Minimizing Those HUGE PowerPoint Slideshows

In yesterday’s tip, we talked about factors that cause “slow” access times on the Internet. On big factor that an instructor/designer has control over is file size. All things being equal, the smaller the file size, the faster the download. I’ve seen faculty trying to deliver 25 to 70MB files (usually PowerPoint slideshows) using Blackboard CE and they wonder why students complain of slow download times. A simple solution is to reduce the size of your PowerPoint slideshow. A handy tool to accomplish that task is PPTminimizer (http://www.pptminimizer.com/).

PPTminimizer is installed in the Ed Tech Center labs (LIB 371 and 373) and in the Center’s Faculty Media Development Area (LIB 375). Stop by and we’ll show you how it works, or use the following instructions.

To compress your PowerPoint slideshows using PPTminizer:

1. Open PPT Minimizer.
2. Click the “Open Presentations” button
3. Choose the PowerPoint file(s) you would like to optimize. You can select one slideshow to minimize or use the Add to List button to select multiple slideshows to minimize at the same time.
4. By default the optimized PPT file will be saved in the same folder as the original. If you want it saved in another folder, select the “…” button (appears under the “Optimized presentations” button, and choose the folder into which you want to save the optimized presentations.
5. If you select a different folder (not the source folder) into which to save the optimized file, you’ll see the “Add extension to Filenames” check box (found above the “…” button). Deselect if you do not ant the “(PPTminimizer)” suffix added to the filename.
6. Next you can choose your compression settings. The default “standard compression” is usually a good choice. If you would like an even smaller file size then move the compression slider to “Strong Compression”. This setting may reduce your image quality and you should always check the optimized presentation when choosing “Strong Compression”. Further, if you find the images in your slideshow too pixilated using “Standard Compression,” lower the slider to use “Low Compression.”
7. Click the “Optimize Presentations” button.
8. If you are asked to confirm conversion of embedded objects, you should click the “yes” button in order to reduce file size. You will not be able to edit the embedded objects in the optimized file, but you can edit it in the original slideshow and run the file through the optimizer again when changes need to be made.
9. Once the progress bar reaches 100% your file has been optimized.
10. You’ll see three buttons: View Presentation(s), E-Mail Presentation(s) and Delete Presentation(s). Be sure to view your compressed slideshows to verify that they look satisfactory.
11. Next you are presented with the statistics of the optimization including how much spaced you saved. Out experience is tat typical slideshows with graphics can be reduced in size easily from 60% to 95%.
12. Your optimized file is placed in the directory you specified.

Try it, you’ll like it and so will your students.

Consider File Size!

Are your students complaining about slow download times when accessing PowerPoint slideshows in your Blackboard CE course? If so, you need to first understand file sizes. If you want to see a chart of equivalencies, e.g. how many kilobytes (KB) in a megabyte (MB), and so on, check out http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/.

The basics are obvious: it takes longer for a 5 MB file to download than a 1MB file and it takes longer for a 500 KB file to download than a 1 MB file. So smaller is better.

Also effecting the download time is the type of internet connection (ISDN, DSL, Cable, Dial-up and so on). You can determine your connection speed (it’ll be different in your office, on a laptop at Starbucks, or at home) by going to http://promos.mcafee.com/speedometer/test_0600.asp. Keep in mind that the access speed may vary each time you take the test (depending on factors such as time of day and network traffic). If you and/or your students are experiencing slow access, take the test several times (at different times when you might normally access the Internet) to get a sense of the connection speed at which you can expect to access online materials. You can also see the optimal speed for various types of connections by visiting http://support.primus.ca/en/dsl/speedtest.php (review the chart on the right side of the web page).

Your connection’s “optimal” speed is based on average network traffic between your computer and the server; obviously heavy network traffic or outages between your home/office and the Blackboard server (or any server on the Internet for that matter) can reduce the download speed (upload speed too).

Another factor is whether media is non-streaming (e.g. PowerPoint slideshows) or streaming (e.g. MP3 and Flash files). Streaming files start playing before the entire file is downloaded (so it appears to download faster) while non-streaming media must be completely downloaded before playing.

So, in a perfect world without heavy network traffic, without considering Blackboard or browser problems or any network disruptions, you can calculate the best possible download time for a file traveling from one location on a network to another by using the calculator at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/accessibility/webaccessibility/download_tool.html.

The calculator asks you to enter kilobytes, so remember that a one megabyte (MB) file is 1024 kilobytes (KB) and a 25 MB file is 25,600 KB. As an example, if you have a 25 MB PowerPoint slideshow (e.g. 25600 KB) and were using a DSL or T1 connection, it would optimally take 2000 seconds (or over 33 minutes) to download that single file. On the other hand, if the file were reduced in size to 1 MB (e.g. 1024 KB) using the same connection, it would take 80 seconds to download the file. Obviously slower Internet connections (ISDN, dial-up) would take significantly longer.

We’ve seen PowerPoint slideshows within Blackboard courses that range from 25 to 70 MB. In tomorrow’s tip, we’ll tell you how to reduce a PowerPoint slideshow file by 60-95%. Imagine how that will increase download times and reduce frustration!