Hyperlinks in PowerPoint

Hyperlinks are very common on PowerPoint slides, to allow a user to go directly to a website or other resource. A sighted user can identify a hyperlink because it is a different colour to the rest of the text and is often underlined. A screen reader user needs to have the hyperlink announced to them in order to be able to use it.

There are two ways that screen readers announce links. The first is whilst reading the text on the slide. The link will be preceded by the word 'link'. The second is by pressing the JAWS key plus F7. This brings up a list of all links on the slide and the user can navigate these with their arrow keys and select a link using the enter key. They may listen to the whole slide first and then investigate links via JAWS + F7. It is essential that these links are meaningful when viewed as a list of links. Generic phrases, such as 'click here' are not helpful.

The following video will show you how to create meaningful hyperlinks for your PowerPoint slides.