NOTE: The instructions featured in this article were written based on Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows (Version 2412). The interface and features demonstrated below may vary based on the version of PowerPoint you use (eg, PowerPoint for web, PowerPoint for macOS). If your version differs from what is shown in this article, visit the Microsoft Support Center for PowerPoint accessibility tips customized for your version.

Many slides contain content such as a title, text, and images. Screen readers will typically read content in the following order: top to bottom and left to right. Because of this, your goal is to arrange your slides so that images and charts are placed either below or to the right of any text. Open a PowerPoint file to begin assessing the reading order of your slide content.

1. Click the Review tab, then the Check Accessibility button.
   
2. The accessibility pane will provide a list of slides that need their reading order checked. Select Check reading order.
   
3. Navigate to the slide you want to address and select Verify Object Order.
   
4. In the reading order pane, you will see each of the elements on your slide listed in the order a screen reader will announce them. In the screenshot below, notice that Picture 45 is listed first, followed by the slide title and then content block.
   
5. On the reading order pane, arrange elements in logical reading order by clicking and dragging each so that the slide title is listed in the number-one position, followed by the content, and then the images. Alternatively, you can select the element and use the up and down arrows to reorder them. Each time you select an element in the reading order pane, it will highlight on the slide.
   
6. When reordering elements in the reading order pane, it helps to imagine the screen reader announcing each element in top-down, left-to-right order, as shown below.
   
7. If you have an image on the slide that is not necessary for conveying meaning, you can mark it as decorative by unchecking the box next to that item in the reading order pane. It does not matter where decorative items fall in the reading order, since a screen reader will not read them.
   

Once you have rearranged the elements on your slide into a logical reading order, follow the same steps for any other slides the accessibility checker identified.