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How to Check Reading Order

The Selection Pane

Checking reading order is easy. Please follow the directions below to activate the Selection Pane. The Selection Pane is the tool used to check reading order.

  1. Navigate to the Home tab
  2. If you're on a smaller screen, click the Drawing Tools on the ribbon
  3. Select Arrange from the Drawing Tools menu
  4. Select Selection Pane from the list

Selection Pane Tool help image

Once the Selection Pane is open, your page should have a new editor tool on the right-hand side of the screen. It will display every element on the slide and the current reading order.

Important Note: Reading order in the Selection Pane will be reversed from the slide reading order. In the image below, we have a title called Header 1 and a subtitle called Reading Order Check. On the slide, they are in descending order, but in the Selection Pane, the order will show Subtitle and then Title in ascending order. The ascending order in the Selection Pane should match the descending order of elements on the slide. If you change the Selection Pane reading order to match the slide, you will break accessibility for your reading order.

Reading Order Help Image

Proper navigation for reading order is top to bottom left to right. If your Selection Pane shows inaccurate order, please use the pane to repair reading order. This ensures software like JAWS or NVDA can read a slide in the correct order.

Checking reading order with the Review tools

It can be easier and more logical to check reading order using the Review tools on the PowerPoint ribbon. Follow these steps to review reading order using the Review tools:

  1. Select Review from the ribbon
  2. Select Check Accessibility
  3. Select the Reading Order Pane
  4. Review your reading order from top to bottom and make corrections as needed

Checking with your Keyboard

Once you verify your reading order using the Selection Pane or Review tools, you can check your slide manually by using the Tab key on your keyboard. Simply press tab and you can watch the focus of the keyboard navigate your slide. This simulates how a screen reader will read the content.