Compress an Image with PowerPoint

In the last lesson Compress Images in Windows… Resize Using Paint, we talked about file compression and how to resize an image to use as a profile picture or in an email.  Now, we will actually compress the image using a “Compress” command built into PowerPoint.  (This feature is not available in the free online version of PowerPoint nor Google Slides.)

In PowerPoint, sometimes your files take forever to open or save because the images are so big. Compressing the images on each slide before saving your presentation will help speed up the open, save, and close processes.

Once the image is there, make sure you can see the eight little handles.  That will tell you the image is selected.  With the image selected, the Picture Format tab will appear.  This is a content-sensitive tab that only appears if an image is selected.

In the Compress Pictures window, several choices will appear.  The most compression has the smaller “ppi” number (Pixels per Inch).  Remember, the image will degrade slightly, so do not simply pick the smallest “E-mail” version.  Try a middle PPI, like Print (220 ppi) or Web (150 ppi).  I will use Web in this example.

You will not see any change to the image, but it is now compressed.  Right-click the image and select Save as Picture from the pop-up menu.  Now save the image to your computer.  Add the word, “Compressed” to the file name so you know which is which.

Compare the compressed file size to the original.  I also have one that I resized in the Compress Images in Windows… Resize Using Paint lesson to compare.  The image still appears large on the PowerPoint slide, but its file size and storage requirements is much smaller.  Try uploading the image to your profile picture or other online form now, and it should fit. 

If you still need a smaller file size, select the photo, click on Compress Pictures again and choose E-mail this time.  Right-click>Save as Picture, and try to upload the image again.  I hope it works this time.