Reducing Large File Size

[Jennifer Walker]

I recently created a simple Word document on my Apple Mac. It included a
couple of imported JEPs and some text and was one page long. The file
size was about 400K.

I e-mailed it to a colleague who uses a PC and she made a couple of
minor changes to the text, and when she saved it, it came to 5MB! She's
tried 'Saving As' on her PC and giving it a different name, but the file
size remains the same. However when this is tried on a Mac, the file
size goes back to 400K.

Do you have any ideas how this problem can be solved on her PC?

Jen

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There are a number of reasons for excessive file size, including:

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 graphics: When feasible, it is preferable to link the graphics.
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.

9. Embedded objects: These are even worse than ordinary graphics saved with
the document. If you see an { EMBED } code when you press Alt+F9, the
graphic is an OLE object. Unless you need to be able to edit the object in
place, unlink it using Ctrl+Shift+F9.

10. 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.

11. Document corruption: See
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org