Setting DPI for graphic output

[ChrisBrewster]

I need to convert graphics that were created in Powerpoint to PNG files with 96 DPI resolution. This shouldn't be hard since Powerpoint has two ways to set this:

• File > Options > Advanced > Image Size and Quality > Set default target output to [x]
  
  
  
• Modifying the Registry and setting this number (for Powerpoint 2010): HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\P owerPoint\Options\ExportBitmapResolution

The trouble is, neither of these works for me. No matter what I do, I get output at 220. My registry setting clearly says 96, but this does not affect the program. An IT support person helped me change the registry but had no suggestions about how to make this work. The setting done within the program similarly has no effect. Can anyone tell me why my setting does not take?
PS: the heading shows me as a novice, but this isn't the case.

[JohnWilson]

The two settings do different things.

Image size and quality sets the level of compression for individual images within Powerpoint and the reg key sets the output resolution when you export the slide(s) as images.

It's not clear which you are trying to do

[ChrisBrewster]

Thanks for your reply.

I said I wasn't a novice, but I did not realize these are distinct issues. One says "target output" and the other says ExportBitmapResolution, and they are both expressed as the number of DPI, so I thought they both referred to the resolution per inch in a graphic that is saved. In any case, that is my issue. I am saving graphics and need to control their size in inches when used in another environment.

[JohnWilson]

AFAIK if you mean you are right click > Save as PNG then the saved png will be at the original resolution. (I am not sure!)

If so maybe using compress pictures > 96 and then saving might work.

It will only work if the graphics are bitmap images and at least 96 ppi.

[ChrisBrewster]

The graphics I am saving are done using Powerpoint graphic objects (rectangles, circles, arrows, etc), so they are not bitmaps within Powerpoint. I'm saving them as PNG. This actually works very well except that I can't control the size of the resulting graphic.

In the publishing system where I need to use them, we publish both a PDF version and an online version. In the PDF version, the graphic is the size that I make it within Powerpoint (using the Ppt ruler at the top). But the online graphic is bigger by a factor of 220/96 or about 2.3. This is why I need Powerpoint to create the image at 96 DPI.

[JohnWilson]

Can you cut the graphic, paste special as PNG and then compress before exporting?

[ChrisBrewster]

I don't know how I would compress the graphic after the paste step that you suggest. But I would especially like to know how to make the ExportBitmapResolution setting work.

[JohnWilson]

I will say again then ExportBitMap Resolution does NOT control this. It controls saving the whole slide as an image. Not the same thing.

To compress the paste special image use the Picture Tools > Compress Image and choose 96 dpi

[ChrisBrewster]

OK, I understand better, but I don't see a DPI setting in any part of the "save as picture" step. There's a setting for the whole screen size for a slide, but that doesn't apply. As before, I can't get what I need from File > Options > Advanced > Image Size and Quality > Set default target output to [x]

Thanks for the help and any further suggestions.

[JohnWilson]

Step By Step:

1. Cut shape
2. paste Special as PNG
3. Select
4. On the ribbon Picture Tools Tab >Format
5. Choose Compress Pictures in the Adjust Group
6. Set to 96 ppi
7. Now save as Picture

[ChrisBrewster]

Thank you for spelling this out. The first graphic I tried worked correctly so I know I'm close... but the second graphic won't take the new setting for some reason. This is indicated by the published result, and I verified it by selecting each figure (the PNG saved within Powerpoint) and opening the Compress Pictures dialog. The first one, the correct one, shows the setting I selected (96), but the second one still shows 150 even though I selected 96. Can you suggest why this would happen? [I'm so close!]

[ChrisBrewster]

I found a better solution to this problem: copying my Powerpoint graphic into Visio. The drawback of the suggested approach within Powerpoint is that it involves two saves of the PNG. The target 96 DPI resolution is already so low that getting to it with an extra save makes it look bad even online. With Visio I get a first cousin of Powerpoint (they probably share quite a bit of code and objects), and it has the resolution setting on the save box. Thanks for your patience as I gradually arrived at this approach.