How to compress PowerPoint files.

A woman sitting at a table compresses PowerPoint files on her laptop.

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:

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:

  1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
  2. Click File on the top toolbar and choose Options > Advanced.
  3. Under the Image Size and Quality heading, choose these settings:
    • Check “Discard editing data.”
    • Uncheck “Do not compress images in file.”
    • Select 150 PPI or lower in the Default resolution dropdown menu.
  4. Click OK.

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:

  1. Click on the File tab in the upper-left corner.
  2. Select Info from the dropdown menu.
  3. Click Compress Media. There are three options for compression.
  4. 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:

  1. Visit the online PDF converter tool.
  2. Upload the PowerPoint you want to convert.
  3. Let the software do its magic.
  4. 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:

  1. Click File in the upper-left corner.
  2. Choose the Open option.
  3. Right-click the project you wish to compress. Additional options will appear.
  4. Choose “Send to” and more options will appear.
  5. 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:

  1. In PowerPoint, click File. If you only want to compress certain images, select them before you click File.
  2. From the dropdown menu, click Compress Pictures.
  3. A Compression Table will display your compression options. The options include:
    • Printing — highest quality.
    • Viewing on Screen — reduces image quality by 30%.
    • Sending in an email message — compresses images by another 30% or so.
  4. 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.
  5. 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:

  1. Click File and make sure Info is selected in the left sidebar.
  2. Click Compress Media. Depending on the version of PowerPoint, the button will either say Multimedia or Media Size and Performance.
  3. Choose one of the following three options:
    • 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

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