Keeping file sizes small - F J Winters September 07, = 2002

Keeping = File Sizes=20 Small - F J Winters 09/07/02, 07/24/06, 03/27/09

Reduce=20 Document (.Doc and .Docx) File Sizes

Reduce=20 Access (.mdb and .accdb) File Sizes

Reduce=20 Web Page (.Htm) File Size

Reduce Microsoft Word File=20 Sizes

An obvious way to = reduce file=20 sizes is to avoid inserting large graphic images and media = clips.=20 If you paste huge images into any file, the file will = become huge.=20 Screen captures and Windows .Bmp graphics are huge memory hogs. I = often=20 tell my students that .Bmp (the standard Windows graphics = file=20 type) stands for Big Memory Pig. The Internet uses .Gif = (for=20 drawings less than 256 colors) and .Jpg files (for photos with = many=20 thousands of colors). They are usually much more than ten times = smaller in=20 size than a comparable .Bmp file. If you use MS Paint (Start, = Programs,=20 Accessories, Paint) you can choose Save As, and = under=20 Save as type = choose=20 .Gif and .Jpg to convert a .Bmp to a much = more=20 reasonable format and size.

If your file size is huge, delete the = pictures in your=20 current document and replace them with reasonably sized JPGs. Keep = in mind=20 that even some JPG files can be very large. Today=92s megapixel = digital=20 cameras take high resolution images that can be 8 =BD x 11 inches = in size,=20 2400 pixels wide and about 900K to 2 MB in size.

Some numbers: Say the picture from = your high=20 resolution digital camera is 2400 pixels wide and you want to = insert a=20 small picture into the corner of your document. When you insert a = 2400=20 pixel 2MB image into your document, you just increased a file that = might=20 have been 100K to a file size of over 2MB (2,000K). Add a second = image and=20 it is now about 4MB. When you use the resizing handles to make = these huge=20 pictures small enough to fit on the page the file size is still = 4MB in=20 size, because what you really did was to make the images appear = smaller,=20 but they still retain their bit size. However, if you resize an = image=20 before you insert it, you will greatly reduce your file size. = Perhaps=20 you might choose to make it a more reasonable 240 pixels wide. 240 = is 1/10=20 of the width or 2400, but also 1/10 of the height as well and = consequently=20 you can actually make the file size nearly a 100 times smaller. = Most paint=20 programs have a resize option =96 in Windows Paint (Start, = Programs,=20 Accessories, Paint) choose: Image > Resize/Skew. =

In Microsoft Office Picture Manager: Click = [Edit=20 Pictures] > Resize (Notice that there are also Crop = and=20 Red-Eye removal tools as well.) There is also an Edit = Pictures]=20 > Compress Pictures

If you do not know what Paint programs you = have on your=20 computer =96 locate your image file in the Windows Explorer, = Right-click and=20 choose Open With =96 a list of Paint and Image programs on your = machine will=20 appear.

=3D =3D = =3D

Microsoft Office XP and 2003 has a horrible = feature=20 called Fast Saves. This = allows you=20 to save your files a few milliseconds faster, but Fast Saves really means very slow loads and = very huge=20 file sizes.

For example:

Let=92s suppose you have a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation with a = file size of=20 4 Megabytes. It is too big to send through Angel. So you = would=20 think that you could delete 5 of 10 slides and then have an = approximately=20 2 Megabyte file that would meet the size limit. But in actuality, = cutting=20 the number of slides in half would actually increase = the=20 file size to about 4.1 Megabytes if Fast=20 Saves is turned on. That is because Fast Saves does not = really=20 delete the cut slides (or deleted text, or data). Fast Saves = instead just=20 =93marks=94 the area for deletion or the changes, and only appends = modification notes to the end of the file. Consequently, as you = edit, the=20 file size just grows and grows, especially with PowerPoint and Access files.

* One way to reduce the huge file sizes of = Office=20 XP/2003 is to simply Save the file under a different name. =

* Or you can turn off Fast Saves in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: = choose=20 Tools, Options, select the=20 Save tab, and uncheck Allow fast=20 saves.

* Note: Office 2007 file sizes are almost = always=20 smaller than Office 2003 file sizes. So you can also bring your = .doc files=20 into the MCC computer lab and open them with Office 2007 and Save = them as=20 the newer .Docx files to reduce their file size.

Reduce = Microsoft = Access File = Sizes

To reduce a bloated Access File, first back up = your .mdb=20 file just in case (select the file; Ctrl C to copy, then Ctrl V to = paste).=20 Then in Office XP/2003 choose Tool >,=20 Database Utilities > Compact = and=20 Repair Database, select the desired file to Compact, and = save it=20 under the same name. In Office 2007 choose Office button = >=20 [Access Options] > Current Database > check = Compact=20 on Close.

Windows .Bmp graphics are huge memory hogs. I = often=20 tell my students that .Bmp (the standard Windows graphics = file=20 type) stands for Big Memory Pig. The Internet uses .Gif = (for=20 drawings less than 256 colors) and .Jpg files (for photos). They = are=20 usually much more than ten times smaller in size than a comparable = .Bmp=20 file. If you use MS Paint (Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint) = you can=20 choose Save As, and under Save as = type=20 choose .Gif and .Jpg to convert a .Bmp to a much more reasonable = format=20 and size. Then choose: Image > Resize/Skew to = reduce its=20 overall pixel size, instead of using the resizing handles, which = makes the=20 image appear smaller, but the picture still retains its bit = size.

However, some versions of Access have a=20 bug when it comes to file sizes and graphics. Using = .Bmp files=20 in Access is actually better than the traditionally smaller .Jpgs. = In=20 Paint (Start, Programs. Accessories, Paint) choose Image,=20 Stretch/Skew to cut the file size 50% - which is actually 1/4 the = size=20 because it is 50% vertically and 50% horizontally. For some reason = Access=20 has a bug that takes small files like .Jpg files and dramatically=20 increases file sizes tenfold when small .Jpgs are added. For some = reason=20 the bigger .Bmp files (Big Memory Pig or = Bit=20 Map) files may actually do better in Access. You may have to delete = the pictures=20 in your Access file and put them back in. BUT then you will = probably have=20 to do another step 1. Back up your file as a precaution, then in = Office=20 2003 choose Tools, Database=20 Utilities, Compact and Repair = Database,=20 select the desired file to Compact, and save it under the same = name. In=20 Office 2007 choose Office button > [Access = Options] >=20 Current Database > check Compact on Close. This = is=20 because when you delete pictures or records in Access, they really have not been = deleted,=20 they have been =93marked=94 for deletion and the file size = actually grows when=20 part of the file is deleted, because the marker is saved.

Reduce=20 Word Web Page (.Htm) File Sizes = by=20 30-50%:

File, Save as Web = Page

In Save as type: box, choose Web Page, = Filtered (*.htm; *.html)

While you are there, be sure to set your Page = Title in=20 this dialog box as well by clicking the Change Title button