Import Graphic vastly increases file size

[Phil Newman]

Hi there,

I have a rather large word (2003) document, about 150 pages long, most
of it is text. It has headers and footers and standard template with
small graphic. the general size of the document is 12Mb, which is
managable.

however, I've imported some graphics, which I think are bitmap files,
rather large, about 3Mb each.

And when this happens and I save the document, the file size increases
to a whopping 70Mb!! where on earth did that come from!?

and when I remove the graphics, and save under a different name, the
file size decreases to 30Mb!

Can anyone suggest how I can keep my file size down to a manageable
size with imported graphics?

I don't really want to compromise the graphic quality however, but it
might be possible for conversion to say jpeg.

Regards,

Phil

 

[DeanH]

When you say "import" do you mean Insert, Picture, From File?
If the document is not to be distributed, have you tried the "Link to File"
instead?
That is, when you insert the graphic, click the arrow beside Insert in the
Picture dialog and choose Link to File rather than Insert or Insert and Link.
What does that result with the files size?

If the document needs to be distributed, then using a graphic package,
reduce the size of the original bitmap files (create copies for safety).
Unless the document is to be professionally printed, a resolution of 72 or
96dpi is often acceptable within Word. Also, after reducing the resolution,
reduce the image size as well, ie. if the original is 10" by 8", reduce this
say by half (this will quarter the file size).
Save as different formats to see which gives you a smaller file size for an
acceptable quality, experiment with tif, jpg, png to see what resulting file
sizes you get and compare the quality.
If you do not have a graphics package you can, as a last resort, use the
Compress function within Word. Insert you documents, then select one, Format
Picture, Picture, Compress, change the Resolution to Web/Screen (96dpi). You
can do "All Pictures in document" or one by one selected picture if you wish.
Beware of the Delete cropped areas of pictures, this sometimes does not do
what it "says on the tin".

Work on a copy of your document, just in case ;-)

Also 12Mb for a 150pp document with one "small graphic" seems extreme in
itself.
Check a few things first:
1. Fast Saves: Disable this at on the Save tab of Tools | Options.
2. Preview Picture: Clear the check box on the Summary tab of File |
Properties.
3. Versions (File | Versions): Make sure "Automatically save version on
close" is not turned on.
4. Revisions (Tools | Track Changes):
Highlight Changes: Make sure "Highlight changes on screen" is turned on
(or that "Final Showing Markup" is displayed).
Accept/Reject Changes: If "Accept All" or "Reject All" is available then
revisions are present; accept or reject all changes, then turn Track Changes
off.
5. Keep track of formatting (Tools | Options | Edit). This is reportedly a
major cause of file bloat in Word 2002 and above.
6. Embedded True Type fonts (Tools | Options | Save); embedding fonts should
be avoided wherever possible.
7. Embedded linguistic data (Tools | Options | Save).
8. Embedded objects: These are even worse than ordinary graphics saved with
the document. If you see an { EMBED } code, the graphic is an OLE object.
Unless you need to be able to edit the object in place, unlink it using
Ctrl+Shift+F9.
9. File format: Make sure you are saving as a Word document; in some cases
..rtf (Rich Text Format) files are significantly larger than .doc files.
10. Document corruption: See
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm.

Hope this helps, come back if you still have problems.
DeanH

 

[Phil Newman]

Great,

thanks very much,

Phil