Screen reader only reading headings of PowerPoint

Question

I am running into an accessibility issue where no matter what I do, the screen reader (tested with MS Narrator and NVDA) only acknowledges the heading on a slide of a PowerPoint. I've ran the accessibility checker and it says everything is fine and I've checked the reading order. But no matter what, it only does the heading.

How do I make it read everything on the slide?

Answer 1

Hi @Alli,

According to your concern, refer to Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader - Microsoft Support, in Normal view, PowerPoint does not auto-read the entire slide when you land on it. The screen reader only reads the currently focus element and you need to press Tab to move through the rest of the slide's objects. In your situation, if Narrator/NVDA only reads the slide title, I suspect it can be due to (you can notify me if I've misunderstood about your situation):

• You’re testing in a mode where only the title gets focus first, and the rest of the objects must be reached manually with keyboard navigation.
• The rest of the content is not in a proper reading order or is marked decorative, so PPT skips it. In the Reading Order pane, objects without a number are skipped because they are considered as decorative.
• The slide was built with blank slides/manual text boxes instead of built-in placeholders, which can disrupt structure and how screen readers interpret the content.

Therefore, you can try checking these steps:

1/ Test in Normal view

In Normal view, press Tab to move through each element on the active slide. If content is in floating shapes like text boxes, images, shapes, etc., press Ctrl+Alt+5 first, then use Tab to cycle through them.

2/ Verify the Reading Order pane

• Go to Review > Check Accessibility and then open Verify object order / Reading Order pane.
• Check whether any meaningful item has been accidentally marked decorative. If items lose their number, they will be skipped by screen readers.

For reference:

• Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader - Microsoft Support
• Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint - Microsoft Support

Please understand that my initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, you can try these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to find a solution.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.    

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I'm looking forward to your reply.

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