using master slides increases file size?

[Butt0nw00d]

I formatted a large presentation (300 slides, heavy photo content) which
someone had put together without master slides. She had pasted all text into
text boxes rather than into placeholders (i.e. a title in one textbox, and
text in a textbox below it).

I created a simple master slide and reapplied layouts to each slide so that
the text was placed into the appropriate placeholders.

When this person got the file back she said I had made the file much larger
by using a slide master, because it is a fact that using master slides
increases file size, especially if there are that many slides.

Can this really be true? And if not, how can I explain to her that actually
master slides are a more efficient way to manage size.

Thank you.

 

[Echo S]

Well, I can't guarantee it without seeing the file in question, but generally
speaking, yes, a master slide would cut down on repitition and, therefore,
cut down on file size.

It may not make a huge difference in the situation you describe, though. If
you copy a slide with a picture on it, you get a negligible file increase.
PPT doesn't reinsert the image and count it twice -- it basically points back
at the original and knows you're just using it again. So you get a small
file-size hit, but not a doubling of the size.

However, masters are a good practice to use because they help build
consistency into your presentation. Using the slide master ensures, for
example, that all your slide titles are in the same place on the slide so
they don't jutter as you move from slide to slide. Jumping titles is so
annoying, and it's an immediate indicator of an amateur presentation. Same
for the textboxes -- the placeholders ensure consistency in font size,
spacing, color, bullets and bullet spacing (among other things). Masters make
it easy and fast to create a slide, so why *not* use them?

If you add a master in 2007, you get a set of layouts with it "for free."
(PPT 2007 and 2003 are very different in the way they handle masters and
layouts. You didn't mention which version you're using and which version your
colleague is using.) This may cause a bit of a size hit. Again, it's not a
big one. You can delete the layouts you don't need.

I wonder if you're using 2003 and have Allow Fast Saves turned on? That
could increase the file size, but it's got nothing to do with adding a
master. Or if you used 2007 and saved it as a 2003-format file, then yes, you
added file size. But again, it's not got to do with the master.

 

[Butt0nw00d]

Echo S,

Thank you so much.

I work in 2007, and my coworker works in 2003. I have as a preference
setting that automatically saves files to the 97-2003 format.

and when I do a save as, i make sure the file saves as 97-2003.

also, i just checked this:
I compared the size of 100 pages of the original file [which was from her
97-2003 computer]
with the same 100 pages of my edited file [which used 2007] that I had sent:

the original sent to me is 82,200
my edit is 81,803.

so that means the file did not grow on my computer. maybe it grew when it
got to hers becasue of fast saves being on or for some other reason?

oh, also she said that she had to go through the whole presentation word for
word to replace Gill Sans (i had made the master titles gill sans mt and the
body copy gill sans). gill sans is not truetype but gill sans mt is, she
said, and it messed everything up.

I asked her why she didn't use Replace Fonts, but she said there is no such
thing. Maybe on powerpoint 2003 there is not.

of course she could have changed the font by changing the master, but it
might not have picked up stuff in regular text boxes?

is this correct?



thanks again, i really appreciate it. B

 

[Lucy Thomson]

Hi

What version are you both using? What was the file size when it arrived and
when it left you?

Lucy

 

[Echo S]

PPT 2003 definitely has a replace fonts feature. It's on the Format menu.

And yes, I'd suspect growth on her end because of Fast Saves. Here's more
reasons a file might be big: http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00062.htm

Sounds to me as if your colleague really doesn't have a clue about PPT. She
may think she does, but she doesn't. Of course, you can't *say* that to her,
I'm sure.

 

[Butt0nw00d]

It would be better for one or the other of you to do the file editing and NOT
pass it back and forth between versions.

This seems to be the root of all problems, and our issues in our office are
further compounded by the fact that two of use Macs.

I wish I could revert from 2007 back to 2003. For me, 2007 is a brain twist
to work with even after using it since it came out.

B