How to compress Powerpoint Presentation for email

I made a Powerpoint Presentation slide show for a group of about 50 people in my email. The file is about 8 megabytes. When I sent it out via email, many of the email systems kicked it back as being too large. I tried using "create archive" from the file menu, but that dropped it down to 7.4 megabytes. I ended up this morning dividing it in half and sending out the halves. Is there a free software that can do this that others could use to decompress when they receive it?

ds

iMac G5 20 inch, 15 G4 Powerbook, Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Posted on Nov 13, 2006 11:40 AM

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8 replies

Nov 13, 2006 5:01 PM in response to David Safir

The solution I would recommend for you is an app called FileChute from yellow mug software http://www.yellowmug.com/filechute/. It allows you to upload a file(s) to an FTP server or .mac and then generates a link to download the file(s). You can click a button to compose an email with the links. It's a great app for those who frequently send large files to groups. If you don't know what FTP is or need help setting up an FTP, just ask and I/other posters would be glad to help you. However, seeing as you are ranked 3 bars in the forums, you probably know what FTP is. Glad to help.

Nov 13, 2006 7:26 PM in response to David Safir

You could try control-clicking on the file and selecting Create Archive... This will make a zip archive of the file and should be readable by any computer. However, this may not reduce the file size enough. Another option is to save the PowerPoint file as a PDF. You can do this using the PDF toolbar in MS-Office or by printing to a PDF. Then, your colleagues can use Acrobat Reader to view the presentation.

Using the PDF Maker plug-in that installs with Acrobat Pro, I just reduced a PowerPoint file from 14MB to 2MB. Very handy!

bd

Nov 13, 2006 8:29 PM in response to Peter Drucker

Thanks for the response Peter. I have generally avoided .Mac from its onset. It seemed to me it was sold primarily for backup and some file sharing. I have been able to use other tools to get the job done. I have several external hard drives I use for backup. I resize pictures for email, and I use Quicktime Pro to resize video clips for family emails. So I haven't looked into .Mac until I just read your post. I gather this would allow me to upload a large file like this and create a link others could use to view, and they don't have to be on a Mac or have their own .Mac account. In their support under .Mac they mention groups as one of the features. Here's what I actually am doing, so you can see why I am interested now. I run an NFL football pool for about 50 people. I actually have an adult pool with 35 and a Kids Pool with 15 kids. I am a Pediatrician in San Jose, so everyone in the pools knows me, some are nearby and some are around the country. I asked everyone to send me pictures and biographies so I could put a presentation together about all our participants, which I did with Powerpoint. It was really quite fun and everyone got a big kick out of it. Now I'm thinking that I might be able to set up a group site using .Mac for my football pool. In case anyone is worried, we are not talking about a big money operation here. The kids win a Jamba Juice if they win the weekly pool. Any more thoughts would be appreciated. Meanwhile I tried saving the Powerpoint as a PDF, that went from 7.8 megabytes to 32 megabytes. I don't really want to spend $150 for Acrobat Pro to shrink the original down.

David

Nov 14, 2006 4:57 AM in response to David Safir

David

Compression of the file in question depends upon the kinds of images used therein. If you use jpegs, since they are compressed, the amount of reduction is minimal. In my opinion you should either rework the images contained in the presentation or have a look (as per your suggestion-inquiry) at those splitting/joining utilities:

http://www.versiontracker.com/php/search.php?mode=basic&action=search&str=split& plt%5B%5D=macosx&x=0&y=0

Btw, of course uploading the file onto an ftp server, as suggested by others in this thread, is also a valid solution.

Nov 14, 2006 1:05 PM in response to David Safir

Please mark all posts in this thread appropriately. Thanks.

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How to compress Powerpoint Presentation for email

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