How to Reduce Photo Sizes for Powerpoint Cooperative Extension
University Cooperative Extension offices throughout the United States make heavy use of Microsoft's Powerpoint presentation software. Since Cooperative Extension presentations must present outline text along with images on specific slides throughout, images must be resized in pixel dimension to fit such applications. Since images are generally displayed in any of the four corners along with most text outlines, such images on a shared "text and image" slide should never be larger than one-quarter the size of the entire slide. Reducing the sizes of images requires the use of image editing software that can be used on all of the various operating systems.
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Things You'll Need
- GIMP free open-source image manipulation software (runs on Apple, Microsoft and Linux)
Instructions
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Download and install the freely available noncommercial GIMP image manipulation software from http://www.gimp.org As the software is available for Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux, be sure you select the correct version for your particular system.
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Start GIMP and load the larger, original image into the program. To do this, locate "File" in the upper left-hand corner of the large middle window that appears on your screen and then click "Open." Browse to the folder on your computer in which the original image is stored and double-click on it to load it into the GIMP software.
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Click "Image" in the navigation tabs at the top of the image screen in which the image is displayed. In the new menu that appears select "Scale."
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Look for two boxes that show "Pixels" and observe that a small icon appears to the right side of the X and Y pixel dimension settings that looks like a small chain link. Make sure the chain link appears solid. If you click on it, the chain link icon changes to show a "break" in the chain link, which is not what you desire. Make sure it is solid so that, when changing the pixel dimensions, the vertical and horizontal sizes are evenly resized. This keeps the image in a state termed "proportional."
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Reduce the "X" value by about half of its current value and press the "Return" or "Enter" key on your computer's keyboard. Have a look at the size of the image to determine if it is the desired size necessary for your Powerpoint slide. Enlarge or reduce in size in slight increments, experimenting until the image is resized to your desired needs.
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Click "File" in the upper left-hand corner of the image display screen and then select "Save As." Enter a new file name for your new image so the original isn't overwritten by your edited copy. Determine whether quality or file size (in kilobytes or megabytes) is of more importance to your needs. If you need higher quality, save the image as a .PNG file with compression set to between 0 and 3. If highest quality is of no importance, save your newly edited file as a .JPG image and set it to 75% quality. JPG images are compressed more than similarly sized PNG files and produce a smaller file size.
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Embed your newly resized image into your Powerpoint slide and continue in preparing your presentation.
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Tips & Warnings
Due to known budget restraints experienced by most cooperative extension offices, expensive photograph editing software such as Adobe Photoshop isn't common, which makes GIMP an extremely versatile option. However, if your cooperative extension home office was kind enough to allocate the funds for Photoshop, it may be used in the same fashion, with some differences, as the GIMP method outlined above. Feel free to use either package.
