Tips for improving the performance of your presentation

In this article

• Adjust the performance settings

• Modify how you use multimedia, animations, and transitions

• Windows or hardware-related actions that you can take

• Clean out your TEMP folder

If your presentation runs slowly, try one or more of the following.

Adjust the performance settings

To reduce the resolution for the presentation display, and thereby increase the performance speed, do one or both of the following:

• Change the resolution     On the Slide Show tab, in the Monitors group, in the Resolution list, click 640x480 (Fastest, Lowest Fidelity).

  Note: Changing the resolution may cause the slide image to shift slightly. If this happens, either choose a different resolution or click Use Current Resolution in the Resolution list.

• Use hardware graphics acceleration     Click the File tab. Click Options, click Advanced in the left pane of the PowerPoint Options dialog box, and then under Display, ensure the Disable hardware graphics acceleration check box is not selected.

  What is a graphics accelerator?

  A graphics accelerator is a type of video adapter that contains its own processor to boost performance levels. These processors are specialized for computing graphical transformations, so they achieve better results than the general-purpose CPU used by your computer. These adapters free your computer's CPU to execute other commands while the graphics accelerator handles graphics computations.

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Modify how you use multimedia, animations, and transitions

• You can improve playback and performance and save disk space by compressing your media files.

• Reduce the number of transitions and complex animations in your presentation.

• Reduce the number of by-letter and by-word animations. By-letter and by-word animations apply a behavior or effect that moves text (by-word or by-letter) onto a slide to advance your presentation. For example, use an animation only for the title of a slide, instead of for every bullet in the slide.

• Reduce the size of animated pictures and animated text. Click the picture or text placeholder, and then drag the sizing handles to reduce the size of the object.

  Note: For more information about how to reduce the file sizes of pictures, see Reduce the file size of a picture.

• Don't use animations that include fading, rotating, or scaling. You can replace these effects with other animations.

• Don't use large gradients or transparent objects. Instead, choose solid color fills.

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Windows or hardware-related actions that you can take

• Exit all other programs.

• Use the Disk Cleanup feature that ships with Windows.

• Make sure that there is sufficient free disk space on the computer that you will deliver your presentation on.

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Clean out your TEMP folder

If you have many files in your TEMP folder, it can slow PowerPoint (and other programs) down significantly. Periodically check and delete excess files in your TEMP folder.

To find your TEMP folder, do the following:

1. Exit PowerPoint and all other programs.

2. Click Start.

3. Click Run.

4. In the Open box, type %temp%.

5. Click OK.

6. Select the excess .tmp files, and then press DELETE.

   Note: You can usually delete any files that you find in your TEMP folder. If you get an "access error" message, it's most likely because you're trying to delete a file that is being used.

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