Student

Need to compress your files?

| GSA Library

You may be asked to make sure that the files you submit to Canvas are less than 500MB. The instructions below describe how to compress your PDF and PPTX (PowerPoint) files.

Compressing PDF files

You can compress PDF files using Adobe Acrobat DC, which you have access to as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud package. To learn more about accessing the Adobe Creative Cloud package, please visit the student intranet. 

To compress your PDF file:

  1. Open your file in Adobe Acrobat DC
  2. Select File>Save as Other>Reduced File Size PDF…
  3. Choose the Adobe Version Compatibility you prefer, bearing in mind that the ‘Retain existing’ option is the most compatible file
  4. Select OK
  5. Choose where you want to save your compressed file
  6. Rename your compressed file so that you don’t overwrite the master file
  7. Select Save
Compressing your PDFs.gif

Compressing pictures in a PowerPoint presentation

If you are working in PowerPoint, you can reduce the file size of your presentation by compressing pictures within your file. Please note, these instructions only work on the desktop version of PowerPoint. Instructions for downloading the desktop version of PowerPoint can be found on the student intranet. 

To compress your pictures in your PowerPoint presentation:

  1. Save your presentation and give it a new file name so that your original file is preserved
  2. Select one of the pictures in your presentation
  3. Select Format>Compress pictures
  4. Choose whether you want to apply compression only to this picture or to all of the pictures in your file
  5. Choose whether you want to delete the cropped areas of pictures
  6. Choose the resolution you require bearing in mind that you may want to present high resolution images
  7. Save your file
Compressing pictures in a PowerPoint presentation.gif

Searching Planet eStream

| GSA Library

To help you get the most out of what’s available on Planet eStream, we thought we would give you some guidance on how to search for content.

You’ll find the search bar in the middle of the Planet eStream homepage after signing in.

This is where you can enter keywords to surface content. Why not try searching for climate justice to see how many results you get?

You can then sort the results using the order by button. Why not try date, so you can see the most recent content first?

Select Show Filters to see more ways to narrow down your results. Why not try looking for content <60 minutes or within a specific category, such as Sustainability?

You can also use the Subtitle search by selecting Tools (at the top of the page) and then subtitle search. This is a really good way to search for content that mentions artists or designers you are interested in. Try making a search for an artist you like to see how this works. You’ll see a preview clip of each time your search term is mentioned, which lets you check if the video is relevant.

You can also browse by visiting Categories and then taking a look at what you find. You mind find sub categories, playlists, or videos. Take a look at Sound, Music and Dance.

If you prefer you can watch a demo of the above information:

Finding your Calendar in the Canvas Student app

| GSA Library

Need help finding outout what’s on your schedule this week? We can help you find out by using the Canvas Student app, which makes it really easy to find out what is happening on the go.

To look at your Canvas Calendar on your mobile phone:

  1. Search for the Canvas Student app in your app store
  2. Log in using your GSA details (take a look at How do students access Canvas? for help)
  3. Select the Calendar icon from the menu
  4. Select today’s date to see what is happening today

Tech Tip

If you prefer, we’ve made a video demonstrating how this works: