PowerPoint: Modifying the reading order

[EricNiquette]

The Reading Order section of the article Accessible PowerPoint presentations in Microsoft 365 currently states:

Use the Selection Pane to set the order in which the screen readers read the slide contents. The Pane will show every object on the slide. Highlighting an object in the pane will also highlight it in the slide.

I would argue that users should be using the Reading Order pane (found in the Accessibility tab) instead. This pane allows users to mark elements as decorative by simply unchecking a checkbox and displays elements in a top-to-bottom reading order, making it easier to follow. In contrast, the Selection Pane lists elements in reverse order, which can be significantly harder to interpret.

The downside, however, is that the Developer tab does not appear by default and requires an extra step to enable, but I thought it was worth mentioning and debate on whether its worth the hassle.