Reading Order

Use a slide template or layout that comes with text boxes, and limit the number of extra text boxes, shapes, and other elements you add.

Google Slides: Slide Layouts in Google Slide

Microsoft PowerPoint: Slide Layouts in Microsoft PowerPoint

Just as you may cite sources as you write, reviewing and fixing the reading order of a slide before creating the next slide can save time and headaches later in the process.

For example, reviewing reading order as you go will alert you to issues early enough for you to change your design or habits for the other slides, and help you to avoid time-consuming remediation at the end.

Here’s how you can check the reading order of a Google Slide: 

1. Use the TAB key on your keyboard to navigate from one element to another until you get to the end of the slide. Each element will highlight as you TAB to them. 

2. Go to Arrange > Order.

3. Select one of the following:
   • Bring to Front to make that element first in the reading order for the slide.
   • Bring Forward to move that element up just one place in the reading order.
   • Send to Back to make that element last in the reading order for the slide.
   • Send Backward to move that element down just one place in the reading order.

For more information on how to arrange elements in a Google Slide, see Google’s Arrange and Align Objects on a Slide.

Here’s how you can check the reading order of a Microsoft PowerPoint slide:

1. Go to Home > Arrange.
2. In the drop-down menu that appears, click Selection Pane;
   This may also be called the Reading Order Pane in some versions of PowerPoint.

3. The Selection Pane/Reading Order Pane will list all the elements on that particular slide in the order they will be read by a screen reader.
   • The default reading order is that the most recently inserted elements are read first.
   • Changing the order in the Selection Pane/Reading Order Pane will also change the order of any overlapping elements; e.g., if you have text on top of an image.

If the reading order needs adjustment:

4. In the Selection Pane/Reading Order Pane, click and drag an item to a different spot in the list.

For more information about adjusting the reading order and other accessibility fixes in Microsoft PowerPoint, see Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities.

Using a focused and simple, uncluttered layout and design will reduce the amount of time spent on fixing the reading order, and help to make the presentation more effective for all learners.

Some programs can help you to search for and track accessibility errors. Microsoft PowerPoint has an Accessibility Checker that generates a list of errors.

Tip: This technology is not perfect and cannot flag all errors. Because of this, if possible, we recommend doing a manual review as well.

For more detailed information about the accessibility checker in Microsoft PowerPoint, see Microsoft’s Improve Accessibility With The Accessibility Checker.

It’s common to return to an older slide deck from a previous semester and make changes. If you do so, we recommend taking a moment to review any changes you make for accessibility.

For example, if you add new images or text boxes to a slide, that will change the reading order of that slide and will require another review.

You may have learners who use a screen reader to navigate through your slides, and the reading order for screen readers is based on code, not on the visual order of the slide elements. Note that even if the slide elements are arranged correctly in visual terms, this does not mean they are arranged the same way for a screen reader.

If you make the slides available to learners outside of class, they need to be able to navigate through the slides on their own. Some learners (such as those using screen readers) will not be able to read the contents of a slide if they were not designed using these strategies.