PowerPoint Slide Shows Too Large to E-Mail; Tried Everything

[BrandyW]

Hello - I've been reading all the posts I can find on this subject, and I've
tried everything, I feel stupid, and I am praying someone out there can
explain to me what to do in simple layman's terms.

I'm using PowerPoint 2000. I've used the Insert Sound (which I filed in the
same folder as the PP and I inserted it AFTER both items have been filed in
that folder). However, the ONLY way recipients of the E-mails can hear the
sound, is if I E-mail BOTH the PPS AND the music file, and then they open the
music file first and THEN open the PP. This seems silly. I have received
PPS in E-mails and the sound plays fine.

I purchased the premium service to Real Player so I could convert the MP3
files I want to use to WAV files. However, the only choice with Real is to
convert to stereo. One 3-minute MP3 file that is 4,331 KB, ends up being
30,096 KB in the WAV file (I know that is because WAV files are not
compressed). I can insert this huge WAV file in the PPS, but then I cannot
E-mail it.

I then downloaded Audacity and followed their instructions for reducing a
WAV file to mono v. stereo and then exported it as a WAV file, but that
didn't help - it's the same amount of KB.

I AM SO SORRY about the length of this question, but I don't want people to
waste their time. I've tried everything I read, but I simply do not
understand how to place music in a PPS and be able to E-mail it, and for the
recipients to hear the darn music.

I APPRECIATE this vehicle for help very much. Thank you.

 

[Echo S]

Length of question isn't a problem, Brandy. Better to be long and tell us
what you've done than be short and waste everyone's time!

Anyway, you've obviously done your homework. Here are some other options for
dropping the size of the WAV files.

1. Convert from stereo to mono (you knew this)
2. Lower the sampling rate
3. Lower the bit-depth

Alternatively, convert an MP3 to a RIFF-WAV. This adds a WAV header to the
MP3, preserving the MP3 small file size but fooling PPT into thinking it's a
WAV. Go to Google and search for Cdex for a utility to do this conversion.
Anecdotal evidence has that these won't play on all systems, but they'll
probably play on most. It's definitely worth trying.

 

[Austin Myers]

The real issue here is that most ISPs have a limit between 3 and 5 megs for
an email attachment. Even if yours is higher than that, it's likely the
recipients isn't.

The better option is to zip the presentation and media into a single file
and post it on an FTP site or use one of the free web sites for sending
large files.

try www.sendyourfiles.com


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Sound Solutions www.pfcmedia.com