Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader

In this topic

• Open PowerPoint

• Sign in to your Microsoft account

• Open a presentation

• Read the slide contents

• Create a new blank presentation

• Add or change a theme in a presentation

• Insert a new slide

• Add text to a slide

• Format your text

• Save your presentation

• Add pictures

• Add speaker notes

• Present your slides to an audience

Open PowerPoint

1. On your Mac, press Command+Shift+A to open the Applications view in Finder.

2. Type M to go straight to the applications that start with an "M."

3. Press the Tab key until you hear: “Microsoft PowerPoint application.”

4. To open PowerPoint, press Command+Down arrow key.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

To get the most out of the PowerPoint features, sign in to your Microsoft account.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint as instructed in Open PowerPoint.

   • If you're already editing a presentation in the Normal view and want to sign in, press Shift+Command+P. You hear: "New from template."

2. You land in the templates view. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Sign in, account settings, menu button."

3. Press Spacebar. The Sign in dialog box opens. You hear: “Type your email or phone number.”

4. Type your email or phone number, and then press Return. VoiceOver announces: “Password, secure edit text.”

5. Type your password, and press Return. If you hear “Start using PowerPoint button,” press Spacebar to go to the application.

6. After you’ve logged in, to start a blank presentation, press Return.

Open a presentation

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint. You land on a start page showing a selection of templates and your pinned and most recent presentations. Press the Tab key until you hear the name of the first presentation in either the Pinned or Recent list. To navigate the list, press Control+Option+Down arrow key. To select and open a file, press Control+Option+Spacebar when on the file.

   • If you're already editing a presentation, press Command+O. A dialog box for selecting the location and the file opens. If you've opened a PowerPoint file previously, that file is already selected. To navigate the dialog box, use the Tab key and the arrow keys. To enter a list in the dialog box, press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. To select and open a file, press Control+Option+Spacebar when on the file.

Read the slide contents

In PowerPoint you can work with your slides in several views which offer unique capabilities. You can read the slide contents in each view.

Create a new blank presentation

To get started quickly, create a new blank presentation. You can add a predesigned theme later to give your presentation a polished appearance.

Alternatively, you can create a presentation from a template. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to create a presentation from a template in PowerPoint.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint. PowerPoint opens in a view which lists available templates and themes.

   • If you’re already editing a presentation and want to create a new one, press Shift+Command+P.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear: “Entering collection, One item selected, Blank presentation.”

3. Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. You hear: “In blank presentation.” Press Control+Option+Spacebar to select and open the blank template in the Normal view.

4. To move to the title placeholder on the first slide and edit it, press the Tab key. VoiceOver announces: "Text is selected. You are currently on a text area, inside of a textbox." Type your own slide title. When finished typing, press Esc.

5. Press the Tab key to move to the next placeholder which is a subtitle text field. Type your own subtitle. When finished typing, press Esc.

Add or change a theme in a presentation

A theme is a collection of coordinated color schemes, backgrounds, font styles, and placement of placeholders. Use predesigned themes to change the overall look of your presentation quickly.

1. In the Normal view of your presentation, press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home, selected tab."

2. Press Control+Option+Left or Right arrow key until you hear "Design, tab," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Entering Themes gallery, Office theme, selected button."

4. Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the theme you want, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to select it.

Insert a new slide

1. To add a new slide based on the layout of the current slide, press Command+Shift+N. You hear: “New slide.”

Add text to a slide

1. Press Command+1 to make sure you are in the Normal view.

   Tip: You can also insert content to your slides in the Outline View. To switch to the Outline View, press Command+4.

2. To move the focus to a placeholder on the slide, press the Tab key. When you reach a placeholder with text, VoiceOver announces: "Text is selected. You are currently on a text area, inside of a textbox."

3. Type your text. When finished typing, press Esc. To move to the next placeholder, press the Tab key and then type your text.

Format your text

With formatting, you can improve the readability of your text and draw attention to what's important. PowerPoint offers many options for formatting your content, such as lists, hyperlinks, colors, and different font formatting options.

• To add lists to your text:

  • To insert a bulleted list, type an asterisk symbol (*), press Spacebar, type the list item, and press Return.

  • To insert a numbered list, type the number one followed by a period (1.), press Spacebar, type the list item, and press Return.

• To use other text formatting options:

  • To apply bolded text formatting, press Command+B.

  • To apply italics, press Command+I.

  • To apply underlining, press Command+U.

  • To increase the font size, press Command+Shift+Right angle bracket (>).

  • To decrease the font size, press Command+Shift+Left angle bracket (<).

  • For additional font formatting options, such as font color, press Command+T to open the Font dialog box. Press the Tab key to move around in the dialog box. To select an item, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

• To add a hyperlink, press Command+K.

Save your presentation

If you’re signed in, PowerPoint saves your work automatically. If you’re not signed in, you can save your presentation manually.

1. Press Command+S.

2. If you’re saving the presentation for the first time or want to change the file name, type a name for the file.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear the default save location, followed by “Where.” To change the save location, press the Down arrow key until you hear the location you want, and press Spacebar.

4. Press the Tab key until you hear “Save button,” and press Control+Option+Spacebar.

   Tip: To save the same presentation with a different name, location, or file format, press Command+Shift+S.

   For detailed information on how to save in another file format or in a format compatible with earlier versions of PowerPoint, refer to Use a screen reader to save your presentation in PowerPoint.

Add pictures

1. In the Normal view, press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home, selected tab."

2. Press Control+Option+Right or Left arrow key until you hear “Insert, tab,” and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to select.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Pictures, menu button." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the menu.

4. To browse the menu, press the Down or Up arrow key. VoiceOver announces the menu options. To select an option, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

5. A dialog box for selecting a file opens. To navigate in the dialog box, use the Tab key and arrow keys. To insert the picture, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

For detailed instruction on how to work with pictures, refer to Use a screen reader to insert and edit pictures and tables in PowerPoint.

Add speaker notes

You can add speaker notes to help remind you of what to say when presenting to an audience.

1. Press Command+1 to go to the Normal view.

   Tip: For information on how to add speaker notes in the Notes Page view instead, refer to Use a screen reader to read or add speaker notes and comments in PowerPoint.

2. Go to the slide on which you want to add notes, and then press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear: "Notes pane, layout area."

3. Type your notes for the slide. When you're done, press F6 to leave the Notes Pane.

Present your slides to an audience

1. In the Normal view, press Command+Shift+Return to start the slide show.

2. Use the following shortcuts to navigate through the slides:

   • Press N to move to the next slide.

   • Press P to move to the previous slide.

   • Press Function+Right arrow key to move to the last slide.

   • Press Function+Left arrow key to move to the first slide.

   • Press Control+Option+Shift+M to open the context menu. Navigate the options in the menu with the Down arrow key. VoiceOver announces the items as you move.

     For example, to navigate to a certain slide in your presentation, press the Down arrow key until you hear: "By title, submenu." Press the Right arrow key once to move to the submenu, and the Down arrow key to navigate the slides. VoiceOver announces the slide titles as you land on them. When on a slide you want to go to, press Control+Option+Spacebar and the slide opens.

3. To exit the slide show, press Esc.

For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to show your presentation with PowerPoint.

See also

Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint

Use a screen reader to insert and edit pictures and tables in PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

In this topic

• Open PowerPoint

• Sign in to your Microsoft account

• Open a presentation

• Read slide contents

• Navigate through the slides

• Create a new blank presentation

• Add or change a theme in a presentation

• Insert a new slide

• Save your presentation

• Add text to a slide

• Format your text

• Add speaker notes

• Present your slides to an audience

• Exit the Slide Show view

Open PowerPoint

1. On your iPhone, swipe right or left with three fingers to go the home screen where the PowerPoint app is.

2. When on the right home page, swipe right with one finger until you hear "PowerPoint," and then double-tap the screen to open the app.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

To get the most out of the PowerPoint features, sign in to your Microsoft account.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint as instructed in Open PowerPoint. The Account view opens.

   • If you're already editing a presentation, swipe left or right until you hear "Close file button," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Home, heading." Swipe right until you hear "Account button," and then double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe left or right until you hear "Sign in button," and then double-tap the screen.

3. Slide one finger across the screen until you hear: "Email, phone, or Skype, text field, required."

4. Double-tap the screen, and then use the on-screen keyboard to type your email address, phone number, or Skype address.

5. Slide one finger across the top half of the screen until you hear "Next button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear: "Enter password."

6. Double-tap the screen, and then use the on-screen keyboard to type your password.

7. Slide one finger across the top half of the screen until you hear "Sign in button," and then double-tap the screen.

Open a presentation

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint. The app opens in the view where you left it previously. If you closed the app completely, it opens in the Home tab which lists all your pinned or recent presentations.

   • If you're already editing a presentation, swipe left or right until you hear "Close file button," and double-tap the screen. You land on the Home tab which lists all your pinned or recent presentations.

2. To navigate the items on the Pinned and Recent lists, swipe right until you hear VoiceOver announcing the list items. When you hear the name of the presentation you want, double-tap the screen to open it.

3. If the file you want is not on the Pinned or Recent list, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Open, tab." Double-tap the screen to select it. Navigate to the file or file location you want.

Read slide contents

1. While editing a presentation, swipe right repeatedly until you reach the slide title text box. VoiceOver reads the slide title.

2. Swipe right again to move to the next text box on the slide. VoiceOver reads the contents of the text box.

3. To switch to another slide, swipe right until you hear the number and title of the slide you want. Then double-tap the screen to select and open the slide.

   Note: If you're using the phone in landscape orientation, the slide thumbnail pane appears to the left of the slide, and you need to swipe left instead.

4. To read the slide contents, swipe right until you reach the first text element in the slide.

Navigate through the slides

1. Do one of the following:

   • To navigate the slide thumbnails in the Normal view (the view that opens when you open a PowerPoint presentation), swipe right until you hear the first slide. You hear, for example, "Slide one of nine," and the title of the current slide. To navigate to the next thumbnail, swipe right.

   • To navigate the slides in the Slide Show view, swipe left with three fingers to move to the next slide or swipe right with three fingers to move to the previous slide.

Create a new blank presentation

To get started quickly, create a new blank presentation. You can add a predesigned theme later to give your presentation a polished appearance.

Alternatively, you can create a presentation from a template. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to create a presentation from a template in PowerPoint.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint. The app opens in the view where you left it previously. If you closed the app completely, it opens in the Home tab which lists all your pinned or recent presentations.

   • If you're already editing a presentation, swipe left or right until you hear "Close file button," and double-tap the screen. You land on the Home tab which lists all your pinned or recent presentations.

2. Tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Open, tab." Swipe left until you hear "New, tab," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "New, heading."

3. Swipe right until you hear "Blank presentation," and double-tap the screen. The presentation opens, and the focus is on the new slide.

4. To edit the new slide, swipe right until you hear the first placeholder element on the slide, for example, "Title text box," and then double-tap the screen to select it. To type text in the placeholder, double-tap the screen. Then use the on-screen keyboard to type your text. For more info on how to add text to a slide, refer to Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint.

Add or change a theme in a presentation

A theme is a collection of coordinated color schemes, backgrounds, font styles, and placement of placeholders. Use predesigned themes to change the overall look of your presentation quickly.

1. While editing your presentation, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers. Swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon, button," and double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."

2. Double-tap the screen, swipe left or right until you hear "Design tab," and double-tap the screen.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Themes button," and double-tap the screen.

4. Swipe right until you hear the name of the theme you want, and then double-tap the screen.

5. Swipe right until you hear "Hide ribbon," and double-tap the screen.

Insert a new slide

1. While editing a slide, swipe right until you hear "New slide, button," and then double-tap the screen.

2. To edit the new slide, swipe left until you hear the first content placeholder, for example, "Text box, text field," and double-tap the screen.

Save your presentation

If you're signed in, PowerPoint automatically saves your presentation to OneDrive as you work. If you're not signed in, you can save the presentation manually to your device or to OneDrive.

1. In your PowerPoint presentation, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers. Swipe right until you hear "Close file, button," and double-tap the screen.

2. If you're saving the presentation for the first time, you hear: "Save changes to presentation?" Swipe right until you hear "Save ellipses, button," and then double-tap the screen.

3. You hear: "Cancel button." The focus moves to the file name text field. Use the on-screen keyboard to type a name for the presentation.

4. Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, and then swipe right to find a location where you want to save, such as your phone or OneDrive. When on the location you want to save to, double-tap the screen. If there are folders to open, swipe right until you're on a folder, and then double-tap to open it.

5. To save the presentation, swipe right until you hear: "Save, button." Double-tap the screen to select. Your presentation is saved. The focus moves to the Home tab.

Add text to a slide

1. On the slide where you want to add text, swipe right or left until VoiceOver announces a text placeholder element. For a title text box, you hear: "Title text box, text box." For a text box, you hear: "Text box." Double-tap to select and edit the element.

2. To type with the on-screen keyboard, double-tap the screen, and then slide your finger across the lower part of the screen until VoiceOver announces the letter you want. Lift your finger and double-tap the screen to select the letter. To type another letter, swipe right or left until you hear the letter you want, and double-tap the screen. When finished typing, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you reach the Hide keyboard button, and double-tap the screen.

3. To move to the next text box, swipe right or left until VoiceOver announces it.

4. Double-tap the screen to start adding text to the field. Use the on-screen keyboard to type.

For more info on how to add text to a slide, refer to Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint.

Format your text

With formatting, you can improve the readability of your text and draw attention to what's important. PowerPoint offers many options for formatting your content, such as lists, hyperlinks, colors, and different font formatting options.

1. On the slide where you want to format text, navigate to the text box you want to edit, and double-tap the screen.

2. Tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Show ribbon."

3. Swipe left until you hear the basic font formatting option you want, such as bold, italic, or underline, and then double-tap the screen to apply the formatting.

For more info on how to format text on a slide, refer to Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint.

Add speaker notes

You can add speaker notes to help remind you of what to say when presenting to an audience.

1. While editing the slide you want to add speaker notes to, swipe right until you hear "Notes, button," and double-tap the screen.

2. The Notes pane opens. Swipe right until you hear "Slide notes, text box, text field," and then double-tap the screen.

3. Use the on-screen keyboard to type your notes.

4. When you're finished, to close the Notes pane, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Close button," and double-tap the screen.

Present your slides to an audience

1. In the presentation you want to show to your audience, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Start slide show from this slide, button," and double-tap the screen.

2. In the slide show, to proceed to the next slide, swipe left with three fingers. To go back to the previous slide, swipe right with three fingers.

3. VoiceOver reads the contents of the first text box as you land on a slide. To read the rest of the slide contents, swipe right. The focus moves to the next item and VoiceOver reads the contents.

4. When you hear "End of slide show," there is no more content to read. To exit the slide show, double-tap the screen.

For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to show your presentation with PowerPoint.

Exit the Slide Show view

• To exit the Slide Show view at the end of the presentation, swipe left with three fingers or double-tap the screen. The slide show ends and you return to the Normal view.

• To exit the Slide Show view at any time during the presentation, swipe left until you hear: "End slide show, button."

See also

Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint

Use a screen reader to insert and edit pictures and tables in PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

In this topic

• Open PowerPoint for Android and sign in

• Open a presentation

• Read slide contents in the Editing view

• Read slide contents in other views

• Navigate through slides

• Create a new blank presentation

• Add or change a theme in a presentation

• Insert a new slide

• Save your presentation

• Add text

• Format text

• Add pictures

• Add speaker notes

• Present your slides to an audience

Open PowerPoint for Android and sign in

Make the most of the PowerPoint for Android features and take your presentations with you wherever you go by signing in to PowerPoint. You can also use the app without signing in.

1. On the start screen or in the Apps menu of your device, swipe left or right until you hear "PowerPoint," and then double-tap the screen. PowerPoint for Android opens.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Sign in," and then double-tap the screen. You hear: "Get things done on the go."

3. Swipe right until you hear "Sign in button," and then double-tap the screen.

   Note: If you don't have an account, swipe right until you hear "Sign up for free," and then double-tap the screen.

4. To open the on-screen keyboard, double-tab the screen, and then type the email address, phone number, or Skype address that you used to create your account.

5. Swipe right until you hear "Next button," and then double-tap the screen.

6. To open the on-screen keyboard, double-tab the screen, and then type your password.

7. Swipe right until you hear "Sign in button," and then double tap the screen.

Open a presentation

In PowerPoint, you can quickly open a presentation that you've worked on recently or you can browse in OneDrive or your device for the file.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open the PowerPoint for Android app.

   • If you have a presentation open in the Reading view and want to open another one, swipe left until you hear "Close button," and double-tap the screen.

   • If you're editing a presentation in the Editing view and want to open another one, swipe left until you hear "Not checked, Done, switch," and then double-tap the screen. Swipe left until you hear "Close button," and double-tap the screen.

2. You land on the Recent tab which lists your pinned and most recent presentations. Swipe right until you hear the name of the presentation you want, and then double-tap the screen.

3. If the presentation you want is not in the list of recent or pinned presentations, slide one finger in the lower-right corner of the screen until you hear "Open," and double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the file location you want, and double-tap the screen. Swipe right or left until you hear the name of your presentation, and then double-tap the screen.

4. The presentation opens in the Reading view where you can browse the slides but not edit them. To start editing the presentation, swipe left until you hear "Edit button," and double-tap the screen. The presentation opens in the Editing view.

Read slide contents in the Editing view

You can check the slide contents while you're working on your presentation in the Editing view.

1. On the slide you want to read, swipe right and TalkBack announces the first slide element. If the element is a text element, TalkBack reads its contents.

2. Swipe right until you've listened to all elements on the slide.

Read slide contents in other views

• In the Slide show view, TalkBack announces the contents of the slide automatically when you open the slide. You can also slide one finger slowly on the top part of the screen and TalkBack announces the slide elements and their contents.

• In the Reading view, swipe left or right. TalkBack announces the slide number, heading, and if the slide has notes or comments.

Navigate through slides

Check that your slides are in the right order and that all content is in your presentation.

• In the Editing view, to move to the next slide, swipe left with two fingers. To go to the previous slide, swipe right with two fingers.

• In the Reading view, to move to the next slide, swipe right with one finger. To go to the previous slide, swipe left with one finger.

Create a new blank presentation

To get started quickly, create a new blank presentation. You can add a predesigned theme later to give your presentation a polished appearance.

Alternatively, you can create a presentation from a template. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to create a presentation from a template in PowerPoint.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open the PowerPoint for Android app.

   • If you have a presentation open in the Reading view and want to open another one, swipe left until you hear "Close button," and double-tap the screen.

   • If you're editing a presentation in the Editing view and want to open another one, swipe left until you hear "Not checked, Done, switch," and then double-tap the screen. Swipe left until you hear "Close button," and double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe left or right until you hear "New button," and then double-tap the screen.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Blank presentation," and then double-tap the screen. The new presentation opens in the Editing view, and the focus is on the new slide.

4. Swipe right until you hear the first text box, and then double-tap the screen. A context menu opens with the focus on the Cut button. Swipe right until you hear "Edit text button," and then double-tap the screen. Use the on-screen keyboard to type your text.

Add or change a theme in a presentation

A theme is a collection of coordinated color schemes, backgrounds, font styles, and placement of placeholders. Use predesigned themes to change the overall look of your presentation quickly.

1. In the Editing view, swipe left or right until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the currently selected tab, followed by "Tab menu," for example, "Home, tab menu."

2. Double-tap the screen. Swipe left or right until you hear "Design tab," and double-tap the screen.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Themes menu," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Themes."

4. Swipe right until you hear the theme you want, and then double-tap the screen. The selected menu is applied to the whole presentation, and the focus returns to the slide.

5. To close the tab menu, swipe right until you hear "More options, switch," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Off."

Insert a new slide

You can add as many slides as you want to your presentation.

1. In the Editing view with the tab menu hidden, swipe right until you hear "Add slide," and then double-tap the screen. A new slide is inserted into your presentation.

2. To start editing the new slide, swipe left until you hear a content placeholder, for example, "Title text box," and then double-tap the screen.

Save your presentation

If you're signed in, PowerPoint automatically saves your presentation to OneDrive as you work. If you want to save a copy of the presentation on your device, it's easy with TalkBack.

1. Do one of the following:

   • In the Editing view, swipe left or right until you hear "More options menu," and double-tap the screen.

   • In the Reading view, swipe left or right until you hear "Menu," and double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Save as button," and double-tap the screen.

3. The Save as dialog box opens. The focus is on the file name text field. Double-tap the screen and use the on-screen keyboard to type the file name with which you want to save your file. To close the on-screen keyboard, swipe down-then-left.

4. Swipe left until you hear the location where you want to save the file, for example, "This device, presentations," and double-tap the screen to select.

5. Swipe left until you hear the name of the folder you want, and then double-tap the screen.

6. Swipe right until you hear "Save button," and then double-tap the screen. The file is saved, and the focus returns to the Editing or Reading view.

Add text

1. In the Editing view, swipe left or right until you hear the first slide element. If the element is a text element, you hear "Title text box" or "Text box."

2. On the text element, double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the current text box type, followed by "Selected, Cut button." A context menu opens with the focus on the Cut button.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Edit text button," and then double-tap the screen.

   Tip: To paste a copied piece of text, swipe right until you hear "Paste button," and then double-tap the screen.

4. To type text, drag your finger across the lower part of the screen. TalkBack announces the characters on the on-screen keyboard. When you hear a character you want, lift your finger. The character is added in the text box.

   If predictive text input is activated, you can select the suggested words in the same way.

5. When you're finished typing, swipe down-then-left to close the on-screen keyboard.

For more info on how to add text to a slide, refer to Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint. 

Format text

To make your presentation more accessible for different audiences, you can, for example, increase the font size or apply bold formatting to make the text more legible.

1. In the Editing view with the ribbon and on-screen keyboard hidden, swipe left or right until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the currently selected tab, followed by "Tab menu," for example, "Home, tab menu."

2. Swipe right until you hear the basic font formatting option you want, such as bold, italic, or underline, and then double-tap the screen to apply the formatting.

For more info on how to format text on a slide, refer to Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint. 

Add pictures

Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words, so why not add a picture to liven up your presentation. You can add a picture from your device or cloud storage.

1. In the Editing view with the ribbon and on-screen keyboard hidden, swipe right until you hear "Photos button," and then double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe left or right until you hear the location from where you want to add the picture, and then double-tap the screen.

3. In the selected location, navigate to the image you want, and then double-tap the screen.

4. Swipe right until you hear "Save image button," and then double-tap the screen. The image is insert on the slide.

For more detailed instructions on how to add pictures, refer to Use a screen reader to insert and edit pictures and tables in PowerPoint.

Add speaker notes

With speaker notes you can add reminders or talking points for the presenter.

1. In the Editing view, swipe left or right until you hear "Notes switch," and then double-tap the screen. The Notes pane opens at the bottom of the screen.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Selected, slide notes, edit box," and then double-tap the screen.

3. Use the on-screen keyboard to type the notes text. When you're done typing, swipe down-then-left to close the on-screen keyboard.

4. To close the Notes pane, swipe left until you hear "Close button," and then double-tap the screen.

Present your slides to an audience

When it's time to share your presentation with your audience, start the slide show.

1. In the Editing view, with the first slide of the presentation open, swipe left or right until you hear "Present button," and then double-tap the screen. The landscape mode activates. The Slide show view opens.

2. To show the next slide, swipe left with two fingers. To go back and show the previous slide, swipe right with two fingers.

3. To end the slide show, do one of the following:

   • When you hear "End of slide show," you have reached the end of your presentation and have no more slides to show. To stop presenting swipe left with two fingers.

   • To end the slide show at any time during your presentation, swipe up with three fingers, swipe left with one finger until you hear "End show," and double-tap the screen.

For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to show your presentation with PowerPoint.

See also

Use a screen reader to work with slides in PowerPoint

Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

In this topic

• Open PowerPoint for the web

• Open a presentation

• Open a presentation in the full version of PowerPoint

• Read slide contents in the Editing view

• Read slide contents in the Slide show view

• Navigate through slides

• Create a new blank presentation

• Add or change a theme in a presentation

• Insert a new slide

• Save a local copy of your presentation

• Add text

• Format text

• Add pictures

• Add speaker notes

• Present your slides to an audience

Open PowerPoint for the web

Sign in to PowerPoint for the web and take your presentations with you where ever you go.

1. In your browser, go to Office.com. The sign-in page opens.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Sign-in to your account," and then press Enter. The Pick an account menu opens.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To use an existing account to sign in, press the Tab key until you hear the account you want, and then press Enter. Use the credentials connected to the account to sign in.

   • To add a new account, press the Tab key until you hear "Use another account, button" and then press Enter. Type your email address, phone number, or Skype address, and then press Enter. Type your password, and press Enter.

4. Press the Tab key until you hear "PowerPoint, link," and then press Enter.

5. PowerPoint for the web opens. You hear either "Microsoft, PowerPoint for the web" or "Welcome to PowerPoint." The focus is on a new blank presentation option.

Open a presentation

In PowerPoint for the web, you can quickly open a presentation that you've worked on recently or you can browse your OneDrive folders for your file.

1. Open PowerPoint for the web and sign in if necessary.

2. Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear either the name of a recent presentation that you want to work on or another location of the file, and then press Enter.

   If you selected another file location, press the Tab key and the arrow keys to locate your file, and then press Enter.

   Tip: If you're already editing a slide, and want to open another presentation, press Alt+Windows logo key+F, then O. Press the Tab key to move to your file or save location in the Open menu, and then press Enter.

Open a presentation in the full version of PowerPoint

If you have the full desktop version of PowerPoint, it gives you many more options when working with your files. It's easy to open the full version from PowerPoint for the web.

1. In the Editing view, press Alt+Windows logo key+Z, M, and then O. The presentation opens in the desktop version.

2. Navigate back to PowerPoint for the web, and press Ctrl+W to close the browser tab.

Read slide contents in the Editing view

You can check the slide contents while you're working on your presentation in the Editing view.

1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Slide panel," and then press the Tab key. The screen reader announces the first element on the slide and reads its content.

2. To move to the next element and read it, press the Tab key.

Read slide contents in the Slide show view

1. To open the Slide show view, in the Editing view, press Alt+Windows logo key+S, and then B. The first slide of your presentation opens in Slide show view.

2. Your screen reader automatically starts to read the contents of the slide. To stop the screen reader, press Ctrl.

Navigate through slides

Check that your slides are in the right order and that all content is included.

1. In the Editing view, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Editing, thumbnail panel," followed by the number of the current slide. The focus is on the Thumbnail pane.

2. To navigate in the Thumbnail pane, press the Up or Down arrow key. The screen reader announces the number and title of the slide and if the slide has notes or comments.

3. To move from the Thumbnail pane to the slide, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Slide panel," and then press the Tab key.

4. To navigate through the slide, press the Tab key until you've gone through all elements on the slide.

Create a new blank presentation

To get started quickly, create a new blank presentation. You can add a predesigned theme later to give your presentation a polished appearance.

Alternatively, you can create a presentation from a template. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to create a presentation from a template in PowerPoint.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Open PowerPoint for the web. You land on a page showing recent presentations, a search field, templates, and themes. The focus is on the new blank presentation template. Press Enter.

   • If you're already editing a presentation, press Alt+Windows logo key+F, N to open the New menu. Then press the Tab key until you hear "New, read only," and press Enter.

2. The presentation opens, and the focus is on the first slide. To move to the title text box, press the Tab key.

Add or change a theme in a presentation

A theme is a collection of coordinated color schemes, backgrounds, font styles, and placement of placeholders. Use predesigned themes to change the overall look of your presentation quickly.

1. In the Editing view, press Alt+Windows logo key+G, and then H. You hear: "More themes, Microsoft 365 theme."

2. Press the Tab key until you hear the theme you want, and then press Enter.

Insert a new slide

You can add as many slides as you want to your presentation.

1. Press Alt+Windows logo key+H, then I. You hear the name of the current slide theme and the layout option in focus.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear the slide layout you want to insert, and then press Enter or Alt+Enter.

Save a local copy of your presentation

PowerPoint for the web automatically saves your presentation on OneDrive as you work. If you want to save a copy of the presentation on your device, it's easy with your screen reader and keyboard shortcuts. You can download your presentation either as PowerPoint PPTX, PDF, or ODP file.

1. Press Alt+Windows logo key+F, then A, C. You hear: "Alert, Microsoft, PowerPoint." The focus in on the Download button.

2. To download the presentation, press Enter. The file is downloaded to the Downloads folder in your device.

Add text

Use the screen reader and keyboard shortcuts to easily add text on the slides and get your message out there.

1. To move the focus to an editable area on a slide, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: “Slide panel.”

2. To move to the first placeholder on the slide, press the Tab key. The type of the placeholder is announced. If it’s a text placeholder, press Enter, and then type the content.

3. When you're finished, press F2. To move to the next placeholder, press the Tab key. To edit the placeholder, press Enter. To exit, press F2. Repeat for all placeholders on the slide.

Format text

To make your presentation more accessible for different audiences, you can, for example, increase the font size or apply bold formatting to make text more legible.

1. To move the focus to an editable area on a slide, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: “Slide panel.”

2. To move to the first editable area on the slide, press the Tab key.

3. To select the editable area, press Enter.

4. To select all text in the area, press Ctrl+A. To select a part of the text in the area, press the arrow keys until you hear the text and then press Ctrl+Shift+arrow keys to select the piece of the text you want.

5. Use the following shortcuts to apply the most common formatting options to the selected text:

   • Bold: Ctrl+B

   • Italics: Ctrl+I

   • Underline: Ctrl+U

   • Increase font size: Ctrl+Right bracket (])

   • Decrease font size: Ctrl+Left bracket ([)

6. To access more formatting options, with the text selected, press Alt+Windows logo key+H, and then press the Tab key until you hear: "Undo button." Then press the Right or Down arrow key until you hear the formatting option you want, for example, "Bullets button." To select an option, press Spacebar. To expand collapsed menu items, press Alt+Down arrow key.

Add pictures

Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words, so why not add a picture to liven up your presentation. In PowerPoint for the web, you can add images from your own repository or use pictures directly from the internet.

Add speaker notes

With speaker notes you can add reminders or talking points for the presenter.

1. On the slide where you want to add speaker notes, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: "PowerPoint for the web, Slide notes, editing, pane."

   If you don't hear "Slide notes, editing, pane," press Alt+Windows logo key+W, then P, N to display the slide notes pane.

2. The focus moves to the slide notes pane. Type your speaker notes for the slide.

Present your slides to an audience

When it's time to share your presentation with your audience, use the keyboard shortcuts and your screen reader to start the slide show.

1. In the Editing view, press Alt+Windows logo key+S, then B. The slide show starts from the first slide in the presentation.

   Tip: To start the slide show from the current slide, press Alt+Windows logo key+S, then C.

2. In the slide show, press the Tab key until you hear the presentation name. The focus moves to the slide show.

3. To go to the next slide, press N. To go to the previous slide, press P.

4. When you want to stop presenting, press Esc. The focus returns to the Editing view.

For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to show your presentation with PowerPoint and Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations.

See also

Use a screen reader to work with slides in PowerPoint

Use a screen reader to add and format text in PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint