looks good. If you realise you’ve made a terrible mistake, you can also undo the last compression from the same ‘Compress Media’ drop-down menu.

That may do the trick, but sometimes you’ll come across a presentation that stubbornly refuses to yield a decent file size. At this point, you need to get tricksy.

Method 2: Locating large files in your PowerPoint

A problem you can face when you need to compress PowerPoint slides is that, often, you don’t know which object is causing your file size to jump so much. It might be that 90% of your media files are a combined total of 5MB, but there’s one troublesome image that is 30MB on its own. Here’s a fool-proof way of finding which files are causing you problems.

• Go to the folder where the presentation is stored. You can see the file size in the bottom left corner. Go to the view tab at the top and select the File name extensions box over on the right-hand side. This puts the file type extension at the end of all your files, so for PowerPoint, it’s .pptx.
• Now, copy and paste your PowerPoint file, using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. On the copy of the file, click on the .pptx and change it to .zip. Windows will give you a warning that you could ruin your file, but that’s OK, because this is a copy and the original is still safe. Say yes, and then you’ll see that your PowerPoint file has now turned into a zip file.
• Open the zip file and you’ll be greeted with a lot of unfriendly looking folders. Go into the ppt folder and there are even more unfriendly folders. Then go into the media folder, and here you’ll find all the images, music, and video files used in your presentation. At this point, you can sort them by file size, and easily see the culprits that are jacking up your storage allocation.
• Once you’ve got them, you have a couple of options. You could go into an image editing program, and the Photos app in Windows 10 is actually really good for this. Simply open an image, go to the dots menu on the right-hand side, choose Resize, and then adjust the resolution of the images easily. In most presentations you can take this down to the 2MP setting, or define custom dimensions, with the smallest side around 1000 pixels.
• A neat way of actually finding the large image within the deck is to delete the large image in the zip file and change it back to a .pptx from a .zip. When you open it up in PowerPoint your picture will have been replaced by a white box with a red cross in it. Right click on the white box, choose Change Picture, and find a different, or a lower resolution image to fill the gap.

For video you’ll likely need to use another tool, so find the video files using the zip method, or extract them using the free BrightSlide PowerPoint add-in ( File & Master > Export Media Files ), and then use the methods below with the free Handbrake video editing software.

Method 3: Reducing picture resolution in PowerPoint

• In PowerPoint, find the image that’s huge (using method 2), copy it, and reduce the size of it physically on the slide.
• Copy the new smaller image using Ctrl + C, and then paste it using Ctrl + V. Before doing anything else, you’ll see there’s a little pop-up box in the bottom right of the image, which are the paste options. Choose the ‘Picture’ option and your image is now a new picture at a lower resolution (because you made it smaller on the slide). Then use this to replace your existing image, which will cut out the large file size version.
• If you’ve got lots of animation on your image or it’s in a group and you don’t want to have to redo it, right click on the new smaller image, choose Save as Picture, and save it somewhere.
• Right click on the original picture, and choose Change Picture, which allows you to find another image to replace it with. If you choose the image that you’ve just saved, you shouldn’t see any difference on the slide, but your old large file size image should now have been replaced with the lower resolution, smaller file size image, helping to reduce the file size of your presentation.

Method 4: Use the correct file types

Another tip is to think about the type of image file you’re working with. The three most common are JPEGs, PNGs, and TIFs. JPEGs are the most common. They’re usually slightly lower quality, but it’s often difficult to tell, unless the screen is really good or very large. PNGs provide excellent quality for the size, and also allow you to have transparent areas of your images, but that comes at a cost, with file size usually pretty high. TIF files are often produced by high quality cameras in professional photo shoots. They’re great for print, but overkill in a PowerPoint presentation. So if you’re struggling with the file size on a particular image, try saving it as a JPEG:

• In PowerPoint right click your image and choose Save as Picture.
• Choose JPEG from the Save as type drop-down options in the window that opens up.

Method 5: Streamline your PowerPoint file by deleting things you don’t need

The last way to keep your file size low is to make sure you don’t have anything in the file that you don’t actually need. What might this be? Well, it’s things like huge Slide Masters and templates with images and graphics on them that you just won’t ever use. To streamline your PowerPoint file:

• Open the ‘View’ tab in the PowerPoint ribbon and select ‘Slide Master’.
• If you can see a number of masters that don’t appear in your presentation, then delete them.
• If your template uses a lot of images, and you can’t delete them, then use one of the other methods to compress them to save a little space.

Tip 1: Always ‘Save As’ – you might not need those layouts this time, but you might need them in the future.

Tip 2: If you have a number of layouts you don’t use then it might be worth chatting to the team that put the template together to see if they can reduce the number of slides in the interests of keeping file size low.

And all of these tips combined will help you to compress PowerPoint files, resulting in svelte slide decks that you can use and share with ease!

How to reduce video file size with HandBrake

If you want fine detail control over resolution or codecs, or want to remove parts of the video, you’ll need to use a specialist video tool. A terrific one is HandBrake , a free, excellent quality video transcoder that possibly has the best logo and program icon ever. You can use HandBrake to change the format, codec, resolution, frame rate, and bitrate, plus loads more. If that sounds a bit technical, sorry, but the presets are really good. Drag the video file you want to compress into Handbrake, and in the Presets drop-down menu in the top left, choose either Fast 1080p30 or Fast 720p30 (that’s 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second), and then the green Start Encode button at the top. This will often magically reduce file size by up to half, and it takes only a few minutes.

If you’re really keen, you can use the Range options at the top to trim the video, removing a lot of unwanted footage. This is essentially the same as the trimming function in PowerPoint, but you immediately remove all the footage from the video, rather than having to use the compress media function. You may want to do this if you want to keep the resolution of your video, and it’s larger than the highest 1080p resolution available with compress media, such as 4K.

It may also be useful to use HandBrake to convert the format of a video not playing in PowerPoint. My colleague John has written a nice overview of how to do this and what else you can do if embedded videos in PowerPoint aren’t playing , and there’s a good test file to see what might be causing the problem on your computer.

Richard Goring

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Thank you it was very helpfull

Very helpful especially the zip details 🙂

Tip 2b: you can convert the TIFF or PNG files in your presentation to JPEG as follows: selecting it, cut it (Ctrl – x), then use “Paste Special” and choose JPEG to paste it.

Thanks for you tip. It was very helpful.

This was SO helpful!! Thanks!!

Very helpfull!

Thank you!!!

Thanks for the tips and also for sharing the deck!

The .zip trick was extremely helpful! Thank you!

Thank you for this information, it is always a struggle to deal with file size. Just a note, when viewing your video, all views showing PowerPoint and flies information is blurry and we cannot read or see the writing properly .

Thanks again, always appreciate your tips & tricks

Very useful thank you!

I’ve been struggling for days on this, but the zip trick FINALLY allowed me to figure out the size sinks in my ppt! Thank you!!

try saving the powerpoint as a pdf then exporting the pdf back to powerpoint (I use FoxitPhantom pdf for this)

I just cut a 100 mb file down to 1mb by doing that

That ZIP trick is effective but my computer didn’t want to save the PPT as a ZIP file. What I did instead was right-click on every image in my PPT to “save as picture” on my PC. Many of what turned out to be my file size hogs were revealed as PNG files when I tried to save them. I saved them instead as JPG files. Then I returned to that image, right-click and choose “replace image” and I use instead the JPF version. In my case a 6MB file was cut down to 1MB.

Thank you! Super helpful and worked perfectly!

This was incredibly helpful, thanks so much. I was struggling to figure out which images in my presentation were causing the file to get so bloated. This solved my problem quickly!

Option #2 – excellent thanks.

Excellent! Thank you

THANK YOU! your article saved the day for me.

Very useful! was struggling before I read this!

the tricks are very useful

Thank you so much! This reduced my presentation size from 34 MB to 10 MB!

Super super helpful and amazing step by step approach! Thank you so much!

Thanks a lot!!! All this information was incredibly helpfull. I love what you do at BrightCarbon.

Grettings from Medellín Colombia.

many thanks this is so helpful

Thanks a lot for your great article. I enjoyed a lot the idea to spot the large size images by copying and renaming with zip extension. Brilliant! Thanks for your sharing and have a nice day

Question: On the copy of the file, click on the .pptx and change it to .zip. How on earth? If I click on the .pptx, it opens Powerpoint. Any idea?

Thanks so much for all your advice in this article! Easy to follow and helped me loads.

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April 18, 2024

How to compress a PowerPoint presentation

Wondering how to compress a PowerPoint file? Here are five simple ways to reduce the size of your ppt file.

If you want to send or share your PowerPoint presentation and realize that the file size is enormous, you’re not stuck. You have ways to reduce the file size from compressing media to lowering the resolution to zipping the final file.

We’ll show you how to compress a PowerPoint slideshow using a handful of methods. Additionally, we’ll explain how Plus AI can help you edit your presentation to maintain its appearance and purpose.

View the PowerPoint file size

Before you begin making adjustments, you can check the size of your file easily on both Windows and Mac. This is good for comparing it to the updated size after you reduce it.

In PowerPoint on Windows, select File > Info . You’ll see the file size on the right below Properties .

In PowerPoint on Mac, select File > Properties in the menu bar. Go to the General tab in the pop-up window and you’ll see the Size in the list of details.

If you don’t have the slideshow open, you may also see the size if you display this property in the PowerPoint file’s containing folder.

If you don’t see the size in the folder, right-click and choose Properties on Windows or Get Info on Mac. Then, look for the Size property in the pop-up window.

Now that you know the size of your PowerPoint file, it’s time to get to work on reducing it. From making adjustments to the presentation itself to compressing the entire file when you finish, here are five ways to decrease the PowerPoint file size.

1. Compress images

One of the simplest ways to lower the size of your PowerPoint file is by compressing the images in the slideshow. You can do this for only particular pictures or for all of them, and it takes only a few steps.

• Select an image, go to the Picture Format tab, and click Compress Pictures in the Adjust section of the ribbon.

• In the pop-up window, use the checkbox for Apply only to this picture to choose whether to compress only that image or all images in the presentation.
• Optionally, check the box for Delete cropped areas of pictures . If you mark this option, any cropping changes you made to the image(s) are deleted to save space. Keep in mind, you cannot undo those edits again if you remove the data.

• Another optional setting is for the Resolution. You may see the Use default resolution option marked but can choose a different resolution to reduce the size further if you like. Just note that changing the resolution can affect the quality of the images.

• Click OK when you finish.

2. Compress audio and video files

If you have audio and video files in your slideshow, these types of media items can be quite large. Luckily, you can compress these similarly to images; however, the feature is only available on Windows, not Mac.

• Go to the File tab and pick Info .
• Open the Compress Media menu on the right. Note that you won’t see this menu unless you have an audio file or video in your slideshow.
• Choose from Full HD , HD , or Standard . You’ll see a description of each option so you can choose the one that best fits.

• After you choose the compression, you’ll see a pop-up window displaying the media that was compressed along with its slide number, initial size, new size, and the amount of space saved. Select Close when you finish reviewing the items.

Once you compress the media, you’ll see an option to Undo the action at the bottom of the Compress Media menu. So, if you don’t like the results, you can revert the compression.

3. Remove image editing data and reduce the resolution

When you make changes to pictures and photos in your slideshow, PowerPoint stores those edits. This is what allows you to undo them if needed. You can reduce the overall file size by deleting this saved data if you’re sure you won’t need it.

Additionally, you can lower the resolution for images and conveniently, this setting in the same location.

As of this writing, these features are only available in PowerPoint on Windows.

• Go to the File tab and select Options .
• Choose Advanced in the pop-up window and move to the Image Size and Quality section on the right.
• Check the box for Discard editing data .

• Optionally, you can then adjust the Default resolution for images which can also reduce the file size. If set to High Fidelity , you can choose a different resolution from 96 ppi to 330 ppi. Just note that this can affect the quality of the images.

• Click OK to save your changes.

4. Compress the file as a ZIP

Once you make the above changes to reduce the size of your PowerPoint presentation, you can also lower the size by compressing the entire file itself. This is ideal if you plan to send the slideshow via email where large file sizes can inhibit the message from reaching its destination.

Do one of the following to create a ZIP file:

• On Windows, open the containing folder for the slideshow file. Right-click and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder .

• On Mac, open the containing folder for the PowerPoint file. Right-click and choose Compress [file name] .

You’ll then see the ZIP file in the same folder and with the same name. Depending on the length and elements in your presentation, plus what’ve you changed to reduce the file size, you may see a small or (hopefully) large amount of size savings.

You can then send it to your recipient who can unzip and use the file.

5. Compress the file as a PDF

One more option for compressing a PowerPoint slideshow is perfect if you want to share a copy that someone can simply review or print. You can do this by exporting it as a PDF file. You’ll still see your images, but audio and video files display as static elements. And keep in mind that this produces a document, not a slideshow.

Tip : You can also convert a PDF to PowerPoint for a quick start on creating a slideshow.

Save as a PDF on Windows

• On Windows, go to File > Export and choose Create PDF/XPS Document .
• Click Create PDF/XPS .

• Pick a file location, confirm the Save as type is PDF, optionally edit the name, and select the Optimize for type. Note that there is a Minimize Size choice.
• Click Publish to save the file.

Again, the size of the PDF file depends on the length and elements in the slideshow.

Save as a PDF on Mac

• On Mac, go to File > Export in the menu bar.
• Pick a file location, confirm the File Format is PDF, optionally edit the name, and select the quality type.
• Click Export to save the file.

Edit presentations with ease using Plus AI

Once you start making changes to a presentation, it can be difficult to still convey your message effectively. With Plus AI for Google Slides and Docs , you can get help with both the slide content and presentation appearance.

You can upload your existing presentation to Google Slides and use Plus AI to make changes. Then, download it to PowerPoint or consider sharing it directly from Google Slides to avoid the file size worries.

Using artificial intelligence , you can rewrite your current content, remix the slide layout for a better fit, or insert a slide with your custom instructions. Plus AI does it all including providing templates and themes, translations to any language, and simple tools for creating entire presentations .

Reducing the file size for a PowerPoint presentation can be challenging, so hopefully one or more of these methods works for you. And remember, you can save time and create amazing and informative presentations with Plus AI.

Why is my PPT file so large?

There are many reasons your PowerPoint presentation file can be high in size. If you use photos, audio files, and videos, those media types can be large. You may also be using a template that has various images used in the design layout. Also, keep in mind the number of slides in your presentation --- 100 slides can create a larger file size than 10.

How do I compress a PowerPoint presentation online?

If you want to use an online compression tool for your PowerPoint file, this is a suitable option. There are many to pick from and most are available for free. Check out Zamzar , WeCompress , and YouCompress for a few options.

How do I send a PowerPoint that is too big in Outlook?

Even when you use compression methods for your PowerPoint slideshow, the size can still be too large to send via Outlook. In this case, consider uploading the file to an online storage service like OneDrive. From there, you can share a link to the file with others.

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How to Compress PowerPoint to Reduce File Size

PowerPoint presentations can be quite large, and if you’re trying to email them or upload them to the web, you may need to compress them first. There are several ways to do this. In this article, we’ll show you different ways to compress PowerPoint files and reduce their file size.

1. Make Sure the Presentation is Saved in PPTX Format

2. compress the pictures in your powerpoint presentation, 3. compress the videos in your powerpoint presentation, 4. insert pictures instead of copy-pasting, 5. compress the multimedia files before inserting them into powerpoint, 6. link audio or videos instead of uploading.

If you want to make your PowerPoint Presentation files smaller, make sure that it’s saved in the PPTX format. The PPTX format is a more optimized version of the PPT format and uses better compression to make files smaller. As a result, your presentation will be smaller in size while still retaining all its features and formatting.

1. Go to File > Save As.

2. Then select the preferred location to save your presentation.

3. Change the “Save as” drop-down menu to PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx). Finally, click Save .

One of the biggest culprits of large PowerPoint files is the images that are used in them. If you have a lot of high-resolution photos or images, they can really bloat the file size. The good news is there’s an easy way to compress all the pictures in your presentation at once. Here’s how:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation.

2. Double-click on one of the images to open the Picture Format pane.

3. In the pane, click on Compress Pictures .

4. In the Compress Pictures dialogue box, ensure that “Apply only to this picture” is unchecked. Also, pick lower PPI values to make the file size smaller.

5. Click OK , and all the pictures in your presentation will be compressed.

Another common cause of large PowerPoint files is the videos that are used in them. If you have video clips in your presentation, they can also take up a lot of space. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to compress all the videos in your presentation at once. Here’s how:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation that includes videos.

2. Click File from the top ribbon and then click on Info .Then click on Compress Media .

3. In the Compress Media dialogue box, select a lower resolution. The lower the resolution, the smaller the file size.

4. Now, the videos will start compressing. Close the window once it’s done. Done!

When you copy and paste an image into PowerPoint, it actually embeds a copy of that image into your presentation file. As a result, it can lose compression and brings additional data that can make the file size larger.

Instead of copy-pasting, try inserting your images into PowerPoint. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click on Pictures.

2. Select the image you want to insert from your preferred source and click Insert.

That’s it; the image will now be inserted into your presentation.

If you’re planning on inserting multimedia files (like videos, audio, infographics, and any other variation) into your PowerPoint presentation, it’s best to compress them first. That way, you can avoid having a large file size when you insert them into your presentation.

To compress multimedia files, you can use a free online tool like Compress2go . The tool will enable you to compress your files without losing quality. Once you’ve compressed the multimedia files, you can then insert them into PowerPoint like normal.

If you want to include video files on the PowerPoint that are already on the web, you can avoid uploading or embedding them into your presentation by simply linking to them. This way, you won’t need to worry about file size restrictions.

1. To insert videos from a link, go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click on Vi deo > Online Videos under the Media group at the top-right.

2. In the dialogue box, paste the link to the video you want to insert from one of the supported video providers and click Insert. That’s it!

Your video will now be inserted into your presentation without taking up any extra space.

Now you know how to compress PowerPoint files without losing quality. By following the tips in this article, you can easily reduce the file size of your presentations while still retaining all the features and formatting that you need. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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5 Methods to Reduce the File Size of a PowerPoint Presentation

In some cases, especially when creating large presentations, the file size of your project may go up to a rather large number. This can make it difficult to share your finished presentation, especially if you’re using email services or a USB to store it on.

To help combat this issue,  PowerPoint  comes with options to compress various elements and reduce the file size or projects. You can compress images, videos, convert 3D objects to static images or even use the PPTX or ZIP formats to further optimize file size.

Our article focuses on all the methods to help you compress PowerPoint files and create more shareable presentations.

Jump to Solution

Method 1: compress images in powerpoint, method 2: compress videos in powerpoint, method 3: swap 3d models with static images, method 4: convert your presentation to pptx format, method 5: compress powerpoint presentations as a zip file.

The first way to reduce the file size of your presentations is definitely compressing the images used in your slides. Images with large resolution can quickly start generating large file sizes.

Oftentimes when making a presentation, there’s no need for large images to be displayed on the screen, so compressing your images won’t harm the final outcome. According to our tests, correctly compressed images can help you reduce the file size of your presentation by 17 times.

• Select the picture you want to compress. This will open up the  Pictures Tools Format  tab in the ribbon on top of your screen.
• Click on the  Compress Pictures  button.
• Select the desired picture quality and options. The lower the PPI number, the more compressed your image will be.
• Make sure to check “ Delete cropped areas of pictures ” and choose whether you want to apply the compression to all pictures in your presentation, or selected pictures only.
• Click the  OK  button. You should immediately see the changes in quality and notice the reduced file size.

It’s not a secret that video files can be huge. If you have videos embedded into your presentations, it’s not uncommon that you’ll end up with a large file size that’s hard to transfer between devices, USB’s and email. To make sure your presentation doesn’t exceed file size limits, you can try to compress the videos in it.

• Open your presentation in PowerPoint, then navigate to the  File  tab and go to the  Info  page within the backstage view.
• When video files are detected in your presentation, you'll be able to see the  Compress Media  button. Simply click on it, then choose the desired quality. In most cases, compressing to  1080p  or  720p  will significantly reduce the file size of your presentation.
• A new window will open up showing the progress of the compression and determining how much space was saved. Wait for the process to finish.
• Check your video and make sure you’re happy with the quality. If you want to undo the compression, navigate back to  File  >  Info  >  Compress Media , and choose to  Undo  the last compression.

(Source: Nuts & Bolts)

While 3D models are definitely useful and give your presentations more visual interest, they definitely increase the file size of the finished product. If you’re working with a limited amount of space, we recommend swapping 3D models with static images. You can use images from the internet, or even take a  screenshot  of the model and insert it manually.

• If you want to replace the 3D model entirely, simply select it and press the Delete button on your keyboard. This will remove all traces of the model from your presentation as soon as you save it, and significantly reduce the file size.
• Insert an image in place of the 3D model by using the  Insert  >  Image  menu. You may choose one from your computer, or look for one online within PowerPoint.

If you want to replace the 3D model with a static image of the model itself, follow these steps.

• Create a new, blank slide with a white background.
• Insert the 3D model you want to use and position it in any way you want to.
• Take a screenshot using the  Windows  +  Shift  +  S  keyboard shortcut. This shortcut allows you to select a region of the screen instead of screenshotting the entire desktop. Select your 3D model on a white background.
• On Mac, you can use the  Command  +  Shift  +  4  shortcut to do the same.
• Delete the 3D model and the blank slide, then insert the screenshot of your model in place of the original.
• If needed, select the screenshot and click on  Picture Format  >  Remove Background . This will get rid of the white background, creating a transparent static image of your 3D model.

Your presentation might be saved in the PPT format. This format is quite large compared to PPTX, which is the format used in files created post-2007, alongside the release of PowerPoint 2007. The optimized format aims to reduce the file size of presentations, making transfer much less of a hassle.

If you saved your presentation in the PPT format, don’t worry. There are plenty of free, online tools you can use to convert a PowerPoint presentation into the PPTX format. Here’s how.

• Open the  Convertio PPT Converter  in your web browser. This is an entirely free-to-use website that allows you to convert a PPT file into PPTX online.
• If your file is over 100 MB, click on the  Sign Up  button and create a free account. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
• Click on the  Choose Files  button and select your PPT presentation.
• Make sure to select  PPT to PPTX  using the drop-down menus for file types.
• Follow on-screen instructions and convert your presentation into the PPTX format. You should immediately see a decrease in file size.

As a last resort, you can save some space by sharing your presentation as a ZIP file. These compressed files are handy if you want to keep all of your original images, videos, models, and other elements, but still need to reduce the file size.

Here’s how you can convert a PowerPoint presentation into a ZIP on  Windows 10 . Make sure to scroll to the next section if you’re on a Mac system!

• Open the  File Explorer  and navigate to the location of your saved presentation.
• Right-click on the presentation file and hover over the  Send to  option.
• Choose the  Compressed (zipped) folder  option.
• Wait for Windows to finish compressing your file. When finished, you’ll be left with a ZIP file that has a reduced file size and provides better shareability.

The instructions for  Mac  systems are as follows.

• Open the  Finder  and navigate to the location of your presentation.
• Right-click on the presentation and select  Compress “(Presentation name)”
• Wait for the process to finish. You should see a smaller ZIP file with the same name as your original presentation created.

We hope that this article helped you compress PowerPoint presentations and reduce the file size for easier sharing. Show your world the hard work you put into your presentations without having to sacrifice quality!

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• PowerPoint video audio compression tricks and traps

PowerPoint offers compression embedded video and audio files, reducing the overall file size. But these options aren’t where you might expect to find them, aren’t selective and need to be used with care.

Three media size compress options explained

Beware compression, all video/audio or nothing, how much space is used.

There is compression option for media files (video or audio) to a suitable quality level and make it compact. This feature will not only help you in improving the video/audio playback performance but will also save disk space.

You’d expect compress options to appear on the special ribbon tabs like Video Format or Playback or audio tools, but they’re not. Instead go to File | Info | Media Size and Performance.

This is a PowerPoint feature that hasn’t changed in many years. Here’s the same options in PowerPoint 2010 where the only change is the labels on the three choices were less specific.

Here you have three options to compress the media file:

• Full HD (1080p) / Presentation Quality – This helps in saving space while at the same time maintaining the overall audio and video quality. Use this for big screen presentations that you want to appear at their best. Keep in mind that higher quality video needs a more powerful computer to playback smoothly and well.
• HD (720p) / Internet Quality – Here the quality of the video after compression will be comparable to the video which is mostly streamed over the internet. It’s enough for most situations including online events.
• Standard (480p) / Low Quality – This option as the name suggests produces video of low quality hence can be used when file size is more important than video quality. Since Internet connections and online storage are so much better these days, it’s not as commonly used as it once was.

The compression options will not only reduce the quality of video it will also remove any cropped/edited parts of the video.

It will also remove subtitles linked to a video and also alternate audio tracks on a video file (e.g multiple languages).

ONLY compress media in a presentation if you have an original video/audio saved separately, either in another version of the presentation or as separate media files. I always keep original / best resolution videos safely separate from anything in a PPTX file — just in case.

These compression options apply to all the media in a presentation. There’s no option to compress some files (e.g. higher quality video or audio) leaving other media unchanged.

To selectively compress media files you have to edit them separately then import into PowerPoint in the smaller form.

A PowerPoint presentation file (PPTX etc) can get much bigger when audio and especially video is added. You can see how much extra space is used from File | Info | Media Size and Performance and look for the little bullet-point item.

In this case, a single video has expanded a presentation file from a mere 5MB to 55MB! Not a lot by modern standards but still a big increase.

Choosing HD (720p) shrunk that video down by more than 40MB

PowerPoint shows the new size (50MB down to 8.8MB) and has the option to Undo the change.

Undo compression

You also have the option to revert back to the original file after compressing it. For this click on “Undo” option. While Undo is handy, we suggest you keep the original full resolution video/presentation and compress a copy.

When you choose any one of the above mentioned compression options, “Compress Media” window pops open which will show the status of the compression in progress.

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