PPT File Size Guidelines

[JohnNearSyracuse]

I have a 200 slide PPT presentation - 55 megabyte total with at least
150 JPG images. (bird and nature photos.) When I used PPT 2002 for PC,
I divided the one large file into three separate files and connected
them during my presentation with hyperlinks. I just converted these
three files to PPT 2004 for Mac on my new PowerBook (with 512 DRAM.)
Related questions include: 1. Is there a "ballpark" number in
megabytes for the maximum workable PPT file size ? Is it practical
for me to eliminate the hyperlinks, and have it all in one 55 mb (and
growing) file? 2. I am inserting sounds into my program. One of the
sound tracks alone appears to have added 15 mb to the PPT file. (not
certain, though.) I thought that the sound tracks would not
necessarily add to the PPT file size, but rather PPT would link outside
to the sound library for it. (I checked the file size of my file by
going to "Properties/Statistics" and noticed the increase after
adding the sound track.) Does inserting sound tracks from the sound
library into PPT truly increase the file size, and could it effect
performance in a large PPT file? 3. I am about to add 8 or 9 high
quality JPG images to my presentation. Each is 800 kb to 2.0 mb. Are
these file sizes acceptable, or should I decrease the size of each
before doing so ?(In PPT 2002 I simply used the Compress menu, but none
exists in PPT 2004 for Mac.) I read the board and will attempt to
download Audacity, although am hoping that an Iphoto upgrade can do
this.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi John,

So many questions at once! I don't know if I can address each one.

The image size you select should be determined by how you intend to use
the presentation. For on-screen presentations 72dpi to 150dpi is good
enough. If you need to make high quality prints of your presentation
then 300 dpi is good. For huge enlargements, the more the better.

Smaller file size pictures will draw faster and will make for smooth
animation effects and transitions. Scrolling can be laborious if there
are high resolution pictures - particularly if they overlap within a slide.

If you are using .wav sound files, there is a setting in the preferences
that determines whether the sound files are included within the
presentation or are kept as seperate files that are linked to. The
default size is 100k or smaller are included; larger ones are linked.
Some other sound formats are treated as movies, which are always linked.

In OSX as long as you have enough real RAM your presentation's total
file size is not cruicial. If MacOS starts using the hard drive as RAM
then everything slows way down. You'll know when this has happened if
you find your hard drive churning away when you are using the
presentation and things suddenly seem to have gotten really slow all
around. Otherwise, MacOS will happily allocate as much RAM as is needed
by PowerPoint until real RAM runs out. Other applications and the system
will also grab RAM. There's a utility called Activity Monitor in the
Utilties folder. Use Activity Monitor to keep track of how your computer
is allocating its resources.

-Jim

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

growing) file? 2. I am inserting sounds into my program. One of the

sound tracks alone appears to have added 15 mb to the PPT file. (not
certain, though.) I thought that the sound tracks would not
necessarily add to the PPT file size,

It depends on the sound file type, your ppt settings and how you add the sound.

Transition sounds and animation sounds can only be WAV, and are always embedde.

Sounds you insert using Insert, Sound From File:

- If WAV, will be linked if over the "Link sounds larger than" setting in
Preferences; otherwise, they'll be embedded.

- If other sound file format, they'll be linked

performance in a large PPT file? 3. I am about to add 8 or 9 high
quality JPG images to my presentation. Each is 800 kb to 2.0 mb. Are
these file sizes acceptable,

If this is for screen show use, they're probably way over the top. You want
images that are the same size as the display you'll be showing them on,
measured in pixels. IOW, if you'll be projecting on a video projector capable
of 1024x768, then that's the image size you want.

exists in PPT 2004 for Mac.) I read the board and will attempt to
download Audacity, although am hoping that an Iphoto upgrade can do
this.

?? Audacity is a sound recording/sound processing app - does nothing with
images.

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Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
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