In most cases, the file size of a Word document is not a problem. However, if the document contains a lot of uncompressed images and you also embed other files or fonts, then when you want to send such a document via email, you might want to keep even Word files as slim as possible.
Docx and Embedded Fonts
The recent versions of Word documents are automatically saved in the docx format instead of the doc format. The docx file type compresses the document as a zip file, making it smaller. Only if backward compatibility is needed with older word processors, you can use .doc.
Sometimes people use embedded fonts so that others are able to read or print the document as the author intended. This also increases the file size. Go to File / Options / Save. There you can turn on and off the option to embed the fonts in the file.
Pictures
It helps to insert images instead of bluntly copying and pasting them. When you just copy, the image can lose compression and other data can get in as well. So use the menu Insert / Pictures.
Also compress the images. The tab Graphic layout only becomes available once you select an image. In the group To adjust do you use the button Compress Images. Check the box here Remove cropped parts of images and also make sure the option Use standard resolution is active. This removes excess space and fixes the resolution for all the images you use in the document.
Save the used photos with a lower resolution. For that you go back to File / Options. Choose the option Advanced / Image size and quality. Put a check in Delete edit data and set the default resolution to 150 ppi. In most cases, that lower resolution is sufficient for a Word printout.
Styles
The more formatting you manually apply, the larger the document will be. There is only one remedy: use as many styles as possible. Not only to limit file size, but also to automate formatting. To use a style, select a text and then choose a style in the tab Start. To adjust such a style, right click on a style and then choose the command Modify.
