Compress PowerPoint files (by up to 90%)

Huge PowerPoint files are often a nightmare to send by email. Fortunately, I know a few ways to reduce their size to manageable limits. [Mac users click here]


1) Use "Insert Picture"

Go to Insert > Picture > From File and select the picture you want to add. Never copy and paste the picture from elsewhere. This will cut as much as 90% off the file size.


2) Use JPEG format instead of BMP

If you encounter a BMP picture file that you need to insert into your presentation, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Paint. Open the file in question, and select "save as". Click on the "save as type" and select JPEG. This should greatly reduce the file size and result in a smaller PowerPoint file.


3) Compress Pictures

Go to File > Save As > Tools > Compress Pictures, tick "compress pictures" and "delete cropped areas of pictures".

Unless you intend to make high resolution copies of the document, go to "Change Resolution" and select "Web / Screen".

Press OK and save the document. This has a huge effect on the file size if you are using very high resolution photos or illustrations.


4) Turn off "Fast Save"

Under Tools > Options > Save > Save Options, untick "Allow fast saves".


5) Use compressed folders (a.k.a ZIP files)

Right click on the PowerPoint file and select "Send To" > "Compressed (zipped) Folder".

I have seen a 1 megabyte Word document shrink by 70% of its size using this simple tip. This difference is very significant to the around 20% to 30% of the people still using dial-up access.


6) Remove preview picture

Under File > Properties > Summary, untick "Save Preview Picture". This saves a small amount of space.


6) Save in the latest PowerPoint format

If your PowerPoint file is made from an old computer, you can open it up and then save it as "Presentation (*.ppt)" format. This should help reduce the file size significantly when used in conjunction with the tips above.

Compress Word Files (by up to 70%)

If you are going to send many large Word files by email, I have some tips to share with you to cut down on their file size.


1) Use "Insert Picture"

Go to Insert > Picture > From File and select the picture you want to add. Never copy and paste the picture from elsewhere. This will cut as much as 90% off the file size.


2) Use JPEG format instead of BMP

If you encounter a BMP picture file that you need to insert into your presentation, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Paint. Open the file in question, and select "save as". Click on the "save as type" and select JPEG. This should greatly reduce the file size and result in a smaller PowerPoint file.


3) Compress Pictures

Go to File > Save As > Tools > Compress Pictures, tick "compress pictures" and "delete cropped areas of pictures".

Unless you intend to make high resolution copies of the document, go to "Change Resolution" and select "Web / Screen".

Press OK and save the document. This has a huge effect on the file size if you are using very high resolution photos or illustrations.


4) Turn off "Fast Save"

Under Tools > Options > Save > Save Options, untick "Allow fast saves".


5) Use compressed folders (a.k.a ZIP files)

Right click on the Word file and select "Send To" > "Compressed (zipped) Folder".

I have seen a 1 megabyte Word document shrink by 70% of its size. This difference is very significant to the around 20% to 30% of the people still using dial-up access.


6) Remove preview picture

Under File > Properties > Summary, untick "Save Preview Picture". This saves a small amount of space.


7) Save in Microsoft Word 95 format

If you have only a plain English Word document without any pictures or advanced features, you can reduce the file size by half if you use this advice.

Under the Save As option, select "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)". You may get a security warning but it is generally safe to save the file.


Warning: This format will create gibberish with non-English documents, will cause any unsupported features to be lost and greatly increase the file size if you have pictures.

It is best to save another copy in Word 95 format, close Word, and then open the document again to see if it has any adverse effects.

Web Mail Tips

Type Long Web Mails in Word - I know someone who spent a few hours writing a long email, and when she tried to send it she received an error message. Apparently, her Internet connection had timed out. When she clicked on the "back" button, her message was nowhere to be found.

If you like to use web mail, open a new document on your hard drive and write your mail there first. After that, cut and paste your message into your web mail and send it. It will save you much potential frustration.


GMail Web Storage - Got a big Gmail account but not sure how to use it? There is a program that changes Gmail into a disk that allows you to store files as easily as accessing drive G.


Use Unicode (UTF-8) for non-English email - For instance, you can send Chinese characters using Unicode encoding instead of the Big5 or GB2312 encoding. If not, they will appear as gibberish in Yahoo Mail. Most email programs except Eudora support UTF-8.


Backup Yahoo Mail and Hotmail to hard disk - If you want to automatically backup Yahoo Mail or Hotmail onto your hard drive, don't fret. There are free utilities like YPOPs! and Hotmail Popper that will do the "dirty" job for you. No more deleting, forwarding or doing cut and paste on your mails!


Hotmail Offline Viewing from Outlook Express - View your Hotmail from your mail client.

* Go to the left panel in Outlook Express where they show Hotmail.
* Click with the right mouse button on "Inbox" under Hotmail.
* Select Synchronization Settings from the menu.
* Choose "All Messages"
* Do the same for "Sent Items".

The trouble with Outlook

If you are using Outlook Express, I advise switching to Microsoft Outlook or another mail client. Still, Outlook has its own problems too.

If you store more than 2GB of mail in Outlook, it will stop working as a result. Fortunately, there is a way to get back most of the data.

Just to be safe, it is best to delete unnecessary mail, and empty the recycle bin in your mailbox. Here are some ways to improve your Outlook reliability.

The trouble with Outlook Express

Microsoft Outlook Express is one of the more problematic clients. I call it "Look Out Express" because of its irritating tendencies to frustrate users.

For instance, it likes to take a long time to compact folders. While its compacting, users often think it has crashed. If they force it to close, then goodbye data.


Another especially evil trick is that it will stop working for no reason and require reinstalls. However, Windows XP will not allow reinstalls because it claims that you "have a newer version of Internet Explorer".

During these times, you just have to do this, or call someone in the know.