If you’ve ever created a PowerPoint presentation with many high-resolution graphics or, even worse, video content, you know that the file size tends to skyrocket. Further, if you’ve ever tried to email such presentations, you’ve probably run into roadblocks because your email program wouldn’t let you send attachments over 10 or 20 megabytes, or the person you were sending them to couldn’t receive them. In short, trying to email big PowerPoint is usually a huge headache. Fortunately, it can be done fairly simply and, in fact, pretty easily!
If your PowerPoint contains videos, the first thing you’ll need to do is save the file as a “PowerPoint Package.” The reason you’ll need to do this is because, for some unknown reason, PowerPoint refuses to embed video… Meaning that when you save a PowerPoint with videos as a .ppt file, the file contains only links to the videos and not the videos themselves. This means that unless your recipient has the exact same video file in the exact same place on their computer, they will get a big blank space or a big red X, depending on the version of PowerPoint they are using. Fortunately, this is really easy to do: Just select “Save As…” from the “File” menu, and when the dialogue box pops up, choose “PowerPoint Package” from the “Format” drop-down menu.
The next thing you need to do is convert your PowerPoint Package folder into a Zip file. If you have a Mac, you’ve got it pretty easy: Just right-click (or control-click) the folder in the Finder and choose “Compress.” If you’re on a Windows machine, you’ll need to use WinZip, which is a little bit more complicated, but still pretty easy. This step compresses your folder into one neat and tidy archive file, which greatly simplifies the uploading process we are about to tackle…
In this step, you’ll need to upload your Zip file to an online file delivery service. My absolute favorite service for this step is senduit. The way it works is simple. Here are the steps, as listed on the homepage:
What I really love about senduit, though, is that “Step 1″ actually includes choosing an expiration date for your file. Why do I love this? Well, sometimes when you’re sending around files containing rough drafts or sensitive information, you don’t want those files to be floating around the Internet for the rest of time, potentially finding their way into the hands of nefarious characters! You just want to send the file, have the intended recipient download it, and then delete it. With senduit, you can keep your download link active for anywhere between 30 minutes and one week, after which senduit will delete the file from its servers forever.
The only shortcoming of senduit is that its maximum file size is 100MB. However, this qualifies as a “shortcoming” in only the most extreme cases. 100MB should be plenty of storage for most presentations; the only situation I can imagine it not being enough is when dealing with a PowerPoint that consists almost exclusively of video clips (in which case you’d probably be better off making a DVD). Nonetheless, here are a few other file transfer services, some of which allow you to send 500MB files for free (but none of which match the ease and simplicity of senduit).
Now all you have to do is email the private link to the file! Simple as that. Then the recipient can download, unzip, and experience your PowerPoint presentation as it was meant to be experienced.
I hope this “How To” guide was helpful, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear them below!
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