In this blog post we explore why you should consider reducing the size of images in Word & PowerPoint files and how to do it without ruining your presentation or documents as well as some practical tips to make sharing documents and presentations faster and simpler.

Large file sizes can slow down documents or presentations in many ways.  Regardless of whether you are emailing your presentation, sharing a document with colleagues or presenting online, Microsoft PowerPoint & Word can help reduce your file size and speed up data transfer minimising file issues. 

7 Strategic Tips to Compress Images in Word and PowerPoint 365 Without Ruining Your File.

1.   Do I Need to Compress Images?

With images looking awesome in your presentation or document, you might wonder whether you need to compress images.  Whilst high-resolution images look amazing, they can significantly increase file size making sharing with others harder and you risk having your emails blocked if the attachment you send exceeds an organisational size limit.  Compressing images help reduce the file size whilst still keeping your visuals crisp for screens and presentations.

2. Consider Saving a High-Resolution Copy of Your File BEFORE You Start.

If you aren’t sure if you will need the document or presentation with the highest resolution images, before you start compressing, be sure to save a version of your file with the high quality images.  Then, in the event you need to, you can easily return to visuals that are print ready.

3. Let’s Start with Microsoft PowerPoint 365

By default, the compression feature in Microsoft applies to the current image, so to maximise your productivity, insert all the images you need in the document BEFORE you start compressing.  Doing the compression at the end saves having to repeat the process on individual images or worse having some images that have been compressed and others that haven’t. Click on any image in the presentation. The Picture Format tab will be activated. This is a context sensitive tab that displays only when an image is selected.

Want to see the process in action? Check out the video below

·       Use the ‘Compress Pictures’ Feature

Below Picture Format, about a third of the way across the Picture Format ribbon, click the Compress Pictures button.
By default, compression applies only to the selected image.
Untick the box if you want to compress all images in the file.

·       Select the Right Resolution

If your presentation is being emailed, select the Email (96 ppi) option. Alternatively, you can also choose web, print or high definition.  Each option will significantly reduce the file size whilst keeping images clear for on-screen viewing. NOTE: You may want to choose Print(220 ppi) if you want to reduce the size of the file but don’t want to go too small.

·       Check the Before-and-After File Size

Before clicking OK, take a moment to check the current size of the file, then check the file size AFTER compressing to compare the difference.  The reduction can often be up to 90% which has a major impact when sharing files.

4. Convert to PDF for Extra Security

If your presentation file is being shared with others for reference only, ie not editing, consider saving the PowerPoint file as a PDF.  Not only does this “lock” the content to prevent editing, it also maintains and often further reduces the compressed file size.

5. Perform the Same Actions in Word

Although the menu is slightly different, compressing images in Microsoft Word 365 works exactly the same way.  Simply click an image to select it then click the Picture Format tab and choose Compress Pictures.  Remember to, untick ‘Apply only to this picture’ to compress all images.

6. Choose the Best Compression Based on Purpose

When selecting the resolution of your file images, take a moment to consider HOW the presentation or file is going to be used.  If the intention is for it to be physically printed, such as a handout or brochure, try to keep high level resolution, this could be as simple as choosing the Print resolution.  You could test it out by saving in the higher resolution and working your way down through the available options.  If you are emailing or sharing a file online, for example in a webinar or Teams presentation, then consider choosing the Email option to keep image quality but make the file smaller for speed of screen uploads.

7 Enjoy the Space Savings

As mentioned above, once your file has been compressed it is great to check the before and after size.  A Word document could drop to 10% of its original size and PowerPoint presentations can reduce massively as well.  Very helpful if your presentation has lots of photographs!

Want to see the process in action? Check out the video below

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Donna’s Final Thoughts

Regardless of whether you are presenting online, sharing or emailing files, compressing images in Word document and PowerPoint presentations is a strategic way to ensure your presentations are easily accessible and still present with maximum impact.

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