Webspace for eMINTS PD participants

Policy summary Policy statement Additional information and specifications   Webspace request form (must be signed by principal)   Next steps, July 2006 Tips for reducing webspace use Other web hosting and e-mail alternatives

Tips for reducing webspace use

General strategies

Best practices include regular maintenance and housekeeping duties for website directory:

1. Look for and remove old files from the live (or "remote") site - student work from past years, for example.
2. Remove all files not needed for display on the live site; remove and archive them locally or on CD (extra images, for example). Do not use the live website as a storage warehouse.
3. Use photo editing software to reduce all photos and images to smaller size and lower resolution for web display (72 dpi is adequate) rather than posting full-size images.
4. Reduce the size of PowerPoint presentaion by compressing and editing images and photos.

Photo editing

One easy way to save space in a website directory is to reduce image size and resolution for web display:

1. Simply make a copy of the original/source image (saving the source image in a local folder for future use). Keeping an unedited source file allows you to use it in the future if you ever need a high resolution image for print, etc.
2. Then open the copy of image in image editing software (such as Fireworks, Photoshop, Paintshop, Paint) and make the image smaller (both physically and resolution/dpi):
   1. Crop out all unnecessary background or extended parts to focus and emphasize important parts of photo/image.
   2. Look for a menu item or command similar to “Save for web” or “Reduce file size for web display” or “Change image resolution” and choose a resolution of not more than 72 dpi (dots per inch). A resolution of 72 dpi is perfectly adequate for web display.
3. Save the edited image/photo, replace bloated images in webpages, upload slimmed down image files to web server and notice the dramatically smaller file size – often down from 1 MB to 5-10 KB.
4. Refer to eMINTS PD modules about digital camera, planning and creating websites for more information about image editing and display.

Reduce image size in PowerPoint files

PowerPoint files displayed on the web can be reduced as well.

One technique for compressing pictures in PowerPoint presentation

Following the steps below reduced one PPT file from 233 MB to 137 KB.

1. Open presentation in PowerPoint
2. Double-click on an image to open the Format Picture dialog box. Or choose Format > Picture.
3. In the Format Picture dialog box click the Picture tab.
4. Click the Compress button.
   Either accept the default settings or experiment with others.
5. Click OK. The image is now smaller without noticeable change in quality.
   You also can choose all pictures in the presentation and compress them all at once.
6. When a dialog box appears saying process may reduce image quality, click OK.
7. Save teh PPT file and uplaod reduced-size file to website directory.

Another technique that works for large size images already inserted on a PowerPoint slide

Following the steps below resulted in reducing the size of a picture that was taken at 1508 X 1408 and a file size of 918 KB to a size of 320 X 280 and a file size of 6.08 KB. Unless the picture on the PowerPoint slide is enlarged by dragging the corners to make it bigger it will not look any different than it did at the large file size. If an image larger than 320 X 180 is needed the file can be resized to 640 X 480, which will still result in a smaller file size than the original photograph.

1. Click on the picture in PowerPoint.
2. Select Edit > Copy from the Edit menu.
3. Open Fireworks.
4. Select New Fireworks file.
5. Set the new file to the appropriate image size. For example, 320 X 180 or 640 X 480.
6. On the Fireworks menu bar select Edit > Paste. The image will automatically resize to fit the new perimeters set when creating a new file.
7. Select File > Export Preview.
8. If the image is a photo, select jpg as the format type. In the Saved Settings drop-down box (located in the upper right-hand corner of the window) select jpg smaller file.
9. Click Export.
10. Provide a file name and a location to save the file.
11. Click Save.
12. Delete the large image from the PowerPoint presentation and insert the image that was saved as a smaller file.

Reviewed August 29, 2006.