image resolution for presentation

Unravelling PowerPoint picture size and resolution

• Written by: Jamie Garroch
• Categories: PowerPoint design , PowerPoint productivity
• Comments: 6

If you come from a print media background you’ll be familiar with the importance of image resolution and how it affects quality. If you come from a web design environment you might be more familiar with pixels. But when it comes to PowerPoint, there’s an odd mix of measurements from the physical and digital worlds even though the majority of what is produced is shown on either a monitor or a projector. So what do presentation professionals need to know about picture size and resolution?

Pictures are made of dots

OK, so this might not be the most exciting news headline but we need to start from the beginning. A raster or bitmap picture (contrary to a vector image) is made up of thousands of tiny dots or pixels. Each of these dots is a single colour and the number of dots affects the file size of the picture. The image below shows how pixels are used to form an image. The first shows the image at a normal scale:

But when we zoom in you can clearly see each individual pixel that makes up the picture:

When you resize pictures in PowerPoint beyond their original 100% size, extra pixels have to be ‘invented’ by PowerPoint through a process of interpolation. This can cause pictures to appear blurry and degrade the quality of your slide show when displayed on a monitor or projector. In addition to the size of the picture in pixels, some image editors set a DPI (Dots Per Inch) parameter. This is usually only applicable for printed media and defines how many pixels (dots) are crammed into each inch. But PowerPoint does take DPI into account as you’ll see later.

So there are two aspects of a picture you need to be aware of:

Size : the number of pixels horizontally by the number of pixels vertically. This affects file size.

Resolution : the density of pixels per inch. This does not affect file size.

Points vs. Pixels

To add to the complexity of picture size and resolution, PowerPoint measures picture sizes in points under the hood and then converts them into your preferred measurement system, inches or centimetres, before displaying them in the user interface:

Points may mean prizes in game shows but in PowerPoint, points are not equivalent to prizes nor pixels. A point is actually 0.75 of a pixel on a 96 DPI monitor which comes from 96 DPI / 72 PPI ( dots or pixels per inch versus points per inch). The 96 number comes from the resolution of your monitor (more on that later) and 72 comes from the world of typography where a point is a physical unit of distance. A point (pt) is equal to 1/12 Pica, and 1 Pica = 1/6 inch. Hence 1 pt = 1/72 inch, meaning 1 inch contains 72 points. Phew!

Let’s see this in practice when examining a standard 16:9 widescreen slide in PowerPoint. If you click the Design tab followed by Slide Size and choose Custom Slide Size , you’ll see the size of your slide in either inches or centimetres:

Inches are actually easier to deal with here because you’re going to see conversions using DPI or Dots Per Inch. In the above example the slide has a size of 13.333 x 7.5 inches. Now, because there are 72 points per inch (don’t get this confused with dots per inch!) this translates to 960 (13.333 x 72) by 540 (7.5 x 72) points . This is what’s used to scale your picture as it’s inserted into your slide. That then translates to 1280 (960 / 0.75) by 720 (540 / 0.75) dots or pixels and that is what is used to project your picture during a slide show.

A little known secret is that regardless of the measurement system set on your computer, you can actually enter dimensions for your slide setup and/or objects on your slide by typing in a number followed by px for pixels or pt for points. As soon as you hit return, the number is converted to your default units of measurement. So entering 1in, 2.54cm, 72pt or 96px all yield the same result. Go ahead and try it!

Now, let’s take a look at what happens when you insert pictures into your slides at various sizes and resolutions.

Below are the settings for the stopwatch picture which we’ve scaled to 960 x 540 pixels at 72 DPI. Most decent image editor apps will allow you to set both the size and resolution and in this example we used the free GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) app which is available for both Windows and Mac.

When it’s inserted into the slide it occupies the full slide size and PowerPoint has kept it scaled at 100%. This is because we have the same number of pixels in the picture as there are points for the slide and the image is set to 72DPI:

You’ll get the same result if you rescale the source picture in your preferred image editor to 1280 x 720 pixels, but at 96DPI. This is because PowerPoint scales it by the ratio of 72/96 or 0.75.

Making this picture larger than the slide or projecting it at anything bigger than HD720p can cause it to become blurry.

If you now insert the same picture scaled to HD1080P (1920 x 1080 pixels) at 72DPI you’ll see that it’s automatically scaled down in PowerPoint to 50% of its original size or ¼ the size of HD1080P so that it fits on the slide:

In this case, even though the picture has been scaled to the slide size all of the pixel data is still there for use when projecting. That means you can display or project this slide at a maximum size of HD1080P without any degradation of the picture.

If you were to project at a higher size such as 4k or 8k HD, there’s a chance that the projected image will not be pin-point sharp. This depends on the image interpolation algorithms in use by the combination of PowerPoint, your graphics card and the projector. If you insert the same picture at HD1080p size but with the DPI set to 144, it’ll get inserted at 100% scale and fit the slide exactly.

When looking at file size, it’s clear to see that it’s the number of pixels in the file that makes the difference and that the DPI setting does not impact file size at all. This is the relevant information in Windows Explorer for our test pictures:

So what have you learned?

• That the DPI setting within a picture file is used to scale the picture as it’s inserted onto the slide but it has no impact on the projected quality nor the size of the picture file.
• 960 x 540 pixels at 72 DPI
• 1280 x 720 pixels at 96 DPI
• The second picture will have a larger file size as it contains more pixel data.

Monitor Scaling

Now you know how DPI has an impact on pictures in PowerPoint, you might be asking yourself how does the Windows scaling affect all of this? When you change the scale factor in Windows Settings what is essentially happening is that the display DPI is being changed. You might have one HD1080p monitor set to 100% scale and another set to 200%. The corresponding monitor DPI values for these are:

• 100% = 96DPI
• 200% = 192DPI

This means that there are twice as many dots/pixels in use on the second monitor. The impact on PowerPoint is therefore that you need twice as many pixels in the image to display it optimally, irrespective of the DPI setting in the picture file. That means taking your HD1080p picture and sourcing a 4k version of it, which is 3840 x 2160 pixels.

Other PowerPoint Considerations

If you dig around in PowerPoint you’ll find a couple of other features that affect picture quality. The first is in the ribbon and the second is in the backstage.

Compress Pictures is found in the ribbon when you have a picture selected and you click the Format Picture tab:

This open a window that allows you to compress the currently selected picture or all pictures in your presentation:

You can click the ? icon in this window for lots more detail from Microsoft on what each of these settings does but basically, the Resolution section scales the image down to the set ppi (ppi here means dpi not points per pixel!). It doesn’t scale beyond the current DPI setting of the image because this implies creating new pixel data, which is why you’ll see some options greyed out.

You might think that PowerPoint is just changing the DPI setting in the image but it’s not. It also changes the size of the image in pixels. To test this we took the original stopwatch picture sized to 2048 x 1203 at 330DPI. Using the compress pictures tool, the picture was set to the Web (150 ppi) setting. We then used the free BrightSlide Export Media Files to observe the result in Windows Explorer:

As you can see, the resolution was indeed changed from 300 to 150 but the pixel count changed too, by an ratio of 1:2.2 (330/150). PowerPoint did this so that the picture on the slide remained the same physical in/cm size.

This is obviously a destructive process as pixels are deleted from the picture so use it with care. Also destructive is the option to delete cropped areas which deletes all the picture data outside of your cropping mask.

The other place you’ll see DPI is in the backstage when you click File / Options / Advanced , which corresponds to the Use default resolution option in the widow above. How convenient!

Maximum Size

While you’re learning all about slide and picture sizes, let’s complete the picture (sorry!) by covering the topic of maximum slide size. You might want to know this if you’re printing your creation onto a large format printer or displaying it on a monster projector. Currently, the maximum size for a PowerPoint slide is as follows:

56 x 56 in   |   142.24 x 142.24 cm   |   4032 x 4032 points   |   5376 x 5376 pixels

Conclusion & Recommendation

Pictures in PowerPoint can be tricky to get to grips with. Choosing the right size has an impact on both the file size of your presentation and the maximum monitor/projection size you can use without degrading quality. In general, if you’re projecting at a maximum size of HD1080p, make sure you’re using pictures that are created at 1920 x 1080 pixels in size. Set the DPI to 144 if you want them to be inserted into your slide at 100% scale but remember that the DPI setting doesn’t itself impact file size or the quality of your image or how it’s projected during your slide show. Only pixels do that.

Jamie Garroch

Principal technical consultant, related articles, how to consistently brand graphs and charts across microsoft office.

• PowerPoint design / PowerPoint productivity
• Comments: 1

How do you make sure that your graphs and charts have consistent branding across Excel, PowerPoint and Word? Learn how to create and use custom templates that support your brand identity across Microsoft Office.

Protecting your prized PowerPoint content

• PowerPoint productivity / Presentation technology

Our comprehensive guide to password protecting PowerPoint files so your precious presentations stay just they you made them!

Hacking PowerPoint to create custom colors

• PowerPoint design
• Comments: 26

Tints and shades auto-generated by Microsoft from Theme Colors often take your content off-brand. How can you get the custom colors you want in PowerPoint? Read on to find out!

Thanks Jamie. A helpful article

I have a related question to help complete my understanding. Suppose you have a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with PowerPoint slides sized set to match. What happens if you insert a picture with larger Pixel Dimensions eg 3840x 2160 pixels and then ‘Scale’ the picture to fit in the slide? Is the image ‘resampled’ down by removing pixels or is the image scaled down by shrinking existing pixels (which i imagine doesn’t make sense as presumably you can’t shrink pixels below the native pixel size for the screen) ? Similarly, if you inserted a smaller picture of eg 480 x 270 pixels and then ‘Scale’ up to fill the slide, are pixels added or are the existing pixels ‘stretched/made larger ?

Hope that makes sense and thanks for your help,

Hi Campbell. Great question! It depends on what is set for the file in File / Options / Advanced / Image Size and Quality. Take a look at the mouse hover tips for the options “Do not compress images in a file” and “Default resolution” for the answers to your questions.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question. The mouse hover ‘tips’ help explain what happens when the file is saved but I still have the same question when changing the size of the image on screen up/down before it is saved. I.e do you know if the images are ‘re-sampled’ by adding/deleting pixels or are existing pixels somehow stretched/shrunk. I hope that makes sense and thanks again for your help.

Useful. I did not realize ppt respects a units suffix in setting sizes in the Format pane.

I do not understand why Microsoft can’t make this app use pixels for the default dimensions. PPT is used for on-screen presentations at least 95% of the time, and yet they continue to use inches. Also, there is no easy way to see if an image (especially one used as a background image in a shape) is 100%.

For the type of picture you have, use JPG, not PNG. PNG is great for screenshots, but not “natural” images.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Join the BrightCarbon mailing list for monthly invites and resources

BrightCarbon is our “go to” for all of our professional presentations, always delivering high quality projects on time and on budget. Cynthia Rogan Apex Learning

• Presentation

What is the best image resolution for PPT? and how to set it?

• December 3, 2022

You may probably be in a situation where the perfect Image you found for your slide isn’t available on your PowerPoint presentation, and when you use it, it becomes blurred or pixelated on the screen. In this article, you will learn about Image Resolution in PowerPoint presentation’s and solving the problem, what is the best image resolution for PPT, and some tips to help you avoid this.

Table of Contents

What is the image resolution? 

Understanding some fundamental concepts is necessary to comprehend image resolution. Understanding what makes up an image, i.e., pixels.

What is a Pixel? 

Pixel stands for picture element. The smallest element that can display on a screen is called Pixel. When you zoom in on an image, the tiny, tiny square appears on your screen. This is how you get the Image on your screen.

What is an Image Size? 

A picture’s size is the sum of the number of pixels stacked in its width (w) and the number of pixels stacked in its height (h). This is also called the Image’s dimensions.

Image Size = Width (w), x Height(h) of an image 

A 1920 X 1080 file size would be an image with a width of 1920 pixels and a height of 1080 pixels. Because 1 pixel is an image unit, it is measured in pixels. The total number of pixels in a 2073600 pixel image is approximately 2 megapixels (2 MP). If your phone camera has 2 megapixels, it can capture images with a dimension of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

NOTE:  Image Size does not equal Image File Size. Image file size refers to the amount of storage space an image takes up on your computer’s hard drive. This measurement is in bytes, which are usually kilobytes or megabytes.

What is Image Resolution? 

Image Resolution is a term people use to describe the clarity of an image. People assume that a photo with more pixels means it has high resolution.

• The number of pixels comprises the Image’s height and width (dimensions of the Image.).
• The screen size on which the Image is displayed (normally measured in inches).

Image resolution can be measured in pixels. It’s not just the pixels in an image but also the dimensions of those pixels. You need to know the screen size on which an image will be displayed. This will determine the Image’s true resolution.

What is the image resolution unit for measuring? 

Images resolutions are measured by pixels per inch (PPI). This unit is used to measure digital image resolution. The number of pixels per inch, or PPI, is the number of pixels arranged in a 1-inch square box. It indicates how many pixels are arranged by width (column), height (row), and so on. This is also called Pixel density or Pixel Density. It is the same thing as Image resolution.

How do you check the resolution of an Image? 

You can quickly check the resolution of images on your computer.

In Windows:  To verify the resolution of an image on the Windows Operating System, right-click the Image to be checked, then go to Properties. Next, scroll down to the Image section.

In Mac:  It is much easier and more precise to check the image resolution on Macs than it is for Windows users.

It’s easy—double-click on the Image to open it using the default “Preview” option. Next, click “Tools” and select “adjust the scale.” A window will appear displaying the details of the pixels and the resolution so that you can see the Image in the above Image. The image resolution in the example above is 72 PPI, and the Image has a dimension of 360 x540 pixels.

This pop-up box allows you to reduce the image resolution. You can, for example, replace 72 with 50 in the example above, and the image resolution will be reduced to 50 PPI rather than 72 PPI.

PowerPoint: Setting pixels

I explained initially that a default PowerPoint presentation is 13.333 inches by 7.5 inches. PowerPoint 2013: Click  Design from the normal PowerPoint menu and then click Slide Size.

There are three options available when the button opens.

• Standard (4:3)
• Widescreen (16.9)
• Slide size can be customized

To enable the  Custom Slide Size , click on the 3rd option. You will be presented with this form:

If the user wishes to create a slide or slideshow of 1920×1080 pixels in size, just enter

Enter the width

At the height field.

This will automatically be converted into centimeters or inches.

To close, click OK. All slides in your current presentation will be this size. Now you can add slides and information to the system.

How do you convert low resolution image to a high resolution image? 

PowerPoint cannot scale up a low-resolution image. It is strongly recommended that you start with a high resolution image in PowerPoint. There are, however other options available for scaling up images.

Can I choose a default resolution for PowerPoint images? 

PowerPoint has a default image compression. You can set it to one of these options:

Check and adjust your default image resolution/compression option:

• Open PowerPoint file
• Select Options
• You will find Advanced within that menu.
• Quality and size of images
• Select the appropriate PPI setting in the dropdown menu. Choose from 220ppi, 150ppi, or 96ppi.

I explained initially that a default PowerPoint presentation is 13.333 inches by 7.5 inches. PowerPoint 2013: Click  Design  from the normal PowerPoint menu and then click  Slide Size .

To close, click  OK . All slides in your current presentation will be this size. Now you can add slides and information to the system.

Maximum Size

Let’s start with the topic of maximum slide sizes. This information is essential if you plan to print your creation on a large format printer or display it on a monster projector. The maximum size of a PowerPoint slide at the moment is:

142.24 x 142.24 cm

Conclusion. 

Image resolution is not an easy topic to discuss. Now you understand image resolution and ensure that your next presentation does not include pixelated images.

• Graphic Design , UI-UX

How to Become a Motion Graphic Designer?

A Brief Overview of Lean UX

UX Strategy and Its Components

you'r more than welcome

7 days a week, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM

contact info

[email protected] +351910923549

• LB07129, Jebel Ali Freezone, Dubai, UAE

Got a Project?

We’re a team of creatives who are excited about unique ideas and help companies to create amazing identity by offering wide range of digital services

© 2021 All rights reserved.

Be the first one who knows about updates!

enter your email address 📩

Welcome to the club 🎉.

From now on, Temis will inform you of its most valuable content and offers. You can also subscribe to this list at the moment. We will also protect your privacy

404 Not found

Source: Columbia University Visual Media Center

PNG files \(indicated by a .png extension on a file name\) are becoming increasingly more common among the web.

It was created to update and replace gif images since it can retain more colors than fig images and can also be

transparent while simultaneously being slightly smaller in file size. Good for: web graphics.

• DynamicPowerPoint.com
• SignageTube.com
• SplitFlapTV.com

How to Fix PowerPoint Low Resolution Pictures?

Aug 28, 2017 | DataPoint Automation , DataPoint Real-time Screens , How-To

54 Comments

I tried both methods neither of them worked

That is weird Ethan. Sure that your base images are high-res before you insert them in PowerPoint? Don’t want to start a full troubleshooting discussion here. If you want that we look into this for you, please create a trouble ticket via our support link https://presentationpoint.com/support/

Like Ethan above, I tried both methods, and neither worked. also tried restarting my computer with no change to dpi. I made sure that the image I was using was 300 dpi. I need to note that the max resolution my powerpoint program allows is 220.

Scott, same for you. We can look into this if you want, but please create a trouble ticket at https://presentationpoint.com/support

First method worked! Thank you. This issue has been frustrating.

It works! Thanks so much!

First method worked for me, I couldn’t figure out what was going on! thank you.

how do i get this to work for apple Mac i cannot find any of those methods with my version

Hi Naomi. Method 1 will probably work as well on Mac. Method 2 not in this form. Not sure if there is such a thing for Mac.

I found images came in blurry when using cut and paste from Photoshop. If I saved the images as .png then imported them into PPT, they came in sharp. Something about the default file format of cut and paste in windows, PPT doesn’t like.

Interesting. But what is the format of your document when you have it open in Photoshop? Is the PSD? I would expect that you can only copy/paste to PowerPoint when you start from a JPG format file in Photoshop. Makes sense, not? This is of course only an assumption. Try another program. Try to paste your clipboard into a fresh new MS Paint document. Does that work the same as in PowerPoint?

Does not work. Been trying this for months with new and old ppt files. MS 365 Powerpoint. High fidelity with do not compress leads to a drop from 4k+ file size to 157 KB file size of the SAME picture without having done a thing.

Can you please export your registry settings to a file and create a trouble ticket at https://presentationpoint.com/support/ Not our software but willing to look if we can assist you with this.

It worked. Thank you

I can do permanent change with office 2010, but on my new laptop I have Office 365. There, following the instructions of ‘Method 2’, in registry there is no further than HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\: here there is only this: 11.0, Common, Outlook. But there is no PowerPoint subfolder in any of them. ‘Method 1’ doesn’t give me the resolution I would like to have. Can you advise please?

Weird because I have Office 365 too and I find everything at Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\PowerPoint Scan your full registry for the word ‘PresenterView’. Do you find such a thing related to PowerPoint?

I find this only works for new ppt files. I edited the registry and new ppts have the default to not compress files, but if I open any existing files, they are still set to compress down. Any way to have this setting apply to everything?

Jennifer, yes that is right. PowerPoint compresses the images at the moment that you save the presentation and only for one reason; to save space on your hard drive. So when you open old (so already compressed) presentations, then you cannot bring back the images to high resolutions. That is definitely gone by the earlier save command. So your remark is completely true. Thanks for pointing that out.

Tried both methods, neither worked….

The first method didn’t work, but the second one did. Thank you!!! “The folder 16.0 corresponds to PowerPoint 2016. Use 14.0 for PowerPoint 2010 or 15.0 for PowerPoint 2013” is really important. I first changed the PowerPoint setting under the folder 15.0 without thinking much and it didn’t work. But the 16.0 folder worked.

Thanks for your comments. If 16.0 is working for you then you have PowerPoint 2016 installed. And if you have PowerPoint 2013 then you should use 15.0, you see? So that number is depending on the software version of PowerPoint that you have installed on your computer. So that sounds completely correct.

You can share some screenshots and more details in a trouble ticket so that we can try to help you. You can export your registry settings for example and send it in for a review.

To make the second method works delete the ‘s’ in Pictures from AutomaticPicturesCompressionDefault.

The new Dword should be named AutomaticPictureCompressionDefault.

For Mac users, check instructions on how to change registry http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00862_PowerPoint_2007_and_2010_make_pictures_blurry-_loses_GIF_animation.htm

Good finding Sedrine. Image and text was corrected.

I am really struggling with this issue.I use Powerpoint to create covers that will be printed and interiors for books so the resolution must be 330 DPI at least. I had the option until a recent update of PowerPoint. Now the option 330 ppp doesn’t appear anymore. I have followed a tutorial similar to the one above to change this but it didn’t work. I still only have the 220 ppp maximum as an option to save the images. What can i do? Should i follow the tutorial above again? The one i followed was similar and found on the internet.

Thanks for your help

Can you export your registry settings please and send it in as a trouble ticket our website? Willing to look into this for you.

I am sorry to say it doesn’t work for me either.

I am on PowerPoint 2010, used version number 14.0, spelt the REG_D word correctly and restarted my machine. Now “Do not compress images in file” remains ticked (although the 220ppp option still shows) every time I start up PowerPoint. However, unfortunately when I bring in an image it compresses it. A 3Mb image when inserted as a picture and saved as a jpg will compress to 50K.

Hi Roger, it should be working, but I just learned something new too. After the registry change, you have to try it out with a new presentation. This registry hack has an impact on new presentations only. The setting of compressing images or not, is embedded in the presentation and is thus a presentation setting. That what we do here in the registry, is just a default behavior setting for new presentations when they are created. Can you please test that and confirm?

Hello, i need help with this, cuz i want to make a presentation similar to this, applying this tutorial:

youtu.be/8idIuqvcuW0

But instead of just one continent it is the whole world and I want to zoom to a single country per slide.

The thing is that when I zoom in on the thumbnail, the rest of the map on the previous slide looks pixelated, blurry, how do I solve that?

Hi Gark, no specific experience with this problem. Try to post your question at https://answers.microsoft.com/ . There are some real experts watching and replying.

Thank you for your Email. Well I tried it with a brand new presentation. The “Do not compress image in file” was ticked ok, I set the slides size to A4, imported a 3,861Kb jpg image and then saved it as a jpg. It was saved at 51K. All very annoying because PowerPoint is so versatile, but for my use let down by this one problem.

I’m using a Mac and I don’t have the “options” or “advanced” under file or preferences. How do I fix this on a Mac with PowerPoint 365?

Indeed this is for Windows only. Sorry no way to test on a Mac here.

Hi, ppt 2019 on windows 10 is introducing motion blur though I have compressed it in ppt, set quality to high fidelity and followed https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/best-way-of-showing-high-quality-video-in-powerpoint-presentations.3528365/ . What shall I do?

Hi Valentin, sorry but no specific experience with this. Maybe someone else here? We do have a plugin to show videos on top of your slideshow independently. Maybe that is an option? https://presentationpoint.com/software/dynamicelements/videos/

Hi. I use Office365 on a Windows PC, is there a similar permanent solution to the “regedit” that can be made please? Thanks.

An alternative to regedit? No that does not exist. But once that you have it, you can export the changes to a single reg file and execute it on another computer. Not sure what your problem is…

Both methods did not work for me. But problems solved via converting ppt to pdf and establishing necessary resolution in GIMP. In my experience quality is fine.

They should be working Kristine, but it is so easy to make mistakes in the registry. If you export your registry to a file, then I can have a look at it. Submit a trouble for this please.

Thanks. I tried the first one and will let you know if it’d keep working fine

It did not work for me either :/

was hoping this would work as i have searched and cant find an answer sadly it hasnt I start off with a 6mb image when i open it in powerpoint 365 or 2007 and i dont do anything to it just save it as a jpeg or png the resulting save is around 2mb so when the image is opened and enlarged its blurry the original image can be enlarged with no problems…so i cant edit the original image due to the poor quality afterwards …i changed the settings under compress pictures so it says high fidelity it makes no difference the resulting save is terrible also added the line to the registry but i cant stop pp from compressing any file i open

Joe, I would use the 365 PowerPoint version only, definitely not 2007 because it is too old (and its behavior might be different). First: you are commenting on an article about the automatic compression of pictures in PowerPoint files when you save the PowerPoint pptx file itself. Your problem is about exporting slides to images. Those are 2 different problems or settings. So first of all, with that high fidelity active, is your pptx around 6mb when you save it? That means that your settings based on this article are working. Right? That is the first step and important to know. Exporting your slides to images by PowerPoint and the quality of the outcome, is something else. That is explained at our article here: https://presentationpoint.com/blog/convert-powerpoint-to-jpeg/

Both tricks did not help me either. But….I discover that while exporting an image, you can just select “Save Original Picture”. That did the trick! 🙂

Can you please indicate the steps for the first method? I don’t know which (file) option you mean? I use mac and when I click on (file), there is no (options) under it!

Sorry we only have PCs to try this on…

I tried method 2 without success. I think this is because we use a custom template for our presentations. I tried to find the template which I managed eventually ( it was here: C:\Users\<>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates) I used Method 1 on the template and it works fine.

Both methods work, needed to be able to zoom in on my pictures to see detail in the presentation. Good shit, cheers mate.

Thanks for the confirmation Tanner! Have a great day.

Hi, thanks for the forum. I have a PC, Powerpoint 2016. I work with 1024 x 1024 pixels, 0.7 x 0.7 cm, and 3716 pixels/inches resolution. Before changing the registry, whatever importation methods these pictures became 165×165 pixels, 5.82×5.82cm with 72 pixels/inch resolution. After changing the registry as you indicated, the pictures are now 630 x 630 pixels, 22.23 x 22.23 cm with 72 pixels/inch resolution that is far more acceptable for a presentation. The only thing is that at the importation, the picture size is still “a stamp” size. The wonderful thing is that I do not have to modify my pictures before importing them. One last thing, this work only on “newly” created files, but not on files that were created before the registry change. The Devil is always hidden in details Thank you so much

Thanks Jean-Michel for your feedback! You are right; it only works on new files/slides. You will have to export the slides to jpg again.

Hey good day, the layout of my registry editor is different. The contents in mine are: (default) AppMaximized Bottom Left Top

I’ve tried both methods with another laptop, the other laptop had the same layout, it didn’t work. I’m using Power point 365.

No sure, but we recently published a tool for that where you don’t have to dig into the registry. Check out https://presentationpoint.com/blog/export-powerpoint-slides-to-high-quality-pictures/ Check if that works!

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

• StumbleUpon
• Print Friendly

How to Change Image Resolution in PowerPoint Presentations

Last updated on March 23rd, 2023

Sometimes the images used in a presentation may not have the correct resolution, which can result in blurry or pixelated images, especially when printing in high-quality paper or displaying them in a big screen. Fortunately, PowerPoint provides a simple way to change the resolution of images within a presentation.

In this article, we will explain how to change the image resolution in PowerPoint presentations.

How to Adjust the Image Resolution in PowerPoint using the Advanced PowerPoint Options?

Suppose you are concerned about the output quality of your images in PowerPoint. In that case, you may be interested to learn more about image resolution and the advanced options in PowerPoint that let you handle this correctly. In PowerPoint, you can access the advanced options page with a set of additional options that allow you customize how PowerPoint is being used. By accessing the PowerPoint options with the Advanced tab, you can see a dialog box like this one below:

Here you can change several options like editing options (what to do when selecint a text or an entire word), copy and paste options, or even display options.

But one of the most interesting options under this screen is the Image Size and Quality .

Here you can choose what to do with the images when discarding editing data is needed or do not compress image in file. There is also an option that let you set default target output and choose a list of PPI values for the image quality. Here you can change image resolution in PowerPoint presentations .

What are the possible Resolution Options in PowerPoint?

Here is a list of possible resolution options:

• High Fidelty: It will use the maximum possible resolution
• 330 ppi: Ideal for printing in high-quality paper, or making printed infographics, flyers or brochures.
• 220 ppi: Ideal for presentations that will require detail and clarity, especially when projected onto a large screen or viewed on high-resolution displays.
• 150 ppi: A resolution of 150 ppi (pixels per inch) in a PowerPoint presentation is useful for situations where you need to balance image quality with file size.
• 96 ppi: Useful for presentations that will be shared via mobile devices or presented through a computer screen that do not demand too much resolution.

Changing the resolution of images in PowerPoint presentations is a simple process that can greatly improve the quality of your visuals. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily adjust the resolution of images to ensure that they are clear and crisp. Remember to select the image, open the Format Picture dialog box, change the resolution, and apply the changes. With these steps, you can create professional-looking presentations that effectively communicate your message.

We will send you our curated collections to your email weekly. No spam, promise!

The leading authority in photography and camera gear.

Become a better photographer.

12.9 Million

Annual Readers

Newsletter Subscribers

Featured Photographers

Photography Guides & Gear Reviews

How to Choose Photo Resolution & Size for Printing Or Online Use

Photo resolution and megapixels are confusing topics, especially how to choose image resolution for print or online use. This guide will help you understand.

Learn | Photography Guides | Printing Guides | By Ana Mireles

If you’ve ever wondered what’s a good photo resolution for printing or online use, this is the guide for you.

Despite the popularity of high-megapixel cameras and apps to increase image resolution , many photographers still don’t understand how image size affects image quality.

Having a high-resolution image for printing may be obvious, but how do you make an image high resolution in the first place?

Do you need to worry about pixel resolution in digital images used online? Is a higher resolution always necessary for bigger prints ?

If you’re staring at your computer screen scratching your head, keep reading as all will be answered in this in-depth guide to image resolution.

• Related: How to print better photos at home

Table of Contents

What is Photo Resolution?

Credit: Annie Spratt

The term resolution is one of the most confusing in digital photography. Is it about image quality? Is it about file size ? Does it matter if you’re only going to use your image on a computer screen?

These are some of the questions that most people have when they first approach digital photography – I know I had them. So, let’s start by clarifying that a photo’s resolution is the number of pixels it has.

You can determine how many pixels are in a photo by multiplying the pixels on the width by the number on the height. For example, if you have an image file that’s 3648 px by 2736 px, the actual number of pixels in the image is 9,980,928 – which means it has a 10MP resolution.

See also: What is Adobe Super Resolution? (and why you should use it)

How to Choose the Best Image Resolution

What is the best image resolution for print.

The printer resolution is expressed in DPI, which stands for dots per inch. The dots that it’s referring to are the dots of ink released by the printer. Digital photos use the measure PPI, which stands for pixels per inch.

The best resolution for printing photos is 300 PPI, although 250 or 150 PPI may be good enough if you don’t need such high quality. Keep in mind that a lower resolution means fewer details. Likewise, high resolution image sizes mean more detail.

Some printing services don’t ask you for a specific PPI – instead, they ask for the document size. For example, they ask for an image with at least 1024 px x 768 px to produce a 5″ x 7″ print. You can quickly determine the PPI by dividing 1024/7 and 768/5, because when you know the number of pixels and the number of inches, then you can determine how many pixels there are per inch.

(Read more about pixel art software .)

This is probably not the first time you’ve heard that 300 is the magic number for printing photos . Then, you go buy an inkjet printer, and you find that they are 600 DPI and even 1200 DPI. Well, that refers to the printer resolution. In other words, the amount of ink dots that it’s able to print – see our guide on PPI vs DPI .

Inkjet printers, as well as laser printers, can release dots of different sizes and intensities, and they can optimize the movement to overlap the dots to deliver more detail to your printed images.

So, you can print a 300 PPI photo on a 1200 DPI printer, and it won’t change the total number of pixels because the DPI only refers to the dots per inch and not the image’s resolution.

• Read more: How to change DPI in Photoshop

What is the Best Image Resolution for Web?

Images for the web should be low resolution. This is because more pixels result in a bigger file size, and bigger files load more slowly.

Since we’re accustomed to accessing information in a fraction of a second, if a page doesn’t load quickly, the person will just move on to the next one.

Also, if somebody steals your images to use without consent, they can’t do much with a low-resolution image – so it’s a type of protection.

Some websites and social media sites require a certain resolution to better display your images. Here’s a guide to the most popular web picture resolution:

How Much Do You REALLY Know About Photography?! 🤔

Test your photography knowledge with this quick quiz!

See how much you really know about photography...

Your answer:

Correct answer:

SHARE YOUR RESULTS

Your Answers

• Facebook profile picture: 180 x 180 px.
• Facebook cover image: 400 x 150 px (min).
• Twitter header image: 1500 x 1500 px.
• Twitter profile picture: 400 x 400 px.
• Instagram profile picture: 110 x 110 px.
• Instagram Stories: 1080 x 1920 px.
• Instagram feed: 1080 x 1080 px / 1080 x 1350 px.
• LinkedIn profile picture: Something between 400 x 400 and 20,000 x 20,000 px (min. 200 x 200).
• LinkedIn background image: 1584 x 396 px.
• YouTube profile picture: 800 x 800 px.
• Channel cover image: 2560 x 1440 px.
• Shopify product images: 2048 x 2048 px.
• Amazon product images: 1000 x 1000 px.
• Etsy product images: 1000 x 1000 px.

( See other image sizes for social media .)

If you’re building your website from scratch and want to know which is the best resolution, you can use a page ruler and determine the size you want to display your image according to your design.

However, you can use the biggest possible web resolution to keep the image available in any format. This is because it’s always better to shrink a photo than to enlarge it.

So, you can use a width of 2560 because it’s the standard resolution of 30″ monitors. The height will depend on the photo’s aspect ratio – if it’s squared, 16:9, 4:3, etc.

The standard PPI for images on the web is 72. As long as images stay digital, more pixels won’t help you gain more detail – they only make images heavier.

There is one exception to the rule. If you’re a photographer or a digital artist , you’ll find that some portfolio websites will require the best resolution available. This is because they offer a print-on-demand feature. So, they display a low-resolution image on the website, but they need the high-resolution one to print your products once someone buys them.

• How to resize an image for print

What is the Best Image Resolution for Facebook?

Finding official information about image resolution on Facebook is quite tricky for personal accounts. However, Meta has published a guide for businesses with the minimum and recommended image resolutions to use on their website. (Note that they start by saying that you should use the highest quality available.)

For the Facebook feed, they recommend 1080 x 1350. For the right column, Instant Articles, and Marketplace, the recommended image resolution is 1200 x 1200. For Facebook stories, 1080 x 1920.

Facebook does sometimes change its image dimensions and compression algorithms, so these recommendations can change over time.

For your personal account, consider that your Facebook profile is displayed at 170 x 170 and the cover photo at 820 x 312 on a desktop.

• See how to print photos onto canvas

What is the Best Image Resolution for Instagram?

Still from Meta’s Business Help Center, the recommendation for Instagram Stories is 1080 x 1920 and 1080 x 1080 or 1080 x 1350 for the Instagram Feed, depending on the format.

You should also check the best Lightroom export settings for Instagram .

What is the Best Image Resolution for PowerPoint?

PowerPoint presentations are meant to be displayed on monitors or projected. Considering an image that fits the entire slide in a widescreen format, you can use a digital image of 960 x 540 px. This is a good high resolution picture size to start with.

However, if you’re going to project your PowerPoint in HD 1080D, it’s best if you use an image of 1280 x 720 px.

• 4k vs 1080p: Which Video Resolution Do You Need?

Relationship Between Number of Pixels & Photo Size

A photograph is usually a rectangle or square formed by smaller squares called pixels. You’ll get the image height if you count the number of pixels on the vertical side. In the same way, if you count the pixels horizontally, you’ll get the image width. If you multiply both values, you’ll have the total amount of existing pixels.

Let’s use the Canon EOS 90D as an example, which is advertised to have 32.5 megapixels . When you open a raw file taken with the 90D, you’ll see that it has 6,960 px x 4,640 px. When you multiply these two numbers, you get a total of 32,294,400 pixels – which Canon rounds up as a 32.5 MP image sensor. You can do the same exercise with any digital camera.

Now, this doesn’t tell us anything about the photo’s physical size. That depends on how you distribute the total number of pixels. If you put them very close together, the photo size will be smaller, and if you spread them out, it will be bigger. This is called pixel density, and it doesn’t change the total number of pixels.

This is expressed in a value called PPI (pixels per inch).  The most common measures you’ll find are 72 PPI for digital use and 300 PPI for print. So, raw files from a Canon 90D camera can be 96.6 x 64.4 inches if you have 72 pixels per inch. 2However, they can also be 23.2 x 15.4 inches if you have 300 pixels per inch.

When you want to print that image, you have to think about the dots per inch (DPI). This is the number of dots the printer will put on each inch of paper. You need to have a high PPI and a printer with a good DPI resolution to have acceptable results.

• How Can I Print Pictures from Instagram on a Computer?

Image Quality & Image Size FAQs

What is a high-resolution image?

High-resolution images have a higher pixel count per inch. In digital photography, the standard for a high-quality photo is 300 PPI because it will give you good print quality .

How do I know if my JPEG is high resolution?

To check the resolution of your images, you can use a photo editor program. For example, using Adobe Photoshop, you can go to Image > Image size. Here you’ll find your JPEG’s size and resolution information, and you can modify it too. You can do the same with other software such as GIMP.

How can I get a higher resolution of an image?

Keep in mind that digitally enhancing the image resolution will never give you the same quality as having the picture taken at high quality from the start. However, as AI technology improves, you get to retain more image detail. Using Lightroom, you can quadruple the image size using the feature SuperResolution . In Photoshop, you can open the image size and input the new values – then check Interpolation as the resampling method. You can also use dedicated software such as Gigapixel AI to increase the resolution up to 600%.

How do I increase the resolution of a photo on my iPhone?

Start by choosing the ‘Most Compatible’ option in the Format section of your Camera Settings . Then, turn on Apple RAW if your iPhone supports it. These options ensure the highest resolution files on iPhone. You can use third-party apps to increase the resolution of a photo you’ve already taken.

What file size should professional photos be?

The resolution for professional photos depends on the outlet of the work. If the pictures are meant for web use only, 2400 x 1600 px is a good resolution, and they will display properly on any device. If the aim is to have a printed image, then you need to multiply the printing size by 300 DPI – which is the industry standard. For example, to print an 8 x 10-inch photo, you need a digital file to have 2400 by 3000 px for best photo quality. However, large format prints require less PPI – for example, a billboard is not 300 DPI but usually around 30 DPI. You can discuss with your client from the beginning what size they’ll need. You should also read our guide on where to print large photos and posters online .

Is Higher Resolution Really Better? Final Words

As you can see, high resolutions are not always better. Actually, for web usage, a higher resolution is actually a problem. (That’s why you sometimes need to lower the image quality .)

It’s also useless to use the highest resolution available on your phone or camera if you’re only going to look at your photos on your phone or post them on social media. This will only create large files that will fill your memory card quickly, and you don’t really need the extra resolution.

However, if you know you will be printing your images, then yes – a high-resolution file is better. Do keep in mind that resolution is not the only requirement for a higher quality print, but it definitely is a must-have.

I hope this article cleared up some of the confusion about image resolution. Please share your doubts and thoughts in the comments section.

Check out these 8 essential tools to help you succeed as a professional photographer.

Includes limited-time discounts.

You'll Also Like These:

Ana Mireles is a Mexican researcher that specializes in photography and communications for the arts and culture sector.

Thank you for reading my article – let me know if you have any questions.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

👋 WELCOME TO SHOTKIT!

🔥 Popular NOW:

Unlock the EXACT blueprint to capture breathtaking iPhone photos!

Shotkit may earn a commission on affiliate links. Learn more.

Best Resolution for PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) background image in pixel

• Post author By Creative Alive Staff
• Post date November 30, 2013
• 2 Comments on Best Resolution for PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) background image in pixel

PowerPoint is the simplest way to presentation and using of this is easier as you can think. In this article we will discuss about optimal image resolution for PowerPoint. Consider that, Resolution is the total number of pixels of image, which can measured in total number of pixels per inch.

Standard sizes we found best while playing with resolution and PowerPoint Presentation slide.

“800 × 600”

“1024 × 768”, “1280 × 1024”.

These sizes are very light weighted and best for PowerPoint Background image.

Some instruction to be follow while designing for PPT:

1. know about your screen resolution.

Display Settings, which denotes to the number of pixels displayed on your system monitor or screen or projector. Usually display settings are set to 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 and PowerPoint’s default resolution is 720 x 540. You can set your screen resolution by right clicking.

2. Formula to calculate image size in PowerPoint

Default PowerPoint image size is in cm, Now we are calculating the cm unit into pixel with this formula. For eg  1024 × 768 display PowerPoint file size would be: Width: 1024 / 96 * 2.539999918 Height: 768 / 96 * 2.539999918

3. Check display resolution of the your computer

To do so, right click on the Windows desktop and choose Properties from list. Set it from Display Properties dialog box Under Screen Resolution tab, you’ll see the current setting, e.g. “800 × 600,””1024 × 768”, “1280 × 1024”, etc.

4. Preferred file format for PowerPoint(PPT)

JPG and PNG are the best image format for PowerPoint presentation. JPG are the minimize file size of your PowerPoint presentation for email.

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

• Tags Background , Image size , PowerPoint , PPT , Resolution

By Creative Alive Staff

Creative alive staff is here to write about latest trendy web designing and development tips and techniques which are used to produce a good brand or product in market. We are energetic and having zeal knowledge of simple tutorials, time-saving methods. Hope we will help you to make web better and alive enough. Lets spread some creativity out there... Cheers!!!

2 replies on “Best Resolution for PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) background image in pixel”

very thank full for help

thanks a lot for this information, I was looking for the background image i’ll used in PowerPoint. Thanks

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

How-To Geek

How to compress images in microsoft powerpoint.

If you want to reduce the file size of your PowerPoint presentation and save disk space, compress the images in the slideshow. Here's how.

Quick Links

Compress images in powerpoint for windows, compress images in powerpoint for mac.

Compressing images in your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation can help reduce the overall file size of the presentation and save disk space on the device it’s stored on. Here’s how to compress images in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Note that this feature is only available for desktop versions of Office and not Office for the web.

Open the PowerPoint presentation that contains the images you’d like to compress and then select a photo.

Once selected, you’ll automatically be in the “Picture Format” tab. Here, click the “Compress Pictures” button in the “Adjust” group.

The “Compress Pictures” window will appear. In the “Compression Options” group, you can choose if the compression applies only to the selected picture. If you uncheck this option, PowerPoint will compress all of the images in the presentation, which overrides any changes you may have made to those images.

Related: How to Reduce the Size of a Microsoft Word Document

In the “Resolution” group, choose which resolution you would like to use. Once ready, click “OK.”

The image or images will now be compressed.

Open the PowerPoint presentation that contains the images you’d like to compress and then select a photo. Once selected, click “Compress Pictures” in the “Picture Format” tab.

The “Compress Pictures” window will appear. Select the picture quality you’d like to use, then select if you’d like to apply the compression to all images in the presentation or only the selected image. Also, if you want to delete the cropped areas of the pictures, check the box next to that option.

When ready, click “OK.”

Best PowerPoint Aspect Ratio for Zoom: Standard or Widescreen?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Given that online meetings have been thrust upon us due to the pandemic, using applications like Zoom has become quite a norm. But, that makes many of us wonder how that has affected the way we give presentations, especially on a Zoom call? For instance, one common question that people often wonder is what aspect ratio should be used for a PowerPoint presentation for a Zoom call!

The best slide size for your PowerPoint while giving a presentation on Zoom is 16:9 or a widescreen layout. The Zoom application is designed to display content in the widescreen layout by default. Therefore, using a 4:3 standard layout will result in blank space on both sides of your slides!

For many of you, this answer may not come as a surprise! Nevertheless, in this article, I’ll answer some of the common questions that you may have regarding the aspect ratio of the slides in PowerPoint for a zoom call. Plus, I will also share with you how you can convert the aspect ratio of your existing presentation to 16 by 9 or a widescreen format!

So, without further delay, let’s get started!

What is the Best PowerPoint Size for Zoom?

The two most popular PowerPoint formats are Standard size and Widescreen size.

In general, the Zoom videoconferencing application displays in widescreen mode with an aspect ratio of 16:9. However, do keep in mind that when we share a presentation through Zoom the preferred PowerPoint size depends on the dimensions of the display or the output screen.

Remember! Do consider the resolution of the screen display that acts as an output for your presentation. If the output screen is 4:3, you would be better off creating a presentation in the standard mode.

Zoom can run on various devices such as computers, laptops, iPad, tablets, or mobiles, all of which have a widescreen display. To add, for modern projectors such as boardroom projectors, LCD screens or large format tend to display an aspect ratio of 16:9 or the widescreen layout.

Thus, the recommended PowerPoint size for Zoom is a 16:9 or Widescreen layout .

However, the selection of the PowerPoint size depends on various factors such as the content of the presentation, personal preference, or even the display screen dimensions.

Mentioned below are a few examples in which Standard Size is preferred.

• A PowerPoint that is to be presented across different platforms ranging from a meeting room to an auditorium.
• A presentation prepared for a specific platform that requires an aspect ratio of 4:3, such as Slideshare.

On the other side, below are a few examples in which Widescreen Size is preferred.

• A PowerPoint that has been made to be viewed on a widescreen display such as a laptop, LED TV, etc.
• A presentation prepared for a specific platform that requires an aspect ratio of 16:9, such as YouTube.

What is the Difference between Standard and Widescreen Size in PowerPoint?

In PowerPoint presentation, Standard Size refers to a slide size wherein the length and breadth of the slide are in the ratio of 4:3. Commonly, this ratio is called the aspect ratio of a presentation. In other words, length of the slide is 1.33 times the breadth, irrespective of the units of measurement.

In case of a Widescreen size, the aspect ratio of length and breadth of the slide is 16:9. To reframe, the length of the slide is 177.78% of the breadth.  

• When one looks at a standard size slide it appears almost a square. On the other hand, view of a Widescreen size slide is almost a rectangle.
• Standard is the default slide size for power point prepared in Windows 2003 or higher versions. Whereas in Windows 2013 or higher versions, Widescreen is the default slide size for power point.
• Standard Size is preferred when presentation is to be made in smaller spaces such as a meeting room. Compared with this, Widescreen is more compatible with larger spaces such as a convention hall.
• The aspect ratio of Standard size fits well with the screen size of tablets, old monitors or projectors. As against it, Widescreen size fits well with laptops, modern projectors or monitors that usually have a wide screen display.

How to Save PowerPoint as 16 by 9 Size?

A PowerPoint presentation is generally either prepared with Windows or Mac. As both the software run on a distinct operating system, steps to save a PowerPoint presentation in either software are slightly different.

Furthermore, as PowerPoint has evolved as a software, the steps in the older version are also different from the modern day PowerPoint application.

Saving a PowerPoint in Widescreen format (2003 – 2010)

Here’s a step-by-step process on how to save a PowerPoint presentation in a widescreen format in Office 2003 to Office 2010 versions.

• Click on the “ Design ” tab in the Quick Access toolbar. A ribbon appears.
• Click and select “ Page set up ” on the extreme left of the ribbon. A dialog box will pop up.
• In the dialog box under the option for “Slides sized for”, click on dropdown. The dropdown list contains a number of pre-defined sizes.
• Click and select the option “ On-Screen show (16:9) “. Do not change other dimensions reflecting in the dialog box.
• Click on “ OK ” in the right corner of the dialog box.
• Click on the Office button and select Save
• Click on save icon (next to office button).
• Press Ctrl + S simultaneously on keyboard.

Saving PowerPoint in Widescreen Format (2013 and Higher Versions)

If you are using Office 2013, Office 2016, Office 2019 or even Office 365, you need to follow the below mentioned steps –

• Go to “ Slide Size ” on the right side of the ribbon and click on dropdown.
• In the dropdown list click and select “ Widescreen (16:9) “.
• If a dialog box appears, choose “ Ensure fit “. 
• Save the PPT using any of the below three methods:

Converting a PowerPoint to Widescreen Size on Mac

If you are using a Mac, the process of converting a PowerPoint to widescreen layout is not that different. Nevertheless, here’s a step-by-step process –

• Click on the “ Design ” tab.
• Then, click on “ Slide Size ” on the top right corner of your screen.
• A dropdown menu appears. You will be presented with two different options.
• Click on the “ Widescreen 16:9 ” option to convert your presentation in the widescreen layout.

How to Convert an Existing PowerPoint Presentation from Standard to Widescreen Size?

If you have already created the presentation in a standard format, and you now need to convert it into a widescreen layout, the steps to do that are the same as described above.

However, one thing you do need to keep in mind is that while changing the layout of the slides from standard to widescreen (or vice-versa), the elements present on the slide may change its position or even the aspect ratio.

There is no shortcut to circumvent this issue. You will have to adjust all the objects manually once the slide layout has been changed.

The best thing that you can do though is to choose the correct layout before you begin creating the presentation.

Here are some additional points that you should keep in mind with regards to the slide layouts in PowerPoint –

• A presentation is either made in Standard size or Widescreen size. One single presentation cannot accommodate both formats. To elaborate, all the slides in a single presentation are of the same size, either standard or widescreen. 
• On converting Standard size to Widescreen Size presentation the spacing of content, dimensions of images, or graphics may change. These need to be resized and reshaped as per the requirements. 
• Though except for older versions of MS Office, in Windows 2013 or higher versions and Mac Widescreen is the default slide size. However, a PPT file can be prepared in standard size.

More Related Topics

• How to Lock Aspect Ratio for Images in PowerPoint
• How to Give a Presentation on Zoom [A Complete Guide!]
• How to Fix Your PowerPoint When it is Frozen!
• How to Update your Microsoft PowerPoint Application?

Credit to Cookie_Studio for the Featured Image of this article

This browser is no longer supported.

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.

How to export high-resolution (high-dpi) slides from PowerPoint

• 10 contributors
• Applies to: PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2013, PowerPoint 2010, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003

You can change the export resolution in Microsoft PowerPoint by saving a slide in a picture format. There are two steps to this process: Use the system registry to change the default resolution setting for exported slides, and then save the slide as a picture at the new resolution.

Step 1: Change the export resolution setting

Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

By default, the export resolution of a PowerPoint slide that you want to save as a picture is 96 dots per inch (dpi). To change the export resolution, follow these steps:

Exit all Windows-based programs.

Right-click Start , and then select Run . (In Windows 7, select Start , and then select Run .)

In the Open box, type regedit , and then select OK .

Locate one of the following registry subkeys, depending on the version of PowerPoint that you're using:

PowerPoint 2016, 2019, PowerPoint for Microsoft 365

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\PowerPoint\Options

PowerPoint 2013

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\PowerPoint\Options

PowerPoint 2010

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\PowerPoint\Options

PowerPoint 2007

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\PowerPoint\Options

PowerPoint 2003

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Options

Select the Options subkey, point to New on the Edit menu, and then select DWORD (32-bit) Value .

Enter ExportBitmapResolution , and then press Enter.

Make sure that ExportBitmapResolution is selected, and then select Modify on the Edit menu.

In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, select Decimal .

In the Value data box, specify a resolution of 300 . Or, use the parameters from the following table.

See the Limitations section for more information when you set this value.

Select OK .

On the File menu, select Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Step 2: Export the slide as a picture

In PowerPoint, open your slide presentation, and then open the slide that you want to export.

On the File menu, select Save As .

In the Save as type box, select one of the following picture formats:

• GIF Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
• JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)
• PNG Portable Network Graphics Format (*.png)
• TIFF Tag Image File Format (*.tif)
• Device Independent Bitmap (*.bmp)
• Windows Metafile (*.wmf)
• Enhanced Windows Metafile (*.emf)

You may want to change the picture's save location in the Save in box. You may also want to change the name of the picture in the File name box.

Select Save . You will be prompted by the following dialog box:

Select Current Slide Only . The slide is saved in the new format and resolution in the location that you specified in the Save in box.

To verify that the slide is saved in the resolution that you specified, right-click the picture, and then select Properties .

Limitations

When you set the ExportBitmapResolution registry value in PowerPoint, there's a maximum DPI limitation to consider for some versions of PowerPoint.

Maximum DPI is dependent upon the slide size. The formula is as follows: maxdpi = (sqrt(100,000,000 / (slide with * slide height)), where slide width and height are in inches.

For example, for a standard 13.3" x 7.5" slide, the equation would be: sqrt(100,000,000 / (13.333 * 7.5) ) = 1000.

PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, and 365

There is no fixed DPI limit. Slide export is limited only by how large the resulting bitmap gets. PowerPoint can support bitmaps up to 100,000,000 pixels (width x height). For standard widescreen slides (13.3" x 7.5"), this means a maximum DPI of 1,000. For the older style 10" x 7.5" slides, this typically means a maximum DPI of 1,155.

PowerPoint 2010 and older

The maximum resolution that PowerPoint can export is 3,072 pixels, based on the longest edge of the slide. For example, the standard 10" × 7.5" slide has a maximum effective DPI value of 307. The 3,070-pixel result (10 × 307 = 3070) falls within the 3,072-pixel limit. However, any DPI setting that's greater than 307 for a standard slide reverts to the limit of 3,072.

The 3,072-pixel limit also applies to saving the slide programmatically.

For example, the following code programmatically saves a picture that has the dimensions of 3072 × 2304 pixels:

More information

For information about changing the size of your slides, see Change the size of your slides .

Was this page helpful?

Coming soon: Throughout 2024 we will be phasing out GitHub Issues as the feedback mechanism for content and replacing it with a new feedback system. For more information see: https://aka.ms/ContentUserFeedback .

Submit and view feedback for

Additional resources

• Interactive Display
• Accessories
• myViewBoard
• Multi-touch Series
• Professional - VP Series
• Business - VG Series
• Home and Office - VA Series
• USB-C Series
• Home Entertainment
• Installation
• Presentation Displays
• Direct View LED Display
• Pen Display
• ViewSonic Education Solutions
• Touch Screen Solutions
• ViewSonic Library & Blog
• myViewBoard Resources
• Case Studies
• Solution Briefs
• White Papers
• Press Center
• Knowledge Base
• Product Warranty
• Tiếng Việt ( Vietnamese )

Entertainment  |  Mar 17 2020

Choosing the Right Projector Resolution for Your Needs

Projector resolution is an important feature when choosing the right device for your needs. Resolution describes how clear a projected image will be based on how many pixels can be displayed on a given space. Common resolutions range from SVGA at 800 x 600 pixels up to 4K UHD with 3840 x 2160.

The best projector resolution for you would be based on your needs, however, so make sure to check out the full list below. Or go straight to some recommended projectors here .

Choosing the right resolution for your projector is essential to getting the most of your purchase. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the definition of resolution and how you can determine the best fit for your needs.

What Is Projector Resolution?

Resolution (sometimes referred to as “native resolution”) is defined as the number of pixels (i.e. individual points of color) that are used to create an image on a projecting image. It’s expressed as the number of pixels on the horizontal axis by the number of pixels on the vertical axis. The higher the resolution of a projector, the more pixels it depicts in images.

Another term commonly associated with projector resolutions is the aspect ratio . This is defined as the ratio between the image width and height. The three most common aspect ratios in the projector space are 4:3, 16:10, and 16:9.

Here some of the most common projector resolutions:

• XGA –  This stands for “extended graphics array,” and is an improvement on the SVGA standard. It has the same 4:3 aspect ratio; however, it provides a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.
• WXGA – Building on the previously outlined standards, WXGA stands for “wide extended graphics array” and carries a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, resulting in a 16:10 aspect ratio. This ratio is associated with widescreen images as there are nearly twice as many horizontal pixels as there are vertical pixels. WXGA is the most common resolution with entry-level projectors.
• FHD – Short for “Full HD,” and also known as 1080p resolution, this translates to 1920 x 1080 pixels and with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• WUXGA – This stands for “widescreen ultra extended graphics array.” It translates to 1920 x 1200 resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:10.
• 4K UHD – The highest quality resolution readily available on the market today, 4K UHD comes in at 3840 x 2160 pixels. In professional circles, 4k UHD is commonly referred to as 4k x 2k.

It’s worth noting that there are a few 8k projectors available – or in development – but it’s debatable whether there’s any value in this extremely high resolution. Also, there isn’t much 8k content out there. Read more about the comparison of 4K versus 8K in TVs here .

Maximum Resolution

Something else to consider is a projector’s “maximum resolution.” In the previous section, we focused on “native resolution,” which is the total physical pixel count in a given resolution. Maximum resolution, on the other hand, is taken to refer to the highest signal resolution that a projector is built to process and display.

When the resolution of the content doesn’t match the native resolution of a projector, “scaling” occurs. This is when the projector adjusts the picture to match the native resolution.

For example, if a standard definition video is streamed through an HD projector , the device will have to enlarge the signal to fully display the image. On the other hand, if HD content is streamed through an XGA projector , then the device will compress the image into fewer pixels.

Scaling is a process of approximation, meaning that the projector is estimating how the image would look if the content were shown in its native resolution. Since the projector isn’t able to add additional detail to the original signal, it works to approximate how the image should look, while minimizing any loss of quality.

Today, however, scaling engines have gotten to a point where scaled media content looks as good as if it were shown in its native format. Unfortunately, these improvements don’t apply to signals from computers.

If you’re looking to display PowerPoint presentations or web pages using a projector, it’s best to set your computer’s output resolution to match the projector’s native resolution.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Projector Resolution

When you’re evaluating projectors for your home or business, there are a few questions to keep in mind. First, consider how much detail or delicacy you need in the images you’re presenting.

After determining the level of detail you expect from the projector, you need to consider how often you’ll use the projector and the aspect ratio of the content you plan to view.

Common Scenarios

Home projector usage.

The most common aspect ratio for content in home theater projectors settings (e.g. cable/satellite feeds, streaming content, etc.) is 16:9. That in mind, 1080p and 4k UHD are the two resolutions home users should consider. A few examples of projectors for home use include the X10-4K , PX727-4K , and PX747-4K .

Thinking about a smart projector? Maybe this will help.

Business and Education Projector Usage

Business and education settings aren’t as simple because projectors are used in a variety of scenarios. This versatility means that you can choose from a variety of resolutions that best fit your circumstances.

For example, visual multimedia content often uses a 16:9 aspect ratio, while PowerPoint presentations and slide decks often are in a 4:3 to 16:9 format depending on the company practices.

If you’re using a projector in a business or educational setting, you’ll want to consider using SVGA, XGA, WXGA, WUXGA, 1080p, and 4K.

Learn more about getting the right projector for your business here:  How to Choose the Right Business Projector

Making Sense of It All

Of all the components that go into choosing a projector for your home or business, one of your top considerations should be projector resolution. This is the number of pixels (individual points of color) that are used to create an image. It’s expressed as the number of pixels on the horizontal axis, by the number of pixels on the vertical axis.

While there are a variety of standards associated with projector resolutions, the ones you’ll want to keep an eye out for include WXGA, FHD, WUXGA, and 4K UHD. In order to choose the right standard for your needs, you need to consider the type of media you will be showing with the projector (videos, PowerPoint presentations, etc.), and also the general size of the images and picture quality.

Now that you know how to choose the right resolution for your projector, now you can easily find the right projector for your home or business . Or check out the video below for a handly little anywhere projector.

RELATED ARTICLES

Entertainment  |  Jan 03 2024

Reimagine Your Space: 5 Creative Ideas Realized with Projectors

Explore 5 creative ways to use projectors around your home, transforming your space with unique installations that elevate your lifestyle.

Entertainment  |  Jan 02 2024

Renew Your Living Space with Home Projectors

Imagine a home makeover without the hassle of reconstruction or redoing walls. Discover inspiring ideas to revamp your home with projectors.

Entertainment  |  Dec 27 2023

Beyond TVs: Projectors Bring Home the Ultimate Big-Screen Thrill

Considering a projector for your home? Explore the ultimate choice in home entertainment between Large TV and Projector.

Entertainment  |  Nov 08 2023

RGB Laser Projectors: Everything You Need to Know​

Discover the future of home entertainment with cutting-edge RGB laser technology! Elevate your home theater system today.

SELECT YOUR REGION

Asia pacific & africa.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

Upscale image

Easily increase the resolution of your images with our advanced upscaling tool..

Upscaling images...

Where to Find Images for Presentations

Table of contents.

Are you on a quest to find captivating, legally-sound free images for your presentations? Save time and avoid the legal maze with our curated list of platforms in this not-to-be-missed guide. Well we’ve done the hard work for you!

Here’s where to find images for presentations that will visually amplify your message.

A Few Important Notes To Take Into Consideration

Free image databases such as Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels provide high-quality, copyright-free images for various presentation needs, with specialized features like PowerPoint plugins. The downside, everyone has access to these sites . It takes away from the custom and uniqueness of the presentation.

Specialized stock photo sites like Shutterstock, iStock and Getty offer curated image collections for specific themes and preferences. With that level of selection comes a cost, but the output is a lot more customized and professional.

Discovering the Best Free Image Databases

In the era of digital content, copyright is a critical concern. Utilizing images without proper rights can land you in legal trouble, and buying stock pictures for every presentation can be an expensive affair. The remedy? Look no further than free image databases. These platforms house thousands of high-quality, inspiring images that are free from copyright constraints – a veritable treasure trove for presenters. Some popular free image databases include:

With these resources at your disposal, you can enhance your presentations without worrying about copyright infringement.

Among these, Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash stand out as leading platforms, offering a myriad of high-resolution images that can add a splash of creativity to your presentations.

Specialized Stock Photo Sites for Unique Needs

While generic image repositories encompass a wide variety of topics and aesthetics, niche stock photography websites serve distinct visual communication needs. These services provide tailored assortments of photographs, with an emphasis on particular motifs, aesthetic approaches, or themes. Whether you’re in search of:

Retro-style photos

Pictures that capture the essence of entrepreneurship

Wildlife and nature imagery

Premium food and beverage photographs

Snapshots encapsulating travel and exploration

You’ll find a dedicated stock photo site to meet your requirements.

The challenge here is that paid photography can add up very quickly and sifting through hundreds, perhaps even thousands of images can get time consuming.

Leveraging Community-Powered Platforms for Fresh Content

As speakers, are always on the hunt for novel and captivating images to maintain the interest in our presentation material. This is where user-driven resources like Reshot and StockSnap come in.Io prove invaluable. Owing to a steady stream of contributions from users, these websites boast an extensive selection of new imagery available for use.

These platforms feature expanding collections that promise to keep your presentation graphics distinctive and compelling.

Tips for Using Images Effectively in Presentations

Possessing a vast collection of image assets is valuable, yet it’s the skillful application of these images within presentations that truly makes an impact. Implementing images with strategic precision can transform your presentation into an engaging story that captures and holds the attention of viewers. For this purpose, we have assembled some key advice to assist you in utilizing images effectively throughout your presentations.

Selecting appropriate images for individual slides while ensuring a coherent visual theme throughout your presentation are essential skills. Our tips aim to empower you with the expertise necessary to craft visually captivating presentations.

Choosing the Right Image for the Right Slide

It is essential to select an appropriate image for each slide, one that corresponds precisely with the subject of the slide while augmenting and strengthening the core message or data presented. It’s important that the emotional resonance of chosen images aligns with the intended feeling of the slide —be that professional, motivational, or instructional.

When picking out background images for your slideshows:

Make sure there is a visual congruence between them and both your primary messages as well as your brand identity.

Background imagery should add depth but not detract from or overwhelm what’s central on each slide.

By carefully choosing images, you can create a harmonious relationship between text and graphics which effectively promotes understanding of your principal points.

Editing and Customization Best Practices

After selecting the optimal images for your presentation slides, you must adjust them to integrate seamlessly. This requires tweaking and tailoring each image to complement the style of your presentation. You might need to trim, scale down or up, and modify the appearance of your images so that they align with your slide framework. Enhancing images within PowerPoint is straightforward. By adjusting brightness and contrast levels as well as adding artistic effects, you can significantly boost the visual impact of your slides .

I t’s crucial to maintain a uniform look throughout all of your slides too . This means ensuring that various images are cropped uniformly in size or shape, properly aligned on each slide and arranged according to a consistent layout structure. By sticking faithfully to these design principles while creating slides ensures not only an improved aesthetic harmony but also promotes coherence with the overarching theme and schematic approach of your entire presentation.

Check out some of our samples below:

Advanced Tools and Add-ins for Seamless Integration

Utilizing appropriate images can notably improve the quality of your PowerPoint presentations, and leveraging sophisticated tools and add-ins can elevate their effectiveness even further. These advanced resources facilitate the incorporation of visual components into your slides, streamlining the creation of polished and captivating presentations.

Power-user is an example of such a tool that enhances PowerPoint with its comprehensive functionality. It provides users with enhanced chart integration capabilities, automatic formatting options, as well as an extensive collection of templates, icons, and flags to enrich their presentations.

Our Summary Of Where To Find Images For Presentations

In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s essential to capture and maintain an audience’s attention with visual aids during presentations.

Images that don’t infringe on copyrights can greatly improve your presentation by making it more captivating and memorable. You have at your fingertips a treasure trove of sources for images – from databases filled with no-cost photos, community-driven platforms offering diverse visuals, to specialized sites dedicated to stock photography.

Strategically selecting the right visuals and using advanced integration tools or add-ins are key steps towards enhancing your slideshows.

T he issue that most of our clients face is time . Its quicker, easier and less of a headache to leave it to the professionals.

Looking To Up Your Presentation Game But You Don't Have The Time? Well, Look No Further.

Are you tired of using recycled presentation Images? Does your schedule leave you little time to spend on creating unique powerpoint presentations ? Do you want to engage audiences, communicate efficiently, and make the sale? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

The team of experienced designers at Presentation Geeks are experts in presentation design, image selection and building slide decks that work. We’ve worked with a variety of businesses and entrepreneurs to help them meet their business goals through powerful presentations.

If you’re ready to take your presentation game to the next level, let us help you!

Want to know more? Contact us today to see how the Geeks can meet your business needs!

Author:  Content Team

Related posts.

FREE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Subscribe for free tips, resources, templates, ideas and more from our professional team of presentation designers.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Published: 12 April 2024

Pretraining a foundation model for generalizable fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration

• Chenxi Ma 1   na1 ,
• Weimin Tan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7677-4772 1   na1 ,
• Ruian He 1 &
• Bo Yan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5692-3486 1  

Nature Methods ( 2024 ) Cite this article

1434 Accesses

34 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Confocal microscopy
• Image processing
• Super-resolution microscopy
• Wide-field fluorescence microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration has received widespread attention in the life sciences and has led to significant progress, benefiting from deep learning technology. However, most current task-specific methods have limited generalizability to different fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration problems. Here, we seek to improve generalizability and explore the potential of applying a pretrained foundation model to fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration. We provide a universal fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration (UniFMIR) model to address different restoration problems, and show that UniFMIR offers higher image restoration precision, better generalization and increased versatility. Demonstrations on five tasks and 14 datasets covering a wide range of microscopy imaging modalities and biological samples demonstrate that the pretrained UniFMIR can effectively transfer knowledge to a specific situation via fine-tuning, uncover clear nanoscale biomolecular structures and facilitate high-quality imaging. This work has the potential to inspire and trigger new research highlights for fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

251,40 € per year

only 20,95 € per issue

Buy this article

• Purchase on Springer Link
• Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Unsupervised content-preserving transformation for optical microscopy

Xinyang Li, Guoxun Zhang, … Qionghai Dai

Applications, promises, and pitfalls of deep learning for fluorescence image reconstruction

Chinmay Belthangady & Loic A. Royer

Deep learning enables reference-free isotropic super-resolution for volumetric fluorescence microscopy

Hyoungjun Park, Myeongsu Na, … Jong Chul Ye

Data availability

All training and testing data involved in the experiments come from existing literature and can be downloaded from the corresponding links provided in Supplementary Table 2 or via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8401470 (ref. 55 ).

Code availability

The PyTorch code of our UniFMIR, together with trained models, as well as some example images for inference are publicly available at https://github.com/cxm12/UNiFMIR ( https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10117581 ) 56 . Furthermore, We also provide a live demo for UniFMIR at http://unifmir.fdudml.cn/ . Users can also access the colab at https://colab.research.google.com/github/cxm12/UNiFMIR/blob/main/UniFMIR.ipynb or use the steps in our GitHub documentation to run the demo locally. This newly built interactive software platform facilitates users to freely and easily use the pretrained foundation model. It also makes it easy for us to continuously train the foundation model with new data and share it with the community. Finally, we shared all models on BioImage.IO at https://bioimage.io/#/ . Data are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10577218 , https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10579778 , https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10579822 , https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595428 , https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595460 , https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8420081 and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8420100 (refs. 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ). We used the Pycharm software for code development.

Preibisch, S. et al. Efficient bayesian-based multiview deconvolution. Nat. Methods 11 , 645–648 (2014).

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Gustafsson, N. et al. Fast live-cell conventional fluorophore nanoscopy with ImageJ through super-resolution radial fluctuations. Nat. Commun. 7 , 12471 (2016).

Arigovindan, M. et al. High-resolution restoration of 3D structures from widefield images with extreme low signal-to-noise-ratio. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110 , 17344–17349 (2013).

Weigert, M. et al. Content-aware image restoration: pushing the limits of fluorescence microscopy. Nat. Methods 15 , 1090–1097 (2018).

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Qiao, C. et al. Evaluation and development of deep neural networks for image super-resolution in optical microscopy. Nat. Methods 18 , 194–202 (2021).

Chen, J. et al. Three-dimensional residual channel attention networks denoise and sharpen fluorescence microscopy image volumes. Nat. Methods 18 , 678–687 (2021).

Wang, Z., Xie, Y. & Ji, S. Global voxel transformer networks for augmented microscopy. Nat. Mach. Intell. 3 , 161–171 (2021).

Article   Google Scholar  

Wang, Z. et al. Real-time volumetric reconstruction of biological dynamics with light-field microscopy and deep learning. Nat. Methods 18 , 551–556 (2021).

Li, X. et al. Reinforcing neuron extraction and spike inference in calcium imaging using deep self-supervised denoising. Nat. Methods 18 , 1395–1400 (2021).

Qiao, C. et al. Rationalized deep neural network for sustained super-resolution live imaging of rapid subcellular processes. Nat. Biotechol. 41 , 367–377 (2022).

Belthangady, C. & Royer, L. A. Applications, promises, and pitfalls of deep learning for fluorescence image reconstruction. Nat. Methods 16 , 1215–1225 (2019).

Wu, Y. & Shroff, H. Faster, sharper, and deeper: structured illumination microscopy for biological imaging. Nat. Methods 15 , 1011–1019 (2018).

Wu, Y. et al. Multiview confocal super-resolution microscopy. Nature 600 , 279–284 (2021).

Chen, R. et al. Single-frame deep-learning super-resolution microscopy for intracellular dynamics imaging. Nat. Commun. 14 , 2854 (2023).

Xu, Y. K. T. et al. Cross-modality supervised image restoration enables nanoscale tracking of synaptic plasticity in living mice. Nat. Methods 20 , 935–944 (2023).

Bommasani, R. et al. On the opportunities and risks of foundation models. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.07258 (2021).

Fei, N. et al. Towards artificial general intelligence via a multimodal foundation model. Nat. Commun. 13 , 3094 (2022).

Zhang, Y. et al. DialoGPT: large-scale generative pre-training for conversational response generation. In Proceedings of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics: System Demonstrations. 270–278 (2020).

Yang, Z. et al. Xlnet: generalized autoregressive pretraining for language understanding. In Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) (2019).

Dai, Z. et al. Coatnet: marrying convolution and attention for all data sizes. In IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) (2021).

Kirillov, A. et al. Segment anything. In Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision , 4015–4026 (2023).

Achiam, J. et al. Gpt-4 technical report. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.08774 (2023).

Bao, F. et al. One transformer fits all distributions in multi-modal diffusion at scale. In International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) (2023).

Bi, K. et al. Accurate medium-range global weather forecasting with 3D neural networks. Nature 619 , 533–538 (2023).

Singhal, K. et al. Large language models encode clinical knowledge. Nature 620 , 172–180 (2023).

Jiang, L. Y. et al. Health system-scale language models are all-purpose prediction engines. Nature 619 , 357–362 (2023).

Huang, Z. et al. A visual-language foundation model for pathology image analysis using medical twitter. Nat. Methods 29 , 2307–2316 (2023).

CAS   Google Scholar  

Zhou, Y. et al. A foundation model for generalizable disease detection from retinal images. Nature 622 , 156–163 (2023).

Moor, M. et al. Foundation models for generalist medical artificial intelligence. Nature 616 , 259–265 (2023).

Madani, A. et al. Large language models generate functional protein sequences across diverse families. Nature Biotechnol. 41 , 1099–1106 (2023).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Theodoris, C. V. et al. Transfer learning enables predictions in network biology. Nature 618 , 616–624 (2023).

Henighan, T. et al. Scaling laws for autoregressive generative modeling. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.14701 (2020).

Zamir, A. et al. Taskonomy: disentangling task transfer learning. In Twenty-Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) , 3712–3722 (2019).

Liu, Z. et al. Swin transformer: hierarchical vision transformer using shifted windows. In IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) (2021).

Xia, B. et al. Efficient non-local contrastive attention for image super-resolution. In Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) (2022).

Descloux, A., Grubmayer, K. S. & Radenovic, A. Parameter-free image resolution estimation based on decorrelation analysis. Nat. Methods 16 , 918–924 (2019).

Nieuwenhuizen, R. et al. Measuring image resolution in optical nanoscopy. Nat. Methods 10 , 557–562 (2013).

Culley, S. et al. Quantitative mapping and minimization of super-resolution optical imaging artifacts. Nat. Methods 15 , 263–266 (2018).

Li, X. et al. Three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy with enhanced axial resolution. Nat. Biotechnol. 41 , 1307–1319 (2023).

Spahn, C. et al. DeepBacs for multi-task bacterial image analysis using open-source deep learning approaches. Commun. Biol. 5 , 688 (2022).

Ouyang, W. et al. ShareLoc—an open platform for sharing localization microscopy data. Nat. Methods 19 , 1331–1333 (2022).

Zhang, X. C. et al. Zoom to learn, learn to zoom. In IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) (2019).

Nehme, E. et al. Deep-storm: super-resolution single-molecule microscopy by deep learning. Optica 5 , 458–464 (2018).

Guo, L. L. et al. EHR foundation models improve robustness in the presence of temporal distribution shift. Sci. Rep. 13 , 3767 (2023).

Liang, J. et al. Swinir: image restoration using swin transformer. In IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision Workshops (ICCVW) , 1833–1844 (2021).

Simonyan, K. & Zisserman, A. Very deep convolutional networks for large-scale image recognition. In International Conference on Machine Learning (ICLR) (2015).

Kingma, D. & Ba, J. Adam: a method for stochastic optimization. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/1412.6980 (2014).

Wang, Z. et al. Image quality assessment: from error visibility to structural similarity. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 13 , 600–612 (2004).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Abbe, E. Beiträge zur theorie des mikroskops und der mikroskopischen wahrnehmung. Archiv. f. Mikrosk. Anatomie 9 , 413–418 (1873).

Koho, S. et al. Fourier ring correlation simplifies image restoration in fluorescence microscopy. Nat. Commun. 10 , 3103 (2019).

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Baskin, C. et al. UNIQ: uniform noise injection for non-uniform quantization of neural networks. ACM Transactions on Computer Systems (TOCS) , 37 (1–4), 1–15 (2021).

Arganda, C. et al. Trainable weka segmentation: a machine learning tool for microscopy pixel classification. Bioinformatics 33 , 2424–2426 (2017).

Jacob, B. et al. Quantization and training of neural networks for efficient integer-arithmetic-only inference. In IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) , 2704–2713 (2018).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIR: pre-training a foundation model for universal fluorescence microscopy image restoration (2023.10.03). Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8401470 (2023).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R., & Yan, B. UniFMIR: pre-training a foundation model for universal fluorescence microscopy image restoration (version 2023.11.13). Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10117581 (2023).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRProjectionOnFlyWing. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10577218 (2024).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRDenoiseOnPlanaria. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10579778 (2024).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRDenoiseOnTribolium. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10579822 (2024).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRVolumetricReconstructionOnVCD. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595428 (2024).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRIsotropicReconstructionOnLiver. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595460 (2024) .

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRSuperResolutionOnMicrotubules. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8420081 (2023).

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. & Yan, B. UniFMIRSuperResolutionOnFactin. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8420100 (2023).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge support for this work provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant nos. U2001209 to B.Y. and 62372117 to W.T.) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (grant no. 21ZR1406600 to W.T.).

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Chenxi Ma, Weimin Tan.

Authors and Affiliations

School of Computer Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Intelligent Information Processing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Chenxi Ma, Weimin Tan, Ruian He & Bo Yan

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

B.Y. and W.T. supervised the research. C.M. and W.T. conceived of the technique. C.M. implemented the algorithm. C.M. and W.T. designed the validation experiments. C.M. trained the network and performed the validation experiments. R.H. implemented the interactive software platform and organized the codes and models. All authors had access to the study and wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo Yan .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information.

Nature Methods thanks Ricardo Henriques and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Rita Strack, in collaboration with the Nature Methods team.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data

Extended data fig. 1 overall architecture of the unifmir..

The proposed UniFMIR approach is composed of three submodules: a multihead module, a Swin transformer-based feature enhancement module, and a multitail module. The numbers of parameters (M) and calculations (GFLOPs) required for the head, feature enhancement and tail modules for different tasks are marked below the structures of the respective modules. The input sizes and output sizes of training batches for different tasks are also marked below the images.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Network architecture of the Swin transformer-based feature enhancement module 46 .

The feature enhancement module consists of convolutional layers and a series of Swin transformer blocks (STB), each of which includes several Swin transformer layers (STL), a convolutional layer and a residual connection. The STL is composed of layer normalization operations, a multihead self-attention (MSA) mechanism and a multilayer perceptron (MLP). In the MSA mechanism, the input features are first divided into multiple small patches with a moving window operation, and then the self-attention in each patch is calculated to output features f out . The MLP is composed of two fully connected layers (FCs) and Gaussian-error linear unit (GELU) activation.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Generalization ability analysis of super-resolution on unseen modality of single-molecule localization microscopy data from the Shareloc platform 52 .

a, SR results obtained by the SOTA model (DeepSTORM 54 ), the pretrained UniFMIR model without fine-tuning, Baseline (same network structure as UniFMIR trained from scratch), and our fine-tuned UniFMIR model. The GT dSTORM images of microtubules stained with Alexa 647 in U2OS cells incubated with nocodazole and the input synthesized LR images are also shown. The PSNR/NRMSE results of the SR outputs obtained on n = 16 synthetic inputs are shown on the right. b, SR results obtained on the real-world wide-field images. The NRMSE values are depicted on the residual images under different SR results and the raw input images. The PSNR/NRMSE results on n = 9 real-world inputs are shown on the right. Box-plot elements are defined as follows: center line (median); box limits (upper and lower quartiles); whiskers (1.5x interquartile range). The line plots show the pixel intensities along the dashed lines in the corresponding images. Scale bar: 6.5 μ m.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

Supplementary Notes 1–5, Figs. 1–17 and Tables 1 and 2.

Reporting Summary

Rights and permissions.

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Ma, C., Tan, W., He, R. et al. Pretraining a foundation model for generalizable fluorescence microscopy-based image restoration. Nat Methods (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02244-3

Download citation

Received : 27 July 2023

Accepted : 13 March 2024

Published : 12 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02244-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Suggested Searches

• Climate Change
• Expedition 64
• Mars perseverance
• SpaceX Crew-2
• International Space Station
• View All Topics A-Z

Humans in Space

Earth & climate, the solar system, the universe, aeronautics, learning resources, news & events.

NASA’s Fermi Mission Sees No Gamma Rays from Nearby Supernova

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

• Search All NASA Missions
• A to Z List of Missions
• Upcoming Launches and Landings
• Spaceships and Rockets
• Communicating with Missions
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Why Go to Space
• Astronauts Home
• Commercial Space
• Destinations
• Living in Space
• Explore Earth Science
• Earth, Our Planet
• Earth Science in Action
• Earth Multimedia
• Earth Science Researchers
• Pluto & Dwarf Planets
• Asteroids, Comets & Meteors
• The Kuiper Belt
• The Oort Cloud
• Skywatching
• The Search for Life in the Universe
• Black Holes
• The Big Bang
• Dark Energy & Dark Matter
• Earth Science
• Planetary Science
• Astrophysics & Space Science
• The Sun & Heliophysics
• Biological & Physical Sciences
• Lunar Science
• Citizen Science
• Astromaterials
• Aeronautics Research
• Human Space Travel Research
• Science in the Air
• NASA Aircraft
• Flight Innovation
• Supersonic Flight
• Air Traffic Solutions
• Green Aviation Tech
• Drones & You
• Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
• Space Travel Technology
• Technology Living in Space
• Manufacturing and Materials
• Science Instruments
• For Kids and Students
• For Educators
• For Colleges and Universities
• For Professionals
• Science for Everyone
• Requests for Exhibits, Artifacts, or Speakers
• STEM Engagement at NASA
• NASA's Impacts
• Centers and Facilities
• Directorates
• Organizations
• People of NASA
• Internships
• Our History
• Doing Business with NASA
• Get Involved
• Aeronáutica
• Ciencias Terrestres
• Sistema Solar
• All NASA News
• Video Series on NASA+
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Media Resources
• Upcoming Launches & Landings
• Virtual Events
• Sounds and Ringtones
• Interactives
• STEM Multimedia

Comet Geyser: Perseverance’s 24th Rock Core

NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn’s Moon Titan Confirmed

Kate A. McGinnis: Ready to “Go” with PACE Testing

NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin  

NASA Motion Sickness Study Volunteers Needed!

NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey

A.3 Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Inclusion Plan Correction

NASA Goddard to Build Quake Detector for Artemis III Moon Landing

A Solar Neighborhood Census, Thanks to NASA Citizen Science

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud

Amendment 9: New Opportunity: C.26 Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return

NASA Langley Team to Study Weather During Eclipse Using Uncrewed Vehicles

ARMD Solicitations

NASA Noise Prediction Tool Supports Users in Air Taxi Industry

Tech Today: Folding NASA Experience into an Origami Toolkit 

NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’

Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge

NASA Partnerships Bring 2024 Total Solar Eclipse to Everyone

NASA Receives 13 Nominations for the 28th Annual Webby Awards

La presentación del X-59 de la NASA personifica la tradición aeronáutica

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

Watch with us as a total solar eclipse moves across Mexico, the United States and Canada. Weather permitting, people throughout most of North and Central America, including all of the […]

• Open Video Player
• WhatsApp https://plus.nasa.gov/video/2024-total-solar-eclipse-through-the-eyes-of-nasa/ Copy URL to clipboard> Share

Watch with us as a total solar eclipse moves across Mexico, the United States and Canada. Weather permitting, people throughout most of North and Central America, including all of the contiguous United States, will be able to view at least a partial solar eclipse. See views of the eclipse from sites along its path.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse News Conference

Eclipse 2017: through the eyes of nasa.

• Page Last Updated: Apr 15, 2024
• Responsible NASA Official: Rebecca Sirmons

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Cries of Sexism Greet a Nike Olympic Reveal

The sporting giant offered a sneak peek at its track and field outfits for Team U.S.A., and an unexpected backlash ensued.

By Vanessa Friedman

Ever since the Norwegian women’s beach handball team turned the fact that they were required to wear teeny-tiny bikini bottoms for competition into a cause célèbre, a quiet revolution has been brewing throughout women’s sports. It’s one that questions received conventions about what female athletes do — or don’t — have to wear to perform at their very best.

It has touched women’s soccer (why white shorts?), gymnastics (why not a unitard rather than a leotard?), field hockey (why a low-cut tank top?) and many more, including running.

So it probably should not have come as a shock to Nike that when it offered a sneak peek of the Team U.S.A. track and field unies during a Nike Air event in Paris celebrating its Air technology on Thursday (which also included looks for other Olympic athletes, like Kenya’s track and field team, France’s basketball team and Korea’s break dancing delegation), they were met with some less-than-enthusiastic reactions.

See, the two uniforms Nike chose to single out on the mannequins included a men’s compression tank top and mid-thigh-length compression shorts and a woman’s bodysuit, cut notably high on the hip. It looked sort of like a sporty version of a 1980s workout leotard. As it was displayed, the bodysuit seemed as if it would demand some complicated intimate grooming.

Citius Mag , which focuses on running news, posted a photo of the uniforms on Instagram, and many of its followers were not amused.

“What man designed the woman’s cut?” wrote one.

“I hope U.S.A.T.F. is paying for the bikini waxes,” wrote another. So went most of the more than 1,900 comments.

The running comedian Laura Green posted an Instagram reel in which she pretended to be trying on the look (“We’re feeling pretty, um, breezy,” she said) and checking out the rest of the athlete’s kit bag, which turned out to include hair spray, lip gloss and a “hysterectomy kit,” so the women would not have to worry about periods.

When asked, Nike did not address the brouhaha directly, but according to John Hoke, the chief innovation officer, the woman’s bodysuit and the man’s shorts and top are only two of the options Nike will have for its Olympic runners. There are “nearly 50 unique pieces across men’s and women’s and a dozen competition styles fine-tuned for specific events,” Mr. Hoke said.

Women will be able to opt for compression shorts, a crop top or tank and a bodysuit with shorts rather than bikini bottoms. The full slate of looks was not on hand in Paris but more will be revealed next week at the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in New York. The Paris reveal was meant to be a teaser.

Mr. Hoke also pointed out that Nike consults with a large number of athletes at every stage of the uniform design. Its track and field roster includes Sha’Carri Richardson, who happened to be wearing the compression shorts during the Paris presentation, and Athing Mu. And there are certainly runners who like the high-cut brief. (The British Olympic sprinter Dina Asher-Smith , another Nike athlete, told The New York Times last summer that while she opts to run in briefs, she also leans toward a leotard style, rather than a two-piece.)

What Nike missed, however, was that in choosing those two looks as the primary preview for Team U.S.A., rather than, say, the matching shorts and tanks that will be also available, it shored up a longstanding inequity in sports — one that puts the body of a female athlete on display in a way it does not for the male athlete.

“Why are we presenting this sexualized outfit as the standard of excellence?” said Lauren Fleshman, a U.S. national champion distance runner and the author of “Good for a Girl.” “In part because we think that’s what nets us the most financial gain from sponsors or NIL opportunities, most of which are handed out by powerful men or people looking at it through a male gaze. But women are breaking records with ratings in sports where you don’t have to wear essentially a bathing suit to perform.”

The problem such imagery creates is twofold. When Nike chose to reveal the high-cut bodysuit as the first Olympics outfit, purposefully or not, the implication for anyone watching is that “this is what excellence looks like,” Ms. Fleshman said.

That perception filters down to young athletes and becomes the model girls think they have to adopt, often at a developmental stage when their relationships with their bodies are particularly fraught.

And more broadly, given the current political debate around adjudicating women’s bodies, it reinforces the idea that they are public property.

Still, Ms. Fleshman said, “I’m glad Nike put this image out as the crown jewel of Olympic Team design,” because it may act as the catalyst for another conversation that has been long overdue.

“If you showed this outfit to someone from the W.N.B.A. or women’s soccer, they would laugh in your face,” she said. “We shouldn’t have to normalize it for track and field anymore. Time’s up on that.”

Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014. More about Vanessa Friedman

Explore Our Style Coverage

The latest in fashion, trends, love and more..

An Unusual Path to Hollywood:  Sobhita Dhulipala has taken on risky roles in her acting career, outside of India’s blockbuster hits . Now, she’s starring in Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man.”

These Scientists Rock, Literally: The Pasteur Institute in Paris, known for its world-altering scientific research , has been making advancements in another field: the musical arts.

JoJo Siwa Grows Up:  Siwa, the child star turned children’s entertainer, who at first modeled her career on Hannah Montana, is now after her own Miley (Cyrus) moment .

Jill Biden Makes an Entrance:  The first lady was glittering in crystals — days after Melania Trump stepped out in pink at a Palm Beach fund-raiser. Together, the pictures offer a harbinger of what is to come .

Creating Works of Ephemeral Beauty:  A YouTube rabbit hole led Blanka Amezkua to a small Mexican town and the centuries-old craft of papel picado  — chiseling intricate patterns into colorful paper flags.

New York Bridal Fashion Week:  Reimagined classic silhouettes, a play on textures and interactive presentations brought fresh takes  to the spring and summer 2025 bridal collections.