How to compress image files/pictures in PowerPoint?

Frequently, many people puzzles about what pixel should be made a picture file for PowerPoint file. Here I would like to tell you that mostly images don't need to be much larger than 1024x768 pixels (See What resolution should I make my images for PowerPoint slide shows?) to learn why). If your images are larger than this, your PowerPoint files are probably larger than they should be.

Then what you can do to compress the image files for the PowerPoint? PowerPoint 2002 and later can compress images and remove unneeded data, just follow the steps below:

1. After having inserted picture file into the PowerPoint, you can right-click the picture, and then click Format Picture on the shortcut menu.

2. There would be a dialog box named Format Picture pop-up. In this dialog box, click the Picture tab, and then click Compress.
3. Under Apply to, do one of the following:

To compress just the current picture, click Selected pictures.

To compress all the pictures in your presentation, click All pictures in document.

4. Under Change resolution, do one of the following:

If your presentation will be used for a screen show, click Web/Screen.

If you plan to distribute your presentation as printed pages, click Print.

5. Under Options, select the Compress pictures check box and the Delete cropped areas of pictures check box.
6. Click OK.
7. If prompted, click Apply in the Compress Pictures dialog box.

PowerPoint compresses the pictures for you automatically.

If you use PowerPoint 2000 or earlier, do the following for each image that you want to compress:

• Click the picture to select it.
• On the Edit menu, click Copy.
• Again on the Edit menu, click Paste Special.
• Do one of the following:

For most images, such as photos and scans, click JPG.

For images with large areas of flat color, or that contain important text or fine details, click PNG.

Tip: JPG files are usually smaller, but JPG's "lossy" compression can blur thin lines and other fine detail, or leave "artifacts" (Stray odd-colored pixels) around text.

• Delete the original images.

Then the picture or image files are compressed. To compress the pixels of the PowerPoint file, the size of the PowerPoint file can greatly be reduced.

More ways refer to How to reduce the size of a PowerPoint file.