go to Format tab&gt; Size group&gt; Crop. Compress the image. Select any image to display the Picture toolbar. Click the Compress Pictures button . In the Compress Pictures dialog box, compress the selected image or all images, choose a resolution (use Web/Screen for the smallest size), and also choose to delete the cropped area of images -- so you can't restore the image to its original size. (In PowerPoint 2007, Format tab&gt; Adjust group&gt; Compress Pictures, and click the Options button.) Click OK and then save the presentation under a new name -- just in case you don't like the results. I took a PowerPoint presentation with one BMP file and reduced it from 4,561 KB to 831 KB this way. Reduce quality (JPEG images). In Photoshop, choose File&gt; Save As and choose JPEG as the file type. Then you can use the Quality text box or drop-down list. In Photoshop, choose File &gt; Save For Web. By choosing Medium, I changed my photo from 41 KB to 15 KB! Convert the image file type. The image file type makes a huge difference. In my tests of a photo, JPEG files were the smallest by far. (GIF files are also small, but are not suitable for most photographs because they don't support enough colors.) I took an image and Microsoft Office Picture Manager to convert it. Then I inserted each one into a different presentation, so each presentation had one slide with one image. Here are the results: Image size