When it comes to building PowerPoint templates, keeping the file size under control can be a challenge. Even with high-bandwidth networks and high-speed internet everywhere, .ppt files that are too large (10mb +) can be problematic in several ways:
Slide performance is greatly reduced as the file size becomes larger. Depending on how powerful your computer is, you will probably start to see delays in transitions between slides, as well as possible system crashes. That’s not good when you’re right in the middle of your big meeting.
Your coworkers and colleagues won’t appreciate it when you send large PowerPoint presentations to them via email. Keep in mind that many people read their email on mobile devices these days (which don’t have the processing power of desktop computers), and waiting to download huge files is annoying. Besides, filling up someone else’s inbox quota with your stuff is just downright rude.
Here are some helpful tips for reducing the size of your PowerPoint presentation template:
- Optimize your images. In other words, don’t import HUGE (full resolution) images directly into your slide deck. Instead, crop and resize them in a photo editing software (such as Photoshop or Paint), and save them as jpg with a quality level of 9. Then import into PowerPoint. For further information on ideal file types for your presentation slide deck, I’d recommend reading this post.
- Limit your use of imported graphics. PowerPoint is getting pretty good with it’s selection of drawing tools, so take advantage of them. These vector-based graphics are much more efficient than imported raster images (like jpg, gif, and png).
- Limit your use of image transparency.
- Reduce the physical size of your presentation. 1024×768 should be about as low as you should go, but file size will dramatically increase the larger you make your slides.
- Reuse graphic elements as much as possible. While it’s never good to use the same images over and over again in each slide of your PowerPoint template, it’s ok to use a collection of a few images that you can randomly repeat.
- Link to videos instead of embedding them into your slides.
The benefits of doing the items in this list will vary depending on your presentation. It’s best to try these one at a time to see what kind of gains (or losses) you receive in your effort to reduce the overall file size.