How to Compress a PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint is an amazing audiovisual tool for presentations. It allows you to add images, graphs, videos, and pretty much everything you might need in order to craft the perfect complement. But precisely because of this, sometimes PowerPoint documents can end up taking a lot of space. So, how do you share your presentation when it’s just too big? Here you’ll learn how to easily compress a PowerPoint presentation to share it with whomever you want.

how to compress a PowerPoint presentation

How to compress a PowerPoint presentation directly

Thankfully, PowerPoint has some compress options built into it, so learning how to compress a PowerPoint presentation is a very straightforward business. You have 2 main options.

1- How to compress images in a PowerPoint presentation

a. Select the image you want to compress. Once you do this, the Picture Format tab will appear at the end of your tools ribbon.

compress a PowerPoint presentation images

b. Select Compress Pictures

how to compress a PowerPoint

c. A new window will pop up. Now you just need to choose how much you want to compress your PowerPoint images accordingly to your needs:

compress PowerPoint pictures

Take into consideration that if you untick the Apply only for this picture option, all of the PowerPoint presentations images will be compressed. If you’re looking for how to compress a presentation will a lot of images, then this one is a great option for you.

2- How to compress a PowerPoint with a video

If your presentation has a video in it, chances are it’s a pretty big file! To compress your PowerPoint document just follow these steps:

a. Go to File > Info

b. Choose the Compress Media option. Just like with images, it will give you quality options, and pick the one that fits better your needs.

how to compress PowerPoint video

c. A new window will pop up to show you the compressing progress. Once it’s completed, it will also tell you how much space are you saving by compressing your PowerPoint media. Just click Close when the process is completed, and you can go back to work on your presentation.

compress a PowerPoint video

Other options for sharing your presentations

However, if you compress a PowerPoint presentation you’ll probably lose some quality. The more you compress an image, the more quality it will lose. This is especially important to take into consideration if you’re planning to use a big projector, as it will make bad quality images pretty noticeable.

If compressing your PowerPoint presentation it’s just not doing it for you, of you don’t want to sacrifice some of its quality, here are some alternative options for sharing your files:

1- ZIP Files

A pretty straightforward way on how to compress a PowerPoint presentation is simply to use a ZIP File. ZIP files allow you to compress many documents into one directory. Windows 10 has built-in an option for file compressing. You just need to go to your File Explorer and right-click the PowerPoint presentation to compress. Select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. And that’s all!

If you’re not working with Windows 10, you can download a file archiver and compressor software, like WinZip or WinRAR (for earlier Windows versions). These will allow you to easily compress PowerPoint presentations, and pretty much everything else. There are many free compressors available, so it’s just a matter of finding the one that suits you the best.

Take into consideration that, when sending a compressed PowerPoint presentation in this way, the receiver must also have a compressor software, like the ones mentioned above. This will allow them to decompress the document and get access to it. It’s also important to know that ZIP Files might not compress a PowerPoint presentation enough for it to be sent by e-mail. It depends mainly on the size of the original file. Thankfully, there are other options for sharing your presentations!

sharing your PowerPoint presentation

2- Cloud Sharing

Cloud sharing is an excellent way to share files that are otherwise too big to send by e-mail. You don’t even need to know how to compress a PowerPoint to use this method. You just need to register in a cloud storage service, like Google Drive or Dropbox, and upload your presentation. Once it’s uploaded, you can send the link to whoever you want, and they will instantly gain access to it.

If it’s a particularly big document, you can even mix this option with the previous one. You can compress your PowerPoint presentation in a ZIP file, and upload the compressed version. This will make it easier and quicker for you to upload it, and for your receivers to download it.

3- PDF format

Converting your presentation to a PDF document is one of the easiest ways to compress your PowerPoint presentation in order to share it. It will immediately lower your file size and allow you to share it through all kinds of means, including e-mails.

However, one very important thing to take into account when using this method to compress a PowerPoint presentation is that you’re changing the file’s format. And this had both its ups and downs. For starters, this means that whoever receives it will not be able to access it as a PowerPoint presentation. Your slides will be converted to PDF pages, and while images and graphs will likely remain, any videos or voice notes in your presentation will not be added in the converted document.

But this also has an ad additional advantage. This means the receiver will not be able to edit it. If you’re sending a PowerPoint presentation and you don’t want it altered or copied in any way, sending it as a PDF file is a good option. It all depends on what you’re looking for!

share your PowerPoint presentation

Hopefully, you have now learned how to compress your PowerPoint presentations. Now you can share them with whomever you like, whether it is team members, coworkers, or your audience. Good luck!