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Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Accessibility

Reading Order

Screen readers interpret content elements in the order they were created for each slide. You may need to review and update the reading order so that content flows in a logical order. To view the reading order go to the Home tab and select Arrange > Selection Pane...

 

accessing reading order in the format tab arrange selection pane

 

This will open the Selection Pane.

 

reading order from the selection pane with content in wrong order

 

The Selection Pane will show all the content areas of the slide selected with the first content displaying at the top. To change the order, click and drag content as needed. Titles may need to be moved to the top so they are read first.

 

selection pane content reorder in correct order with section 2 selected and highlighted

 

Repeat this process for each slide.

 

Note: you can hide elements in the Selection Pane by clicking on the eye icon for the element.

 

eye icons to hide content in the selection pane

 

This can be useful if you want to hide any elements such as title. Screen readers will still be able to detect this hidden content.

 

hidden title with element selected as hidden in the selection pane

 

Reference: Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities by Microsoft.

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