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I want even smaller PowerPoint files
PPTools Optimizer is discontinued
As of November 1, 2011, PPTools discontinued the PPTools Optimizer add-in for PowerPoint.
Please see the Optimizer home page for more information and other options.
The Optimizer site and the All About Optimizer pages will remain here to assist our existing Optimizer customers.
Optimizer tends to be over-cautious when optimizing your presentations. Rather than risk damaging the presentation, it may skip some shapes. There are several reasons it may do this, and there are ways you can force it to be more "aggressive".
TIFs and other image files that carry sizing information
Optimizer calculates the original image size in pixels by temporarily resetting the image to its imported size. If the image is larger than it needs to be, Optimizer shrinks it; if it's the right size or smaller, Optimizer doesn't touch the image.
Images that contain DPI/size info (eg. TIF images) can throw this calculation off because PowerPoint doesn't reset them to the expected size. That can cause images to be optimized for the wrong size or not to be optimized at all, resulting in a PowerPoint file that's larger than it needs to be.
Here's the fix:
Open the PPTools.ini file in Notepad (you'll find it in your PPTools folder). Locate the line that reads: [Optimizer] Directly beneath it, add this:
SkipPixelTest=YES
Don't add any blank lines. Save the file.
See How do I edit the Optimizer configuration file (PPTools.INI)? if you need to learn how to edit an INI fie.
Update your copy of Optimizer
We're continually working to improve Optimizer. If you haven't updated your copy lately, chances are that you're missing out on some features that would help you make smaller files.
Visit our download page , download and install Optimizer. This will update your demo or your registered copy of Optimizer to the latest version.
Images or other content in Placeholders
Some versions of PowerPoint convert inserted images and other content into placeholders (without your asking it to).
Older versions of Optimizer don't see images when PowerPoint hides them away in placeholders.
As of early 2006, Optimizer optimizes placeholder content as well. It does this by default -- there's no need to edit PPTools.INI to make it happen, just update your copy of Optimizer.
But if you prefer that it not do so, look for this line in the [Optimizer] section of PPTools.INI:
OptimizePlaceholders=YES
Change YES to NO and save the file.
See How do I edit the Optimizer configuration file (PPTools.INI)? if you need to learn how to edit an INI fie.
Review objects
When PowerPoint 2002 and up have a presentation under review (using the Send for Review feature) it includes invisible copies of each reviewer's version of the *entire* PPT file. This can make the files quite large. Worse, if the file's edited by older versions of PowerPoint that don't understand the review feature, the "review objects" can get orphaned, leaving you with huge blobs of information that not even PowerPoint knows what to do with, bloating your presentation file.
As of early 2006, Optimizer deletes review objects by default. See the suggestion above about updating your copy.
But if you prefer that it not do so, look for this line in the [Optimizer] section of PPTools.INI:
DeleteReviewObjects=YES
Change YES to NO and save the file.
See How do I edit the Optimizer configuration file (PPTools.INI)? if you need to learn how to edit an INI fie.
For more ideas ...
See Limitations, caveats, bugs to learn a few more reasons why presentations might not optimize as small as you'd like and some suggested workarounds.
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