How to Reduce a Microsoft Word File Size

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College.

The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work.

This article has been viewed 111,388 times.

This wikiHow teaches you how to reduce the file size of a Microsoft Word document. If your Word file is too big, it's often because the images in your document weren't inserted properly or aren't compressed enough. You can reduce the size of a Word document by inserting images properly (not using copy and paste), compressing the images, deleting any auto-recovery versions, turning off thumbnails, and turning off embedded fonts.

Method 1 of 5:

Inserting Images Properly

Step 1 Click Insert.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Step 2 Click icon.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

<a href=Microsoft Word Insert Picture" width="460" height="460" />

Advertisement

Step 3 Select the image you want to insert.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Select the image you want to insert. Use the file browser window to navigate to the location of an image and click the image file to select it.

Step 4 Click Insert.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click Insert . It's the button on the bottom-right corner of the file browser window. This will insert the image into the Word document in a format that works best with Word documents, without copying any unnecessary extra data.

Advertisement Method 2 of 5:

Compressing Images

Step 1 Select an image in your Word document.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Step 2 Click icon.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Microsoft Word Compress Pictures

Step 3 Select which pictures you want to compress.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Step 4 Select a resolution.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Step 5 Click Ok.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click Ok . It's at the bottom of the window. This compresses the images in your document which will reduce the file size of your Word file. [2] X Research source

Advertisement Method 3 of 5:

Deleting Auto-Recovery Versions

Step 1 Click File.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click File . It's the first option in the top-left of the blue menu bar at the top of Word.

Step 2 Click Info.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Info . It's the first option at the top of the blue column on the left.

Step 3 Click Manage Document icon.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Manage Document

Microsoft Word Manage Document

. It's the icon with several yellow pages and a magnifying glass. This will open a drop-down menu.

Step 4 Click Delete All Unsaved Documents icon.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Delete All Unsaved Documents

Microsoft Word Delete Unsaved

. It's the option on the bottom with the icon of three yellow pages and a red "X." This will delete all the recent copies of any unsaved auto-recovery versions of your document.

Advertisement Method 4 of 5:

Turning Off Thumbnails

Step 1 Click File.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click File . It's the first option in the top-left of the blue menu bar at the top of Word.

Step 2 Click Info.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Info . It's the first option at the top of the blue column on the left.

Step 3 Click Properties icon.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click Properties

Android 7 Dropdown

. It's at the top of the right side of the page. This opens a small drop-down menu with one option.

Step 4 Click Advanced Properties.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click Advanced Properties. It's the only option that appears next to the icon of a small bullet-point list. This will display the Properties window for your document.

Step 5 Click the Summary tab.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click the Summary tab. It's the second tab at the top of the window.

Step 6 Uncheck the box icon for

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Uncheck the box

Windows regunchecked

Public Domain
\n">

for "Save Thumbnails for All Word Documents." It's at the bottom of the "Summary" page. If your document has a lot of images, disabling this feature will reduce the file size of your Word document even more.

Step 7 Click OK.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click OK . This will save the changes to your document. Advertisement Method 5 of 5:

Turning Off Embedded Fonts

Step 1 Click File.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Click File . It's the first option in the top-left of the blue menu bar at the top of Word.

Step 2 Click Options.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click Options . It's the last option at the bottom of the blue column on the left. This will open the main settings for Microsoft Word.

Step 3 Click the Save tab on the left.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n">

Click the Save tab on the left. Click the "Save" tab on the left-side column to open all the settings to customize how Word saves your documents in the pane on the right.

Step 4 Uncheck the box icon for

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Uncheck the box

Windows regunchecked

Public Domain
\n">

for "Embed Fonts in the file." When this option is turned off, fonts that are not on the computer will not be used in the document, which can reduce the file size of your Word document if you used uncommon fonts.

Step 5 Click Ok.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement

Tips

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

You Might Also Like

Add a Border to Word

3 Easy Ways to Create Borders in Microsoft Word

Change Margins in Word

3 Easy Ways to Adjust the Page Margins in Microsoft Word

Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word

3 Simple Ways to Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word

Insert Page Numbers in Word

Easily Add Page Numbers to a Word Document on Any Platform

Insert a Check Box in Word

How to Add Check Boxes to Word: 10 Simple Steps

Add Backgrounds in Word

How to Add Backgrounds in Microsoft Word: Watermarks, Images, & Colors

Alphabetize in Microsoft Word

How to Alphabetize in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

Create an Index in Word

Create an Index in Word

Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word

Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word

Get Rid of a Horizontal Line in Microsoft Word

3 Easy Ways to Delete a Horizontal Line in a Word Document

Remove a Blank Page in Word

Remove a Blank Page in Word

Insert a File Into a Word Document

3 Quick Ways to Insert a File into a Word Document

Change the Orientation of Text in Microsoft Word

4 Simple Ways to Rotate Text Direction & Position in Word

Remove a Header from the Second Page

Easily Delete a Header from the Second Page in Word