How do I create accessible slides?

Use built-in slide designs for inclusive reading order

PowerPoint has built-in slide designs that contain placeholders for text, videos, pictures, clip art, and more. They also contain all the formatting, such as theme colors, fonts, and effects. To make sure that your slides are accessible, the built-in layouts are designed so that the reading order is the same for people who see and people who use technology such as screen readers.

1.On the View tab, click Normal.

2.In the Thumbnail pane, locate the place where you want to add the new slide. Right-click, and select New Slide. Click the new slide to select it.

3.On the Design tab, expand the Themes gallery, and select the slide layout that you want. PowerPoint automatically applies this layout to the new slide.

4.Go to the new slide, and add the title and content that you want.

Set the reading order of slide contents

If you didn’t start out with one of the built-in slide designs, next we explain how you can ensure the slide reads in the correct order.

Use the Selection pane to set the order in which the screen readers read the slide contents.

The Selection pane lists the objects on the slide in reverse order. When the screen reader reads this slide, it reads the objects in the reverse order listed in the Selection pane.

1.On the Home tab, in the Drawing group, select Arrange.

2.In the Arrange menu, select Selection Pane.

3.In the Selection pane, to change the reading order, do one of the following:

* Drag and drop items to the new location.

* Select the item and then select the Up arrow button (Bring Forward) or Down arrow button (Send Backward).