I recently discovered a Microsoft PowerPoint feature, Compress Pictures, that substantially reduces the memory of the currently available Animated Step-by-Steps®. I had always thought that the animations were the primary culprit for large file size, so I was understandably surprised when the pictures (that I had so carefully attempted to keep small) were not small.
When the Compress Pictures feature is applied to resources, the overall memory of the files are reduced ... sometimes substantially! Notice the shift in memory that occurred after the Compress Pictures feature was applied to two sample resources.
If you are creating PowerPoint-based educational resources for your students, here are the step-by-step instructions for reducing memory size:
1. Open the PowerPoint resource.
2. Under File on the Menu Bar, select Compress Pictures (Apply to all is the default setting)
3. Select onscreen 150 dpi
4. Save your optimized file with a revised name (I usually just add an R)
Note of warning: A few of the pictures may render with opaque rather than transparent backgrounds, so you may need to redo some of the images to make the backgrounds transparent. The substantial reduction in memory, however, is well worth the additional 'touch up' necessary for some images.
Recently, I did go back to optimize all of the Animated Step-by-Steps® (Regular, PCS, SymbolStix) in the Teachers Pay Teachers Store. If you have purchased Animated Step-by-Steps® in the past, you should be receiving notification of the availability of an updated version.
Here's hoping the reduction in memory will allow your ASbySs to run efficiently and smoothly on the full spectrum of options for displaying Animated Step-by-Steps® (interactive whiteboard, computer, iPad, graphic tablets).
…’til the next post …
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Email me canadiangoosse@gmail.com
©2018 Carol Goossens’, Ph.D.
Augmentative Communication Consultant
Speech-Language Pathologist
Special Educator
