PresentAble User Guide.

Copyright © Hartgen Consultancy in Association with Jonathan Simeone 2026.

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1. Introducing PresentAble.

Welcome to PresentAble!

Creating a presentation should be an opportunity to share what you know. For blind people, however, it can also mean working with a visual arrangement that is difficult to check independently. Reading the words on a slide is only part of the task. Where are the pictures? Does the text fit? Are the colours easy to distinguish? Could one item be covering another? These details affect what an audience sees, yet a screen reader alone may not give you the information you need.

PresentAble is designed to put more of that control into your hands. It brings together keyboard editing, structured layouts and accessible reports to help you create presentations and make informed decisions about their appearance. You supply the ideas, choose how to arrange them and review the results through speech or Braille.

If you have never used PowerPoint or another presentation tool, you can start here. A presentation is a sequence of pages, called slides, which an audience can follow during a talk, lesson or meeting. Each slide might contain a title, a few key points, a picture, a table or a recording. You can also prepare speaker notes: reminders of what you want to say alongside the material shown to your audience.

With PresentAble, you build slides using Windows controls such as List Boxes, Edit Fields and Buttons. An Edit Field is a place where you type text. You can write and rearrange your content, add pictures, tables, sound and video, and choose fonts and colours from the keyboard. Layouts determine where the content appears. For example, choosing “Text left, image right” places your words beside a picture without requiring you to drag either into position.

Being able to create a slide is only part of the benefit. PresentAble also helps you understand and check what you have created. You can read descriptions of the formatting, review how a picture fits into its available space, and check for problems such as crowded text or colours that are difficult to distinguish. With Microsoft PowerPoint installed, additional analysis can measure the exported slides and report issues such as text extending beyond its allotted space or objects overlapping. This gives you practical information about visual problems that might otherwise be difficult to discover.

Accessibility also matters to the people receiving your presentation. PresentAble lets you supply descriptions for pictures and tables and choose the order in which a screen reader encounters the content. Its checks help you identify omissions and review potential problems before sharing your work.

You can begin with a blank presentation or import material: bring it in from a Word document, a Markdown text file or an existing PowerPoint presentation. Markdown is a way of marking the structure of plain text; Chapters 9 and 10 introduce it with examples. When your work is ready, you can export it, creating a PowerPoint file to share with colleagues, teachers or an audience. The main editing and local checking functions, and ordinary exports using Top, Centre or Bottom vertical alignment, work without PowerPoint installed. Distributed vertical alignment needs desktop PowerPoint during export.

Optional artificial intelligence, or AI, features offer further help with creating and describing pictures, suggesting crops and reviewing a slide’s visual appearance. Cropping changes which part of a picture is shown. These features are introduced separately from the main editing tasks.

PresentAble gives blind authors a practical way to take greater ownership of a highly visual form of communication. You remain in charge of your message and the choices that shape it, with tools to help you understand the result. This guide takes you from your first simple slides through to checking and sharing a complete presentation, explaining the concepts as you need them.

We hope you enjoy using PresentAble and that you find the product a pleasure to work with!

How to approach this guide.

You do not need to remember every command at once. A useful first session is to create three simple slides, save the project, run the checks and export a PowerPoint file. Chapters 7 and 8 take you through that sequence. A project is the editable presentation you save for continued work; exporting creates a file for use in PowerPoint.

If you already have text prepared, the Markdown and Word examples may be a more useful starting point. Later sections explain the individual controls and the less frequently used functions.

Throughout this guide, Control+S means hold down Control, press S, then release both keys. Where a command includes several modifier keys, hold those keys together before pressing the final key. The menus may abbreviate Control to Ctrl. They mean the same thing.

Instructions such as “choose Save” mean move to the named Button and press Enter or Space. A dialogue is a window which asks for information or a choice. Where it contains a multi-line Edit Field, use Tab to leave the field and choose the Button. Enter within the field normally starts a new line.

In a standard Open or Save file dialogue, once the required filename is in the File name Edit Field, you can press Enter directly from that field. This is quicker than tabbing to Open or Save; if you do Tab to either Button, press Enter or Space. Read any further confirmation before accepting it.

When we refer to the JAWS key, this is either the Insert key when using the JAWS Desktop layout or the Caps Lock key in the laptop layout.

If you use a Braille display, press F4 to read the focused control's shortcut key and a short explanation of what it does. Chapter 5 explains this command step by step, including an example.

What You Will Need.

In order to use PresentAble, you will need:

You can create an entire presentation without an API key. Writing slides and speaker notes, adding your own images, writing alternative text, editing tables, checking spelling, running the ordinary accessibility checks and exporting PowerPoint files all work without OpenAI. PowerPoint's measured analysis also works without an API key, provided desktop PowerPoint is installed.

An API key is needed when you ask OpenAI to create a picture, propose alternative text for an existing image, suggest a crop, or review the visual appearance of a rendered slide. Alternative text is a written description for someone who cannot see the picture. A rendered slide is a picture of the slide’s finished appearance.

These optional commands send the relevant material to OpenAI. Normally, you review and approve the request before sending it. You can choose to skip that screen for image creation in OpenAI preferences; Create image then submits creation and description directly. Ordinary editing, Guided speech and Braille hints do not use OpenAI or consume API credit.

OpenAI API billing is separate from a ChatGPT subscription. You do not need a paid ChatGPT subscription to use an API key, and having a ChatGPT subscription does not pay for PresentAble's API requests. Chapter 3 explains the key, the optional features which use it and how to set up the connection. You can return to that chapter later if you prefer to learn the main editing features first.

2. Installing PresentAble.

This chapter takes you through installing PresentAble, activating it and checking for updates.

Follow the installation stages in order. PresentAble needs its program files and the JAWS scripts in the correct locations to work as intended.

Installing PresentAble.

Before installing, sign in to the Windows account of the person who will use PresentAble. That account should have Administrator Rights during installation: permission to make the required changes to the computer. If an administrator must install it from another Windows account, the installer allows the location of the JAWS scripts to be changed. The procedure “Check the Script Location and Finish” is particularly important in that situation.

Obtain the PresentAble installer from the Hartgen Consultancy website. The installer is the program which places PresentAble and its JAWS scripts on the computer. JAWS announces most of its prompts automatically.

Step 1. Run the PresentAble installer.

Step 2. If Windows asks whether to allow Setup to make changes to the computer, choose Yes to continue.

Step 3. At the opening screen, press Enter to activate Next.

Read and Accept the Licence Agreement.

The next screen asks you to accept the Licence Agreement before continuing. You can read it in the installer’s Edit Field. Radio Buttons form a group of choices, with one choice selected at a time.

Step 1. Press Tab to reach the Licence Agreement Edit Field if you want to read the terms here.

Step 2. Read the agreement using your usual text-reading commands.

Step 3. Press Tab to reach the group of Radio Buttons.

Step 4. If you accept the agreement, use Up Arrow or Down Arrow to select the choice which accepts it.

Step 5. Press Enter to proceed. If the JAWS version screen appears, continue with “Choose the JAWS Installation”.

Choose the JAWS Installation.

The installer detects the installed JAWS versions and offers a group of Radio Buttons for choosing which version will receive the PresentAble scripts. PresentAble can be installed into JAWS versions 2022 through to 2027. If no other versions of JAWS are found, this screen is not displayed; continue with the script-location check.

Step 1. If the version-selection screen appears, press Down Arrow to select the JAWS version you want to use.

Step 2. Press Enter to continue.

To add PresentAble to another JAWS version later, run the installer again and choose that version from the list.

Check the Script Location and Finish.

Before copying files, the installer asks you to confirm the location for the JAWS script files. This must refer to the account of the person who will use PresentAble. In particular, an IT administrator installing from a different Windows account needs to check this location.

Step 1. Read the installation location in the Edit Field.

Step 2. If it refers to a different Windows account, change the text so that it points to the PresentAble user’s account. Most users installing from their own account can leave the location unchanged.

Step 3. Press Enter to continue with installation.

Step 4. Wait while the installer creates the required folders and copies the files.

Step 5. When the completion dialogue appears with OK focused, press Enter to finish installation.

You can remove PresentAble through Windows Installed apps or the Control Panel. Removing it removes its installed program files, shortcuts and the PresentAble scripts installed by Setup. Your saved presentations, profile settings and personal spelling dictionary are retained.

Activating PresentAble.

Use the desktop shortcut to open PresentAble, or follow this Start menu route:

Step 1. Press the Windows key to open the Start menu.

Step 2. Type PresentAble.

Step 3. Press Enter to launch the program.

Step 4. When PresentAble has loaded, wait a few seconds for its activation check. It uses your JAWS for Windows serial number to check the Hartgen Consultancy server for an activation key. If a key is found automatically, your copy is registered.

Enter a Manual Activation Key.

If the automatic check finds no key, PresentAble asks whether you have a manual activation key. This is a sequence of letters and numbers which can be sent to you by email. If you have received one, use the following procedure.

Step 1. Press Enter on Yes, the default Button.

Step 2. Type or paste the activation key into the Edit Field.

Step 3. Press Enter to submit it.

If you do not have an activation key, choose No instead. PresentAble enters Demonstration Mode.

Demonstration Mode and Multiple Computers.

Demonstration Mode lets you try PresentAble for a limited period. The allowance is measured by JAWS restarts: you can use PresentAble for up to 30 times of restarting JAWS.

After the 30 Demonstration Session limit, a reminder is spoken every 10 seconds. At that point, purchase a licence or uninstall PresentAble. You can uninstall it through the Windows Control Panel.

If you have purchased PresentAble but it remains in Demonstration Mode, contact your PresentAble distributor.

You can install PresentAble on multiple computers provided each uses the same JAWS serial number. JAWS must be activated with that serial number on every computer which will host PresentAble.

Updating PresentAble.

Check for updates regularly to receive the latest release and its changes. You can start the check from the opening screen or while a presentation is open.

The update process keeps the existing application location and the JAWS script folder saved by the previous installation. After a successful download and file check, it proceeds to installation without a second question asking whether to install.

Step 1. From the main PresentAble window, press Alt+H to open Help.

Step 2. Press P for Check for updates.

Step 3. Wait for the check. Focus is on Cancel update while PresentAble contacts the website. To cancel and continue working, press Escape.

If no newer release is available, PresentAble says it is up to date. Press Enter to close that message; no further update steps are needed. If an update is available, continue with the next stage.

Read the Available Update Details.

The update dialogue gives the installed version, available version and download size. Focus starts on Download and install. To read the changes before downloading:

Step 1. Press Alt+N to reach the Release notes read-only Edit Field.

Step 2. Press Control+Home to move to the beginning.

Step 3. Use Up Arrow or Down Arrow to read by line.

Shift+F1 provides help for either control. When you are ready, continue with “Download and Install the Update”, or press Escape to leave without downloading.

Download and Install the Update.

During the download, PresentAble gives no progress announcements or automatic Guided hints. Focus remains on Cancel update, which JAWS can identify normally. Shift+F1 remains available if you request help.

Step 1. Press Alt+D to download and install the update.

Step 2. Wait for the download. If you decide to cancel it, press Escape; your installed version remains unchanged.

When the download finishes, PresentAble checks that it is the expected file. If it is incomplete or cannot be verified, installation does not start and an error explains the problem. Otherwise, the update proceeds automatically.

Step 3. If the current presentation has unsaved changes, respond to the save prompt. Choose Yes to save, No to continue without saving those changes, or Cancel to keep working and abandon the update attempt.

Step 4. If you chose Yes for a presentation which has never been saved, complete the normal Save dialogue. Cancelling that dialogue also cancels the update attempt.

Step 5. If Windows asks for permission to make changes, choose Yes to continue.

Step 6. Wait while PresentAble closes and installs the update. It does not display the setup wizard or its progress window. You do not need to choose the application or script locations again. An installation error is displayed if something prevents completion.

Step 7. When the confirmation gives the new version, press Enter to close it.

The update does not restart JAWS, Windows or PresentAble automatically.

Step 8. Open PresentAble again using its desktop or Start menu shortcut.

You can check the version through About on the Help menu or with Control+JAWS Key+V. Press that command twice quickly to place the version details in the JAWS Virtual Viewer.

Alternative: Start the Check from Command Centre.

This is another way to start the same update process.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+C to open the Command Centre.

Step 2. Type update.

Step 3. Press Down Arrow to select Check for updates.

Step 4. Press Enter. Continue with “Updating PresentAble” and “Read the Available Update Details” in this chapter.

3. Obtaining and using an OpenAI API key.

Introduction.

PresentAble's OpenAI functions provide optional help with pictures and the visual appearance of a slide. An API key connects those functions to your OpenAI API account. You can use the main presentation editor without setting up a key, so there is no need to complete this chapter before creating your first presentation.

If you have the Leasey product from Hartgen Consultancy installed and already use an API key with it on this computer, PresentAble can usually use that existing key. You may not need to obtain or enter another one. The section below, Using an existing Leasey key, explains how to check. Having Leasey installed is not a prerequisite: PresentAble is a standalone application.

When PresentAble uses an API key.

The following four OpenAI functions need a key, an internet connection and access to the requested OpenAI model. A model is the AI system chosen to perform a request; different models can carry out different kinds of work.

Chapter 27, Optional OpenAI functions, gives the detailed procedures for these commands. Review the result yourself: an AI description or opinion about appearance can be incomplete or mistaken.

What works without an API key.

You do not need an API key to create, open or save a presentation, import Word, Markdown or PowerPoint material, edit slides, add images from your computer, write descriptions yourself, edit tables, change formatting, arrange reading order, check spelling or export a PowerPoint file. Guided speech, Braille hints and context help also work without OpenAI.

The ordinary accessibility checks run locally. Export and analyse and Analyse marked slides use installed desktop PowerPoint to measure the exported content; those measurements do not require OpenAI or an API key. Review slide with OpenAI is a separate, optional request for AI feedback on a rendered image. It is useful to keep that distinction in mind when deciding which kind of check to run.

For example, you could import a Word document, add your own photograph, write its alternative text, check the presentation and export it without making any API request. If you then choose Describe image with OpenAI for that photograph, that particular optional action needs the key.

Choosing when information is sent.

Opening PresentAble, changing settings, saving a key and navigating your slides do not submit an OpenAI request. Normally, a paid function opens a request review with details of the prompt, model and material to be sent. Image creation uses Review paid image requests for its two requests. The other functions use Review paid OpenAI request. Focus begins directly in the Request details Edit Field, ready to read with your usual text-reading commands.

A request already submitted may still be processed and charged if you later stop waiting. Reviewing or rejecting its result does not undo the service charge.

To send a request after reviewing its details:

Step 1. Check I approve this paid request, or I approve these two paid requests for image creation.

Step 2. Activate Submit request or Submit requests, as appropriate to that review.

To leave the request unsent, choose Cancel instead.

There is a separate preference for image creation. If Skip image request review is checked in Settings, OpenAI preferences, Create image submits both creation and description directly. This also applies to generated replacements. You still review the finished image and its Alternative text before adding it to the slide.

Test connection in Settings is a separate, explicit network request. It checks whether OpenAI accepts the key for listing models. It does not send your slides or ask OpenAI to create or describe an image.

Understanding API Keys.

PresentAble provides access to functions offered by OpenAI. However, to use these facilities, you need an OpenAI API key.

An API key is like a digital password which allows PresentAble to communicate with OpenAI services on your behalf.

You may already have a paid ChatGPT subscription for use in a web browser, in the ChatGPT desktop application or on your phone. A ChatGPT subscription does not include usage of the OpenAI API. ChatGPT subscriptions and API billing are entirely separate.

You may use the same OpenAI account and email address for both services, but you must set up API billing separately on the OpenAI Platform. A paid ChatGPT subscription is not a requirement for PresentAble's API functions.

Using an existing Leasey key.

Step 1. Open PresentAble settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+5. This selects API connection and places focus directly in the protected OpenAI API key Edit Field.

Step 3. Read the key-source status on this page using your screen reader's usual reading commands. It tells you whether PresentAble has found its own saved key, an existing Leasey key, or neither. It never displays the key itself. An empty key field is normal even when a saved key is available.

If the status says that the existing Leasey key is being used, leave the key field empty. There is nothing to copy, decode or save. You can activate Test connection to check whether OpenAI accepts it. Its API account must still have the billing and model access needed for the feature you want to use.

A key explicitly saved in PresentAble takes priority over the Leasey key. PresentAble does not overwrite or remove Leasey's key. If no usable key is available, follow the remaining sections to set up your own connection.

Setting Up Your Own API Key.

Ideally, you should set up and use your own OpenAI API key. This allows you to control your API account, monitor your usage and manage the amount you spend.

Creating or saving a key does not itself run a paid AI task. Usage charges arise when you submit paid requests to OpenAI using that key.

The amount charged depends on several factors, including:

For this reason, it is not possible to give a single reliable cost for each question or for a particular number of words.

Image generation and image analysis can have different costs. Do not assume that every command costs the same amount. Repeating an operation is another request, even if you decide not to use the earlier result. PresentAble's request review is not a price quote or a spending cap. The OpenAI API pricing page gives the current rates.

You can review your API usage and remaining balance on the OpenAI Platform.

Setting Up API Billing.

Before an API key can normally be used, you must add a payment method and activate billing for your OpenAI API account.

Follow the billing options offered for your API account. With prepaid billing, you purchase credit in advance and the cost of requests is deducted from your available credit.

OpenAI may also offer an automatic recharge facility. If automatic recharge is enabled, additional credit can be purchased automatically when your balance falls below an amount you specify. Check this setting carefully before confirming your purchase.

Read the credit-expiry and refund terms shown by OpenAI before confirming a purchase. Also check that you are funding the API organisation or project associated with the key you intend to use.

Follow these steps to set up API billing.

Step 1. Open the OpenAI Platform Home page:

https://platform.openai.com/

Step 2. Sign in to your OpenAI account. Depending on how the account was created, you may be asked for a password, a temporary code sent by email, a passkey, or to continue with Google, Microsoft or Apple.

Step 3. After signing in, open the API Billing Overview page:

https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/billing/overview

Step 4. Select the option to add payment details or set up billing. The precise wording of the Button may change.

Step 5. Enter your payment card and billing information.

Step 6. Choose the amount of API credit you wish to purchase.

Step 7. Review the automatic recharge settings.

Step 8. If you do not want OpenAI to purchase additional credit automatically, turn off automatic recharge.

Step 9. Confirm the payment. It may take a few minutes before the new balance becomes available.

When you need to purchase additional credit later, return to the Billing Overview page and select the Add to balance Button.

Creating an API Key.

After setting up API billing, you can create an API key for PresentAble.

Step 1. Open the OpenAI API Keys page:

https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Step 2. If OpenAI asks you to select a project, choose the project whose API billing you intend to use. For a personal account this may be the Default project. If an organisation manages your account, use the project it has assigned to you.

Step 3. Select the Create new secret key Button.

Step 4. Enter a descriptive name for the key, such as PresentAble.

Step 5. If you are offered a choice of permissions, All supports PresentAble's current functions. If your organisation requires a restricted key, ask its administrator to permit model listing, Responses requests and image generation. A Read Only key cannot perform the paid authoring operations. OpenAI describes project and account permissions in Manage permissions in the OpenAI platform.

Step 6. Select the Button to create the secret key.

Once the key has been created, copy it before leaving the page. Do not depend on being able to reveal it again after closing the creation window.

Step 7. Copy the complete API key.

Step 8. Store it securely, for example in your password manager.

Creating an API key does not add credit to your account. Billing must also be active and sufficient credit must be available before the key can be used successfully.

If you lose the key, create a replacement and delete or revoke the lost key from the API Keys page.

Entering the API Key into PresentAble.

Save key stores the key immediately. Cancel in Settings does not undo that action. Save settings alone does not store a key left in the Edit Field: use the dedicated Save key Button.

These steps enter a new key. If PresentAble is already using your Leasey key, leave the key field empty and use Test connection without a separate Save key action.

Step 1. With PresentAble in focus, press Control+Comma to open the Settings dialog.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+5 to select API connection. Focus goes directly to the OpenAI API key Edit Field. You do not need to press Tab to reach it.

Step 3. Type or paste the complete key into this protected field. The characters are concealed. A key already saved in PresentAble or available through Leasey is never filled into the field for you.

Step 4. Press Tab to reach the Save key Button.

Step 5. Press Enter or Space. PresentAble stores the key in Windows Credential Manager for your Windows account, clears the field and announces confirmation. An empty field after saving is expected.

Test connection uses the saved key. Save a newly pasted key before testing it; an existing Leasey key needs no separate Save key action.

Step 6. Press Tab to reach the Test connection Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space.

Step 8. Read the connection result. Success means OpenAI accepted the key for listing models. It does not confirm available credit, billing arrangements or access to every model. An image request can still fail after a successful test.

Step 9. Press Enter to close the result message.

Step 10. Press Tab until you reach the Save settings Button.

Step 11. Press Enter or Space to close Settings and retain any ordinary preferences you changed.

To remove PresentAble’s saved key later, use Remove key. This removes the local credential, not the key from your OpenAI account, and never removes Leasey’s key.

Your API key is not included in a presentation project or in the installer. Another collaborator needs their own connection. The OpenAI guidance on API keys explains why a key should be kept private.

Checking Your Credit and Usage.

You can check your remaining API credit on the API Billing Overview page:

https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/billing/overview

You can review your API activity and costs on the Usage page:

https://platform.openai.com/usage

If PresentAble reports that your API quota has been exceeded, check the following:

Remember that creating an API key by itself does not add credit or activate paid API usage.

PresentAble may report either a rate limit or unavailable quota for a rejected request. They are not always the same problem: repeated requests can hit a temporary rate limit, while an exhausted balance or account restriction needs attention in your API account. OpenAI's API error guide explains the distinction. A failed optional request does not prevent you from continuing to edit and save the presentation locally.

Keeping Your API Key Secure.

Your API key should be treated like a password.

If you believe that your API key has been exposed, return to the API Keys page and delete or revoke it. Create a replacement key and enter the replacement into PresentAble.

4. A few concepts before we begin.

A presentation and its slides.

A presentation is a series of pages called slides. Each slide contains something you want to show your audience, such as a few key points, a picture or a table. During a talk, you usually move through the slides one at a time.

For example, a presentation called “Our Community Garden” might have four slides:

The presentation has a name, and each slide has its own title. In this example, the presentation is called “Our Community Garden”, while the final slide might be titled “How you can help”.

Give each slide a short, meaningful title. This helps your audience follow the presentation and helps you find the slide when working in PresentAble. A slide can show the main points while you explain them during the talk. Speaker notes, introduced in Chapter 1 and used in Chapter 7, hold reminders of what you want to say alongside those points.

Content items.

PresentAble calls each separate bullet point or paragraph on a slide a content item.

A bullet point is a piece of text with a small symbol, usually a dot, before it. Bullet points are often used to present a short list of ideas. For example, the “How you can help” slide might contain:

Each of these points appears separately in PresentAble’s Content items List Box. You can edit, move or remove one without changing the others.

You can also add ordinary paragraphs, which appear without a bullet symbol.

Layouts.

A layout tells PresentAble where to place the different parts of a slide.

For example, “Title and bullets” places a title above your points. “Text left, image right” places your text on the left side of the slide and a picture on the right.

You choose the arrangement, and PresentAble positions the content for you. You do not need to drag text or pictures around the screen. You can change the layout later.

Formatting and styles.

Formatting means how your slides look. It includes the size and colour of the text, the font or lettering design, the background colour and the spacing.

A style is a group of formatting choices that you can apply together. Using the same style throughout a presentation helps give your slides a consistent appearance. You can also format individual slides differently when needed.

You can begin with PresentAble’s standard settings and explore these choices later.

Project files and PowerPoint files.

PresentAble uses two types of file, each with a different purpose.

Your PresentAble project is the working copy. Its filename ends in .presentable. It keeps your slides, pictures, notes and settings together so you can open it in PresentAble and continue working. Press Control+S regularly to save your changes.

A PowerPoint file is the copy you create when you want to show or share your slides. Its filename ends in .pptx. Creating this copy is called exporting. Choose Export PowerPoint when you are ready to produce it.

Saving and exporting are separate actions. A useful routine is:

Step 1. Save your project with Control+S.

Step 2. Export a PowerPoint file when you are ready to use or share the presentation.

If you make more changes, save the project and export again to bring both files up to date.

Selection and marking.

The selected slide is the one you have moved to in the Slides List Box. Press Up or Down Arrow to select a different slide.

Marking lets you choose several slides for an action, such as moving or copying them together. A mark is different from moving to a slide to work on it: several slides can remain marked while another slide is selected. Chapter 13 explains how to mark slides and clear their marks.

Some commands act on all marked slides. If none are marked, they act on the selected slide. Before removing, moving, copying or formatting slides, check which ones you have marked.

5. Keyboard access, speech and help.

Moving between controls.

A control is a part of a window which you can use, such as a Button, an Edit Field or a list. Focus identifies the control currently receiving your keyboard input. When the guide says a control has focus, your next keypress will act there.

When a dialog opens on a name field, its existing name is selected so that typing replaces it. This applies to New presentation and to Table description when adding or reopening a table. Press Left or Right Arrow first if you want to keep the name and edit only part of it. Bullets, text paragraphs, notes and image descriptions are ordinary prose; opening an editor for that text does not select it all automatically.

Press Tab to move to the next control and Shift+Tab to move to the previous control. JAWS obtains the labels, values and states from the Windows controls themselves. Press JAWS Key+Tab to read the focused control again.

Use Up or Down Arrow in a list or Combo Box. A Combo Box offers a set of choices, such as font names. A tab control chooses between pages in a window. When that control has focus, use Left or Right Arrow to choose its page, then Tab to move into the selected page.

Press Space to check or uncheck a Check Box. On a Button, Space activates the Button. Enter also activates a focused Button.

Combo Boxes support typing successive characters to find an entry. For example, when the Font family Combo Box has focus, type AR reasonably quickly to select Arial if it is available. Pausing for about two seconds starts a new search. Up and Down Arrow remain available if you prefer to browse the choices.

Press Alt to reach the application menus. Use Left or Right Arrow to move between menus and Up or Down Arrow to choose an item. Menu entries show their shortcut keys where one is assigned.

Guided speech.

Guided speech is selected by default for new settings. Keep it on while learning if you find the explanations helpful. When you move to a control and pause briefly, PresentAble speaks a short explanation of its purpose or a useful command. This hint accompanies the ordinary control information supplied by JAWS.

Guided mode helps you learn what the controls do. However, the extra explanations can draw your attention away from information about the current slide, particularly when a slide list entry contains several details. Standard mode leaves these additional hints off, allowing you to concentrate on the control and its contents. JAWS continues to read the ordinary control information in either mode, and you can still request detailed help with Shift+F1.

Announce shortcut keys is checked by default. With that option checked, speech gives the documented key when available, followed by the short hint in Guided mode. To request the shortcut and hint in Braille, press F4 as described below.

To change the shortcut reminders:

Step 1. Open Settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2 for Speech and recovery. Focus is on the Speak short confirmations Check Box.

Step 3. Press Tab three times, passing the Announce progress Check Box and Guidance Combo Box, to reach the Announce shortcut keys Check Box.

Step 4. Read whether Announce shortcut keys is checked.

Step 5. Press Space if you want to change the spoken shortcut reminders. F4 remains available whether this Check Box is checked or unchecked.

Step 6. Press Enter to save your settings. The change takes effect when the dialog closes. Cancel keeps your previous preference.

Read a Shortcut and Hint in Braille with F4.

F4 gives you a brief reminder of how to use the control which has focus. The Braille display shows its shortcut key, if it has one, followed by its guided hint: a short explanation of the control's purpose. You can request this information when you need it while learning the app or working with an unfamiliar control.

Step 1. Press Tab or Shift+Tab to reach the Button, Edit Field, List Box or other control you want to learn about.

Step 2. Press F4 on its own. The shortcut and hint appear on the Braille display. If the control has no shortcut, only the hint appears.

Step 3. Read the message using your usual Braille display reading commands. F4 adds no speech. Focus stays on the same control, and any selected text or list item stays selected.

Step 4. When you want the display to return to the focused control's information, press a cursor routing key. You can press F4 again whenever you need the reminder.

For example, on the opening screen, press Tab or Shift+Tab until the New presentation Button has focus, then press F4. The display shows:

Control+N. Create a presentation, then add its first slide.

F4 leaves the Button focused. To create the presentation, press Control+N or activate the Button with Enter or Space.

F4 works in both Guided and Standard modes, including when Announce shortcut keys is unchecked. It is available on controls in the main window and PresentAble's own dialogs. You do not need to change your speech preferences to use it.

JAWS supplies the ordinary Braille information as you move through controls and list entries. Use F4 whenever you want the additional shortcut and hint. For a longer explanation of a control and its available actions, press Shift+F1 to open its detailed help.

Turn Off Additional Guided Hints.

To use Standard mode while retaining ordinary JAWS control information:

Step 1. Open Settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Choose the Speech and recovery page by pressing Control+Shift+2.

Step 3. Press Tab twice to reach the "Guidance" Combo Box. The first press moves to the "Announce progress" Check Box; the second moves to the "Guidance" Combo Box.

Step 4. If necessary, press Up or Down Arrow until JAWS says "Standard".

Step 5. Press Enter to save the settings. JAWS says "Settings Saved".

Standard turns off the additional spoken hints. The separate Announce shortcut keys option can still speak the key. F4 continues to give the shortcut and hint in Braille in either mode.

Turn Off Short Action Confirmations.

Short Action Confirmations are messages such as “Project saved”. They are separate from Guided hints and are enabled by default. When Speak short confirmations is checked, these messages are spoken and shown in Braille. They work in both Guided and Standard modes and do not require F4. To turn them off:

Step 1. Open Settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Choose the Speech and recovery page by pressing Control+Shift+2.

Step 3. Read the state of Speak short confirmations, the first control on the page. It is a Check Box.

Step 4. If it is checked, press Space to uncheck it.

Step 5. Press Enter to save the settings. The additional settings-saved confirmation is no longer spoken or shown in Braille.

Progress messages have their own Announce progress Check Box on the same page. When it is checked, progress messages are spoken and shown in Braille. For example, during image creation, the reminder says “ChatGPT is creating the image.” Unchecking Speak short confirmations does not turn off these progress reminders.

Help for the control you are using.

Context Sensitive Help explains the control you are using, its purpose and how to operate it. It is useful when exploring Settings or an unfamiliar editor.

Step 1. With the control focused, press Shift+F1. JAWS Key+F1 also opens this help.

Step 2. Read the help in the read-only Edit Field where focus starts. Up and Down Arrow move by line; Left and Right Arrow move by character. Control+Home returns to the beginning. You can select and copy text if you wish.

Step 3. Press Escape to close the help. Focus returns to the control from which you requested it, ready for you to try the action.

Shift+F1 and JAWS Key+F1 provide this control help in both Guided and Standard modes.

Keyboard command list and this guide.

F1 (Or Insert+H) opens the shorter keyboard command reference. To read it:

Step 1. Press F1 or Insert+H. Focus goes to the beginning of a read-only Edit Field. Each shortcut is on its own line, with blank lines around the major headings.

Step 2. Use Up and Down Arrow to read the lines.

Step 3. Press Escape when finished. Focus returns to the control from which you opened the reference.

The Help menu (activated with ALT+H) contains User guide. This opens the HTML edition of this manual in your default web browser. It has headings and a linked contents list. Use your usual browser and JAWS reading commands to move through it.

The Help menu also contains About, which reports the PresentAble version. This can also be accessed by pressing JAWS Key+Q. That is a useful keystroke because it also confirms that the JAWS scripts for PresentAble are functioning correctly.

While PresentAble has focus, Control+Insert+V uses the JAWS's standard command to read the application name and version from the installed application. With the JAWS laptop keyboard layout, use Control+Caps Lock+V. The same version is available in Help, About.

The Command Centre.

PresentAble Command Centre provides a searchable list of application commands, their shortcuts and their categories. Use it to learn a shortcut or carry out a command directly. First select any item the command needs: Image properties needs a selected image, for example, and Edit table needs a selected table. Finish or cancel any editor or Settings dialogue before opening Command Centre from the main application.

Step 1. From the main window, press Control+Shift+C to open PresentAble Command Centre.

Step 2. Type a word such as “notes”, “export”, “format” or “table” in the Search commands Edit Field, where focus starts. The Matching commands List Box is filtered as you type. The search also recognises shortcut words and categories: “Control Shift N”, for example, finds Add slide.

Step 3. Press Down Arrow to enter the matches.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a command. Each entry includes its name, shortcut where available, and category. “No shortcut” means you can still run it from the list.

Step 5. Press Enter to run the selected command. Alternatively, Tab to the Run command Button and activate it with Enter or Space.

Enter while still in the search field runs the currently selected match. Read that match before using Enter, particularly when several commands match your search.

To change the search:

Step 1. Press Control+F to return to the Search commands Edit Field and select the existing search text.

Step 2. Type a replacement search, or press Backspace until JAWS says “Blank” to see all currently available commands.

If there are no matches, change or shorten the search. Run command is unavailable until a match exists.

Press Escape to close the Command Centre without doing anything. When you run a command, the Command Centre closes first and the action uses the original control and selection. For example, Copy still refers to the content list or Edit Field from which you opened the Command Centre.

6. Finding your way around the main window.

PresentAble has an opening screen where you choose how to begin, followed by an editing window where you work on your presentation. This chapter introduces both.

The opening screen.

When you start PresentAble without a presentation open, you arrive on the New presentation Button.

There are four main choices:

Press Tab or Shift+Tab to move between the Buttons. Press Enter or Space to choose one.

Starting a new presentation.

Step 1. Press Enter on New presentation or press Control+N at any time. A dialog opens with “Untitled presentation” selected in the Presentation name Edit Field field.

Step 2. Type a name for your presentation.

Step 3. Press Enter to accept the name. The editing window appears, and focus moves to the Add slide Button.

Step 4. Press Enter on the Add slide Button.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a slide type. If you are unsure, Title and bullets is a useful starting point.

Step 6. Press Enter to accept the type.

Step 7. Type the title in Slide title Edit Field, where focus has moved.

Your presentation is now started, but it has not yet been saved as a file. Press Control+S when you are ready to save it.

Chapters 7 and 8 take you through creating, saving, checking and exporting a small presentation.

Continuing an existing presentation.

To continue a saved PresentAble project:

Step 1. Choose Open presentation or press Control+O.

Step 2. Select the project in the Windows file dialogue.

Step 3. Press Enter to open it.

After the project opens, focus normally moves to the Slides List Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a slide.

Return to a Recent Presentation.

The opening screen may also contain Recent presentations, a quicker route to projects you have used recently.

Step 1. Press Tab to reach the Recent presentations List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a project.

Step 3. Press Enter to open it.

Alternatively, Control+Shift+O opens the Recent projects dialogue.

To bring in a PowerPoint file or Word document, choose Import presentation instead. Chapter 11 covers Word import and Chapter 12 covers PowerPoint import.

The editing window.

Once a presentation is open, the main window has five pages, called workspaces. Each brings together the controls for a particular part of your work.

You will probably spend most of your time in Slides. You can explore the other workspaces as you need them.

Working in Slides.

The Slides workspace contains the presentation name and the Slides List Box, followed by controls for working on the selected slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L to go directly to the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide you want.

You can then move through the controls with Tab to edit its title, choose a layout or work on its content. Buttons let you add, remove and rearrange slides.

Each slide also has its own smaller set of pages. Depending on the slide, these can include:

You will only encounter the pages relevant to the slide you are working on. Speaker notes is always available. Audio and video is offered for video layouts or when the slide has recordings. Pages for existing objects remain available even if the layout changes, so you can still edit or remove those objects. Control+Alt+M goes directly to the Recordings List Box. Chapter 20 explains sound and video, with a worked example of each.

To choose one of these slide pages:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+J to reach the slide page selector.

Step 2. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose a page.

Step 3. Press Tab to reach the page's List Box, or the Speaker notes Edit Field if you chose Speaker notes.

Moving between workspaces.

You can go directly to each main workspace with these shortcuts:

Each shortcut places you inside the chosen workspace, ready to use its controls. You can also press Control+Tab to move to the next workspace, or Control+Shift+Tab to move back.

For now, the most useful shortcut to remember is Control+L. It takes you back to the Slides List Box whenever you want to choose a slide.

Getting help as you explore.

You do not need to remember every control or shortcut before beginning.

Press Shift+F1 or JAWS Key+F1 for help with the control you are using. Read the explanation at your own pace, then press Escape to return to your work.

Press F1 for the keyboard command reference. You can also open this User Guide from the Help menu, ALT+H.

Start with a few simple slides. The following chapters explain the other features when you are ready to use them.

7. First example: build a small presentation.

We will create three slides for a short talk about a community garden. No pictures, imported files or online services are needed for this example. The opening slide names the subject. The second gives three reasons for the project, and the third shows how people can help. A speaker note will remind you to invite questions without adding that reminder to the visible slide.

Create the presentation.

If another presentation has unsaved changes, the New command first asks what to do with them. Respond to that save prompt before continuing.

Step 1. Press Control+N for the New presentation Button.

Step 2. In Presentation name, “Untitled presentation” is already selected. Type “Our Community Garden” to replace it. If you move the cursor before typing, Control+A selects the whole name again.

The Save Button here accepts the presentation name and creates the working presentation. It does not save a project file on disk; Chapter 8 does that.

Step 3. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space to accept the name. Alternatively, press Enter directly from the Presentation Name Edit Field.

The new presentation contains no slides. Giving it a name is separate from adding its first slide. The editing tabs are now available, and focus is on the Add slide Button. They remain available if you later remove every slide; an empty presentation is still an open presentation.

Add an opening slide.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N for the Add slide Button.

Step 2. In the Slide type list, Title slide is already selected at position 1 because this is a new presentation. Press Enter to accept it. You can use Up or Down Arrow to choose a different type when you need one.

Step 3. Focus moves to the Slide title Edit Field. Type “Our Community Garden”.

Step 4. Press Tab when you have finished the title. This opening slide can remain a simple title slide. You do not have to fill every page or control.

There is now one slide. Its title will appear in the Slides List Box. The list entry also tells you its position and layout. JAWS says "1. Our Community Garden; Title slide, 1 of 1. Choose a slide with Up or Down Arrow. Enter edits its title; Space marks it for group actions."

Add a slide with three bullet points.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N for the Add slide Button.

Step 2. In Slide type, use Up or Down Arrow to select Title and bullets.

Step 3. Press Enter to accept it.

Step 4. Type “Why we are starting” in Slide title.

Step 5. Press Control+Shift+B for Add bullet. A text editor opens.

Enter in the multi-line Edit Field starts a new line. To save a bullet, leave that field and use Save.

Step 6. Type “Grow fresh food locally.”

Step 7. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space to add the bullet.

Step 9. Press Control+Shift+B to add the second bullet.

Step 10. Type “Meet our neighbours.”

Step 11. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 12. Press Enter or Space to add it.

Step 13. Press Control+Shift+B to add the third bullet.

Step 14. Type “Make good use of shared space.”

Step 15. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 16. Press Enter or Space to add it.

After each addition, focus returns to the Content items List Box with the new item selected. Use Up or Down Arrow to review the three entries. Each bullet is a separate item, so you can change one without rewriting the others.

Edit a bullet.

Step 1. In Content items, use Up or Down Arrow until “Meet our neighbours.” is selected.

Step 2. Press Enter. The editor opens with that item's text. Focus is in the Edit Field, with the cursor at the end.

Step 3. Press Control+A to select the existing text.

Step 4. Type “Meet neighbours of all ages.”

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space. Focus returns to the Content items List Box with the updated item selected.

If you change your mind while the editor is open, press Escape. That cancels this editing session and leaves the existing bullet unchanged.

Add a final slide.

Step 1. Press Control+M. This adds another slide of the last type used for adding a slide. In this example, that is Title and bullets.

Step 2. Type “How you can help” as the title.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+B to add a bullet.

Step 4. Type “Help with planting.”.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space to add it.

Step 7. Press Control+Shift+B to add a bullet.

Step 8. Type “Water the beds during dry weather.”.

Step 9. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space to add it.

Step 11. Press Control+Shift+B to add a bullet.

Step 12. Type “Share spare seeds.”.

Step 13. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 14. Press Enter or Space to add it.

You now have an opening slide and two slides containing points for your talk.

Add a reminder for yourself.

Speaker notes hold what you want to remember while presenting. The reminder in this example belongs in the notes, rather than among the points shown to the audience.

Step 1. Press Control+L for the list of slides.

Step 2. Select “How you can help” with Up or Down Arrow if necessary.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+N for the Speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 4. Type “Mention that beginners are welcome. Allow time for questions.”

Step 5. Press Tab to leave the Speaker notes Edit Field, or Escape to return focus to the Slides List Box.

These notes are kept with the slide and exported to its PowerPoint notes. They do not become a visible bullet point. Notes remain part of the exported file, so someone who receives the file may be able to read them.

Review the slides.

Step 1. Press Control+L to enter the Slides List Box directly. Alternatively, press Control+2 to enter Slides at the Presentation name Edit Field, then Tab to the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Press Home to select the first slide.

Step 3. Use Down Arrow to hear each following slide, or Up Arrow to return to the previous one.

To inspect the selected slide’s title:

Step 1. Press Enter on its slide in the list. Focus moves to the Slide title Edit Field.

Step 2. Read the title.

Step 3. Press Control+L to return to the List Box without changing it.

To inspect the selected slide’s content:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+J to reach the slide page selector.

Step 2. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Content.

Step 3. Press Tab to reach the Content items List Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow in the Content items List Box to read the entries.

You can also use Alt+PageUp and Alt+PageDown to select the previous or next slide while keeping your current editing location. This is useful when reviewing the notes or titles of consecutive slides. If you are in an editable field, remember that typing after changing slides affects the newly selected slide.

8. Save, check and export your first presentation.

Save the project.

Begin with the three-slide presentation from Chapter 7 still open. Saving creates the editable project you can return to later.

Step 1. Press Control+S.

Step 2. The first save opens Save PresentAble project. Select the folder where you want to keep the project.

Step 3. Press Tab until the File name Edit Field has focus.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select the proposed name.

Step 5. Type Our Community Garden.presentable. You can also enter a full path to an existing folder followed by this filename.

Step 6. Press Tab until the Save Button has focus.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space. Alternatively, press Enter directly from File name Edit Field after typing the filename. The dialogue closes, and PresentAble announces that the project was saved if short confirmations are enabled.

From this point, Control+S saves to the same project file. Use Control+Shift+S for the Save Button as when you want a separately named copy.

Run the checks.

The checks look for problems in the presentation, such as a missing slide title. Results is the workspace where you read those findings.

Step 1. Press Control+F7. PresentAble checks the presentation and moves to the Results List Box.

Step 2. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box. This choice filters findings by how serious they are.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select All so you consider every finding.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a finding.

Step 6. Press Enter, or choose Details, to read its explanation.

Step 7. Press Escape to close the explanation.

Step 8. If the item needs attention, press F8 to go to it.

For example, a missing-title finding takes you to that slide’s title field when you press F8. Type a useful title there and run Control+F7 again. Repeat the check after corrections: results describe the presentation at the time the check ran, not any changes made afterwards.

If there are no findings, the full report still gives you the result of the check. No reported issues does not mean the application has assessed every aspect of your presentation's meaning or appearance.

Export a PowerPoint file.

Step 1. Save the project again with Control+S.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+E for Export PowerPoint.

Step 3. If there are errors or warnings, a review window appears first with focus in its read-only report Edit Field. Read with Up or Down Arrow. For this first example, press Escape to return to editing, correct the findings and start again at Step 1. Chapter 24 explains how to continue an export with known findings.

Step 4. When the export file dialogue appears, select a destination folder.

Step 5. Press Tab until the File name Edit Field has focus. PresentAble proposes a name based on the project.

Step 6. To change the proposed name, press Control+A.

Step 7. Type a name such as Our Community Garden.pptx if you are replacing it.

Step 8. Press Enter directly from File name Edit Field, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 9. Wait for the PowerPoint file saved confirmation. You now have both the editable project and an exported presentation.

Control+Alt+O opens the last exported file in its associated Windows application. If you need to change a bullet later, reopen or continue editing the .presentable project, save it, then export again. The previously exported PowerPoint file is not updated automatically as you edit.

Export and analyse, Control+E, is an additional option for a computer with desktop PowerPoint. It exports the file and asks PowerPoint to measure the layout. Chapter 24 explains how this differs from exporting alone.

9. Second example: create slides from typed Markdown.

What Markdown means here.

Markdown is ordinary text with a few characters indicating its structure. For a simple PresentAble presentation, a line starting with a hash sign and a space introduces a slide title. A line starting with a hyphen and a space becomes a bullet point.

You only need two rules for this first example: a hash sign and space for each slide title, and a hyphen and space for each bullet. The marks tell PresentAble how to divide your text into slides and items.

Enter the example.

Step 1. Press Control+S to save any presentation you want to keep. Complete the save file dialog if this is its first save.

Step 2. If a presentation is open, press Control+1. Focus moves to Markdown text for slides, a multi-line Edit Field.

If you are at the opening screen instead, use this alternative route:

Step 1. Press Alt+I for Import presentation.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Type or paste Markdown text.

Step 3. Press Enter to reach its Edit Field.

Both routes leave you ready to enter the example below.

Step 1. Type or paste this text into the Markdown field. Keep each title and bullet on its own line:

# A visit to the library
- Find something new to read.
- Ask about local activities.

# Before you leave
- Check the return date.
- Make a note of the next event.

The first hash line introduces the first slide. Its two hyphen lines become that slide's bullets. The second hash line starts another slide, so the following bullets belong to the second slide.

The blank line helps you read the source. The hash line, rather than the blank line, is what begins the next slide.

Preview the conversion.

The following action creates a conversion report so that you can review the proposed slides before accepting them.

Step 1. On the Import workspace, choose Preview slides from text, or press Control+Enter. If you entered text through the opening screen instead, Tab to the Review conversion Button and activate it with Enter or Space.

Step 2. Read the Review conversion report. Focus starts at the beginning of its read-only Edit Field. It tells you how many slides were produced and describes any conversion warnings.

Create presentation replaces the current presentation with the converted result. Escape cancels the review: the Import workspace keeps its source text, while an import started from the opening screen returns there without creating a presentation.

Step 3. If the result is suitable, press Tab until the Create presentation Button has focus.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space to accept it.

Step 5. If the current presentation has unsaved changes, PresentAble asks what to do with them before replacing it. Save the current work if you want to keep it.

Review and Save the Converted Slides.

Step 1. After accepting the import, press Control+L to focus the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to review its two slides.

Step 3. To inspect the selected slide’s title, press Enter. To inspect its Content page instead, use Control+Shift+J, choose Content with Left or Right Arrow, then press Tab. These are the two inspection routes practised in Chapter 7.

Step 4. Press Control+S to save the imported presentation as a project. Complete the first-save dialogue as described in Chapter 8.

What the first two Import controls do.

Markdown text for slides is a place to draft or paste source text. Preview slides from text converts that source and opens the conversion report. The word “Preview” refers to reviewing the conversion before creating the presentation. It does not open a graphical slide show.

Import Markdown file is the alternative route when your source is already stored in a file. It does not import the contents of the Edit Field. Conversely, Preview slides from text does not ask you to choose a file.

These are two ways of supplying the same kind of input: type or paste it, or choose a saved file.

What happens to the source afterwards.

The source text and the editable slide items are separate. Once you have created the presentation, editing a bullet in Content does not rewrite the Markdown field. Editing the Markdown field does not update the existing slides as you type.

If you run Preview slides from text again and accept Create presentation, you create a replacement presentation from the source currently in that field. It does not append a few new slides or merge your later slide edits into the source.

For this reason, decide where you want to continue working. You can refine the Markdown and convert again, or keep the converted presentation and work in Slides. Save a project before replacing work you might want to retain.

Text merely typed into the Import field has not yet become a presentation. If you want to keep that draft independently, copy it to a text editor and save a Markdown file. After conversion, the imported source is stored with the project, but subsequent slide edits still do not update it.

10. Importing a Markdown file and using additional features.

Import a saved file.

Use UTF-8 text for predictable handling of accented characters and other symbols. UTF-8 is a text-file encoding: it tells software how the characters have been stored. To import a saved source file:

Step 1. If you have an open project to keep, press Control+S and complete any save dialog.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+M for Import Markdown file. A file dialog opens.

Step 3. Select a .md, .markdown or text file containing your source. Alternatively, Tab to the File name Edit Field and type its full path.

Step 4. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open the named file, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Read the conversion report using Up or Down Arrow. It explains how the source has been interpreted. Press Escape if you want to cancel and revise the source file first.

Step 6. To accept the result, Tab to the Create presentation Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space.

Step 8. Answer any prompt about saving the previous presentation.

Step 9. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 10. Use Up or Down Arrow to review the imported slides.

Step 11. Press Control+S to save the new PresentAble project.

The source file itself is not rewritten by your subsequent PresentAble edits. The following sections explain additional syntax you can put in that file, or try through typed Markdown as described in chapter 9.

Give the presentation a name.

You can include a presentation name before the first slide:

@presentation: Saturday at the library

# Welcome
- Discover a new book.

# Activities
- Join the reading group.

The @presentation: line supplies the presentation name. It is not a slide. Without it, a file import normally uses the source filename as the presentation name; typed Markdown starts with “Imported Markdown”. You can change that name on the Slides page.

Ordinary paragraphs and bullet conventions.

Lines without a special prefix become ordinary text. Consecutive ordinary lines form a paragraph; a blank line separates paragraphs.

A hyphen, asterisk or plus sign followed by a space can introduce a bullet. Numbered lines such as 1. Bring a notebook are also imported as bullet items. They do not create an automatically numbered list in the exported presentation.

For compatibility with the earlier app, two hash signs followed by a space introduce a bullet, and three hash signs followed by a space introduce an ordinary text item. In this importer, those marks do not mean the full hierarchy of headings you might expect in another Markdown program. A single hash sign introduces a new slide.

Keep the space after a marker. For example, use - Bring a notebook, rather than -Bring a notebook.

Inline Markdown styling is not a rich text editor here. Do not rely on asterisks for bold, embedded HTML, code fences, quoted blocks or nested list levels to produce specially formatted slides. Use the Styles page for the exported text's appearance. Unsupported constructs may remain as ordinary text or appear in the conversion report.

Speaker notes in Markdown.

Start a notes block with :::notes and end it with ::: on a line by itself:

# Our next meeting
- Saturday at ten o'clock.
- Meet at the main entrance.

:::notes
Remind everyone to bring a notebook.
Allow time for questions before moving on.
:::

The two hyphen lines become slide content. The text inside the notes block becomes Speaker notes. Always close the notes block before starting another slide; otherwise the following lines remain part of the notes until the block ends.

Include a local picture.

A picture line uses square brackets for the alternative text and parentheses for the image file:

# The garden entrance
![A wide gate opens onto a level path between raised beds.](entrance.jpg)

A relative filename gives a location in relation to the source file. For a saved Markdown file, entrance.jpg is looked up in the same folder as that Markdown file. Put the image there before importing, or give the appropriate relative subfolder. An absolute local image path gives the complete location and can also be used.

Typed Markdown has no source folder. A relative image reference in the Import Edit Field therefore cannot be resolved in the same way. Use a full local path, import a saved Markdown file with its images, or add the picture later through Images.

If the file cannot be found, the importer keeps an image placeholder: a place for the missing image which you can fill later. It explains the problem in the report. A web image address also becomes a placeholder; PresentAble does not automatically download the picture. To attach the actual image, open Image properties and use Replace from computer, as described in Chapter 17.

After successfully importing a local picture, the project stores its image data. Keep meaningful alternative text: the words in the square brackets explain the picture, rather than supplying a visible caption.

Choose a layout explicitly.

PresentAble usually chooses a layout from the content it finds. You can request one within a slide:

# The garden entrance
@layout: image-right
- The main path is level.
- Raised beds are beside the path.
![A gate and level path between raised beds.](entrance.jpg)
@image-crop: Fit

The supported layout names are:

@image-crop: applies to the most recently specified image on that slide. Supported named crops are Fit, Top, Centre, Bottom, Left and Right. Use Image properties for custom percentages.

@image-placeholder: followed by a description deliberately adds a placeholder to complete later. @image-decorative: true marks the most recently specified image decorative and removes its alternative text. Use that only when the image conveys no essential information. false leaves it as an informative image.

A simple Markdown table.

Use a separate slide for a table. On a Table layout, ordinary slide content remains in the project but is not exported as body text; the conversion report points this out. Put an explanation on a separate slide or in suitable speaker notes.

The vertical lines in this example separate the cells:

# Opening times
| Day | Opening time |
| --- | --- |
| Monday | 9 am |
| Saturday | 10 am |

The first row supplies column headings. The row of hyphens is a separator and does not become a data row. Each remaining line is a row in the table.

Keep the same number of cells on each line. After import, use the Tables page to review the description, header setting and individual cells.

Read the conversion report.

Read the conversion report before accepting an import. It explains assumptions and material which could not be converted as expected. Text before the first slide heading, missing image files and unsupported directives are examples to review. A directive is an instruction in the source, such as the @layout: line used earlier in this chapter.

To read the report again after accepting an import:

Step 1. Press Control+Alt+Shift+V. Focus moves straight to the Conversion report's read-only Edit Field.

Step 2. Press Control+Home to start at the beginning.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow, or your usual JAWS text-reading commands, to read the report.

Step 4. Press Escape when finished. Focus returns to the main window.

The report describes the import operation; editing a slide afterwards does not rewrite that historical report.

11. Third example: import a simple Word document.

Word import works best when the document already identifies the headings and paragraphs intended for each slide. PresentAble reads Word’s paragraph styles: named kinds of paragraph such as Heading 1. It does not assume that a line is a heading because its letters look large.

Prepare the document.

Imagine a Word document about a book group. Give it this structure:

Each Heading 1 starts a new slide. In this example, there will be two slides.

Heading 2 paragraphs and paragraphs recognised as list items become bullet content. Other ordinary paragraphs become text content. Merely making a line bold or increasing its font size does not make it a Heading 1 for this purpose.

Put the first slide heading before the material you want imported. Content before the first Heading 1 is reported and is not included in the slides. A Word cover page or introductory paragraph may therefore need restructuring before import.

Save the document in .docx format. The file picker is for DOCX documents, rather than older binary .doc files.

Import it.

Step 1. Press Control+S to save your current PresentAble project if you need to keep it. Complete any save file dialog before continuing.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+W for Import Word, or choose Import Word on the Import page.

Step 3. Select the DOCX document in the file dialogue, or Tab to the File name Edit Field and type its full path.

Step 4. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open the named file, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Wait for the conversion report.

Step 6. Read the report, checking the slide count and warnings.

Step 7. Press Tab until the Create presentation Button has focus.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space to accept the result.

Step 9. Answer any prompt about saving the previous presentation.

Review the Imported Content.

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a slide.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J to focus its page tabs.

Step 4. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose Content.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Content items List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to read them.

To inspect a slide’s title instead, return to the Slides List Box with Control+L and press Enter on that slide.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save a PresentAble project.

Step 8. Choose a folder in the file dialogue.

Step 9. Enter the filename in File name Edit Field.

Step 10. Press Enter from that field, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space.

The imported presentation uses your personal formatting defaults as its starting point. Word import is a way to bring across the document's supported structure and content; it does not reproduce the Word page design.

Pictures and tables in Word.

An embedded picture has its image data stored inside the Word document. Supported embedded pictures are imported with any available alternative text. A linked picture refers to an image elsewhere; it may remain a placeholder if its data is not embedded. Floating pictures, whose positions can be arranged separately from the surrounding Word text, are repositioned into PresentAble’s layouts.

Tables become rectangular, editable tables. A cell is one position in the grid where a row and column meet. Word allows cells to be merged into a larger cell; these merged cells may be expanded during import, producing repeated text which needs review. Check the description, headings and each row rather than assuming a complex Word table transfers unchanged.

A slide containing both a table and ordinary text needs particular attention because the Table layout does not export the body text. Separate those parts where necessary.

Review the original document alongside the conversion report if it contains embedded objects, older drawing formats or complex arrangements. The original Word file remains your source reference; editing the imported project does not change it.

12. Importing an existing PowerPoint presentation.

PowerPoint import creates a PresentAble presentation from a .pptx file. Before trying it, read the formatting choices below. Then follow the numbered procedure in this chapter.

The three choices are:

Choosing a formatting approach.

Preserve available formatting and review retains the supported formatting that can be extracted, such as representative title and content fonts, sizes and colours. Review the result because a PowerPoint text box may contain many differently formatted pieces of text, while PresentAble uses a consistent title and content style for a slide.

Preserve fonts and colours with readable sizes follows the same approach but raises smaller title text to at least 36 points and smaller content text to at least 28 points. This can help with small source text, but larger text may need more space. Review crowding after import. Font size is measured in points: a larger point size means larger lettering. These minimums improve small text but do not guarantee that all its words will fit.

Apply personal formatting defaults uses your saved starting style. This can be useful when you want an imported presentation to follow the same appearance as your other PresentAble presentations.

To import the file:

Step 1. Press Control+S if you have a current project to keep. Complete any save dialog.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+P for PowerPoint import.

Step 3. Select the .pptx file in the file dialogue, or Tab to the File name Edit Field and enter its full path.

Step 4. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open the named file, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow in the formatting list to select the approach you want.

Step 6. Press Enter to accept it.

Step 7. Wait for the conversion report. Focus is in its read-only Edit Field. Read with Up or Down Arrow, paying attention to material which could not be retained.

Escape cancels the conversion review. Accepting it creates a presentation from the imported material.

Step 8. When ready to accept the result, Tab to the Create presentation Button.

Step 9. Press Enter or Space.

Step 10. Answer any save prompt for the presentation being replaced.

Step 11. Press Control+L to reach the imported Slides List Box.

Step 12. Use Up or Down Arrow to begin reviewing the slides.

What transfers.

PresentAble imports supported slide titles, text paragraphs, pictures, tables and speaker notes. Available image descriptions, decorative status and cropping are also read where supported. It arranges the material into its own structured layouts.

A slide without a recognised title placeholder receives a navigation title such as “Slide 3”. Replace that with a meaningful title when you review the slide.

PowerPoint can group several objects so they act as one. PresentAble separates those groups into the individual objects it supports and arranges them for editing through its own controls. It does not retain arbitrary free positioning, animations (effects on individual objects), transitions (effects between slides), slide masters (shared designs used by slides), or mixed formatting within individual text runs. A text run is a portion of text with its own formatting.

Website and email links covering a complete slide content paragraph are retained. Links on only part of a slide content paragraph, links to other slides, and links on titles, tables or pictures are not retained. Speaker notes retain supported website and email links on selected words within paragraphs. Read the conversion report and check the result. Chapter 15 explains note links; Chapter 33 explains links in visible slide content.

For example, a complex slide with several independent text boxes may become a single ordered set of Content items. Check the order and divide it into several slides if that makes the information easier to follow.

Charts.

A chart presents information visually, for example as bars or a line showing how values change. When desktop PowerPoint can render an imported chart, PresentAble can keep its appearance as an image and extract available data into Accessible details and speaker notes. The original editable chart object is not retained. Supply meaningful alternative text for the chart image.

If chart rendering is unavailable, supported chart data can instead become an editable table. The conversion report explains this change. Some chart types or data arrangements may not convert; consult the original presentation for material the report identifies as unsupported.

Review both the chart's conclusion and its data. A useful description might explain the main trend, while Accessible details contains the figures needed for a closer examination.

Continue working after import.

Keep the original PowerPoint file as a reference. Work through the imported presentation before using its export:

Step 1. Press Control+S.

Step 2. Choose a folder.

Step 3. Enter the new .presentable filename in File name Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Enter from that field, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Press Control+F7 to check the presentation. Use the Results procedures in chapter 23 to read findings and return to the affected objects.

Step 6. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 7. Select a slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 8. Press Control+Shift+J to reach its page selector.

Step 9. Choose Images or Tables with Left or Right Arrow, when that page is available.

Step 10. Press Tab to reach the Images or Tables List Box on the selected page.

Step 11. Select an object with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 12. Press Enter to inspect its properties or cells. Chapters 17 and 19 explain these editors.

Check Reading Order and Save the Import.

Reading order is the sequence in which a screen reader encounters the slide’s objects.

Step 1. Press Control+4 to inspect Reading order.

Step 2. Choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Tab to the Objects List Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to read the intended sequence. Chapter 22 explains how to adjust it.

Step 5. Press Control+S to save your edits.

Step 6. When ready, press Control+Shift+E to export a separate PowerPoint file, following Chapter 24.

Reimporting the original file later creates another presentation. It does not merge changes made to the current project. The conversion report is available again through Control+Alt+Shift+V.

13. Managing slides.

Presentation name and slide title.

To change the presentation name:

Step 1. Press Control+2. Focus starts in the Presentation name Edit Field.

Step 2. Press Control+A to select the existing presentation name.

Step 3. Type its replacement.

Step 4. Press Control+S to save the project. If this is its first save, complete the file dialog.

To change one slide's title:

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide.

Step 3. Press Enter. Focus moves to the Slide title Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select the old title.

Step 5. Type the new title.

Step 6. Press Control+L to return to the Slides List Box and hear the updated entry.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save.

Presentation name on the Slides page changes the overall name stored inside the project and in exported presentation properties. It does not rename an already saved project file. Use Save as if you also want a different filename.

Slide title belongs only to the selected slide. Type directly in its Edit Field; there is no separate Apply Button for a title. Save the project to keep the change on disk.

Titles shown in the Slides List Box are shortened when necessary to keep navigation concise. The complete title remains available in the title field. An “Untitled” entry indicates that you need to supply a title.

Control+L moves directly to this list without changing the selected slide. Each entry also includes any error, warning and suggestion counts. For example, a slide might be announced as “2. Garden access; Title and bullets; 1 error; 2 warnings; 1 suggestion”. These counts are part of the native list entry, so they are available to JAWS speech and Braille in Standard as well as Guided mode. You do not need to switch on Guided speech or Speak confirmations to read them. A slide with no such findings has no additional announcement.

Quick checks carried out on your computer update these counts when you open, edit or reorder a presentation. You do not have to run a report first. They cover matters such as missing titles, repeated titles, missing image descriptions, contrast (how clearly colours stand apart) and estimated crowding (whether too much material is likely to fit comfortably). Image-resolution findings also appear: these are classified as Suggestions, which is why a slide with a low-resolution image may have a suggestion rather than a warning.

The list also includes findings from the current report, including PowerPoint measurements after Export and Analyse. The same finding is counted once. Editing clears the old report and its measurements, while the local counts update to reflect your changes. These quick checks do not read all the embedded image and recording data or measure the slide in PowerPoint. Run Control+F7 for a full structural check and Export and Analyse for measured layout results. An entry without counts is not proof that the slide is free of accessibility problems.

The Results severity filter does not change the slide-list counts. Control+Alt+Shift+W checks only the selected slide for the report, but the Slides List Box still provides the lightweight local counts for the other slides. Information findings, such as a table's dimensions, remain in Results and do not lengthen the slide-list entries.

Add a slide or repeat a slide type.

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide after which the new slide should appear. In an empty presentation there is no slide to select.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+N. The Slide type list opens.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the layout.

Step 5. Press Enter. The new slide is inserted and focus moves to the Slide title Edit Field.

Step 6. Type the title. You can then add content, an image, a table or notes using the relevant chapter.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save your work.

At startup and when you create a new presentation, the Slide type list starts at Title slide, its first item. This makes an opening title a convenient starting point. After you add a slide, the next Add slide dialog selects the last type you accepted. For example, after adding a Title and bullets slide, the next addition starts at Title and bullets. The list therefore remembers a useful choice instead of returning to the first item every time.

Cancelling Add slide does not change that remembered choice. Creating a new presentation resets it to Title slide, even if you used a different layout in the previous presentation. If you use Control+M before choosing any slide type in the new presentation, it adds a Title slide.

Control+M adds another slide using the last type chosen when adding a slide. It does not duplicate the current slide's content. If you want a copy of an existing slide, use Copy and Paste in the Slides List Box.

Change layout with Control+Shift+L or with the selected slide's Layout Combo Box. Chapter 16, Choosing a slide layout, explains the choices.

Move a slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. To move only one slide, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove existing slide marks. This does not remove slides.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide you want to move.

Step 4. Press Control+Shift+U to move it one place towards the beginning, or Control+Shift+D to move it one place towards the end. Repeat the chosen shortcut for each additional place.

Step 5. Read the moved slide’s position. Selection stays on it. With Speak confirmations enabled, you hear its name, the slide it moved above or below, and its new number. For example: “Moved slide Birdsong above Herbs. Now slide 2 of 5.” You can also read its position in the Slides List Box.

Step 6. Press Control+S when the order is correct.

The Move up and Move down Buttons provide the same actions.

Control+Shift+U and Control+Shift+D move slides up and down. Control+Shift+Up Arrow and Control+Shift+Down Arrow move content items. These commands have distinct scopes. To edit a content item or table, select it in its list and press Enter, or Tab to its Edit Button and press Enter or Space.

Selection stays with the moved slide. The operation changes the presentation sequence, so the slide number may change. It does not change the content or reading order within that slide.

If you have marked slides, the movement applies to that group. Their relative order is preserved as they move past unmarked slides. The confirmation identifies the group and its new range of numbers. For example, two neighbouring marked slides might move below Birdsong and become slides 3 through to 4 of 5. Separate marked groups are described separately. If a group is already at the beginning or end, you are told that it stayed there; other marked groups can still move. If nothing can move, the app says so without creating an Undo step.

Move slides by a specified number of places.

Use Move slides when you want to move a slide several places at once. The number is a distance, not the slide number you want to reach. For example, moving slide 5 up by 3 places makes it slide 2. Moving it down by 2 places makes it slide 7, if the presentation is long enough.

Step 1. Press Control+L to focus the Slides List Box.

Step 2. If you want to move only one slide, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove existing slide marks. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide. To move several slides, use Space to mark each required slide instead. When any slides are marked, this command moves those marked slides.

Step 3. Press Alt+Shift+M to open the Move slides dialog. You can also choose Move slides from the Slide menu, the Slides context menu, or Command Centre.

Step 4. Focus begins in the Number of places Edit Field. The initial number 1 is selected. Type the distance, such as 3. Enter a whole number greater than zero. The largest number accepted is one less than the number of slides in the presentation.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Direction Combo Box. Up is selected initially. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Up for movement towards the beginning, or Down for movement towards the end.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Move Button and press Enter or Space. You can also press Enter from the Number of places Edit Field to move using the currently selected direction. Press Escape, or Tab to the Cancel Button and press Enter or Space, to close the dialog without moving anything.

Step 7. Focus returns to the Slides List Box and the same slide remains selected. With Speak short confirmations enabled, speech and Braille give the actual movement and new slide positions. You can also read the positions in the list.

Step 8. If necessary, press Control+Z once to undo the complete move. Press Control+S to save when the order is correct.

The result is the same as repeating Move up or Move down the requested number of times. Marked slides retain their relative order. Separate marked groups move past unmarked slides and may meet as they approach an end. A slide or group that reaches the beginning or end stops there, while other marked groups can continue moving. The confirmation explains any shorter movement. There is no wrapping from one end of the presentation to the other.

If nothing can move, the slide order remains unchanged and no Undo step is created. The presentation needs at least two slides to use this dialog. Moving slides does not change their text, notes, images, recordings or formatting.

Enable Movement Confirmations.

Movement confirmations work in Standard and Guided modes. They are action messages; ordinary slide-list labels remain available to JAWS whether these confirmations are on or off.

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2 to open Speech and recovery. Focus is on the Speak short confirmations Check Box.

Step 3. Read the Check Box state.

Step 4. If it is unchecked, check it to hear the confirmations.

Step 5. Press Enter to save.

Mark several slides.

Step 1. Press Control+L to focus the Slides List Box.

Step 2. If you want a fresh set of marks, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove the old marks.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the first slide to include.

Step 4. Press Space to mark it. Its list entry indicates that it is marked.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to reach the next slide to include.

Step 6. Press Space to mark it. Repeat these two actions for each required slide; moving the selection leaves earlier marks in place.

Step 7. If you marked a slide by mistake, return to it with Up or Down Arrow and press Space again to unmark it. You can now use an action which works on marked slides.

Control+Shift+A marks all slides. Control+Shift+G marks slides using exactly the same layout as the current slide. This is useful, for example, when selecting all “Title and bullets” slides for an operation.

On the Slides workspace, Control+Alt+Shift+Q removes all slide marks. This changes the selection markers, not the slides themselves. Alt+Y on Results copies the current report.

To check the marked group before using it, press Control+Shift+Q for Query Marked Slides. Read the list with Up or Down Arrow, then press Escape to return without changing the marks.

Control+A also marks all slides when the Slides List Box has focus. In an Edit Field it retains its normal meaning of selecting all text.

Remove slides.

Removing a slide removes its content, images, tables and notes from the working presentation. It does not delete the original image or imported document files. The removal acts on marked slides if any are marked, otherwise on the selected slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. To remove only one slide, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to clear existing marks. For a group, use the Mark several slides procedure in this chapter to mark only the required slides.

Step 3. For a single-slide removal, use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide.

Step 4. Press Delete. You can also use Control+Shift+R. A confirmation states how many slides will be removed.

Step 5. Read how many slides the confirmation will remove. Yes is the default Button.

Step 6. To confirm removal, press Enter on the default Yes Button. To keep the slides, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space.

Step 7. If you confirmed, use Up or Down Arrow to review the remaining slides. Control+Z can undo an accidental removal while it remains in undo history.

Step 8. Press Control+S when you want to save the resulting presentation.

Control+Z can undo a removal while it remains in the current session’s undo history. Chapter 25 explains the difference between Undo and saved versions.

Copy or move complete slides.

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. For a single slide, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove unwanted marks.

Step 3. Select the source slide with Up or Down Arrow, or use Space to mark the required group.

Step 4. Press Control+C to copy the selected or marked slides.

Step 5. While still in the Slides List Box, use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide after which the copies should appear.

Step 6. Press Control+V. Copies are inserted after the destination slide.

Step 7. Review the copied slides in the list.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save.

The copied slides include their content, images, tables, notes and reading order.

Control+X prepares selected or marked slides for moving. They remain in place until a compatible Paste succeeds. This gives you time to select the destination without immediately removing the originals.

The special whole-slide clipboard operation is available in the Slides List Box. If a Edit Field has focus, Control+C, Control+X and Control+V act on text instead. A whole-slide clipboard item cannot be pasted into the Content items List Box as if it were a bullet.

Copied items on the clipboard are represented as structured text. Pasting them into an ordinary text editor shows that representation, rather than a formatted slide. Paste into the corresponding PresentAble list when you want a slide or content item.

Using the context menus.

A context menu brings the actions for a list together beside that list. Both Slides and Content items have one. It provides another way to reach familiar commands without changing to the main menus.

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

To use the slide’s context menu, continue with opening the menu below. To work with content instead, first use this route:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 2. Choose Content with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 3. Press Tab to enter the Content items List Box.

Step 4. Choose the item with Up or Down Arrow.

Open and Use the List Context Menu.

Existing marks apply to group operations. Right-clicking a different item does not clear those marks. Use Clear marks first if you intend to act on only the current item.

Step 1. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key. The native context menu opens for that list. A mouse user can right-click an item; the item under the pointer becomes current before the menu opens.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to review the actions. The Slides menu includes Add slide, Edit title, Change layout, Speaker notes, Copy, Cut, Paste, Move up, Move down, marking and removal. Content items provides adding, editing, clipboard operations, movement and marking, together with the link commands described in chapter 33. Where an action has a matching shortcut, the menu displays it alongside its name: for example, Add slide, Control+Shift+N. Actions without a matching shortcut have no shortcut shown. Commands which cannot apply to the current item are unavailable.

Step 3. Press Enter on the action you want. Editing opens the appropriate field or dialog. Movement keeps the moved item selected. Copy, Cut and Paste apply to the list which opened the menu.

To leave the menu without choosing an action, press Escape instead of Enter. Focus returns to the same List Box, where Up or Down Arrow continues moving through its entries.

Existing marks still apply to group operations such as moving, copying and removing items. Right-clicking another item does not unmark a group. If you want to act only on the current item, use Clear marks first. Edit title, Edit item and Link properties work on the current item. Removal still asks for confirmation, with Yes selected, and ordinary presentation changes can be undone with Control+Z.

14. Working with content items.

Bullets and text paragraphs.

The Content items List Box contains the slide's bullet and text items in order. An entry tells you its item number, kind and a short extract. To reach the list:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Content.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Content items List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow in the Content items List Box to review the entries. The extracts are deliberately brief. Press Enter on an item to read or edit its full text.

If Content is not offered, the selected layout has no body text area and the slide has no existing content. Choose a text layout using Control+Shift+L before adding body text.

To add a new item to the selected slide:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+B for Add bullet, or Control+Shift+T for Add text paragraph. Focus begins in a multi-line Edit Field.

Step 2. Type the text for this one item. Enter inserts a new line within the same item.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Save Button.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space. The editor closes and the new item is selected in the Content items List Box. Pressing Escape instead cancels the addition.

Step 5. Repeat the addition procedure for each separate item.

Step 6. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

A bullet is displayed with a bullet marker in the exported presentation; an ordinary text paragraph has no bullet marker.

You do not need to type a hyphen at the start of a bullet created with Add bullet. The item type supplies the marker. Typing a hyphen here would make it part of the item's text.

If you add a bullet to a Title slide, PresentAble changes it to Title and bullets. Adding a text paragraph to a Title slide changes it to Text only. Review the Layout Combo Box if the slide's intended purpose has changed.

Edit and remove.

Step 1. With the Content items List Box focused, use Up or Down Arrow to select the item.

Step 2. Press Enter, including numeric keypad Enter. Its editor opens with the cursor at the end of the text.

Step 3. Use the normal text-editing keys to make your changes. If replacing the whole item, press Control+A first.

Step 4. Type the replacement text where required.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Save Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space to apply the edit. Focus returns to the List Box. Escape instead closes the editor without applying this editing session’s changes.

The Edit Field accepts several lines. Enter inserts a line break. Tab takes you to the dialog's other controls, including the Save and Cancel Buttons. Press Enter or Space to activate either Button. Saving the dialog updates the working presentation; Control+S in the main window subsequently saves the project file.

To remove content:

Removal acts on the marked group if there is one, otherwise on the selected item.

Step 1. Use Up or Down Arrow and Space to unmark any items you do not want removed. Leave only the marks required for a group removal.

Step 2. For a single item with no group marked, select the unwanted item in Content items with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Delete.

Step 4. Read the confirmation and check the items it will remove.

Step 5. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To keep the items, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space. After an accidental confirmed removal, Control+Z in the main window can undo it.

Change bullets into text paragraphs, or text paragraphs into bullets.

Each content item has a type: Bullet or Text. Its type determines whether PowerPoint displays a bullet marker. Changing the type keeps the same words, line breaks, website or email link, attached speaker notes and position. It does not split one long paragraph into several separate bullets.

For example, you might have imported three paragraphs from a document and want them to become three bullet items. Convert to bullets performs that change together. Convert to text paragraphs removes the bullet markers when you want ordinary prose.

Step 1. Press Control+L and select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+1 to focus the Content items List Box.

Step 3. For one item, first unmark any other marked content items, then select the required item with Up or Down Arrow. For several items, use Up or Down Arrow and Space to mark the items to convert. Control+A in this List Box marks all its items.

Step 4. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key to open the context menu.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Convert to bullets or Convert to text paragraphs, then press Enter. The same commands are available as Buttons on Content and in the Slide menu. If you Tab to a Button, press Enter or Space.

Step 6. Read the confirmation and review the item types in the Content items List Box. If all selected items already have the requested type, PresentAble reports that and leaves them unchanged.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save. Control+Z undoes the conversion as one action.

Changing to the Title and bullets layout also offers to convert the slide's content items to bullets. Changing to Text only offers to convert them to text paragraphs. This question appears only if some items need conversion. Yes changes both the layout and item types; No changes the layout while keeping the existing mixture of bullets and paragraphs. Other layouts leave item types unchanged. Chapter 16 explains the layout controls.

Reorder and mark content.

Step 1. Enter Content items using the procedure at the start of this chapter.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the item you want to move.

Step 3. For a group, press Space to mark the selected item, then use Up or Down Arrow and Space to mark each additional item. To move one item only, use Space to clear any other marked entries first.

Step 4. Press Control+Shift+Up Arrow to move the selected or marked items one place earlier, or Control+Shift+Down Arrow to move them one place later. Repeat as needed.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to read the resulting order.

Step 6. Press Control+S to save it.

Move up and Move down Buttons perform the same actions. This order is used inside the slide's exported content area.

With Speak confirmations enabled, the app gives a short extract of the moved item's text, identifies the item it moved above or below, and gives its new position. For example: “Moved content item Bullet: Plant herbs below Bullet: Water beds. Now content item 3 of 4.” Long text is shortened in the confirmation; the complete item stays in the presentation. Selection remains on the same content item, so you can repeat the move without finding it again.

For neighbouring marked items, the message gives the group's new range of positions. Separate marked groups are described separately, and items which cannot move beyond the beginning or end are reported as unchanged. These confirmations work in Standard as well as Guided mode and use the same Speak confirmations setting as slide movements.

Space marks or unmarks a content item. Control+A in Content items marks all content items on that slide. These marks are separate from slide marks. Selecting a different slide through the Slides List Box clears its previous content selection marks.

For an individual edit, Enter edits the currently selected item even if you have other items marked. Group operations such as moving or removing use the marked set where there is one.

Copy or move content to another slide.

The destination must be a Content items List Box. Check that the destination uses a layout which exports body text: pasting content does not itself make a non-text layout suitable.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the source slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Content with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to enter the Content items List Box.

Step 6. Select the source item with Up or Down Arrow, or use Space to mark the required group.

Step 7. Press Control+C to copy, or Control+X to prepare a move.

Choose the Destination and Paste the Content.

Continue here after copying or preparing to move the source items.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the destination slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Content with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to enter the Content items List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the item after which the pasted content should appear. If the content list is empty, the pasted items become its first items.

Step 7. Press Control+V while the Content items List Box has focus.

Step 8. Review the inserted items with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 9. Press Control+S to save.

The destination must be a Content items List Box for this operation. If you want to transfer ordinary text into a new item, use Add bullet or Add text, then paste the text into its editor instead.

After moving content, check that both the original slide and the destination still make sense. A layout which does not export body text will not become a suitable text layout merely because you pasted content into it.

Split a crowded slide.

A crowded slide may have more points than its audience can comfortably follow at once. Split content into next slide lets you choose a point at which to continue on a second slide. The chosen item and every item after it will move; earlier items stay. Pictures, tables and general speaker notes stay on the original slide. Notes attached to individual content items move with those items.

The Slide menu contains this command. The Command Centre provides this alternative keyboard route:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the crowded slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+C.

Step 4. Type “split” in Search commands.

Step 5. Press Down Arrow to enter Matching commands.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Split content into next slide if necessary.

Step 7. Press Enter.

Step 8. In the list of content items, use Up or Down Arrow to choose the first item which should move.

Step 9. Read the selected item before continuing.

Step 10. Press Enter. That item and every item after it move to a new slide. Earlier items remain on the original. Escape would cancel the split.

Review the Two Slides after Splitting.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to review the original slide and the new slide immediately after it.

Step 3. Press Enter on the new slide to edit its title.

Step 4. If replacing the whole title, press Control+A.

Step 5. Enter the title you want.

Step 6. Press Control+S to save.

The new slide is inserted immediately after the original and its title adds “continued”. It uses a text or bullet layout according to the moved content. Review and rename it if a more meaningful title is available.

Pictures, tables and general speaker notes remain on the original slide. Each moved item keeps its own attached notes. Splitting content is therefore a starting point for reorganising the explanation, rather than a complete division of every object associated with the slide. Add appropriate notes to the new slide and run the checks again.

15. Speaker notes.

Speaker notes are information to help you deliver the talk. They might contain a reminder, a longer explanation, a question to ask the audience or figures which would make the visible slide too busy.

General speaker notes update the working project as you type; there is no separate Save notes Button for that field. Notes for an individual content item have their own editor and Save Button, described below. They are exported into the PowerPoint notes area, so someone receiving the file may be able to read them. To write or change notes:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+N. Focus moves directly to its Speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 4. Type or paste your notes. Enter starts another line. For existing notes, use the text-editing keys to move to the place you want to change; use Control+A only if you intend to replace all the notes.

Step 5. Press Escape to return focus to the Slides List Box, or Tab to leave the field. Leaving this field does not cancel what you typed.

Step 6. Press Control+S to save the project.

Use Control+S to retain your notes in the saved project file.

Alt+PageUp and Alt+PageDown let you review the same notes field for adjacent slides. Listen to the newly selected slide information before typing so you know which slide's notes you are changing.

Notes are exported into the PowerPoint notes area, rather than the projected slide. They are not a confidential store: they travel with the exported file. Image Accessible details and extracted chart data may also be included in exported notes.

PresentAble prepares the presentation and its notes. Use the exported PowerPoint file in the application you choose for delivering the slide show.

Notes for an individual bullet or paragraph.

Sometimes an explanation belongs to one particular point. You can give that bullet or text paragraph its own speaker notes. These are separate from the words displayed to the audience. In a reading script, the item appears first and its explanation follows immediately, before the next item. General speaker notes still belong to the whole slide and appear after its content.

Suppose your slide has two bullets: “I work in accessibility” and “I have a wife and three stepdaughters”. You want an explanation about your family to follow the second bullet when you read your presentation.

Step 1. Press Control+L and choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+1 to reach the Content items List Box. Select “I have a wife and three stepdaughters” with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key. Choose Speaker notes for this item with Up or Down Arrow and press Enter. Alternatively, Tab to the Speaker notes for this item Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Focus begins in the Item speaker notes Edit Field. Type “My wife's name is Sarah. She loves coding too.” Enter starts a new line within the notes. You can write several paragraphs for the same item.

Step 5. Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. Escape cancels the edit. The Content items List Box identifies items which have speaker notes.

Step 6. Press Control+S to save the presentation. To change the explanation later, select the same content item and reopen Speaker notes for this item. Existing notes open at their beginning without being selected for replacement.

This editor acts on the current item even when other items are marked. Find and Replace include item notes, and spell checking a content item includes both its visible text and its notes. F7 in the Item speaker notes Edit Field checks that field, or its selected text.

Attach a passage already written in general speaker notes.

You can use explanations already written in an existing presentation. Select the passage in the slide's general Speaker notes Edit Field and choose the item it explains. PresentAble attaches a separate copy to that item. Your original speaker notes, including their wording, paragraph breaks and links, remain unchanged. Existing notes on the item are kept, with the selected passage copied after them. You do not need to retype or cut anything.

Step 1. Select the slide and press Control+Alt+N to focus its Speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 2. Find the passage and position the cursor before its first character. Hold Shift and press Right Arrow to select characters, or hold Control+Shift and press Right Arrow to select words. Select exactly the sentence or paragraphs which explain the item.

Step 3. Release the selection keys. Tab past the Insert note link and Manage note links Buttons to the Attach selected notes to content item Button. The text selection remains available. Press Enter or Space. The same command is available in the Slide menu.

Step 4. Focus is in the Content item List Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the bullet or paragraph which the selected passage explains.

Step 5. Press Enter. The confirmation identifies the item to which the notes were copied, and focus returns to the general Speaker notes Edit Field. Read the original passage: it should still be present, exactly where it was. Escape in the item-selection dialog would cancel without attaching anything.

Step 6. Press Control+Alt+1 to reach the Content items List Box. Select the chosen item with Up or Down Arrow. Open its context menu with Shift+F10 or the Applications key, choose Speaker notes for this item, and press Enter. Read the copied passage in the Item speaker notes Edit Field. Press Escape to close the editor.

Step 7. To undo this attachment before making other changes, focus Content items with Control+Alt+1 and press Control+Z. Only the attachment is undone; the original general notes remain unchanged. Press Control+S to save when satisfied.

Website and email links within the selected passage are copied too. A selection containing only part of linked wording keeps the address on that selected wording. The original notes and their link ranges stay unchanged and continue to use the usual link controls. To add a new website or email link for an item's notes, you can prepare the linked passage in general notes and then attach it.

The copies are independent: editing the item notes does not rewrite the general notes, and editing the general notes does not automatically update an earlier item copy. To remove the item copy while keeping the original, open Speaker notes for this item, select the unwanted text in the Item speaker notes Edit Field, delete it, then Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. Control+A selects all text in that field if you want to remove all notes from this one item.

Reading script places the item copy after its bullet or paragraph and includes the complete general notes at the end of the slide. The selected passage can therefore appear twice. This is expected: the original speaker notes are preserved rather than shortened to avoid repetition.

Move item notes to general notes.

Use this when you deliberately want to add an item's notes to the general notes and remove them from the item. If the original passage is already in general notes, this command adds another copy. To remove only the item copy, edit or clear it in its own editor instead, as described above.

Step 1. Select the content item and open Speaker notes for this item.

Step 2. Make any required changes in the Item speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 3. Tab to the Move to general notes Button and press Enter or Space. The current editor text is kept, appended to general notes with a heading identifying the item, and removed from the item itself.

Step 4. Press Control+Alt+N to read the general notes, or Control+Z to undo the move. Press Control+S to save.

Moving an item up or down keeps its notes attached. Copying the item includes its notes; editing the copy does not change the original. Cutting and pasting an item to another slide, splitting a slide, and saving reusable slides or templates also keep the notes with their item. Converting between Bullet and Text leaves the notes in place.

Removing a content item returns its attached notes to the slide's general notes, so the explanation is not silently lost. The removal confirmation explains this when applicable. Removing the entire slide removes its content and all its notes together; Undo can restore the slide.

Saving, exporting and sharing item notes.

Save the PresentAble presentation to keep the associations between items and their notes. The recipient needs a version of PresentAble which supports item notes; older versions cannot open presentations saved with this feature. Presentations without item notes continue to use their existing supported format.

PowerPoint export includes all item notes and the complete general notes in the slide's speaker-notes area, with headings identifying the related items. A passage copied from general notes can therefore be included twice. Export does not remove it from the original notes. The notes do not appear on the audience's slide. If you import that PowerPoint file back into PresentAble, the notes are retained as general slide notes. Use the original PresentAble file to keep the individual associations while continuing to edit.

Chapter 31 explains copying a complete reading script. Chapter 32 explains reading the same arrangement during Rehearsal.

Your notes can include links for your own use: a reference website, a source for a figure, or the email address of someone you intend to contact. A note link can belong to just a few selected words within a sentence. You do not need to make a new content item or change the slide's layout.

Control+K works in the Speaker notes field. If you select some unlinked words first, those words become the proposed link text. With no selection, you can insert new linked words at the cursor. If the cursor or selection is within an existing link, Control+K opens that link's properties instead.

These links remain in speaker notes when you export to PowerPoint. They do not appear on the projected slide. They do travel with the PowerPoint file, so do not treat their addresses as confidential. Chapter 33 describes links intended to appear in the slide's visible content.

Begin with your Garden presentation open.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the first slide.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+N to enter the Speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 4. On a new line, type “See the garden website for opening times.”

The next actions select only the words “garden website”. If the selection includes a following space, you can remove that space from Link text in the next dialogue.

Step 5. From the end of the new line, press Home to move to its beginning.

Step 6. Press Control+Right Arrow twice to reach “garden”.

Step 7. Hold Control+Shift and press Right Arrow twice to select the two words.

Step 8. Press Control+K. Insert note link opens with the Link type Combo Box focused and Website selected.

Step 9. Press Tab to the Link text Edit Field.

Step 10. Check that the proposed words are “garden website”.

Step 11. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 12. Type a destination such as https://example.org/garden. Use your actual website address in a real presentation. If you omit the prefix, PresentAble supplies https://.

Step 13. Press Alt+S to save. Focus returns to the Speaker notes Edit Field with the linked words selected. The surrounding sentence remains in place. No content item has been added to the slide, and no website has been opened. Move the cursor before typing if you do not intend to replace the selected words.

Step 14. Press Control+S to save the presentation. To cancel before accepting a link, press Escape in the link dialog; your notes are left unchanged.

You can also Tab to the Insert note link Button on the Speaker notes page and press Enter or Space as an alternative to Control+K.

Step 1. In Speaker notes, move the cursor to the place where the new words should appear. Do not select existing text. If the cursor is inside an existing link, move outside its words first.

Step 2. Press Control+K.

Step 3. In Link type, press Down Arrow to choose Email.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Link text Edit Field.

Step 5. Type “Email the garden team”.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 7. Enter one address, such as hello@example.org. Do not include a subject, message or attachment.

Step 8. Press Alt+S. The linked words are inserted at the cursor and selected. Surrounding text is preserved, and no email application opens when the link is saved.

Step 9. Press Control+S to save the project.

Speaker notes remains an ordinary Edit Field. When you enter it, or move to another line with Up Arrow or Down Arrow, PresentAble checks that line for linked words. After a short pause, it adds a message such as “Link: garden website” to the normal line reading. This tells you which words are linked when a sentence contains both linked and ordinary text. A line containing more than one link gives the number of links and up to two sets of linked words. A line without links has no extra announcement.

This works in both Standard and Guided modes. It also follows lines which wrap within a longer paragraph. Moving rapidly to another line cancels a pending announcement for the line you have left. The message does not select text or open a destination. Use Notes links to review complete addresses or find links without locating the exact words in a long set of notes.

To try reading a link in its sentence:

Step 1. Press Control+Alt+N to enter Speaker notes for the slide used in the earlier “link a garden reference in your notes” example.

Step 2. Use Up Arrow or Down Arrow to reach the line containing “garden website”. Pause after the key press. Following the normal line reading, you should hear “Link: garden website”.

Step 3. Move to a line containing only ordinary text. You will hear that line without an added link message. Move back to the linked line to hear its link indication again.

To review or use a destination:

Begin with the required slide selected.

Step 1. Press JAWS Key+F7 to open Notes links. Focus starts in the Note links List Box. Alternatively, enter the Speaker notes Edit Field with Control+Alt+N, Tab to the Manage note links Button and activate it with Enter or Space.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a link. Each entry gives its wording and whether it is a website or email link. The entries follow their order in the notes. Merely selecting an entry does not open its destination.

Step 3. If you want to read or copy the complete destination, press Alt+A to reach its read-only Address Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Alt+L to return to the List Box.

With the required link selected in Notes links:

Step 1. Press Enter in the list or Alt+E for Edit note link.

Step 2. Move to the field you want to change. Use Tab, or Alt+T for the Link type Combo Box, Alt+X for the Link text Edit Field and Alt+A for the Address Edit Field.

Step 3. Make the required change.

Step 4. Press Alt+S to save, or Escape to cancel. Focus returns to the same entry in the Note links List Box.

Open a Destination or Return to Its Words.

With the required link selected in Notes links, press Alt+O to open it. A website opens in your usual browser. An email link opens a draft in your usual email application; it does not send a message. Return to PresentAble when finished with that application.

To find the linked words in their sentence instead, press Alt+G for the Go to note text Button. The list closes and the words are selected in the Speaker notes Edit Field. Control+K can reopen their properties.

To leave the list without choosing another action, press Escape or Alt+C. Focus returns to the Speaker notes Edit Field. Accepted edits remain applied; closing the list does not cancel them. Control+Z in the main window undoes an accepted change.

An empty list means that this slide has no note links. Close it and use Control+K in Speaker notes to add one.

Step 1. Press JAWS Key+F7 to open Notes links. Manage note links on the Speaker notes page also opens this list.

Step 2. Choose the link with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Delete in the list, or Alt+R for Remove note link. A confirmation asks whether to remove the link and keep its words. Yes is selected initially.

Step 4. Press Enter to confirm. The words remain in Speaker notes as ordinary text. Other links and visible slide content are unchanged. Select No before pressing Enter if you want to keep the destination.

Step 5. Close the list with Escape.

Step 6. Use Control+Z if you need to restore the removed destination, or Control+S to save the change.

Deleting linked words in the notes field is different: it removes the words as well. Use the links list when the sentence should remain intact.

Editing, checking and sharing linked notes.

When you edit within linked words, their destination is retained. Completing a linked word with more letters also retains the link. Adding separate words before or after it leaves that new text unlinked. If an edit crosses the boundary between linked and unlinked text, the affected link may be removed so that its destination does not accidentally attach to unrelated words. After a substantial rewrite, use Manage note links to review the result. Control+Z restores both the previous wording and its links.

Find, Replace and spell check work on the note words. They do not search or change the destination addresses. Use the link properties to amend an address deliberately. The presentation overview includes note destinations only when Include speaker notes is checked; the notes reading area in Rehearsal includes them too.

Copying ordinary selected text from the notes Edit Field copies the words. To retain note links when copying within PresentAble, copy or duplicate the whole slide, or share the saved project.

PowerPoint import retains supported website and email links within speaker notes, including links on only some words of a paragraph. Read the conversion report for any unsupported links retained as plain text. On export, the links are placed in PowerPoint's notes area. Use the receiving application's link commands to open them; its security preferences may affect how they are activated.

Projects containing note links require PresentAble 1.2.2 or later. Give your collaborator an updated copy of the application before sharing such a project. Earlier PresentAble projects still open normally. Save as can create a separate working copy if you want to retain an original.

16. Choosing a slide layout.

Choose a layout according to what the slide needs to communicate: a title, points, a picture, a table or a combination. The layout reserves space for those elements. All layouts provide a slide title; their names mainly describe the area beneath it.

Read the layout descriptions in this chapter before changing an existing slide. A layout may retain content in the project while leaving it out of the exported slide. To change the layout:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+L. The layout choices open in a list.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the layout.

Step 5. Press Enter to accept it, or Escape to cancel.

Step 6. If a confirmation explains that existing text will not appear, read it before deciding. No is initially selected in this dialogue because the text is being retained rather than removed.

Step 7. To change the layout, press Tab to the Yes Button. To keep the previous layout, leave focus on the default No Button.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space to activate the focused Button.

Step 9. Press Control+Shift+J to inspect the available slide pages.

Step 10. Use Left or Right Arrow to select a page.

Step 11. Press Tab to reach the page's List Box, or the Speaker notes Edit Field if you chose Speaker notes.

Step 12. Run Control+F7 to check the new arrangement.

Step 13. Press Control+S to save.

When changing to Title and bullets or Text only, you may also be asked whether to convert the content items to match. This is a separate question from the warning about hidden content. Yes is initially selected. Press Enter to change the item types as well as the layout. To keep the existing item types, Tab to the No Button and press Enter or Space. Either answer changes the layout; Control+Z can undo the resulting change. Words, links and attached notes are retained.

The following descriptions explain what each layout provides.

Title slide.

Use Title slide for an opening, closing or section title which does not need body content. A short title often gives the audience a useful pause before the next topic.

Title and bullets.

Use Title and bullets for a title followed by points. Keep each point short enough to be useful during a talk. You can still have ordinary text items; the individual item's type determines whether it has a bullet marker.

Text only.

Text only provides a full-width text area beneath the title. It suits a short quotation or explanation which is more naturally written as paragraphs. The layout itself does not convert existing bullet items into ordinary paragraphs.

Image only.

Image only gives the picture area most of the space beneath the title. It is useful when the picture is the main subject of the slide.

Body content is not exported on this layout. If a slide already has text, PresentAble asks before changing to Image only. The text stays in the project for editing, and the checker reports that it is hidden by the layout. Move it to another slide or use a layout with both text and an image.

Image left, text right; Text left, image right.

These layouts place a picture region beside a text region. Choose the arrangement that supports the explanation. For example, you might put a photograph of an entrance alongside two points describing access to it.

Reading order can be adjusted separately. Placing the image on the left does not oblige you to have its description read before the explanatory text.

Large image left, short text right; Short text left, large image right.

These layouts give more width to the image and less to the text. They are useful for screenshots, diagrams or photographs whose detail needs more room.

Use a few short content items. More than three items triggers a warning for these layouts, and even fewer items can be crowded if they are long. Splitting the explanation over two slides is often clearer than shrinking all the text.

Table.

Table provides space for an editable PowerPoint table. Use it for a modest amount of structured information which is easier to compare in rows and columns. Chapter 19 builds a table of meeting days and times.

As with Image only, ordinary body content is retained in the project but omitted from the exported Table layout. Put an introduction on a preceding slide or use speaker notes for material you intend to say aloud.

More than one image or table.

You can have multiple images on a slide. PresentAble divides the available image region between them. On Image only they can form a grid; beside text they share the image area vertically. Each added image therefore reduces the space available to the others.

Tables also share the space allocated to tables when there is more than one. Keep the amount of material modest and inspect the result. A separate slide for each substantial table is easier to manage.

Combining tables, body text and images in the same region can produce overlap or omitted content. The checks identify these combinations. Having an object in the project does not mean every layout provides a suitable visible region for it.

Video layouts.

Title and video gives the main region beneath the title to one video. Video left, text right and Text left, video right keep body text beside the video. The whole picture is fitted without stretching or cropping. Sound recordings can accompany any layout. Chapter 20 explains these choices and the commands for adding recordings.

17. Adding pictures and writing descriptions.

Add an image from your computer.

Choose a picture which helps communicate the slide’s point. When adding it, you supply Alternative text, a description for someone who cannot see it, and choose how it fits into the slide’s layout. PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and WebP files are accepted. Supported image data is converted into a form suitable for the presentation.

If you cancel either Image properties or the layout choice during addition, the proposed image is not inserted.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide which should contain the picture.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+I. If the slide already offers an Images page, you can also choose Add image there. The shortcut works when Images is not yet offered.

Step 4. Select a local image in the file dialogue, or Tab to the File name Edit Field and type its full path.

Step 5. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open it, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 6. Image properties opens. Begin with Alternative text on the Description page. Describe what the image contributes to this slide.

Step 7. Press Alt+S for the Save changes Button, or Tab to that Button and press Enter or Space. Choose image layout opens.

Step 8. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the arrangement.

Step 9. Press Enter to accept the layout.

Step 10. The image is added and selected in the Images List Box. Press Control+S to save your project. You can press Control+L and Enter to review the slide title, or use Control+Shift+J to reach its other pages.

The Remove image Button is available only when the selected slide contains an image. It is hidden when the Images List Box is empty and returns when an image is added or restored with Undo.

What alternative text is for.

Alternative text supplies the information someone needs when they cannot see the picture. It is stored with the image in the exported PowerPoint file. It is not a visible caption.

The most useful description depends on the purpose of the slide. On a slide about access to the garden, “A wide gate opens onto a level path between raised beds” conveys more than “Photograph” or the filename entrance.jpg.

If the image is a chart, explain the main comparison or trend. If it is a screenshot, describe the relevant screen or result and include essential visible wording. Avoid listing every incidental detail when those details do not help explain the subject.

You can write a concise description and put longer supporting material in Accessible details or speaker notes. Read the description alongside the slide's title and content to check that they make sense together.

Decorative images.

Check Decorative image only when a picture contributes no essential information. An ornamental flourish might qualify; a diagram explaining a process would not. Marking it decorative does not remove it visually. It records the decorative status in the exported presentation.

When checked, the option disables Alternative text. If saving would remove an existing description, PresentAble asks you to confirm, with Yes selected by default. To change an image’s status:

Step 1. Open Image properties for the selected image using the “Edit an existing image” procedure in this chapter.

Step 2. On Description, Tab to the Decorative image Check Box.

Step 3. Listen to JAWS identify whether it is checked.

Step 4. Press Space only if you want to change that state.

Step 5. For an informative image, keep Decorative image unchecked.

Step 6. Press Alt+A to reach the Alternative text Edit Field.

Step 7. Enter a useful description for the informative image.

Step 8. Press Alt+S for the Save changes Button.

Step 9. If a confirmation asks to remove the description because the image is now decorative, press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To reconsider, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space.

Step 10. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

To make a decorative image informative again, uncheck Decorative image and supply suitable alternative text.

Edit an existing image.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose Images.

Step 5. Press Tab to enter the Images List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the image.

Step 7. Press Enter or Control+Alt+C. Image properties opens on Description, normally with focus in the Alternative text Edit Field. For a decorative image, focus starts on its Check Box.

Step 8. Edit the description if needed. Use Control+A first only when replacing the whole description.

Step 9. Press Alt+S to save the properties, or Escape to discard pending changes.

The dialog has Description, Crop and Source pages.

Use Left and Right Arrow when its tab control is focused. Control+Tab and Control+Shift+Tab in the dialog change the nearest set of pages and enter its first available control.

Save changes accepts the properties. Cancel or Escape discards pending property edits. The separate Save image copy action writes a file immediately; see “Save an image copy” in this chapter.

Replace the image file.

Step 1. Open Image properties for the image you want to replace.

Step 2. Press Control+Tab until Source is selected. Focus starts on the Replace from computer Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space, or use Alt+R on that page.

Step 4. Select the replacement in the file dialogue.

Step 5. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open it, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space. You return to Source; the filename and pixel dimensions reflect the new image.

Step 6. Use Control+Tab or Control+Shift+Tab to visit Description and Crop.

Step 7. Review those settings: the new image may need different alternative text or cropping.

Step 8. Press Alt+S for the Save changes Button.

Step 9. Back in the main window, press Control+S to save the project.

The description and crop controls remain available for review. A new picture may need a different description or crop even if it fills the same role. Check them before choosing Save changes.

Replacement is staged in the Image properties dialog. Cancel discards that pending replacement. After accepting it, save the project to retain the new image data on disk.

Save an image copy.

This writes a separate image file for other work. It does not create a picture of the complete slide or apply the slide’s cropping to the source pixels. An imported format which PresentAble has converted may be stored as PNG.

The file is written when you accept the Save dialogue. Cancelling Image properties afterwards does not delete that separate copy.

Step 1. Open Image properties for the image you want to copy.

Step 2. Press Control+Tab until Source is selected.

Step 3. Press Alt+Y for the Save Button image copy, or Tab to that Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Choose the destination folder in the Save dialogue. It starts in your configured Images folder when available.

Step 5. Tab to the File name Edit Field.

Step 6. If you want a different name, press Control+A to select the existing name.

Step 7. Type the replacement name if required.

Step 8. Press Enter directly from the File name Edit Field to save, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. The image file is written and you return to Image properties.

Step 9. Press Escape if you only wanted a copy and have no property changes to save. Otherwise press Alt+S for the Save changes Button.

Accessible details.

Accessible details is an optional Edit Field on the Source Tab. It normally starts empty, ready for you to type a longer explanation or data associated with an image. It is not an automatically generated report, and Alternative text is not copied into it. Imported chart data may already appear here. Leave it empty if the short alternative text is sufficient. It is useful for chart values or material too long for concise Alternative text. It is retained in the project and included in exported speaker notes; it supplements, rather than replaces, the short image description.

Step 1. Open Image properties for the selected image.

Step 2. Press Control+Tab until Source is selected.

Step 3. Press Alt+D to focus the Accessible details Edit Field.

Step 4. Type the longer explanation or data. Enter starts a new line. Use Control+A before typing only if you want to replace all existing details.

Step 5. Press Alt+S to save the properties.

Step 6. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

Consider what the recipient needs immediately from the image description and what belongs in the longer explanation.

Remove an image.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Images with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to enter the Images List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the image to remove.

Step 7. Press Delete.

Step 8. Read the confirmation.

Step 9. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button and remove the image. To keep it, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space.

Step 10. Press Control+S to save the result. Control+Z can restore an accidental project change while it remains in undo history.

Removal does not delete the original source file on your computer.

18. Cropping and image quality.

The image and its frame.

A digital image is made up of small picture elements called pixels. It has a width and height measured in pixels. Its frame is the space allocated by the slide layout. A wide photograph and a tall frame have different proportions, so PresentAble needs a rule for fitting one into the other.

The Crop page supplies that rule. Its modes preserve the image’s proportions instead of stretching it sideways or vertically. Cropping can leave parts of the image outside the displayed area. Read the descriptions of Fit and the other modes below before choosing one. To reach the controls:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Images with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Images List Box.

Step 6. Select the image with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Press Enter to open Image properties.

Step 8. In Image properties, press Control+Tab once to enter Crop. Focus moves to the Crop mode Combo Box.

Step 9. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a mode. Read the descriptions below before deciding which one suits the image.

Step 10. For a named crop mode, press Alt+S to save its properties. For Custom, enter the four percentages using the Custom cropping procedure before saving.

Step 11. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

Fit.

Fit keeps the whole image visible. It scales the picture until it fits inside its frame and centres it. If the proportions differ, some of the frame will be unused.

Fit is a useful starting point when every edge matters, especially for screenshots containing text or controls near the borders.

Top, Centre, Bottom, Left and Right.

These modes fill the frame, removing parts of the source if necessary. The name indicates which part is favoured when cropping is needed.

Centre crops evenly around the centre. Left preserves the left side when horizontal cropping is needed; Right favours the right side. Top and Bottom favour the corresponding vertical edge. The other dimension is centred where needed.

A named edge only affects an axis which needs cropping. If the image already fits the frame's proportions, there may be nothing to remove. Review the reported crop rather than assuming an edge choice always changes the picture.

Custom cropping.

Custom enables four percentage fields: Left removed, Top removed, Right removed and Bottom removed. Each describes how much of the original image to leave out from that edge. A value of zero keeps the edge intact. Left removed of 10 and Right removed of 10 retain the central 80 per cent of the width.

The left and right values together must be below 100; so must the top and bottom values. Some image must remain in both directions. The example below removes ten per cent from each side and nothing from the top or bottom.

Step 1. Enter the Crop page in Image properties using the procedure at the start of this chapter.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow in Crop mode to select Custom.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Left removed Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select its current value.

Step 5. Type 10.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Top removed Edit Field.

Step 7. Press Control+A to select its current value.

Step 8. Type 0.

Step 9. Press Tab to the Right removed Edit Field.

Step 10. Press Control+A to select its current value.

Step 11. Type 10.

Step 12. Press Tab to the Bottom removed Edit Field.

Step 13. Press Control+A to select its current value.

Step 14. Type 0.

Step 15. Press Alt+S to save the crop, or Escape to discard the pending changes.

Step 16. After saving, use Quality review to read the crop’s effect.

Step 17. Press Control+S to save the project.

The retained area is fitted into the frame without stretching. Save changes to apply the crop. The source image remains stored in the project; adjusting crop values changes its presentation, rather than permanently cutting pixels out of the stored source.

Open the quality report.

The quality report helps you decide whether the source image contains enough detail for the size at which it will appear. Effective resolution, measured in pixels per inch or PPI, describes how many source pixels are available for each inch of the displayed picture. Enlarging a small screenshot does not create missing text detail.

PresentAble uses 220 PPI as a preferred quality goal. This is a suggestion about quality, not an accessibility pass or fail requirement. Suitability also depends on the subject and how the presentation will be shown.

Step 1. Enter the slide's Images List Box and select the picture with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Tab until the Quality review Button has focus.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space. Quality and resolution in the Images menu opens the same report.

Step 4. Focus begins in the report's read-only Edit Field. Read with Up or Down Arrow. Control+Home returns to the beginning.

Step 5. Press Escape to finish reading without taking action. To act on the report, follow the next procedure.

The report includes:

Choose what to do about the report.

To act on an image quality report:

Step 1. With the report open, press Tab until the Choose action Button has focus.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow in the Action List Box to choose what you want to do. The available choices are explained below.

Step 4. Press Enter to carry out the selected action, or Escape to cancel. A layout choice uses Up or Down Arrow and Enter. An image edit opens Image properties, where Alt+S accepts changes.

Step 5. After completing an action which changes the project or records your review, press Control+S to save it.

The options are:

Keep current image and record review records your decision for this source, crop and frame. It prevents the same unreviewed quality suggestion from continuing to appear for that unchanged arrangement. It does not improve the image or certify that it is suitable.

Changing the source, crop, layout or another setting which changes the frame can make the earlier review no longer applicable. PresentAble can then ask you to review the new arrangement.

Choosing a different layout may give the image more or less display space. Replacing it with a better original may be more useful than cropping. For a screenshot, obtaining a clearer capture of the same screen is generally more dependable than generating a new imitation of the interface.

Replacement and crop choices lead to Image properties, where you use Source or Crop. Create replacement with OpenAI begins the optional image-generation process described in Chapter 27. This route still requires its separate request review.

19. Fourth example: build and edit a table.

A table is useful for comparing information arranged in rows and columns. Each row in this example will describe one meeting; the columns will tell you its day and time. A cell holds one piece of that information at the intersection of a row and a column. We will create a small table with two columns, Day and Time, and then add another meeting and a Location column.

Create the table slide.

Begin with a presentation open. Adding a table changes the selected slide to the Table layout. Existing body content stays in the project but is not exported on that layout, so this example begins with a new slide.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N to add a slide.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Table.

Step 3. Press Enter. Focus moves to the Slide title Edit Field.

Step 4. Type “Meeting times”.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+T for Add table. A new table begins with two rows and two columns.

Step 6. Focus begins in the Table description Edit Field with “Data table” already selected. Type “Meeting days and start times” to replace it. If you want to keep part of the existing description, press Left or Right Arrow to remove the selection before editing. This describes the purpose of the table. It is separate from the visible slide title and individual cell contents.

Step 7. Press Tab to the First row contains headers Check Box.

Step 8. Read whether it is checked. The header row will name the columns, Day and Time.

Step 9. If unchecked, press Space to check it. Otherwise leave it checked.

Understand the three cell-editing controls.

Rows is a List Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the row you want.

Column is a Combo Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the column within that row.

Cell text is the Edit Field containing the value at the intersection of the selected row and column. Its accessible name includes the row and column numbers, helping you confirm where you are typing.

Changing the row or column displays a different cell in Cell text. This arrangement lets you work through a table without a custom spreadsheet grid.

Enter the headers.

While shortcut keys are given below, pressing Tab will allow you to move through each component.

Step 1. Press Alt+R to focus the Rows List Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Row 1.

Step 3. Press Alt+U to focus the Column Combo Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Column 1.

Step 5. Press Alt+T to focus the Cell text Edit Field. JAWS identifies row 1, column 1.

Step 6. Type “Day”.

Step 7. Press Alt+U to return to the Column Combo Box.

Step 8. Press Down Arrow to select Column 2.

Step 9. Press Alt+T to return to the Cell text Edit Field. JAWS identifies row 1, column 2.

Step 10. Type “Time”.

Your edits are kept within the table dialog as you move between cells. You do not need to press a separate Save cell Button after each entry.

Enter the first meeting.

Step 1. Press Alt+R to focus the Rows List Box.

Step 2. Press Down Arrow to select Row 2.

Step 3. Press Alt+U to focus the Column Combo Box.

Step 4. Use Up Arrow to select Column 1.

Step 5. Press Alt+T to focus the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 6. Type “Monday”.

Step 7. Press Alt+U to return to the Column Combo Box.

Step 8. Press Down Arrow to select Column 2.

Step 9. Press Alt+T to focus the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 10. Type “10 am”.

The table now has a header row and one data row. Use the row summaries and individual cell fields to check your entries.

Add another row.

Step 1. With Row 2 selected, press Alt+W for Add row, or Tab to that Button and press Enter or Space. A blank Row 3 is inserted. Focus moves directly to the Cell text Edit Field, row 3, column 1, ready for typing. The visible label and accessible name both include these coordinates, so normal JAWS control speech can identify the cell. A short Row added confirmation is also available when confirmations are enabled.

Step 2. You are already in Column 1 of the new row. Type “Thursday”.

Step 3. Press Alt+U to reach the Column Combo Box.

Step 4. Choose Column 2 with Down Arrow.

Step 5. Press Alt+T to return to the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 6. Type “2 pm”. Alt+R moves to the Rows List Box when you want to choose another row.

Step 7. Press Alt+S for the Save table Button, or Tab to that Button and press Enter or Space. The dialogue closes with the new table selected in the Tables List Box.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save the project.

Add or remove columns.

To add a Location column to the example table:

Step 1. If you have saved and closed the editor, reopen the table using the “Reopen a table” procedure in this chapter.

Step 2. Press Alt+U to focus the Column Combo Box.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Column 2, Time.

Step 4. Press Alt+L for Add column. A third column is inserted, and focus moves to the Cell text Edit Field, row 1, column 3.

Step 5. Type “Location”.

Step 6. Press Alt+R to reach the Rows List Box.

Step 7. Use Down Arrow to select Row 2.

Step 8. Press Alt+T to reach the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 9. Type the Monday meeting’s location.

Step 10. Press Alt+R to reach the Rows List Box.

Step 11. Use Down Arrow to select Row 3.

Step 12. Press Alt+T to reach the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 13. Type the Thursday meeting’s location.

Step 14. Press Alt+S to save the complete table.

Step 15. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

Remove a Row or Column.

This removes the chosen row or column and its contents. The table always retains at least one row and one column: attempting to remove the last one leaves it in place. To remove a row or column:

Step 1. In the table editor, press Alt+R for the Rows List Box or Alt+U for the Column Combo Box.

Step 2. Select the unwanted row or column with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Tab until the Remove row Button or Remove column Button has focus, according to what you selected.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Read the confirmation.

Step 6. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To keep the row or column, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space.

Step 7. After removal, listen to the row and column coordinates in the Cell text Edit Field before typing. Focus is at a remaining cell.

Step 8. Press Alt+S to accept the edited table, or Escape to discard this editing session.

Add column inserts a column after the currently selected column. Every row gets a corresponding new cell. Focus moves to the Cell text Edit Field in Row 1 of the new column, ready for its heading. For example, you could add a Location column after Time, type “Location” immediately in its header cell, then use Rows to choose each meeting and fill in its location.

Remove row and Remove column ask for confirmation before removing that row or column and its contents. Yes is the default. Focus then moves to the Cell text Edit Field at the remaining selected position, with its row and column identified in the label. At least one row and one column are retained; attempting to remove the last one leaves it in place.

Cancel discards all pending edits in the table dialog, including row and column changes. Save table accepts the complete edited table. This is useful when experimenting: you can review several changes before committing them to the slide.

Reopen a table.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the table’s slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Tables with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Tables List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the table. Its entry reports its description and dimensions.

Step 7. Press Enter to edit it.

Step 8. Focus begins in the Table description Edit Field with its existing text selected, ready for a replacement name. Type to replace it, or press Left or Right Arrow before editing only part of it. To keep the description and work on the cells, use Alt+R for the Rows List Box, Alt+U for the Column Combo Box and Alt+T for the Cell text Edit Field. Cell text is not automatically selected; press Control+A there only when you want to replace the whole cell.

Step 9. Press Alt+S to accept the table, or Escape to discard pending edits.

Step 10. Press Control+S in the main window to save the project.

The Table menu's Add row and Add column commands, Control+Alt+R and Control+Alt+K, open the selected table's editor with an added row or column. They start from the editor's initial selected cell; use the editor's own Buttons when you need to choose a particular insertion position.

Remove a Complete Table.

This removes the table and all its cells. Control+Z can undo an accidental confirmed removal during the current session.

Step 1. In Tables, select the unwanted table with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Delete.

Step 3. Read the confirmation.

Step 4. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To keep the table, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space.

Headers, descriptions and size.

Check First row contains headers when the first row really names the columns. Uncheck it when that is not the table's structure, but consider whether meaningful column headings would make the information easier to understand.

A description such as “Meeting days, start times and locations” is more informative than “Table 1”. It explains the table's purpose without repeating every cell.

Tables export as editable PowerPoint tables, rather than pictures of a grid. Keep them short enough to read on a slide. A large report table may work better as several smaller tables on separate slides, with an introduction explaining their relationship.

Control+F7 includes an Information entry naming each table's number of rows and columns, with its description and header setting in Details. Any problems are listed separately. Use All or Information in the Results severity filter to find this confirmation; a table without warnings will not appear in the Warning-only view.

Export and Analyse also reports every table it measures, even when its cells fit. An example is “Table 1: Fits. 4 rows, 2 columns.” Details gives the number of measured, empty, overflowing and crowded cells, followed by each cell's text bounds and available space. An unmeasurable cell is reported rather than counted as a successful fit. These are measurements of the PowerPoint table; they do not guarantee readability for every audience or viewing distance.

Before exporting a table slide, check for body text retained on its Content page. Table layout does not include that text in the exported slide.

20. Adding sound and video.

What sound and video can contribute.

Until now, our examples have concentrated on words, pictures and tables. A presentation can also contain recordings. You might want your audience to hear a bird, listen to part of an interview, or watch a short demonstration. You can attach these recordings to individual slides in PresentAble.

An audio recording contains sound. It might be music, your own spoken explanation or a sound which illustrates your subject. A video recording contains moving pictures and may also have its own sound. If your garden video already includes your voice describing the plants, you do not need to add that voice as a separate audio recording.

The recording belongs to the selected slide. Adding birdsong to the first slide does not add it to every other slide. During the exported PowerPoint slide show, you can have it start automatically when that slide appears, or wait until you advance the next presentation step. We will explain that distinction before working through the examples.

PresentAble stores a copy of each accepted local recording inside the project. The PowerPoint export also contains a copy. The person receiving either file therefore does not need the original recording in its original folder. Recordings can make project and PowerPoint files considerably larger than presentations containing only text.

Local recording features work on your computer. Adding, previewing, naming or exporting a local recording does not use OpenAI, require an API key or send the recording to an online service. Online-video embedding is temporarily unavailable; use a compatible video file from your computer.

Preparing a recording.

You can add an existing sound or video file, or record sound directly from a microphone in PresentAble. Record audio is described later in this chapter. PresentAble does not record video from a camera. Use a compatible video file from your computer.

For audio, choose WAV, MP3 or M4A files. For video, use an MP4 file containing H.264 video; AAC is a suitable format for its soundtrack. A video without a soundtrack can also be useful. MP4 describes the container which holds the picture and sound data, while H.264 describes how the video is encoded, or stored. The .mp4 filename ending alone does not establish that the video inside uses H.264.

If PresentAble reports an unsupported video format, export a compatible copy from your video application. Renaming the file extension does not convert it. Some phone videos store an instruction to rotate the image instead of storing upright picture pixels. If PresentAble reports this, export an upright H.264 MP4 copy first. Portrait videos, taller than they are wide, are supported when their picture pixels are upright.

Each recording can be up to 100 MB. This first version is intended for short clips used during a presentation. It supports one video and up to three sound recordings on each slide. Use additional slides when you need more recordings. Video capture, trimming, conversion, adding caption tracks and playback across several slides are not provided by these local recording controls. Microphone recording creates a WAV sound file; see “Recording your own sound” in this chapter.

Preview uses Windows media support. You do not need Python or PowerPoint installed to preview a supported recording in PresentAble. If the computer cannot preview a file, check that Windows can play it and that the necessary Windows media components are available. Exported slide-show playback should be tested in the PowerPoint environment in which you intend to present.

Recording context menus.

The recording controls and their shortcuts are shared by audio and video. They act on the recording selected in the Recordings List Box, whether it is a sound file or a video. For example, Control+Alt+P previews either kind. Add audio and Add video retain their separate commands.

To work from the Slides List Box:

Step 1. Press Control+L. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide.

Step 2. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications Key to open its context menu.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Audio and video, then press Right Arrow to open the submenu.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the recording by its name and type, then press Right Arrow. Each recording has its own submenu, so you can distinguish a video's controls from those for sound on the same slide.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Recording properties, Preview recording, Replace recording, Recording information, Move recording up, Move recording down or Remove recording. Press Enter to carry out the command. Moving beyond either end is unavailable. Removing a recording asks for confirmation.

The Audio and video submenu also offers Add audio, Record audio and Add video. An unavailable addition is disabled, for example when the slide already has a video. Opening the menu or selecting a recording never starts playback.

To work from the Recordings List Box:

Step 1. Press Control+Alt+M on a slide with recordings.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the recording.

Step 3. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications Key. Its commands are available directly, without selecting a named recording submenu.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a command and press Enter. Press Escape instead to close the context menu and remain in the Recordings List Box.

Finding Audio and video.

Begin with the presentation open.

Step 1. Press Control+L to focus the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Check its title so you know which slide will receive the recording.

Step 4. If the slide uses a video layout or already contains a recording, press Control+Alt+M. This opens Audio and video with the Recordings List Box focused.

On another slide with no recordings, the page is hidden. Add the first recording using one of these commands, then follow the appropriate example in this chapter:

Accepting the recording reveals Audio and video and focuses the new item. Cancelling leaves the slide unchanged.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to move through any recordings already attached to this slide. Each local entry identifies the recording as audio or video, gives its name and duration, and states whether it starts automatically or on the next presentation step. A silent or muted local recording is identified as muted. An earlier online reference is labelled embedding unavailable, saved reference only. Remove it or replace it with a local video before exporting its slide.

Step 6. Press Tab to explore the Buttons. They include Add audio, Add video, Recording properties, Preview recording, Replace recording, Remove recording and Recording information. Press Enter or Space to activate a focused Button. Nothing starts playing merely because you focus a Button or select an entry in the list.

When Audio and video is available, you can also press Control+Shift+J, use Left or Right Arrow to select that page, then press Tab. Sound can accompany any layout; an empty recording page is hidden on slides without a video layout. The Audio and video menu remains available with Alt+V, so you can add a first recording without opening the page. Video needs one of the video layouts described in “How a video fits on a slide”.

Press Shift+F1 on any of these controls for its detailed help. Escape closes help and returns you to the same control. The Command Centre also finds the commands: press Control+Shift+C and search for audio, video, recording or preview.

Understanding the two start settings.

For a local recording, the Start playback Combo Box has two choices. These settings apply to local files. Earlier online references cannot be exported.

“On the next presentation step” is the initial setting. During a PowerPoint slide show, displaying the slide does not immediately start this recording. The next advance action, such as pressing Space, starts it. This gives you time to introduce what the audience is about to hear or see. The word “step” matters: an advance action can start a recording on the current slide before a later action takes you to the following slide.

“Automatically when the slide appears” starts the recording when that slide is displayed in the PowerPoint slide show. This could be useful for a short sound which introduces the subject without a separate spoken introduction.

These settings do not make PresentAble play recordings while you edit. Preview is always a separate, deliberate action. Even a recording set to Automatic waits for you to press Play when you open its preview window.

Leaving the slide stops its recordings. Finishing a recording does not automatically advance to the next slide. This feature does not create a timed, self-running presentation.

If there are several recordings set to start on the next presentation step, they follow their order in Recordings. New recordings are added to the end of the list. Move recording up and Move recording down move the selected recording one place in this list, with an announcement of the movement and new position. Control+Z undoes the move. Putting recordings on separate slides can make a longer sequence easier to deliver. Changing Reading order changes the screen-reader sequence, not the playback sequence.

Several automatic recordings on the same slide can start together. The checker warns when more than one audible recording is set to Automatic. For example, a video with its own soundtrack and a separate spoken explanation may be difficult to follow if both play at once. Set one to start on the next step, mute the video's soundtrack if appropriate, or put them on separate slides.

Example: add birdsong to the Garden presentation.

For this example, suppose you have a short audio file called birdsong.mp3. It could equally be a WAV or M4A recording. Use a file you already have; the example file is not supplied with the app. We will attach it to the opening slide and arrange for you to start it after introducing the garden.

Begin with the Garden presentation open.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Press Home to select the first slide, or use Up or Down Arrow to choose a more appropriate slide.

Step 3. Check its title before continuing.

Step 4. Press Control+Alt+U for Add audio. A Windows file chooser opens.

Step 5. Find and select your birdsong recording, or enter its full path in File name Edit Field.

Step 6. Press Enter to open it. Alternatively, Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space. Escape cancels without adding anything.

Step 7. PresentAble reads the recording information. Audio properties then opens with focus in the Recording name Edit Field. The initial name comes from the file name and is selected. Type “Birdsong in the garden” to replace it. The original file on your computer is not renamed.

Step 8. Press Tab to the Start playback Combo Box.

Step 9. Check that On the next presentation step is selected and leave it there. This allows you to introduce the birdsong before starting it.

Step 10. Press Tab to the Volume Combo Box.

Step 11. Read its initial value of 100 percent and leave it at 100 for this first test. Up or Down Arrow changes the level when needed. This is the recording’s relative volume; the computer’s volume also affects loudness.

Step 12. Press Tab to the Mute recording Check Box. It starts unchecked. Leave it unchecked so the birdsong can be heard.

Step 13. Press Alt+P to open Preview recording. Focus moves to the Play Button. The recording does not start merely because this window opened.

Preview and Save the Birdsong.

Continue here with Preview recording open and Play Button focused.

Step 1. Press Enter or Space on Play to hear the birdsong.

Step 2. Press Alt+U to pause it.

Step 3. Press Alt+P to continue.

Step 4. Press Alt+S to stop and return to the beginning.

Step 5. Press Escape to close preview and return to Audio properties. This also stops any playback still in progress.

Step 6. If needed, press Alt+V to adjust Volume and preview again.

Step 7. When satisfied, press Alt+R for the Save recording Button. Focus returns to the new entry in the Recordings List Box, and PresentAble confirms that the audio was added.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save the project. The recording is now included inside your saved project.

You have added sound to the slide without changing its existing layout, title, picture or text. In the exported PowerPoint, sound recordings have small named playback tiles along the bottom of the slide. Their names also provide accessible descriptions.

Optional: Start the Birdsong Automatically.

To change the saved birdsong so it starts when the slide appears:

Step 1. Press Enter on its entry in the Recordings List Box.

Step 2. Press Alt+S for the Start playback Combo Box.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Automatically when the slide appears.

Step 4. Press Alt+R to save the properties.

Step 5. Press Control+S to save the project again.

How a video fits on a slide.

A video needs space for its moving picture. PresentAble provides three layouts.

“Title and video” keeps the title at the top and gives the video the main area beneath it. Use this when the video is the main content of the slide. Ordinary body text is not exported in this layout. If you manually change a slide containing body text to this layout, PresentAble asks first and retains the text in the project; the checker reports that it is hidden.

“Video left, text right” puts the video on the left and gives your bullets or paragraphs their own area on the right.

“Text left, video right” puts the text on the left and the video on the right.

PresentAble measures the video's picture and fits it within the selected region. You do not have to enter a position, width or height. The picture keeps its proportions: it is not stretched to fill the slide and its edges are not cropped. A tall phone recording therefore leaves unused space beside it. A wide recording may leave space above or below it.

Before playback starts, the exported slide shows a labelled play symbol in the video region. This is a playback tile, not a still photograph extracted from the recording. Preview the video to examine its actual moving picture.

Each slide can contain one video. Pictures and tables should go on another slide rather than sharing the video's region. If the selected slide already contains a picture or table, Add video explains that you should use another slide. Adding audio does not have this restriction.

Video layouts share groups of formatting settings, called formatting families, with some image layouts. Title and video uses the Image only family. The two text-and-video layouts use the TextImage family, also used by combined text-and-image layouts. These shared settings affect the title, text and background; they do not recolour the moving picture. Chapter 21 explains formatting scope.

Example: add a walk around the garden.

Suppose you have a short recording called garden-walk.mp4, encoded with H.264. It shows a path through the garden, and perhaps includes your voice describing the plants. We will give it a new slide of its own and arrange for it to begin after you introduce it.

Begin with the Garden presentation open.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide after which the video slide should appear.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+N to add a slide.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow in Slide type to select Title and video.

Step 5. Press Enter. Focus moves to the new slide’s Slide title Edit Field.

Step 6. Type “A walk around the garden” as the title. This title remains visible above the video.

Step 7. Press Control+Alt+V for Add video.

Step 8. Select garden-walk.mp4 in the file chooser, or type its full path in File name Edit Field.

Step 9. Press Enter, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space. PresentAble reads the duration and picture dimensions. If it reports an unsupported format, cancel and prepare an H.264 MP4 copy before trying again.

Step 10. Choose video layout opens. Title and video is selected because that is the layout already chosen for this slide. Press Enter to keep it. On a slide which already contains body text, this dialog instead offers the two combined text-and-video layouts so the addition does not hide your words.

Step 11. Video properties opens with Recording name selected. Type “Garden path and flower beds”. This identifies the recording independently of the slide title. You can keep the same wording for both if that is more helpful.

Step 12. Press Alt+S to reach the Start playback Combo Box.

Step 13. Leave On the next presentation step selected so you can introduce the walk before it starts.

Check the Video Sound and Preview.

Continue here in Video properties after naming the video and choosing its start setting.

Step 1. Press Alt+V to reach the Volume Combo Box.

Step 2. If the recording has a useful soundtrack, choose a comfortable level and leave Mute recording unchecked.

If you intend to speak over a video whose soundtrack is unwanted, press Alt+M to check Mute recording instead. The picture will still play.

Step 3. Press Alt+P for Preview recording.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space on Play to start it.

Step 5. Press Alt+U to pause if required, then Alt+P to resume.

Step 6. If you want to read Playback position, press Alt+O. It gives elapsed and total time and updates without repeatedly speaking or moving focus.

Step 7. Press Escape to close preview.

Step 8. Adjust the name, volume or mute setting in Video properties if needed.

Step 9. Press Alt+R for the Save recording Button when ready.

Step 10. Focus returns to the new entry in the Recordings List Box. Press Control+S to save the project with its embedded video.

Step 11. Press Control+F7 to run the checks. The Results List Box includes an information entry describing the video, its duration and fitted frame. Chapter 23 explains how to inspect results and return to their objects.

To add explanatory bullets beside the video, first use Control+Shift+L to choose Text left, video right or Video left, text right. Then add each bullet with Control+Shift+B, following Chapter 7’s separate add, type and save actions. Keep the points short enough for the smaller region beside the video.

Earlier online-video references.

Online-video embedding is temporarily unavailable. Testing did not establish reliable playback in PowerPoint, including automatic start. Add online video has therefore been removed from the interface. Use Add video with a compatible file from your computer for video within a presentation.

If you saved a presentation, template or reusable slide during the online-video trial, its reference is preserved. Opening and saving it does not delete the video's name or address. The Recordings List Box identifies it as embedding unavailable, saved reference only. It must be removed or replaced with a local video before its slide can be exported. The checker reports this as an error and gives the affected slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the affected slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+M to reach the Recordings List Box.

Step 4. Select the online reference with Up or Down Arrow.

Optional: Keep the Earlier Video Address.

With the online reference selected, use these steps if you want to copy its address elsewhere before removal or replacement.

Step 1. Press Enter for Recording properties. The existing name is selected.

Step 2. Press Shift+Tab to the YouTube video address Edit Field.

Step 3. Press Control+A to select the address.

Step 4. Press Control+C to copy it.

Step 5. Press Escape to return without changing the reference.

Remove an Earlier Online Reference.

This removes only the saved reference; it does not delete anything from YouTube. If you want to replace it with a local video instead, use the next procedure.

Step 1. With the reference selected in the Recordings List Box, press Delete.

Step 2. Read the confirmation.

Step 3. Press Enter to accept Yes. Control+Z can undo the removal during this editing session.

Replace an Earlier Reference with a Local Video.

Begin with the online reference still selected in the Recordings List Box. Cancelling this process leaves the original reference unchanged.

Step 1. Tab to the Replace recording Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space.

Step 3. Choose a compatible video file from your computer.

Step 4. Review Video properties.

Step 5. Tab to the Save recording Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space.

Check the Presentation after Removing or Replacing a Reference.

After either of the preceding procedures:

Step 1. If you removed the reference and no longer need a video layout, choose a layout suited to the remaining content.

Step 2. Press Control+S to save the project.

Step 3. Run the checks with Control+F7.

Step 4. Export again with Control+Shift+E.

Existing references can still be opened in your browser using Preview recording, including from Rehearsal. This is only a way to retrieve the earlier saved address. It does not provide video playback within the presentation. Neither opening a project nor moving through its slides starts browser playback.

Preview controls, step by step.

You can preview a local recording at any time after adding it. This does not require exporting the presentation. For an earlier online reference, the same command can open its saved address in your browser; see “Earlier online-video references” in this chapter.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+M.

Step 4. Select the recording with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+P. Preview recording opens with focus on the Play Button. Wait briefly for the file to load if needed.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space on Play. Alternatively, use Alt+P from another control in this preview window. Sound and moving pictures start from the current position.

Step 7. Press Alt+U to pause.

Step 8. Press Alt+P to resume from the same position. Focus does not jump to the video rectangle; you do not need to operate controls drawn over the picture.

Step 9. Press Alt+S to stop. The position returns to the beginning. A subsequent Play starts again from there.

Step 10. Press Alt+O if you want to read the Playback position Edit Field. This is a short read-only Edit Field containing the state, elapsed time and total duration. It is not a slider and does not change your position. Preview does not currently provide seeking to a chosen time.

Step 11. Press Escape to close preview. Playback stops and you return to the Recordings List Box. If you opened preview from Audio properties or Video properties, you return to that dialog instead.

Preview plays only the selected recording. It does not show the entire slide or simulate how several recordings start together. Test the exported slide show to check those details.

Changing properties, replacing and removing recordings.

To change a name or playback setting:

Step 1. Press Control+Alt+M.

Step 2. Select the recording with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Enter for the recording’s properties. Recording name is selected.

Step 4. If changing the name, type to replace it, or press Left or Right Arrow first to edit only part.

Step 5. Use Alt+S for the Start playback Combo Box, Alt+V for the Volume Combo Box or Alt+M for the Mute recording Check Box. Use Up or Down Arrow in a Combo Box and Space to check or uncheck the Check Box.

For an optional preview of pending settings, press Alt+P. Escape closes preview and returns to properties.

Step 6. Press Alt+R to save the properties, or Escape from the properties dialogue to discard pending changes.

Step 7. Press Control+S after accepting the change.

To replace the underlying file:

Step 1. Select the recording in Recordings.

Step 2. Tab to the Replace recording Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space. You can also find Replace recording through Command Centre with Control+Shift+C.

Step 4. Choose another file of the same kind. An audio recording is replaced by audio; a video is replaced by video.

Step 5. Review the properties. PresentAble keeps the previous name, start setting, volume, mute option and reading-order position, while obtaining the duration and dimensions from the new file. Preview the replacement if needed.

Step 6. Press Alt+R to accept the replacement, or Escape to cancel and keep the old recording. Control+Z can reverse an accepted replacement during this session.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save the project.

To remove a recording:

Step 1. Select the unwanted recording in Recordings.

Step 2. Press Delete.

Step 3. Read the confirmation. Yes is selected by default.

Step 4. Press Enter to remove the recording, or choose No to keep it. The original file on the computer is not deleted.

Step 5. Focus stays in the Recordings List Box. Removing a video leaves the slide's layout in place. Add a replacement video or choose another layout if the slide now has a different purpose. Control+Z restores an accidental removal during this session.

Reading recording information.

Step 1. Select a recording.

Step 2. Tab to the Recording information Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space. In the recording’s properties, Alt+I opens the same information for the pending settings.

Step 4. Press Control+Home in the report to reach the beginning.

Step 5. Read with Up or Down Arrow. The report gives the name, file name, type, duration, approximate size, start setting, volume and mute setting. For video it also gives picture dimensions.

Step 6. Press Escape to close the report and return to the same control. Reading this information does not start playback or alter the recording.

F7 on an entry in Recordings checks the spelling of its name. A spelling check of the selected slide also includes its recording names. It does not listen to or transcribe the recording.

Checking and testing the PowerPoint export.

The ordinary checks account for recordings. They report damaged stored data, unsuitable video layouts, video regions shared with pictures or tables, too many recordings and several audible recordings set to start automatically. Information entries identify each recording even when there is no problem.

Export and analyse also reports the recording frames which PowerPoint recognises, their dimensions and their duration where available. It checks whether their regions fit and whether they overlap other objects. It does not play the recording or judge whether its speech is clear. A static slide image used for OpenAI review shows the video playback tile, not the moving video; OpenAI's slide review does not watch or listen to your recording.

After adding sound or video, include a slide-show test in your work:

Step 1. Save the project with Control+S.

Step 2. Press Control+F7 to run the checks.

Step 3. Review the relevant findings.

Step 4. Press Control+Shift+E to export a PowerPoint file, or Control+E for Export and analyse if desktop PowerPoint is available. Chapter 24 explains these export dialogs.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+O to open the last export in its associated application.

Step 6. If that application is desktop PowerPoint, press F5 to start its slide show from the beginning. PowerPoint is now presenting the file; PresentAble is not running the slide show.

Step 7. Navigate to the slide containing the recording.

Step 8. For Automatic, allow the recording to start. For On the next presentation step, introduce it and press Space to start the next action.

Step 9. Listen to the sound and, where possible, check the moving picture. If there are several recordings, test the full sequence to establish which advance action starts each one.

Step 10. Move to the following slide.

Step 11. Verify that playback from the previous slide stops.

Step 12. Press Escape to leave the slide show when finished.

Step 13. If you change a recording or its properties in PresentAble, save and export again. The previously exported PowerPoint does not update itself when you edit the project.

Sharing, backups and compatibility.

Copying a saved PresentAble project also copies its embedded local recordings. Exporting a PowerPoint file embeds those local recordings in that file as well. Earlier online references remain in saved projects for recovery, but must be removed or replaced before export. Keep the original recordings somewhere safe for your own future work, but the recipient does not need their original paths to use the copies you have supplied.

Project backups, recovery and version history include recordings too. They therefore take more space when you use large clips. Undo can restore a recording removed during the current session. Duplication of a slide includes its recordings and their properties.

Projects with local recordings use PresentAble format version 2, or version 3 if speaker-note links have also been added. A project containing an earlier online-video reference uses format version 4. This version can retain that reference for recovery, but cannot export it. An older application which only understands format version 1 cannot open these projects. Note links require PresentAble 1.2.2 or later. Give your collaborator the updated application along with your project. Earlier projects still open normally; Save as can create a separate working copy if you want to keep an original.

When importing an existing PowerPoint, supported embedded recordings are retained where possible. Earlier YouTube player references are retained for recovery, without downloading the video. The conversion report explains that embedding is unavailable. Remove or replace these references before exporting. Other external media are not downloaded or converted into supported recordings. Complicated playback sequences, trimming, looping, captions and playback across slides are not preserved. Always test the newly exported slide show after a conversion.

Audio and video keyboard reference.

Control+Alt+M: focus the selected slide's Recordings List Box.

Control+Alt+U: add audio from a file.

Control+Alt+V: add video from a file.

Control+Alt+P: open preview for the selected recording.

Enter in Recordings: open properties.

Delete in Recordings: remove the selected recording after confirmation, with Yes selected.

F7 in Recordings: check the selected recording's name.

Within Audio properties or Video properties:

Alt+N: Recording name.

Alt+S: Start playback.

Alt+V: Volume.

Alt+M: check or uncheck Mute recording.

Alt+P: Preview recording.

Alt+I: Recording information.

Alt+R: Save recording.

Escape: discard pending property changes.

Within Preview recording:

Alt+P: Play or resume.

Alt+U: Pause.

Alt+S: Stop and return to the beginning.

Alt+O: Playback position.

Escape: stop playback and close preview.

Recording your own sound.

You can record a spoken introduction, explanation or another sound directly into the selected slide.

A take is a recording you are still reviewing. It is kept temporarily until you choose Add to slide. Stopping the microphone does not by itself add the take to your presentation. This gives you an opportunity to listen and decide whether to keep it.

If JAWS speech comes through loudspeakers near the microphone, the microphone can pick it up. Headphones can help you record your voice without also recording the spoken interface. PresentAble does not change your Windows recording levels or silence JAWS. Use Windows sound settings if the input needs adjustment.

Example: record a Garden introduction.

Begin with the Garden presentation open. A slide can contain up to three sound recordings. If your chosen slide already has three, use another slide or remove a recording you no longer need.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Choose the first slide with Up or Down Arrow, or another suitable slide with room for the recording.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+Shift+A. This opens Record audio. You can also choose Record audio from the Audio and video menu, or find that command in the Command Centre.

Step 4. Focus begins in the Recording name Edit Field, with Recorded audio selected. Type Garden introduction. This is the name you will encounter in Recordings and in the exported presentation.

Step 5. Press Tab or Alt+M to reach the Microphone Combo Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the input. The current Windows default appears first, and only active recording devices are listed. If the microphone is missing, cancel, connect or enable it, then reopen Record audio.

Record and Review the Garden Introduction.

Continue here after choosing the microphone. Recording stops at 30 minutes of captured sound or before the 100 MB limit, whichever comes first. The available duration depends on the input’s sample rate and number of channels. A pause does not use recorded duration.

A take not yet added to a slide is not included in saved or recovery content. Escape or Cancel asks before discarding an active or completed take: Yes stops capture, removes the temporary take and closes the recorder; No returns to it.

Step 1. Press Alt+S for the Start recording Button. Focus moves to the Stop recording Button.

Step 2. Check that Recording status says Recording.

Step 3. Speak your introduction. For example: “Welcome to our community garden. We will begin with the raised beds, then visit the pond.”

If you need a break, press Alt+P for the Pause recording Button. The Button becomes Resume recording; press Alt+R to resume. Sound during the pause is omitted and the captured duration does not increase. You can read the duration in Recording status with Alt+T; it is not spoken every second.

Step 4. Press Alt+O for the Stop recording Button.

Step 5. Wait while the WAV take is completed. If focus was on the Stop recording or Pause recording Button, it moves to the Preview take Button when ready. If you deliberately moved to another available control, that focus is retained.

Step 6. Press Alt+V for the Preview take Button. The preview dialogue opens with the Play Button focused.

Step 7. Press Alt+P to listen. Alt+U pauses and Alt+S stops playback if needed.

Step 8. Press Escape to stop preview and return to the recorder.

Keep the Take or Record a Replacement.

A new take replaces the whole previous take; this is not an audio editor or a trimming command. To replace an unsatisfactory take, press Alt+S in the recorder. Read the confirmation before accepting the default Yes to discard it and record again. Choose No to keep the existing take.

When you have a take you want to use, continue with the saving steps in this section.

Step 1. Press Alt+A for the Add to slide Button. The recorder closes and focus moves to the new item in the Recordings List Box. It initially uses full volume and starts on the next presentation step. Press Enter for its properties if you need to change the name, start setting, volume or mute setting.

Step 2. Press Control+S to save your presentation. The recording is now embedded in the project and will be embedded in a PowerPoint export. Control+Z can undo adding it during this editing session.

A device problem is reported in Recording status; a failed take is not added automatically. Before trying again, check that Windows permits desktop applications to use the microphone and that the selected input remains connected.

Changing the order of recordings.

The Recordings List Box controls the sequence of recordings set to start on the next presentation step. For example, you might want Garden introduction before Birdsong rather than after it.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Choose the slide.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+M to focus the Recordings List Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the recording to move.

Step 5. Tab to the Move recording up Button or the Move recording down Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space. The same commands are available from Audio and video and Command Centre.

Step 7. Listen to the confirmation. It identifies the recording, the neighbouring item it moved above or below, and its new position. Focus returns to the moved recording in the Recordings List Box. Repeat the command if another move is needed.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save. Control+Z undoes a move. Export again and test the PowerPoint slide show to check the revised sequence.

Moving a recording does not change whether it starts automatically or on the next presentation step. Automatic recordings still start when the slide appears; putting them next to each other does not make them wait for one another. Reading order remains a separate setting and is not changed by these commands.

21. Formatting your presentation.

Begin with the selected slide's style.

Formatting controls how the slides look, including their lettering, colours and spacing. Start by loading one slide’s current style so the fields contain the choices you intend to work from. Then choose which slides should receive any changes. Loading or editing these fields does not change the presentation until you use Apply formatting.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide whose formatting should be the starting point.

Step 3. Press Control+3 for Styles. Focus begins in the Apply formatting to Combo Box.

Step 4. Press Tab until the Load selected slide style Button has focus.

Step 5. Press Enter or Space. The fields now contain that slide’s current formatting, including any layout or individual slide style.

Step 6. Press Control+3 again to return to the Apply formatting to Combo Box.

Step 7. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the scope explained in the next section.

The scope is followed by the Title text, Content text, and Spacing and background pages, then the formatting actions. Loading the selected style gives you a known starting point.

Merely selecting a different slide does not mean that every pending value in the Styles editor has been replaced with that slide's values. Use Load selected slide style when you want to inspect or modify the selected slide's current appearance.

Loading a style changes the editor's fields. It does not change the presentation until you apply the formatting.

Choose the scope.

Scope means which slides a formatting change will affect. Apply formatting to has three choices. An override is an individual slide’s own formatting, used instead of the style it would otherwise inherit from the presentation or layout.

Whole presentation applies the values to the presentation’s base style, the shared starting style for its slides. It removes existing layout styles and individual slide overrides so the new formatting is consistent throughout.

Current layout type applies the values to the selected slide’s layout family, a group of related layouts sharing formatting. It removes individual overrides on affected slides so they use the new layout style. These four layouts share one family: Image left, text right; Text left, image right; Large image left, short text right; and Short text left, large image right. A change to that family can affect all four arrangements.

Selected or marked slides applies an individual style to the marked slides, or to the selected slide if no slides are marked. Other slides retain their existing styles.

Choosing the scope does not itself apply anything. When you activate Apply formatting, the confirmation reports how many slides are affected and explains that existing slide overrides in that scope will be replaced. Read it before confirming. Yes is the default for this replacement confirmation.

Title text and Content text.

To reach these formatting controls:

Step 1. Press Control+3 to focus the Apply formatting to Combo Box.

Step 2. Press Tab until the Formatting pages Tab Control has focus.

Step 3. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Title text or Content text.

Step 4. Press Tab to enter the page at the Font family Combo Box.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a font, or type successive letters such as AR for Arial.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Size in points Edit Field.

Step 7. To replace the value, press Control+A.

Step 8. Type the new number if changing it.

Step 9. Continue with Tab through the Bold and Italic Check Boxes, the Alignment, Vertical alignment and Text colour Combo Boxes, and the Text colour (hex) Edit Field. Space checks or unchecks a Check Box; Up or Down Arrow changes a Combo Box. Leave any setting you do not want to change as it is.

To choose another formatting page, use the following procedure. In this main workspace, Control+Tab moves to another main workspace; it does not choose the next formatting page. Your prepared values are applied only when you use Apply formatting.

Step 1. Press Control+3.

Step 2. Press Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 3. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose the page.

Step 4. Press Tab to reach the Font family Combo Box, or the Line spacing Edit Field if you chose Spacing and background.

These pages have corresponding controls, so you can give slide titles a different appearance from the body content.

Font family is a Combo Box listing fonts available on the computer. Choose with Up or Down Arrow, or type a prefix such as AR for Arial. A font name already stored in a project remains selectable even if it is unavailable on this computer, so opening a project does not silently replace that name. The application displaying or rendering the exported file may substitute an unavailable font; review the exported result on the computer where it will be used.

Size in points controls the font size. The allowed range is 8 to 120. Larger numbers mean larger text. PresentAble's standard starting sizes are 36 points for titles and 28 points for content, but those values may have been changed in your personal defaults.

Bold and Italic are Check Boxes. Press Space to check or uncheck them. Bold makes the lettering heavier; Italic slants it. These settings affect the corresponding title or content text generally; they are not a way of emphasising one selected word within an item.

Alignment offers Left, Centre and Right. It determines whether the text sits against the left edge, around the centre or against the right edge of its available area. Choose separately for the title or content text. Left alignment is a useful starting point for ordinary body text.

Text colour is a native Combo Box containing colour names. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose a colour, or type its first letters. For example, type NA to reach Navy. You do not need to know hexadecimal codes to choose from this list.

There are 26 named colours, in alphabetical order: Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Cyan, Dark blue, Dark green, Dark grey, Dark red, Gold, Green, Grey, Light blue, Light grey, Light yellow, Lime, Magenta, Navy, Olive, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Teal, White and Yellow. Custom colour is the final choice.

Immediately after the Combo Box is Text colour (hex), an Edit Field for an exact colour code. Choosing a named colour fills in this field automatically and leaves focus in the Combo Box. You can Tab past the code when you do not need it.

If you have a precise code, choose Custom colour and press Tab to reach the Edit Field. Choosing Custom colour keeps the existing code so that you can edit or replace it. You can also edit the code directly without first selecting Custom colour. A code begins with a number sign followed by six digits using 0 to 9 and A to F. Examples are #000000 for black, #FFFFFF for white and #000080 for navy.

As you edit the code, the Combo Box selects a matching colour name when possible. Otherwise it shows Custom colour. It also shows Custom colour while a code is incomplete. Invalid codes cannot be applied; choosing any named colour supplies a valid value. A custom colour already saved in a project is preserved exactly when you load it, even when it does not have a name in this list.

Changing the Title text colour does not change the Content text colour. Review both against the background colour, especially if you change the background from light to dark.

Vertical alignment.

Vertical alignment is a separate Combo Box on both Title text and Content text. It follows Alignment. Alignment controls the position from left to right; Vertical alignment controls the position from top to bottom. You can choose each independently. For example, Centre in both Combo Boxes places a short sentence in the horizontal and vertical centre of its text area.

Top is the normal starting choice and preserves the arrangement used by existing presentations. Text begins at the top of its area, inside the margin.

Centre places the text halfway down its available area, leaving space above and below. This can be useful for a short quotation or a single sentence.

Bottom places the text at the bottom of its available area, above the bottom margin.

Distributed spreads several lines down the available height by increasing their spacing. The font size and the words remain unchanged. If there is only one line, it is centred vertically. A long sentence which wraps onto several lines can be distributed, as can separate paragraphs or bullet items. An unusually long gap between lines is possible when a small amount of text is spread over a large area; review whether that suits your presentation.

These choices work within the existing title or content area. They do not move that area or place body text over the slide title. In particular, the centre of the content area is below the centre of the entire slide because the title has its own space above it. The layout and Margins in points determine the available space. Table cells retain their normal top alignment.

Distributed requires desktop PowerPoint on the computer performing the export. PresentAble uses its measurements to work out line spacing, including lines formed by word wrapping. This does not require an API key or an internet connection. Top, Centre and Bottom do not require PowerPoint for ordinary export. If PowerPoint is unavailable, choose one of those three options instead. An unsuccessful export leaves an existing destination file unchanged.

The exported text remains editable. Changing its words, font, box size or wrapping later in PowerPoint can mean that distributed spacing needs to be recalculated. Make the change in PresentAble and export again to calculate new spacing. When PresentAble imports its own distributed text with formatting preserved, it retains the distribution choice.

Distributed does not shrink text to make an overcrowded slide fit. If the text already needs the available height, its normal spacing is retained. Local checks still report long items and estimated crowding. Export and Analyse distinguishes deliberate distribution spacing from crowded text, while continuing to report actual overflow. Changing vertical alignment also requires a fresh review of affected text-fit warnings.

Centre a single sentence vertically.

Use a slide containing a title and one short text paragraph, such as “A garden gives us time to pause.” If you want to format only that slide, first unmark any other slides which are marked in the Slides List Box.

Step 1. Press Control+L and choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Control+3. Tab to the Load selected slide style Button and press Enter or Space. This loads the slide's existing formatting so that you can change its position without inadvertently replacing other choices.

Step 3. Press Control+3 again. In the Apply formatting to Combo Box, choose Selected or marked slides with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 4. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Content text.

Step 5. Press Tab to enter the page at the Font family Combo Box. Tab to the Alignment Combo Box. Choose Centre if you also want the sentence centred from left to right, or leave its existing choice.

Step 6. Tab to the Vertical alignment Combo Box and choose Centre with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Continue pressing Tab until the Apply formatting Button has focus. Press Enter or Space. Read the confirmation, which states how many slides will change. Press Enter on the Yes Button to apply the change.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save your presentation. Use Control+Z if you want to undo the formatting change.

Step 9. To export and check the result using PowerPoint, press Control+E. In the save dialog you can enter the destination name in the File name Edit Field and press Enter. Read the resulting measurements on Results.

To position the title vertically instead, follow the same process but select Title text in Step 4. This centres the title inside its own title area.

Spread several lines down the content area.

For this example, use a title and bullets slide whose content area is empty. You will add three short lines in one text paragraph.

Step 1. Press Control+L and choose the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+T for Add text paragraph. Type “Roses”, press Enter, type “Lilies”, press Enter, then type “Tulips”. These Enter presses create lines within the same content item.

Step 3. Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Follow Steps 2 through to 7 under “Centre a single sentence vertically”, choosing Distributed in the Vertical alignment Combo Box instead of Centre. Choose the horizontal Alignment separately: Left is suitable for this example.

Step 5. Press Control+S. Press Control+E to export and analyse the slide. You can confirm the proposed file name by pressing Enter in the File name Edit Field.

Step 6. Read the Content result. It explains that distribution spacing was requested and distinguishes the text's normal height from its distributed height. Inspect the exported slide, or use Review slide with OpenAI if you want an additional description of its appearance.

Step 7. To return to normal spacing, load the selected slide's style, choose Top in Vertical alignment, and use the Apply formatting Button again. This restores the normal Line spacing and Paragraph spacing settings when you next export.

The corresponding Vertical alignment Combo Boxes in Settings, Formatting defaults, set the starting choices for future presentations. They do not restyle a presentation which is already open.

Spacing and background.

Line spacing controls the spacing between lines within a text item. The allowed range is 0.5 to 4. A value of 1 is the standard starting point. Increasing it can make lines more separated but also makes the text occupy more height.

Paragraph spacing in points controls the space after content paragraphs. The allowed range is 0 to 80. It affects the separation between bullet or text items; it does not insert additional content items.

Margins in points set the space between text and the edges of its available region. They also affect related image-placement calculations. The range is 0 to 72. Increasing margins leaves less room for content; it does not move the entire slide around the page.

Background colour is a Combo Box with the same 26 named colours and Custom colour option. The standard starting choice is White. Choose a name with Up or Down Arrow or type its first letters. The Background colour (hex) Edit Field follows it and updates automatically. It remains available for precise codes, using the same process as Text colour.

To prepare navy text on a cream background:

Step 1. Load the selected slide's style and choose the scope using “Begin with the selected slide's style” and “Choose the scope” at the start of this chapter.

Step 2. Press Control+3.

Step 3. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 4. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose Title text.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Font family Combo Box.

Step 6. Tab to the Text colour Combo Box.

Step 7. Type NA to select Navy, or find it with Up or Down Arrow.

Set the Content and Background Colours.

Continue here after selecting Navy for the title.

Step 1. Press Control+3.

Step 2. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 3. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose Content text.

Step 4. Press Tab to reach the Font family Combo Box.

Step 5. Tab to the Text colour Combo Box.

Step 6. Choose Navy with its initial letters or Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Press Control+3.

Step 8. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 9. Use Left or Right Arrow to choose Spacing and background.

Step 10. Press Tab to enter at the Line spacing Edit Field.

Step 11. Tab through the Paragraph spacing and Margins Edit Fields to the Background colour Combo Box.

Step 12. Type CR to select Cream, or find it with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 13. Press Control+Alt+A for Apply formatting.

Step 14. Read the scope confirmation.

Step 15. Press Enter to accept Yes if it describes the intended change.

You can make all three colour choices without entering a hexadecimal code.

Text colours and the background are independent choices. Selecting a dark background does not automatically change the text to white. Check that both title and content remain distinguishable, and run Control+F7 after applying formatting to check contrast. Choosing a name by itself does not guarantee that the whole colour combination is readable.

These settings control the exported slides. Use Windows display settings for the appearance and size of the PresentAble application's own controls.

Apply and inspect.

Step 1. After preparing the fields and choosing the scope, press Control+Alt+A for Apply formatting.

Step 2. If a value is invalid, read the explanation, close it and correct the named field. Try Control+Alt+A again. For valid values, read the confirmation describing the affected slides and replacement of overrides.

Step 3. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To reconsider, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space. Your field edits remain available for adjustment.

Step 4. Press Control+Shift+F for Describe formatting. A read-only report describes the effective style of selected or marked slides.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to read the report.

Step 6. Press Escape to close it.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save the project after accepting your changes.

The report describes the fonts, sizes, emphasis, alignment, colours and spacing actually applying to those slides. It does not treat uncommitted Styles field edits as already applied.

Run Control+F7 after a formatting change. Increasing text size or spacing can create crowding, and changing colours can introduce contrast warnings. Desktop PowerPoint analysis gives a more direct measurement of text fit where available.

A practical formatting example.

Suppose you want the whole community garden presentation to use Arial, with the sizes and colours currently used by one chosen slide. Whole presentation applies all the prepared style values across the presentation, replacing layout styles and slide overrides. Choose the starting slide with that consequence in mind.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide with the formatting you want as the starting point.

Step 3. Press Control+3.

Step 4. Tab to the Load selected slide style Button.

Step 5. Press Enter or Space.

Step 6. Press Control+3 again.

Step 7. Use Up or Down Arrow in Apply formatting to to select Whole presentation.

Step 8. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 9. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Title text.

Step 10. Press Tab to the Font family Combo Box.

Step 11. Type AR to select Arial, or choose it with Up or Down Arrow.

Apply Arial to Content and Review the Result.

Continue here after choosing Arial for the title text.

Step 1. Press Control+3.

Step 2. Tab to the Formatting pages Tab Control.

Step 3. Use Left or Right Arrow to select Content text.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Font family Combo Box.

Step 5. Select Arial here too.

Step 6. Press Control+Alt+A.

Step 7. Read the number of affected slides and the replacement of overrides.

Step 8. Press Enter to confirm if the scope is correct.

Step 9. Press Control+Shift+F to inspect the applied formatting.

Step 10. Read the report with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 11. Close it with Escape.

Step 12. Press Control+F7 to check the presentation.

Step 13. Press Control+S to save.

Step 14. When ready, export again with Control+Shift+E.

For a one-slide exception, remove any unwanted slide marks first, select the intended slide, load its current style and choose Selected or marked slides before applying your adjusted values.

Reset individual overrides.

Reset slide overrides removes a slide’s individual formatting immediately. It then uses the layout style, if one exists, or the whole-presentation style. This does not necessarily return it to PresentAble’s original standard settings. The action applies to marked slides if there are any, otherwise to the selected slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. For one slide, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove existing marks.

Step 3. Select the intended slide with Up or Down Arrow, or use Space to mark the required group.

Step 4. Press Control+Alt+0, using the number zero. The individual overrides are removed immediately.

Step 5. Press Control+Shift+F to inspect the result.

Step 6. Read with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Press Escape to close the report.

Step 8. Use Control+Z to undo the reset if needed, or Control+S to save it.

Reset slide overrides, also available with Control+Alt+0, removes the direct formatting attached to the selected or marked slides. They then use a layout style if one exists, otherwise the whole-presentation style.

This does not restore every setting to PresentAble's original standard values. It removes the individual exception. Control+Z can undo the project formatting change.

Save a personal default.

A personal default is the style used as a starting point for future presentations. Saving it changes an application preference immediately; it does not also apply that style to the current presentation. Project Undo does not undo a saved preference.

Step 1. Prepare the values in Styles using “Title text and Content text” and “Spacing and background” in this chapter. Load a selected slide's style first if you want it as the starting point.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+S. The values currently in the editor are saved as your personal default immediately. No project save is needed to keep this preference.

To apply those values to the current presentation as well:

Step 1. Choose the desired scope in Apply formatting to.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+A.

Step 3. Read and answer the scope confirmation.

Step 4. Press Control+S to save the project.

Save as personal default, Control+Alt+S, stores the values currently in the Styles fields as your starting style for future presentations. It takes effect as an application setting immediately.

It does not also apply the style to the current presentation. Use Apply formatting for that. Personal defaults can also be edited in Settings, Formatting defaults.

Project Undo concerns presentation changes; do not rely on it to undo a saved application preference. If you save an unwanted personal default, change the fields and save the desired default again, or restore standard formatting through Settings.

22. Setting the reading order.

Reading order is the intended sequence in which a reader encounters objects within a slide. A visually neat slide can still be confusing if an image description or table is encountered before the explanation which gives it context. An object is a part of the slide, such as its title, content area, image or table. Changing reading order changes the sequence written into the exported PowerPoint file, without changing where those objects appear visually.

Step 1. Press Control+4. Focus begins in the Slide Combo Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the slide whose reading order you want to review.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Objects List Box.

Step 4. Press Home to select the first object.

Step 5. Use Down Arrow to read the sequence.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the object to move.

Step 7. Press Control+Alt+E to move it one place earlier, or Control+Alt+L to move it one place later. Repeat as needed; selection stays with it.

Step 8. Read the Objects List Box again with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 9. Press Control+S to save the resulting order.

The Objects List Box identifies the title, the content area where present, images and tables. Its first entry is first in the sequence. The title normally comes first.

Use Up or Down Arrow to choose an object. Control+Alt+E or Move up moves it earlier. Control+Alt+L or Move down moves it later. Selection follows the moved object so you can continue adjusting its position.

While in Reading order, Control+Alt+E moves the selected object up and Control+Alt+L moves it down. These commands change its reading sequence without moving its visual position on the slide.

This action changes the order written into the exported PowerPoint. It does not move the image from left to right, change the slide layout, or move the slide to a different position in the presentation.

Content items within an object.

The content area is one object even when it contains several bullets or paragraphs. To reorder those individual items, use the Content page’s Earlier and Later controls or the shortcuts in Chapter 14: Control+Shift+Up Arrow and Control+Shift+Down Arrow.

For example, you could arrange a slide as Title, Content, Image. The content area's three bullets are then read in their Content items order before the image object. There is no separate reading-order entry for each word or bullet.

Reset and review.

Reset order immediately restores the selected slide’s normal sequence: title, content where applicable, then its other objects in their usual order. Review that result to make sure it supports the explanation. Undo can restore the previous custom sequence.

Step 1. Press Control+4.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose the slide.

Step 3. Tab until the Reset order Button has focus.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space. The normal sequence is restored immediately.

Step 5. Press Control+4 again.

Step 6. Tab to the Objects List Box.

Step 7. Read the sequence with Up or Down Arrow. If you prefer the previous custom order, press Control+Z.

Step 8. Press Control+F7 to check the presentation.

Step 9. Press Control+S to save the chosen order.

Control+F7 checks for an incomplete or duplicated order and warns when the title is not first. A deliberate different order may be appropriate, but make it a conscious decision and review the exported slide with the intended reading application.

23. Accessibility checks and the Results page.

Understanding results and repair options.

An Error is a problem needing attention before export. A Warning identifies something you should investigate and judge. A Suggestion is an improvement to consider, such as whether an image has sufficient resolution; it is not necessarily a fault. Information supplies helpful findings and measurements. No error count can guarantee that every slide is accessible.

Repair options does not promise to repair everything automatically. It explains the selected finding and its available action before you continue. You may need to edit text, supply a meaningful description or choose a better layout yourself. A reading-order repair can make a specific change. Read its explanation first, use Cancel to leave the presentation unchanged, and run checks again after editing.

On Results, Understanding results opens this explanation in a native Edit Field. Checking guide opens this part of the User Guide. Shift+F1 remains available on every control.

Run a check.

Step 1. From the main window, press Control+F7 to check the whole presentation.

To check only one slide instead, use Control+L to reach the Slides List Box, select the slide with Up or Down Arrow, then press Control+Alt+Shift+W. This selected-slide check does not include every marked slide.

Step 2. When the check finishes and Results opens, press Control+5 to start at Severity.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select All.

Step 4. Press Tab to enter the Results List Box.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a finding.

Step 6. Press Enter to read its full explanation.

Step 7. Press Escape to close the explanation.

Step 8. If you want to go to the affected item, press F8.

Step 9. After making a correction, run the check again to refresh the results.

Control+F7 runs the structural checks for the whole presentation. Control+Alt+Shift+W runs Selected slide warnings for the current slide only. The latter does not check all marked slides just because some are marked.

The checks inspect such matters as missing or repeated titles, reading-order structure, text contrast and size, estimated crowding, image descriptions, image source or crop problems, table descriptions and headers, and conflicting combinations of slide content.

These are local checks. They do not send the presentation to OpenAI. They also do not require desktop PowerPoint.

After the check, Control+L returns directly to the Slides List Box. Outstanding error, warning and suggestion counts follow each affected slide's usual label. Reviewed warnings and suggestions are excluded from these counts. Changing the Results severity filter does not alter these totals. After Export and Analyse, the counts include the current structural and measured findings. Lightweight local checks keep the slide-list counts up to date after editing. Previous PowerPoint findings remain available in Results. Findings for a changed slide say “Previous analysis; recheck this slide” and are excluded from that slide’s current warning and error totals. The slide’s label also tells you that its previous analysis needs rechecking. Run Export and Analyse again when you are ready to verify the changes.

Understand the severity.

Severity on Results offers All, Error, Warning, Suggestion, Information and Reviewed. All and the four severity choices show outstanding findings. Reviewed is separate: it shows the saved review decisions which still apply to the current slides.

Every choice includes the number of findings in that category, including zero. For example, JAWS can read “All: 6 results”, “Error: 0”, “Warning: 2”, “Suggestion: 1” and “Information: 3” as you move through the choices. The numbers are in the native Combo Box, so they are also available in Braille and in Standard mode. All is the number of outstanding findings, not the number of slides: one slide can have several findings. Reviewed counts saved review decisions. One decision can cover both a local estimate and its corresponding PowerPoint finding, so these totals need not add up to the number of rows you saw before reviewing.

To review these totals:

Step 1. Run Control+F7 for the whole presentation, or finish Export and Analyse if you want PowerPoint measurements included.

Step 2. Press Control+5 to move to the Severity Combo Box.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to read each category and its count. Error: 0 means the current report has no errors, although warnings or suggestions may remain.

Step 4. Choose All to examine every finding, or choose one category.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Results List Box. If the chosen category has zero findings, the list is empty; Shift+Tab returns to the Severity Combo Box.

The counts describe the current report's scope. A report for one selected slide does not assess the whole presentation. Before a check has run, zero means there are no results; it does not mean that checking has proved the presentation error-free. Results totals include any retained previous-analysis findings, clearly labelled on the affected entries. Run a fresh check when you need a current assessment.

An Error identifies an issue requiring particular attention, such as a missing title, missing alternative text for an informative image, an invalid image source or body text hidden by its layout.

A Warning calls for review. Examples include a repeated title, small text, poor contrast or estimated crowding. Whether a particular warning calls for a change depends on the content and intended use.

A Suggestion offers an improvement or a review step, such as examining an image's effective resolution. Information is available as a filter for informational findings when a report contains them.

Changing the filter changes which results are shown. It does not fix the presentation or rerun the check. An empty Error list means there are no displayed errors in that report, not necessarily that there are no warnings or suggestions. Choose All when reviewing the complete outcome.

Mark a warning as reviewed.

A warning invites you to investigate; it does not always mean you need to change the slide. For example, Near width limit means that a line uses most of the available width. After examining the slide, you may decide that the text is clear and the arrangement is suitable. Mark as reviewed records that decision so the same concern does not repeatedly appear among your outstanding warnings.

This is your decision about the current slide. An OpenAI review can help you decide, but it does not automatically mark anything as reviewed. Errors remain visible and cannot be acknowledged with this Button. Suggestions can be reviewed in the same way as warnings.

Step 1. Run the appropriate check: Control+F7 for local checks, or Control+E for Export and Analyse. For a visual layout concern, read the measurements and examine the finished slide before accepting it.

Step 2. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box. Choose Warning or Suggestion with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Results List Box. Select the finding with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 4. Press Enter to read its details. When finished, press Escape to return to the list. If the entry says Previous analysis; recheck this slide, run Export and Analyse again before reviewing that measurement.

Step 5. Once you have decided that this concern is acceptable, Tab to the Mark as reviewed Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space. No written explanation or extra confirmation dialog is required. Focus returns to the Results List Box. The finding leaves the outstanding list and its slide's warning count decreases.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save the review with your presentation. Control+Z undoes the decision if it was a mistake.

The review applies to this concern on this slide. Reviewing its width warning also covers the corresponding local estimate or PowerPoint width warning. It does not hide another concern, such as poor contrast, an unusually long paragraph or an error where text actually overflows. It also does not suppress similar warnings on other slides.

Find reviewed warnings and restore one.

Saved reviews survive closing and reopening the presentation, and remain attached to a slide when you move it. You can inspect and remove a saved review through Results, including a review of a PowerPoint finding when no new analysis has yet run in this session.

Step 1. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Reviewed. Its count tells you how many saved review decisions are available in the current scope.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Results List Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a reviewed finding.

Step 4. Press Enter to read its explanation. Press Escape to return. While Reviewed is selected, the Read full report Button and Copy report Button also use the reviewed list.

Step 5. If you want the warning to be flagged again, Tab to the Restore warning Button and press Enter or Space. Focus returns to the list. The review is removed without changing the slide's text or layout.

Step 6. Choose All or Warning in Severity to inspect outstanding findings. Local findings update immediately. If the restored finding requires PowerPoint measurements which are not currently available, run Export and Analyse with Control+E.

Step 7. Press Control+S to save the restored warning state. Control+Z undoes the restoration if necessary.

If you ran a check of one selected slide, the Reviewed filter covers that slide. Run the whole-presentation check with Control+F7 to inspect reviews across the presentation.

When a reviewed warning returns.

A review records your judgement of the content and formatting at the time. A relevant change requires a fresh judgement. For a text-fit warning, editing the text, changing its font or size, or changing the available space can make the warning return. If the change removes the problem altogether, there is no warning to show.

Renaming the presentation, editing speaker notes or moving the slide does not invalidate a text-width review. Reviews are saved inside the presentation, so they travel with that project when you share it. New slides, duplicated slides and slides copied from the template or reusable-slide libraries receive their own review decisions; the existing image-quality review feature continues to work separately.

A reviewed warning is hidden from ordinary reports and ordinary export's warning review. It is still available through Reviewed. This does not change how errors are reported, and it is not a guarantee that every part of a slide is accessible.

Read a result.

The Results List Box gives each finding's severity, slide number and short message. Findings follow the presentation's slide order. When structural checks and PowerPoint measurements are combined, all findings for slide 1 come before those for slide 2, and so on. A table's information stays with its own slide. The text report follows the same order. To examine one:

Step 1. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose All or the category to review.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a finding.

Step 5. Press Enter to open its explanation.

Step 6. Focus moves directly to its read-only explanation Edit Field. Read with Up or Down Arrow, and use Control+Home to return to the beginning.

Step 7. Press Escape to close the explanation and return to the Results List Box. You can select another finding with Up or Down Arrow.

A report opens directly in its normal read-only Edit Field, with focus and the reading position at the beginning. You do not need to activate a Read report Button. Read, select and copy text with your usual commands. Tab moves to the Copy report Button and then the other available Buttons. Press Enter or Space to activate a focused Button. Shift+Tab moves back. Escape closes the report and returns to the control that opened it.

This applies to reports such as conversion results, formatting descriptions, image quality, accessibility checks and AI slide reviews. Reports which offer an action still let you review the text before choosing that action.

To read or copy the complete report:

Step 1. Press Control+5 to enter Results.

Step 2. Tab until the Read full report Button has focus.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Read the report with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 5. To copy the complete text, press Control+A to select it. If you want only one passage, select that passage with Shift and your usual text-navigation keys instead.

Step 6. Press Control+C to copy the selected text.

Step 7. Press Escape to close the report. If you only need to copy the complete current report, Alt+Y from the Results workspace does so directly.

The Copy report Button also copies the complete current report to the Windows clipboard.

Go to an item.

Step 1. Press Control+5.

Step 2. Choose the desired Severity with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 4. Select a finding with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 5. If needed, press Enter to read its details.

Step 6. Press Escape to return from the details to the Results List Box.

Step 7. Press F8. Focus moves to the slide and editing area associated with that finding.

Step 8. Make the correction, accepting an editor with its Save Button or applying a style with Control+Alt+A as appropriate.

Step 9. Press Control+F7 to check again.

Step 10. Press Control+S to save the project.

F8 or Go to item takes you to the slide and relevant editing area. A title issue leads to the title field. An image issue selects the appropriate image. A style issue leads to Styles and loads the selected slide's effective formatting.

Navigation alone does not fix anything. Read the current value, make the intended correction and save or apply it in the usual way.

Use Repair options.

Continue in Repair options may change something directly or open a process which needs more choices. Read what it will do before continuing. Depending on the finding, it can open image-quality review, offer a layout, begin splitting content or reset an invalid reading order.

Step 1. In Results, select a finding with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 2. Press Enter to read its explanation.

Step 3. Press Escape to return to the List Box.

Step 4. Press Control+Alt+Shift+R for Repair options.

Step 5. Read the explanation of the finding and what Continue will do.

Step 6. To proceed, Tab to the Continue to item or repair Button. To cancel without changes, press Escape instead.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space on Continue when ready.

Step 8. If a dialog opens, read its controls and follow the relevant workflow in this guide. Shift+F1 explains the focused control; Escape closes that help. Escape in the repair dialog cancels its pending choices.

Step 9. After accepting a repair, press Control+F7 to check again.

Step 10. Use Control+Z for an unintended reversible project change, or Control+S to save the result.

Repair options, Control+Alt+Shift+R, first explains the available action for the selected result. Depending on the finding, it may open image quality review, offer a layout choice, start splitting crowded content, or reset an invalid reading order.

Other findings lead you to the item with a request to review and edit it. PresentAble cannot automatically write the right title for your argument or decide what a particular image means to your audience.

After you choose Continue, the action may change something directly or open a workflow requiring your choices. Read the result first and use Undo for a reversible project change you did not intend.

Structural estimates and PowerPoint measurements.

The ordinary check estimates text fit using the selected font, font size, word wrapping, bullet indentation, manual line breaks, spacing and available space. It warns when the estimated text height nearly fills the area, or a line is close to the right edge. It also identifies a bullet or text item estimated to occupy four or more lines, or containing forty or more words. These are prompts to review the content, not rules that every presentation must follow. A long item may fit but still be difficult for an audience to follow. Consider keeping its main point on the slide and moving supporting detail into speaker notes. These checks cannot reproduce every detail of how a font renders in PowerPoint.

Export and analyse uses desktop PowerPoint to measure the actual space taken by the text and other slide content. This can reveal clipping (part of an item being cut off), overflow (content extending beyond its available space) or collisions (objects overlapping). These measured results complement the structural checks, which inspect the project’s content and arrangement without those PowerPoint measurements.

The measured report distinguishes text near the width limit, text crowded vertically and text that overflows. Near width limit means a rendered line uses at least ninety per cent of the available width. It does not by itself mean that text is cut off. Overflow means the measured text exceeds the available width or height; read the detail to find out which.

Work through findings after editing.

You can correct several slides before running another PowerPoint analysis. Results and the rendered report remain available during this work. Local estimates update after an edit. Previous measurements for a changed slide are labelled for rechecking; they do not certify that your correction has worked. Findings follow their slides if you move them, and findings for a deleted slide leave the list.

Step 1. Run Export and Analyse with Control+E and choose the output file.

Step 2. After analysis finishes, press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box. Choose All or Warning with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Results List Box. Choose a finding with Up or Down Arrow. Press Enter to read its detail, then Escape to return.

Step 4. Press F8 to go to the affected slide or item. Make your correction, saving the item with its Save Button where applicable. Press Enter or Space to activate a focused Button.

Step 5. Press Control+5, then Tab to the Results List Box. The earlier measurements are still available. A changed slide’s findings say “Previous analysis; recheck this slide”. Continue to another finding with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 6. Repeat the review and correction for the other slides. Repair options on a previous-analysis finding takes you to the current item for review; it does not automatically act on an out-of-date measurement.

Step 7. When ready, press Control+E to export and measure the revised presentation. In the File name Edit Field, press Enter to accept the filename, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. Answer any existing-file replacement prompt. The new successful analysis replaces the previous measurements.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save your presentation.

Control+F7 switches Results to current local checks. The separate Rendered report remains available with Control+Alt+Shift+L. Opening another presentation or closing the app clears these session reports. Copy a report to another document if you need to keep it permanently. If an analysis fails, the last successful report remains available.

24. Exporting and analysing the presentation.

Export PowerPoint.

Exporting creates a separate PowerPoint file for presenting or sharing. It uses the current working presentation, including unsaved edits, but does not save the editable project. Save the project first so you can return to the same work later. To export:

Step 1. Press Control+S to save the project first. Complete any save file dialog.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+E for Export PowerPoint.

Step 3. If Review before export opens, read and answer it using the next section. If there are no errors or warnings, you go straight to the export file dialog.

Step 4. Complete “Choose the output file” below to select the folder and filename, then confirm the file dialogue.

Step 5. Wait for the export to finish. A PowerPoint file saved confirmation is available when short confirmations are enabled. Press Control+Alt+O if you want Windows to open that file.

Step 6. If you recorded a reason for exporting with errors, press Control+S again to retain that decision in the project.

Control+Shift+E exports the full presentation to a .pptx file. The slides use widescreen 16:9 proportions: 16 units wide for every 9 units high. PresentAble’s structured layouts position the material within that space. Titles, text and tables remain PowerPoint objects; pictures carry their descriptions or decorative metadata, and notes go into the notes area. Metadata means stored information about an item, such as the description or decorative status of a picture.

The order of objects is written from Reading order. Exporting does not itself prove that every receiving application will expose all metadata in the same way, so review the exported file in the application your audience or collaborator will use.

The review before export.

The ordinary Export PowerPoint command, Control+Shift+E, runs structural checks before export. It excludes warnings and suggestions whose saved reviews still apply; errors remain subject to the usual review. If there are errors or warnings, Review before export opens with the report and a Continue with these issues action. Export and Analyse, Control+E, and Analyse marked slides skip this review and its typed-reason requirement so you can investigate and correct problems. An analysis export is not confirmation that the presentation is ready to share. Continuing with findings records a decision; it does not repair the problem. Missing or unreadable image data can still prevent the file from being produced.

Step 1. Focus begins in the review's read-only report Edit Field. Read with Up or Down Arrow. Control+Home returns to its beginning.

To correct the findings first, press Escape to return to the Results List Box. F8 takes you to the selected issue. Make the correction, then start the export again. If you intend to export with the findings still present, continue with the following steps instead.

Step 2. Tab to the Continue with these issues Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space.

Step 4. If errors remain, type a meaningful explanation in Reason for exporting with errors Edit Field, where focus begins. An empty reason does not allow export.

Step 5. Tab to the Save Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space to save the reason, or Escape to stop the export.

Step 7. If you continue, the export file dialog opens. Choose its folder and filename using “Choose the output file” in this chapter.

The reason and error list are recorded in the working project; save the project afterwards with Control+S to retain that record.

Choose the output file.

Step 1. In the Export PowerPoint file dialog, select the folder where you want the file. You can retain the starting folder if it is suitable.

Step 2. Tab to the File name Edit Field.

Step 3. Read the proposed name.

Step 4. If replacing it, press Control+A to select it.

Step 5. Type the new name ending in .pptx if required. You can also enter a full path to an existing folder followed by the new filename.

Step 6. Press Enter directly from the File name Edit Field to save, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. If that file already exists, read the overwrite prompt before choosing whether to replace it.

Step 7. Wait for the export to finish before opening or sharing the file. Escape in the file dialog cancels this export.

Both Export PowerPoint and Export and Analyse suggest the saved project's filename with a .pptx extension. For example, Meeting plan.presentable suggests Meeting plan.pptx. If the project has not yet been saved, its Presentation name supplies the suggested filename. Characters which Windows cannot use in a filename are replaced. You can change the suggestion before saving. The starting folder is the Export folder selected in Settings.

Save your .presentable project separately. Export uses the current working presentation, including unsaved edits, but does not act as a project save.

Export and analyse.

Use this option when you want PowerPoint to measure the actual text and object arrangement, particularly after a complex import or substantial font changes. Desktop PowerPoint must be installed for the measurement stage.

Step 1. Press Control+S to save the project.

Step 2. Press Control+E for Export and analyse.

Step 3. Choose the output file using “Choose the output file” in this chapter. Press Enter directly from the File name Edit Field after entering the name, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. This analysis command does not ask you to approve unresolved warnings or type a reason for exporting with errors.

Step 4. Wait while PresentAble exports, then asks desktop PowerPoint to measure the file. When analysis finishes successfully, Results opens.

Step 5. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box.

Step 6. Choose All with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 8. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a finding.

Step 9. Press Enter to read it. Escape closes each detail report.

Step 10. Press Control+Alt+Shift+L if you want the separate measured report.

Step 11. Read with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 12. Press Escape to close it.

Control+E performs the export and then asks locally installed desktop PowerPoint to measure the resulting file. It opens Results when analysis finishes.

If analysis cannot complete, PresentAble reports that separately. A successfully exported PowerPoint file is retained even if the subsequent analysis fails. Structural checks remain available through Control+F7.

Analyse marked slides.

This checks and temporarily exports a marked subset for local PowerPoint analysis. At least one slide must be marked. Findings use the original slide numbers, making this useful when checking a few revised slides. It does not save a permanent PowerPoint file containing only those slides.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. If starting a fresh group, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to clear previous slide marks.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a slide to examine.

Step 4. Press Space to mark it. Repeat the selection and marking for every required slide.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+Shift+E.

Step 6. Analysis begins without a Review before export dialog or a typed reason for unresolved errors. The purpose is to investigate the marked slides, so the findings can still contain problems needing your attention.

Step 7. Wait for local PowerPoint analysis to finish and Results to open.

Step 8. Press Control+5.

Step 9. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose All.

Step 10. Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 11. Select a finding with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 12. Press Enter to read it.

Use the ordinary export command when you need a PowerPoint file for sharing.

Open the last export and read reports.

Control+Alt+O opens the last exported file from the current session if it still exists. Windows chooses the associated application. If no available export has been recorded, PresentAble tells you so.

Control+Alt+Shift+L opens the last Rendered report. Control+Alt+Shift+V opens the import Conversion report. They answer different questions: what PowerPoint measured, and what happened when source material was imported.

When you edit and export again, check which file you are reviewing. An older already-open PowerPoint window may still be showing an earlier copy until that application reloads it.

25. Projects, undo, backups and recovery.

Several features help you keep or recover work, but they have different purposes:

This chapter explains what each feature preserves and how to choose the version you need.

Open a project.

Step 1. Press Control+O. The Open project file dialog appears.

Step 2. In the file dialog, select the .presentable project, or Tab to the File name Edit Field and type its full path.

Step 3. Press Enter directly from the File name Edit Field to open the named file, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space. If your current presentation has unsaved changes, read and answer its save prompt. After a successful open, focus moves to the Slides List Box, or the Add slide Button if the project has no slides.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow in the Slides List Box to select a slide. Enter moves to its title; Control+Shift+J reaches its editing pages.

The picker also offers Accessible Slides .asproj projects and supported JSON project files.

An Accessible Slides project opens for conversion into the PresentAble model. Save it under a PresentAble filename when ready. The normal conversion workflow leaves the original .asproj file available as your reference.

Use Import PowerPoint for a .pptx, Import Word for a .docx, and Import Markdown for Markdown source. Open project and the document import commands have different purposes.

Open a Recent Project.

PresentAble remembers up to ten recent project paths.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+O for Recent projects.

Step 2. Choose a path with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Enter to open it.

If the file has moved, use Control+O to open it from the new location.

Save and Save as.

Control+S saves the working project. If it does not yet have a filename, a save dialog asks for one. Later saves use that path.

To save a separately named copy:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+S for the Save Button as. The save file dialog opens.

Step 2. Choose the destination folder.

Step 3. Tab to the File name Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select the current name.

Step 5. Type a different name ending in .presentable.

Step 6. Press Enter directly from the File name Edit Field to save, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. If an overwrite prompt appears, read it before deciding whether you intend to replace that file.

Step 7. You are now working on the newly named copy. Later Control+S commands save to this new path.

This is useful for making a copy before a substantial revision.

An asterisk in the PresentAble window title indicates unsaved project changes. A dialog such as Save table or Save changes may have accepted edits into the working project without yet writing the project file. Control+S is still needed to save that complete project on disk.

The .presentable file stores the project in JSON, a structured text format, including embedded image data. You can keep or exchange it as one project file. Use the application for normal editing: image data and internal identifiers are not intended to be read as ordinary prose.

Close, New and Exit.

Control+W closes the current project and returns to the opening screen, with focus on the New presentation Button. The editing tabs are hidden until you create, open or import another presentation. Control+N starts a new named presentation. Alt+F4 exits the application.

When an operation would replace or close unsaved work, a save prompt offers Yes, No and Cancel. Yes saves the current project before proceeding. No proceeds without saving those latest changes. Cancel stops the requested operation and leaves you with the current work.

This is a save decision, not the same confirmation as removing an item. Read the wording of the prompt so you know what Enter would accept.

Undo and Redo.

Control+Z undoes a project change. Control+Y redoes a change you have just undone, provided a later edit has not replaced that redo path.

PresentAble keeps up to 30 undo snapshots in memory. A snapshot is a stored state of the project to which Undo can return. Consecutive typing in a title or notes field is grouped into an editing action; each character does not create a separate whole-project undo.

Undo is for the current working session. It is reset when a different project replaces the current one, and it is not restored by closing and reopening the application. It does not reverse an API request, remove an already exported file, or undo a saved application setting.

If you are still inside an editor with unsaved dialog changes, Cancel is the direct way to abandon that editing session. After accepting a project change, Undo provides the next level of recovery.

The previous-save backup.

When you save over an existing project, PresentAble first keeps a copy of the previous file with .bak added to its name. For example:

Our Community Garden.presentable
Our Community Garden.presentable.bak

The .bak file contains the preceding saved version, not the new save you have just made. It is replaced as you continue saving.

To recover the previous save manually, work on a copy of the .bak file. Keep the current project and its original backup intact until you have checked which version contains the work you need. File Explorer must show filename extensions before you rename the copy. If extensions are hidden, enable File name extensions in its View options first.

Step 1. If PresentAble contains current work you want to keep, use Control+Shift+S to save it under a separate name first.

Step 2. In Windows File Explorer, find the .presentable.bak file beside the original project.

Step 3. Select it.

Step 4. Press Control+C to copy it.

Step 5. Move to a different folder.

Step 6. Press Control+V to make the copy. Work on this copy, leaving the originals in place.

Step 7. With the copy selected, press F2 to rename it.

Step 8. Give it a distinct name ending in .presentable, such as Garden-recovered.presentable. Remove the final .bak extension.

Step 9. Press Enter.

Step 10. Read and respond to any Windows extension-change confirmation.

Step 11. Return to PresentAble.

Step 12. Press Control+O to open the renamed copy.

Step 13. Use Control+L and Up or Down Arrow to review which work it contains.

Keep the current project intact until you have checked which version contains the work you need.

Version history.

Repeated manual saves also keep up to 20 earlier versions in a folder beside the project. Its name is the project filename followed by .history.

The first save of a new file has no previous version to archive. Subsequent saves can create history entries. If you move only the project file, its existing separate history folder does not move automatically with it.

The File menu's Restore presentation backup command lets you return the open presentation to an earlier version. This restores the whole presentation, including its slides, notes, links, images, tables, recordings and formatting. It does not combine selected parts of two versions. Before restoring, PresentAble saves and verifies a copy of the current presentation, including any unsaved edits. If it cannot make that copy or read the selected backup, your current work remains open and unchanged.

The backup list uses readable dates and times in your computer's local time, newest first. The date identifies when the backup was made. A copy kept before an earlier restoration is labelled “before restoration”. These copies remain available in the same history folder and are subject to the normal history limit as you continue saving. When there are no history entries, an available previous-save .bak file is offered instead. The additional Backup folder in Settings is separate from this list.

Restoring the open presentation.

Begin with the presentation you want to restore open. If it has never been saved, save it first.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+H, or press Alt+F for File and then B for Restore presentation backup. If there are no backups, PresentAble tells you so.

Step 2. Focus is in the Backups List Box, with the newest entry selected. Use Up Arrow or Down Arrow to choose an earlier date and time. Selecting an entry does not restore it.

Optional: compare the selected backup.

With a backup selected, you can compare it before restoring. In the report, “Saved version” refers to that backup; “Current presentation” includes your open edits. If you do not need a comparison, continue with “Restore the selected backup”.

Step 1. Press Alt+O for Compare to open its report.

Step 2. Read the report with Up Arrow and Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Escape to return to the backup dialogue.

Restore the selected backup.

Continue with the required backup selected in the Backups List Box.

Step 1. Press Alt+R for Restore, or Enter while the Backups List Box has focus.

Step 2. Read the confirmation: the current work will be backed up first, and Yes is initially selected.

Step 3. Press Enter to continue, or choose No to remain in the list without restoring. Escape from the backup dialogue closes it without restoring.

After restoration, focus returns to the Slides List Box with the first slide selected, or the Add slide Button if there are no slides. The project keeps its filename and is marked as changed. The file on disk has not yet been replaced.

Step 4. Review the restored slides and notes.

Step 5. Press Control+S to save this version as the current project, or Control+Shift+S to keep it under another name.

Step 6. If you want to reverse the restoration during this session, press Control+Z before making further edits. If you have already made more changes, those changes are undone first. Alternatively, reopen Restore presentation backup and choose the entry labelled “before restoration” for the work that was open before the restore.

You do not need to save unwanted changes over your project before using Restore. The copy made before restoration preserves those unsaved changes too. Backup copies require disk space, particularly when the presentation contains sound or video.

Keeping a separate copy of an earlier version.

Use this when you want to examine an earlier version without replacing the presentation currently open.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+H.

Step 2. Choose a backup with Up Arrow or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Alt+S for the Save Button separate copy. A standard Save dialog opens, proposing the current filename with -restored added.

Step 4. Choose a separate filename ending in .presentable, outside the current project’s history folder. PresentAble prevents overwriting the current project or selected backup.

Step 5. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to save, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space.

The separate file is now saved, but the open presentation has not changed.

Step 6. Press Escape to close the backup list.

Step 7. Use Control+O when you want to open the separate copy, answering any save prompt for your current presentation.

Example: returning to an earlier garden slide.

Use the slide-building methods in Chapter 7 for this practice project.

Step 1. Create a presentation named Garden backup practice.

Step 2. Add a Title and bullets slide.

Step 3. Give it the title Garden plans.

Step 4. Add a bullet reading “Plant roses beside the gate.”

Step 5. Press Control+S to save the presentation.

Step 6. Edit the bullet to read “Plant lavender beside the gate.”

Step 7. Press Control+S again. The previous version containing roses is now kept in history.

Step 8. Edit the bullet once more, changing lavender to tulips. Leave this change unsaved.

Step 9. Press Control+Shift+H.

Step 10. Select the newest backup.

Step 11. Optionally, press Alt+O for Compare to read the difference between the saved roses and current tulips.

Step 12. If you opened Compare, press Escape to return.

Step 13. Press Alt+R.

Step 14. Press Enter to confirm Yes. The restored slide contains roses; the unsaved tulips version is preserved in a new backup labelled “before restoration”.

Step 15. Press Control+Z to return to the tulips version. This demonstrates that restoring can be undone. Alternatively, keep the restored roses version and press Control+S to save it as the current project.

Optional additional backups.

A Backup folder in Settings adds another copy to the saving process. After a successful project save, PresentAble attempts to put a dated copy of that newly saved project there. This is separate from the previous-save .bak file and history beside the project.

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+1 for Folders.

Step 3. Tab to the Backup folder Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select its existing contents.

Step 5. Type the folder path. Alternatively, Tab to the Browse backup folder Button, activate it with Enter or Space, and choose a folder.

Step 6. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space to retain the preference and close Settings.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save your project. That save also attempts to create the additional dated backup.

This is additional to the previous-save .bak and the version-history folder. The dated backup folder does not use the same 20-entry retention limit as project history; manage its space as needed.

A backup failure can be reported even when the main project save succeeded. Read the report to distinguish a saved project with an unsuccessful extra backup from a failed project save. If the project itself cannot be saved, the edits remain open so you can choose another writable location.

Recovery of unsaved work.

While there are unsaved project changes, PresentAble periodically writes a recovery copy. The default interval is 60 seconds. This does not overwrite the named project file or replace Control+S; it can recover work only as far as the last completed recovery save. To change the interval:

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2 for Speech and recovery.

Step 3. Press Alt+I to reach the Recovery save interval in seconds Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select the current interval.

Step 5. Type a whole number from 15 to 3,600 without a thousands separator. For example, 60 means one minute.

Step 6. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space. Escape instead discards pending settings edits.

At the next startup, PresentAble offers to recover available unsaved work. If you accept, review it and save the project. If you decline, a dated recovery copy is retained rather than immediately discarded.

Recovery contains the working presentation. It does not necessarily contain text still being drafted in a dialog you have not accepted, or Markdown merely typed into the Import field without conversion. Accept useful edits into the project and save regularly.

PresentAble stores settings, recovery files and your personal spelling dictionary in %APPDATA%\PresentAble for your Windows account. %APPDATA% refers to that account’s application-data folder. This is separate from the program in Program Files, and named projects can be stored elsewhere. You do not need administrator rights to edit presentations or save settings after installation. Avoid running development and installed copies against the same settings folder at the same time.

Compare another project.

Begin with the presentation you want to use as the current version open.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+K for Compare project.

Step 2. Select the other saved project in the file dialogue, or Tab to the File name Edit Field and enter its full path.

Step 3. Press Enter from File name Edit Field to open it, or Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Focus moves to the read-only comparison report Edit Field. Use Up or Down Arrow to read the differences and Control+Home to return to its beginning.

To keep a report copy, press Control+A and then Control+C while its text has focus.

Step 5. Press Escape to close the report and return to the current presentation.

The report includes changes to presentation content and formatting, including notes, image information, tables and reading order. Lines prefixed with a minus sign belong to the compared saved version; lines prefixed with a plus sign belong to the current presentation. Context lines help locate the change.

Comparison is read-only. It does not merge the two files or select which author's changes should win. Use it to decide what to carry across manually.

Working with another person.

Chapter 36 gives complete handover procedures, including cloud folders, recordings, reusable libraries and optional backup history. Give your collaborator the .presentable project when they need to continue editing in PresentAble. Give them the .pptx export when they need the PowerPoint presentation. You may want to provide both.

Use separately named project copies for revisions, such as Garden-Brian.presentable and Garden-review.presentable. Agree which copy is the next working version. Editing the same file simultaneously does not provide a live collaboration or automatic merge workflow.

Image data is normally embedded in the saved project, so the collaborator does not need the original image paths. Missing-source placeholders still need to be completed. Font availability can differ between computers, so check the exported appearance where it will be used.

Application preferences belong to your Windows account's %APPDATA%\PresentAble folder, rather than to each project. A key saved in PresentAble is held separately in Windows Credential Manager for the Windows account. If no PresentAble key is saved, the app can use an existing Leasey key on that computer. Neither key is transferred with a project or included in the installer.

26. Settings, one page at a time.

Settings contains application preferences: choices such as starting folders, speech guidance and the style used for new presentations. Press Control+Comma to open it. Its five pages are Folders, Speech and recovery, Formatting defaults, OpenAI preferences and API connection.

Use these shortcuts from anywhere within Settings to select one of its five pages and place focus directly in its first usable control:

Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move between controls. When the page tabs are focused, use Left and Right Arrow to select a page, then Tab to enter it. Control+Tab and Control+Shift+Tab move between the nearest set of pages and place focus in the newly selected page. Formatting defaults contains its own nested formatting pages, so the nearest set there may be that inner set. Control+Shift+1 through to Control+Shift+5 always select the main Settings category, including when focus is inside that inner set.

For a predictable starting point, Control+Shift+3 selects Title text even if you last visited Content text or Spacing and background. Switching pages leaves your pending edits intact. Pressing the shortcut for the page you are already using returns focus to its first control.

Only the five main Settings pages have direct shortcut keys. Individual fields, Check Boxes and Buttons do not have Alt-letter commands. Use Tab or Shift+Tab to reach them, Space to change a Check Box and Enter or Space to activate a Button. Normal text-editing and help keys remain available.

Shift+F1 gives detailed help for the current control. You can keep this guide open separately while working through Settings.

Save settings accepts the ordinary settings changes. Cancel or Escape discards changes not yet saved. The API key Buttons are an exception: they act immediately, and the API connection page explains that distinction.

Folders.

A starting folder is where a file dialogue first looks or proposes to save. Changing that setting does not move existing files. To change one:

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+1. Focus begins in the Projects folder Edit Field.

Step 3. Use Tab or Shift+Tab to reach the folder path Edit Field you want to change. The individual folder controls do not have direct shortcut keys.

Step 4. Press Control+A to select the existing path.

Step 5. Type the folder path you want. Alternatively, Tab to its Browse Button, activate it with Enter or Space, choose a folder, then Tab to the OK Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 6. Repeat the folder-entry procedure for any other paths you want to change.

Step 7. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space to save, or Escape to cancel pending changes.

The six folders have different purposes:

Projects folder supplies the starting location for project Open and Save dialogs where applicable. It does not move projects you have already saved elsewhere.

Export folder supplies the starting location for exported PowerPoint files. You can choose another location in an individual export dialog.

Images folder is the starting location when adding or replacing an image from your computer, and when using Save image copy on the Source page of Image properties. You can choose another folder in each file dialog. Images added to a project are embedded in the project file; a separate image file is written only when you choose Save image copy. That command suggests the image's existing filename and saves its original source pixels, without permanently applying the crop used to display it on the slide.

Backup folder enables the extra dated backup copy after manual saves. Leave it empty if you do not want that additional backup location. The normal previous-save backup and project history are separate functions.

Templates folder is the library used by Save project as template and New from template. Reusable slides folder is the library used by Save selected slide as reusable, Save marked slides as reusable and Insert reusable slide. Leave either empty to use its default folder within PresentAble user data. The default folder names are Templates and Reusable slides. In the Portable edition, these are inside the Data folder beside the program. Each default library folder is created when you first save an entry. Chapters 34 and 35 explain these libraries.

Each path has an Edit Field and a Browse Button. You can type a path or use Browse to choose a folder. Choose folders you can write to for saved projects, exports, backups and library entries. Leaving the Projects, Export and Images fields empty allows their file dialogs to use the usual starting location. Changing a folder setting does not move existing files; copy them into the new folder if you wish to use the same library there.

Choose Save settings to keep the changes. Merely browsing to a different folder in Settings does not relocate existing files.

Speech and recovery.

Use this page to choose spoken hints and shortcut reminders, and whether to receive action confirmations and progress messages in speech and Braille. F4 remains available for Braille guidance in either mode. To adjust the settings:

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2. Focus starts on the Speak short confirmations Check Box, and JAWS announces its state.

Step 3. Press Space if you want to change Speak short confirmations.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Announce progress Check Box.

Step 5. Read its state, then use Space only if you want to change it.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Guidance Combo Box.

Step 7. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Guided for additional spoken hints or Standard without them.

Step 8. Press Tab to the Announce shortcut keys Check Box.

Step 9. Read its state, then press Space only if you want to change it.

Step 10. If you also want to change the recovery interval, press Tab to the Recovery save interval Edit Field.

Step 11. Use Control+A before entering the replacement number of seconds.

Step 12. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 13. Press Enter or Space, or Escape to discard the pending changes.

Clear the Recent-Project List.

This clears remembered entries, not the project files. With Speech and recovery open:

Step 1. Press Tab until the Clear recent files Button has focus.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space.

Step 3. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space to retain the emptied list, or Escape to cancel this pending change.

Speak short confirmations controls messages such as item added, image updated and project saved. Check it to receive these confirmations in speech and Braille, or uncheck it to suppress them. JAWS still reads the ordinary control information.

Announce progress controls additional messages in supported workflows. While creating an image, speech and Braille say “ChatGPT is creating the image.” every 15 seconds. During the following description request, the message changes to “ChatGPT is describing the image.” These reminders work in Standard and Guided modes independently of Speak short confirmations. They stop when the request finishes, fails or you stop waiting, and pause while you read requested help. Uncheck Announce progress to disable them. Other spoken milestone confirmations still require Speak short confirmations. Update downloads remain quiet.

Guidance offers Guided and Standard. Guided is the default for new settings and adds short spoken hints when you move to controls. Standard turns those spoken hints off. Your saved choice remains in effect between sessions. The Guidance setting is independent of Speak short confirmations and does not affect F4.

Announce shortcut keys is independent of Guidance. When checked, it speaks the documented key when you move to a control, if that control has a shortcut. Guided mode also speaks a short explanation of the control. Standard mode omits that explanation. Uncheck Announce shortcut keys if you do not want these spoken keyboard reminders; your Guidance choice remains in effect.

Press F4 to request the focused control's shortcut and hint in Braille. This works in either mode and whether Announce shortcut keys is checked or unchecked. A control without a shortcut provides its hint alone. Press a cursor routing key to return to the focused control's information.

Recovery save interval in seconds accepts a whole number from 15 to 3,600. The default is 60. A shorter interval reduces the time between recovery snapshots of unsaved project changes. It does not turn recovery into a manual project save.

Clear recent files empties the remembered recent-project list. It does not delete any project files. Save settings keeps the emptied list; Cancel discards that pending settings change.

Formatting defaults.

Formatting defaults supplies the starting style for future presentations. It does not change the presentation already open. Its Title text, Content text, and Spacing and background pages have the kinds of controls explained in Chapter 21. Use Styles and Apply formatting to change the current project.

To change these defaults:

Step 1. Open Settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+3. Focus begins in the Font family Combo Box on Title text.

Step 3. Choose the title font with Up or Down Arrow or by typing its first letters.

Step 4. Tab through the Size in points Edit Field, the Bold and Italic Check Boxes, and the Alignment, Vertical alignment and Text colour Combo Boxes to review and change the required settings. Use Control+A before replacing a number, Space for a Check Box and Up or Down Arrow for a Combo Box.

Step 5. From a field on Title text, press Control+Tab to enter Content text at the Font family Combo Box.

Step 6. Choose the content settings in the same way.

Step 7. From a field on Content text, press Control+Tab to enter Spacing and background at the Line spacing Edit Field.

Step 8. Tab through its controls to choose spacing, margins and background colour.

Step 9. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space to keep the new defaults, or Escape to leave the saved defaults unchanged.

Restore Standard Formatting Defaults.

This loads standard values into the fields. You still choose whether to save them.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+3.

Step 2. Tab until the Restore standard formatting Button has focus.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space to load the values.

Step 4. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 5. Press Enter or Space to save the choice, or Escape to discard it.

The Text colour and Background colour Combo Boxes offer the same named choices as Styles. Their following hexadecimal fields remain available for precise values. Changes are pending until Save settings; Cancel leaves the saved defaults unchanged. Restore standard formatting updates both the named choices and the exact fields together.

Restore standard formatting loads PresentAble's standard values into these settings fields: Verdana, 36-point bold titles, 28-point regular content, black text, white background, left alignment, line spacing 1, paragraph spacing 8 points and margins 18 points. Save settings keeps that choice; Cancel leaves the previously saved default in place.

OpenAI preferences.

These optional preferences supply starting choices for OpenAI requests. Saving them does not send a request. Description emphasis supplies guidance about what to describe; Vision model and Image model name the AI systems used for different tasks.

Skip image request review changes the image-creation workflow. When checked, Create image sends two paid requests directly: one to create the picture and one to describe it. You still review the finished image before adding it to a slide. Other OpenAI commands retain their request review.

Step 1. Open Settings with Control+Comma.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+4. Focus begins in the Description emphasis Edit Field.

Step 3. Type the emphasis you want to offer as a starting point. To replace the existing wording, press Control+A first. Enter inserts a line break in this field.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Vision model Edit Field. Leave it unchanged unless choosing a different supported model; use Control+A before replacing its name.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Image model Edit Field. Review or change it in the same way.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Skip image request review Check Box.

Step 7. Read its state. It is unchecked initially.

Step 8. Press Space if you want to change it. Check it to submit image requests without the review screen, or uncheck it to restore that review.

Step 9. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space to save preferences, or Escape to discard the edits. This does not send an image request.

Description emphasis supplies optional starting guidance for an image-description request. For example, “Concentrate on the route through the entrance and any visible steps” may be useful for an access presentation. You can review or change the emphasis for an individual request.

Vision model names the model used for image descriptions, crop suggestions and visual reviews. Image model names the model requested for picture generation. These are editable model-name fields, rather than a live catalogue of all models available to your account.

Changing a model name does not test it or send your presentation anywhere. Availability and supported request options depend on the service and account used. If a configured model is unavailable, the request can fail; review the error rather than assuming that saving the setting confirmed compatibility.

Choose Save settings to retain these preferences. You do not need to configure them for ordinary local editing or PowerPoint export.

API connection.

Control+Alt+Shift+K opens Settings directly at API connection. While Settings is already open, Control+Shift+5 selects this page and focuses OpenAI API key directly. This page identifies which key source is available and provides a protected OpenAI API key Edit Field. The status tells you whether PresentAble is using its own saved key, using an existing Leasey key, or has found neither. No saved or decoded key is displayed.

PresentAble always gives priority to a key saved through its own Save key Button. When there is no such key, it checks C:\leaseydata\chat\access.ini for the key already used by Leasey. PresentAble reads and decodes that key internally. It does not change Leasey's file, copy the key into Windows Credential Manager, or put the key into its settings, project, documentation or installer.

For example, if you already use OpenAI through Leasey on this computer, open API connection. If the status says that the existing Leasey key is being used, leave the protected key field empty. There is nothing to copy or save. You can use Test connection when you want to check whether OpenAI accepts the key. Finding a key in the file is a local check, not proof that the account can use the service. Opening Settings itself sends nothing to OpenAI.

If Leasey is not installed, or its key file is missing, PresentAble still works as a standalone application. You can enter a separate key using the key-saving steps in this section. If Leasey's file cannot be read or decoded, the page gives a short explanation without showing its contents; you can save a separate PresentAble key instead.

Save key stores a separate PresentAble key immediately, giving it priority over any Leasey key. Cancel in Settings does not undo the save, and Save settings alone does not store a key left in the field. To save one:

Step 1. From the main window, press Control+Alt+Shift+K to open API connection. If Settings is already open, press Control+Shift+5. Focus begins in the protected OpenAI API key Edit Field.

Step 2. Type or paste the key. It remains protected in this field.

Step 3. Tab to the Save key Button.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space. Windows Credential Manager stores the key immediately and the input field is emptied.

Testing uses the stored key, so save a newly typed key first. To test it now:

Step 5. Tab to the Test connection Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space.

Step 7. Read the result.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space on OK to close the message.

Step 9. Press Escape to close Settings if you have no ordinary preference changes to save. This does not undo saving the key.

The saved secret is not displayed back in the field. Save settings alone is not the command for storing a key you have just typed.

Test connection makes a request using PresentAble's saved key, or the existing Leasey key when no PresentAble key is saved, to check access to the model-list endpoint. It does not send your slides or generate an image. An accepted connection test does not verify credit, billing or access to every model.

Removing a PresentAble key takes effect immediately and is not undone by Cancel in Settings. It does not remove or change Leasey’s file. If a Leasey key is available, subsequent requests use it instead and the status identifies that source. To remove the PresentAble key:

Step 1. Open API connection with Control+Alt+Shift+K from the main window, or Control+Shift+5 from within Settings.

Step 2. Tab to the Remove key Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space.

Step 4. Read the confirmation.

Step 5. Press Enter to accept the default Yes Button. To retain the key, press Tab to the No Button, then press Enter or Space. The removal takes effect immediately if confirmed.

If OpenAI rejects a PresentAble key, the app reports the error. It does not automatically try Leasey's key as a second request. To return to using Leasey's key, remove the PresentAble key deliberately, then check the status before making another request.

Save key and Remove key take effect immediately. Cancel on the surrounding Settings dialog does not undo those actions. Ordinary settings edits still require Save settings to keep them; Cancel discards them.

The key is not stored in a .presentable project or included in the installer. Another person using the optional service features needs their own appropriate connection, either a key saved in PresentAble for their Windows account or an existing Leasey key on their computer. Sharing the installer does not share your key.

An older build cannot save the API key.

If an older build reports that bytes cannot be converted to Unicode when you choose Save key, use PresentAble version 0.1.16 or later and save the key again. This was a problem in PresentAble's Windows credential-saving code, before any request reached OpenAI. The message did not assess the key or the account balance. You do not need to replace a key merely because of that message.

27. Optional OpenAI functions.

The Images menu contains four optional functions: create an image, describe an image, suggest a crop and review a slide. They can help with particular authoring tasks, but all proposed results need your review.

You can add your own pictures, write alternative text, adjust crops and complete a presentation without using them.

Review a request before sending it.

The review lets you check what will be sent before committing to a paid request. It is not a price quote or a spending cap. Preparing a request and opening this review do not send it; submission remains disabled until you check approval. Cancel is the default action, so move explicitly to Submit request when you intend to send.

By default, each paid workflow opens a request review before submission. The details identify the destination, model, prompt and material to be sent. Image creation opens Review paid image requests, covering two paid requests: create one image, then describe that returned image. It shows both models and prompts, together with the generation dimensions and quality. The other workflows use Review paid OpenAI request for their single request. Skip image request review, on the OpenAI preferences page in Settings, bypasses this screen only for new images and generated replacements.

Step 1. When either request review opens, focus begins directly in the read-only Request details Edit Field. There is no Read request Button to activate.

Step 2. Press Control+Home to reach the beginning of the Request details Edit Field.

Step 3. Read the complete text with Up or Down Arrow or your usual JAWS commands. Check the prompt, model and included material.

To leave without sending, press Escape. To continue:

Step 4. Press Tab to the I approve this paid request Check Box, or the I approve these two paid requests Check Box for image creation.

Step 5. Press Space to check it.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Submit request Button, or the Submit requests Button for image creation.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space to send.

Step 8. Wait for the result, or use Stop waiting as described in the next section.

The dialog explains that the API request may incur usage charges and does not provide a fixed quote or spending cap. Its wording distinguishes this API use from the ChatGPT application. Use the account and service arrangements appropriate to you before choosing to submit.

PresentAble does not automatically retry a failed or timed-out paid request. Image creation uses one generation request followed by one description request. You submit them through the request review or directly with Create image when you have saved the preference to skip that review. Other workflows use one request. If you choose to submit again manually, treat that as another paid operation.

Stop waiting.

While waiting for an approved request, Stop waiting or Escape stops the app waiting for the result. A request already submitted may still complete remotely and may still be billed. Stopping the local wait is not a guarantee of cancelling the service's work.

No late result is automatically inserted into the presentation after you stop waiting. During image creation, stopping prevents the description request from starting. During the description stage, the image has already been received: stopping opens it for review with a blank Alternative Edit Field. You can enter your own words, save an image copy from Source, or cancel the candidate. Saving the reviewed image remains your choice.

Create an image.

Describe a picture which will help explain your slide’s subject. Audience and Purpose give the request more context: who will see it and what the picture should communicate. Visual style describes the kind of image you want, such as a photograph.

The size choices are landscape (1536 by 1024 pixels), square (1024 by 1024 pixels) and portrait (1024 by 1536 pixels). Landscape is wider than it is tall; portrait is taller than it is wide. Quality is separate from these dimensions: increasing Quality does not enlarge the selected pixel dimensions.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+Shift+I for Create with OpenAI.

Step 4. Focus begins in the What should the image show Edit Field. This is required. For the community garden example, type “A small community garden with raised beds and a wide level path on a bright spring morning”.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Audience Edit Field.

Step 6. Enter who the presentation is for, such as “Neighbours attending a community meeting”.

Step 7. Press Tab to the Purpose Edit Field.

Step 8. Enter what the picture should communicate, such as “Show that the garden is welcoming and easy to move through”.

Step 9. Press Tab to the Visual style Edit Field.

Step 10. Read its starting value.

Step 11. If replacing it, press Control+A.

Step 12. Type the treatment you want, such as “A clear photograph”, if changing it.

Step 13. Press Tab to the Include this slide's title and content Check Box. It starts unchecked.

Step 14. Press Space only if those words should be included. This choice does not include speaker notes or existing images.

Step 15. Press Tab to the Quality Combo Box.

Step 16. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose low, medium or high.

Step 17. Press Tab to the Image size Combo Box.

Step 18. Choose landscape, square or portrait with Up or Down Arrow.

Submit the Image-Creation Requests.

Continue here after preparing the image request. By default, the next Button is Review request. If Skip image request review is checked in OpenAI preferences, it is Create image instead: Enter or Space on that Button, or Alt+R, submits both paid requests immediately. Escape before submission cancels without sending anything.

With the default review enabled:

Step 1. Tab to the Review request Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space, or use Alt+R. Review paid image requests opens with the Request details Edit Field focused; nothing has been sent.

Step 3. Read the generation prompt, settings and predicted fitted resolution, followed by the description model and prompt. The second request sends only the returned image and description prompt, without the original request or slide context. Both requests can incur charges.

Step 4. Tab to the I approve these two paid requests Check Box.

Step 5. Press Space to check it if you want to proceed.

Step 6. Press Alt+S to activate Submit requests.

Review the Generated Image.

After submission, wait while the image is created and described. If Announce progress is enabled, speech and Braille identify the current stage every 15 seconds. Review generated image then opens with the Alternative text Edit Field focused. Its text describes the actual returned picture; it is not a copy of the picture you requested.

Step 1. Press Control+Home in Alternative text.

Step 2. Read the proposed description with your normal text-reading keys.

Step 3. Edit the wording as needed.

Step 4. Review decorative status and crop using Chapters 17 and 18. There is no need to run Describe image again merely to obtain the initial description.

If description fails, a message explains that the image was created but could not be described. The image is still available in the review dialog, with Alternative text empty. You can supply your own wording, save the image through Source, or cancel. A description can be imperfect even when the request succeeds; use your judgement when assessing the result.

Step 5. Press Alt+S for the Save changes Button.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow in Choose image layout to select the arrangement.

Step 7. Press Enter to accept it. Escape in either result dialogue cancels adding the image.

Step 8. Focus returns to the Images List Box with the new image selected. Press Control+S to save the project.

The predicted resolution uses the proposed slide arrangement. Changing the layout or crop later can change the fitted resolution even though the source dimensions stay the same.

The quality-review workflow also offers Create replacement with OpenAI for a selected existing image. That route replaces the selected image after you accept the returned properties, rather than adding another one. Cancelling result review does not undo a service request which has already run.

Propose alternative text for an image.

Accepting a proposed description makes the image informative rather than decorative. Review the words before saving: an automated description is a draft, not proof that every identified object or word is correct.

This describes a picture already in your presentation. It is separate from Create with OpenAI, which generates a new picture. The Images page has a Describe image with OpenAI Button, and the same command is on the Images menu. You can also open the Command Centre with Control+Shift+C and search for “alternative text” or “describe image”.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Select Images with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Images List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the image.

Step 7. Press Control+Alt+Shift+D, or Tab to the Describe image with OpenAI Button and press Enter or Space.

Step 8. Focus begins in the Optional emphasis Edit Field, containing your saved Description emphasis preference. Read it, then edit as needed. Control+A selects the whole field if you want to replace it; Control+A followed by Backspace leaves it empty.

Step 9. Tab to the Save Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space. This accepts the emphasis and opens request review; it does not save the project or send the request.

Step 11. Follow the request-review procedure at the start of this chapter. This workflow sends a standardised copy of the selected image and the description prompt, including your emphasis. It does not attach other slides, notes or the project file. Approve and submit if suitable.

Step 12. Wait for Review proposed alternative text, with focus in its Edit Field.

Step 13. Press Control+Home.

Step 14. Read with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 15. Correct misread text, remove unsupported claims and adjust the wording to suit the slide’s purpose.

Step 16. Tab to the Save Button.

Step 17. Press Enter or Space to apply the description, or Escape to keep the existing description.

Step 18. Press Control+S in the main window to save an accepted description in the project.

Suggest a crop.

A crop chooses a rectangular area of the original image to display. It does not regenerate a screenshot or redraw its text. It can leave out a taskbar along an edge, but cannot erase an object in the middle while retaining everything around it. The service may explain that no suitable crop could be found.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Images with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Images List Box.

Step 6. Use Up or Down Arrow to select the image.

Step 7. Press Control+Alt+Shift+C for Suggest crop with OpenAI.

Step 8. Focus begins in the Crop instructions Edit Field. Type a request such as “Remove the Windows taskbar along the bottom, keeping the entire application window”. You can describe an area to retain instead, or leave the field empty for an automatic suggestion.

Step 9. Tab to the Save Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space. This accepts the instructions and opens paid-request review; it does not send a request or change the image.

Step 11. Follow “Review a request before sending it” in this chapter. Read the disclosure and submit only if you want to send this source image and these instructions.

Step 12. Wait for Review crop proposal. Read its text with Up or Down Arrow, including the proposed percentages and quality information. The service may explain that a suitable crop could not be found.

Step 13. If you want to accept a proposed crop, Tab to the Apply proposed crop Button.

Step 14. Press Enter or Space to apply it, or Escape to keep the current crop.

Step 15. Press Control+S to save an accepted crop. Control+Z in the main window can undo the applied project change.

The Images page and Images menu also contain this command. In the Command Centre, search for “crop” or “taskbar”. A blank instruction requests an automatic suggestion which keeps important image content, including meaningful screenshot text and controls.

Review crop proposal includes your instructions, the percentages removed from each edge and the resulting quality information. A crop requested in words keeps the exact proposed rectangle, rather than expanding it to the frame's shape and potentially putting the unwanted edge back. The cropped image fits the available frame without distortion, so there may be unused space around it. A blank instruction retains the earlier automatic behaviour, which expands a suggested important region towards the frame's aspect ratio when possible.

Choose Apply proposed crop to accept, or cancel to keep the current crop. Undo reverses an applied crop. The original image remains embedded; Fit in Image properties restores the whole source. Save image copy writes that original source, not a new file with the crop permanently applied. Use the exported slide or Review slide with OpenAI to assess the displayed crop. Cropping does not add resolution or recreate missing detail.

Review a rendered slide.

This reviews a picture of the completed slide. Desktop PowerPoint is required to create that picture locally before the OpenAI request. The returned report offers advice; it does not directly change the slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+Shift+Y for Review slide with OpenAI. Wait while desktop PowerPoint renders the slide locally.

Step 4. When the paid-request review opens, use the procedure at the start of this chapter to read it. Approve and submit only if you want the rendered slide sent.

Step 5. Wait for the review report. Focus goes directly to its read-only Edit Field. Use Up or Down Arrow to read it and Control+Home to return to the beginning.

To copy the report, press Control+A and then Control+C in its Edit Field.

Step 6. Press Escape when finished to return to the main window.

After the local render, the request review explains that the rendered slide image, including visible text and pictures, will be sent with calculated image facts. Speaker notes, other slides and the project file are not attached as part of this workflow.

Read the request and decide whether to submit. The returned report comments on matters such as clipping, crowding, balance and apparent readability. It is advice in a report; it does not directly change your slide.

Distinguish measured facts, such as the app's source-pixel calculations, from the service's interpretation of the picture. Review any recommendation before changing the project. You can keep the slide unchanged if the advice does not identify a useful improvement.

28. A suggested practice session.

When you are ready to explore further, work on a copy of the community garden project. Try one addition at a time. This session brings together the detailed procedures in the earlier chapters.

Step 1. Press Control+O.

Step 2. Select the community garden project, or type its full path in File name Edit Field.

Step 3. Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space, or press Enter directly from File name Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Control+Shift+S.

Step 5. In File name Edit Field, use Control+A to select the proposed name.

Step 6. Type a separate name such as Garden-practice.presentable.

Step 7. Press Enter from File name Edit Field, or Tab to the Save Button and press Enter or Space. You are now working on the practice copy.

Practise Images and Cropping.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N.

Step 2. Choose Image only with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Enter.

Step 4. Type a title.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+I to add a photograph, following Chapter 17 to select its file, write alternative text and accept it.

Step 6. With the image selected in the Images List Box, press Enter for its properties.

Step 7. Press Control+Tab to reach Crop.

Step 8. Compare Fit and Centre using Up or Down Arrow. Chapter 18 explains the choices.

Step 9. Press Alt+S to accept one.

Step 10. On Images, Tab to the Quality review Button.

Step 11. Press Enter or Space to open its report.

Step 12. Read the effect of the crop, then close the report with Escape.

Practise a Table and Formatting.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N.

Step 2. Choose Table with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Enter.

Step 4. Type a title such as “Garden activities”.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+T and follow Chapter 19 to enter a small table. Practise Alt+R for the Rows List Box, Alt+U for the Column Combo Box and Alt+T for the Cell text Edit Field.

Step 6. Press Alt+S to save the table.

Step 7. Press Enter on the table in Tables to reopen it.

Step 8. Use Alt+R, Alt+U and Alt+T to find a value again.

Step 9. Press Escape to close without further changes.

Step 10. Follow the Arial example in Chapter 21. Control+3 reaches Styles, Control+Alt+A applies the prepared style, and Control+Shift+F describes the result. Escape closes the report. Use Control+Z if you do not want to keep the applied change.

Check and Export the Practice Copy.

Step 1. Press Control+4 for Reading order.

Step 2. Select a slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Tab to the Objects List Box.

Step 4. Read its sequence. Chapter 22 explains moving an object with Control+Alt+E or Control+Alt+L.

Step 5. Press Control+L.

Step 6. Select a slide.

Step 7. Press F7 to check its spelling using Chapter 29.

Step 8. Press Control+F7 to run the separate accessibility checks.

Step 9. Review the findings.

Step 10. Press Control+S to save the practice project.

Step 11. Press Control+Shift+E to export a new PowerPoint file using Chapter 24. If desktop PowerPoint is available, Control+E offers Export and analyse instead.

29. Checking spelling.

What spell check does.

Spell check looks for words that its dictionary does not recognise and helps you correct them. It is available while you build a presentation, after you import one, and while you edit such things as speaker notes, image descriptions and table cells. It works offline. The installer includes the spelling engine and English dictionaries, so you do not need Python or a separate dictionary application.

Press F7 to start spell check. You can also choose Spell check from the Check menu, or search for spell check in the Command Centre. Accessibility checks now use Control+F7. These are different operations: spelling examines words, while accessibility checks examine features such as missing titles, image descriptions, contrast and reading order.

A spelling finding is a suggestion to review a word, rather than proof that it is wrong. Names, abbreviations and specialist terms may be perfectly correct. Conversely, a word can be spelled correctly but have the wrong meaning in its sentence. Spell check does not check grammar or decide what you meant to say. Read the surrounding text when the choice is uncertain.

Choosing exactly what to check.

First move to the text or object you want to check. The scope of a check means the text it includes. Your focus and selection determine the scope when you press F7.

If you have selected some text in an editable presentation field, only that selection is checked. You might select one sentence in Speaker notes, for example. Text before and after the selection is preserved. If no text is selected, the whole focused Edit Field is checked. This applies to a slide title, a content editor, speaker notes, image alternative text, accessible details, a table description or the current Cell Edit Field. It also applies to Presentation name, Recording name and the Markdown text on Import.

When a List Box has focus, its selected item determines the scope. In the Content items List Box, F7 checks the selected bullet or paragraph. In the Images List Box, it checks the selected image's alternative text and accessible details. An image marked as decorative has no alternative text to check, but its accessible details are still included. In the Tables List Box, it checks the selected table's description and every cell, proceeding across each row before the next row.

From the Slides List Box, F7 checks the selected slide. This includes its title, content items, image descriptions, tables and speaker notes. It includes stored text even if the current layout does not display all of it. It does not continue through every slide in the presentation. Select another slide and press F7 to check that slide next.

In Reading order, F7 checks the selected object. The title entry checks the title. The content entry checks the slide's content items together, because they form one object in reading order. An image or table entry checks that image or table.

Marking several slides or content items does not expand the spelling scope. The current selection is what matters. In an editor dialog, move to the actual Edit Field before pressing F7. File paths, passwords, numeric settings and read-only reports are not spelling targets. If there is no suitable target, a short message asks you to select text or an object. An empty target produces a short confirmation that there is no text to check.

A first correction, step by step.

Try this on a practice slide with a text layout. The deliberately misspelled word is “acept”.

Text corrections are held within the spelling session until you finish or reach the end. Escape cancels all text corrections from that session. Adding a word to the personal dictionary is different: the word is saved immediately and remains there even if you cancel. The personal dictionary is explained later in this chapter.

Step 1. Press Control+L to move to the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Select your practice slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+T for Add text paragraph.

Step 4. Type “I acept this proposal.”

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Save Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space. Focus returns to the Content items List Box with the new paragraph selected.

Step 7. Press F7. This checks the selected paragraph. You do not need to select the letters of the misspelled word first.

Step 8. When the finding appears, focus is in the Suggestions List Box. Use Up or Down Arrow to find “accept”. Pause on each suggestion to hear its spelling.

Step 9. Press Control+R if you want to hear the complete sentence containing the misspelling. Focus stays in the Suggestions List Box.

Step 10. With “accept” selected, press Enter to change this occurrence. If there are no more findings, spell check closes and focus returns to the Content items List Box. If further findings appear, continue reviewing them, or press Alt+F to finish with the corrections already made.

Step 11. Press Control+S to save the corrected paragraph in your project.

The following explanation describes the feedback you hear during these steps.

The Spell check dialog opens. Its heading identifies what is being checked. A further label identifies the current part of that object, such as the title, a content item or a table cell.

PresentAble announces the new finding by saying “Misspelled word acept, A C E P T”. For the example Ttest, it says “Misspelled word Ttest, T T E S T”. Focus is in the Suggestions List Box, ready for you to choose a correction, and the first suggestion is selected. After a short pause, PresentAble spells that suggestion. The original word remains available in the Misspelled word read-only Edit Field. Press Alt+W if you want to examine it with your usual JAWS reading commands, then Alt+S to return to the Suggestions List Box. PresentAble does not move focus automatically into a long passage of surrounding text.

Use Up or Down Arrow in Suggestions to review the available spellings. JAWS reads the selected suggestion normally. After a short pause, PresentAble spells its letters, without saying the whole word again. When you select a suggestion, PresentAble also copies it into the Replacement field. Choose accept, then press Enter. This changes the occurrence and continues checking. Enter also works from the Replacement field.

If there are no more findings, the dialog closes and the corrections are applied. A short completion message is spoken when action confirmations are enabled. Focus returns to the control from which you started. In this example the Content items List Box contains the corrected paragraph. Save your project when you are ready to keep the change on disk.

If another finding remains, PresentAble announces and spells that new misspelled word, with focus in the Suggestions List Box and the first suggestion selected. The first suggestion's spelling then follows. Continue one word at a time. You can stop before the end with Finish, or abandon the session with Cancel.

Suggestions and your own replacement.

Suggestions is a standard list box. Its first item is selected initially, but it may not be the spelling you intended. Up and Down Arrow move through the list. Home and End move to its first and last entries. Alt+S returns to the Suggestions List Box from elsewhere in the dialog.

Each suggestion you select with Up or Down Arrow is spelled after a pause of about two-thirds of a second. The delay gives JAWS time to read the native list item first. PresentAble does not repeat the original misspelling while you browse alternative suggestions for that same finding. If you move quickly through several suggestions, PresentAble cancels the earlier pending spellings and spells only the item on which you pause. Moving to another control, another application, another finding or closing the dialog cancels pending spelling for the previous choice. On each new finding, the first suggestion's spelling is queued after the original misspelled word's announcement, with a slightly longer pause. This spelling feedback works in both Standard and Guided modes and is separate from the Speak short confirmations setting.

If there are no suggestions, focus still starts in the Suggestions List Box. Press Tab to reach the Replacement Edit Field and type your own spelling, or Alt+W to review the original word before deciding whether to ignore it.

Replacement is an ordinary editable Edit Field. To supply your own spelling:

Step 1. While a spelling finding is open, press Alt+R. Focus moves to the Replacement Edit Field.

Step 2. Press Control+A to select any proposed replacement.

Step 3. Type the spelling you want.

Step 4. Press Enter to apply Change to this occurrence. The checker moves to the next finding or closes if finished.

Alternatively, to leave this occurrence unchanged, press Alt+I for the Ignore Button instead of Enter.

Delete and Backspace edit the replacement normally; they do not ignore a finding.

Press Enter from Suggestions or Replacement to apply Change. Alt+C also activates Change. A blank replacement is not accepted. If you want to leave a word unchanged, choose Ignore. If you want to remove text altogether, finish or cancel the check and make that edit in the original editor.

Reading the surrounding text.

With a finding open in Spell check, you can hear the whole sentence or examine a shorter written passage before choosing a correction.

Step 1. With a finding open in Spell check, press Control+R to hear its sentence without leaving your current control.

Step 2. If you want to examine the shorter written context, press Alt+X.

Step 3. Read the context with Up or Down Arrow for lines, or your normal JAWS word and character commands.

Step 4. Press Alt+S to return to the Suggestions List Box.

Step 5. Select the intended correction with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 6. Press Enter to change the word. To leave it unchanged instead, press Alt+I for the Ignore Button.

Press Control+R from any control in Spell check to hear the complete sentence containing the current misspelling. Focus stays where it is, and your selected suggestion, replacement text and text selection remain unchanged. The Read sentence Button, Alt+E, provides the same reading action. You can repeat Control+R whenever you need to hear the sentence again.

The sentence comes from the text being checked, including any corrections already staged during this check. It stays within the current object or selected text. Sentence-ending punctuation and line breaks identify its boundaries. It is not cut down to the short passage shown in Context, so a longer sentence is read in full. Control+R cancels pending suggestion spelling and gives the sentence priority over current speech. The sentence is read only when you request it.

Press Alt+X to move to the Context Edit Field. This read-only Edit Field contains a short passage around the current word. You can use the usual character, word and line-reading commands to understand its sentence.

Context is available when you need it, but it does not receive focus automatically for each finding. This keeps the initial announcement short. Press Alt+W to return to the Misspelled word Edit Field, or Alt+S to return to the Suggestions List Box. Shift+F1 on any control opens detailed help for that control. Escape closes help and returns to the same place in spell check.

Change and Change all.

Use Change all when you want the same correction for this occurrence and later matching words within the current check. It does not change words you have already passed or text outside the check. For example, checking one content item does not change another item.

Begin with a finding open in Spell check. If you want to type your own replacement, follow “Suggestions and your own replacement” in this chapter to fill the Replacement field, then continue with the sentence check below.

Step 1. In Suggestions, choose the intended replacement with Up or Down Arrow. If you have already typed your own replacement, keep that text instead.

Step 2. Press Control+R if you need the sentence before deciding.

Step 3. Press Alt+A for the Change all Button. The current occurrence and later matching occurrences within this check use that replacement. The checker continues to the next different finding, or closes if finished.

Use Enter or Alt+C instead when you want to change only the current occurrence.

Change corrects the current occurrence using the Replacement field, then moves on. It holds the correction within the spell-check session until you finish or reach the end.

Change all, Alt+A, also corrects later occurrences of the same word within the text or object being checked. It does not revisit occurrences you have already passed, and it does not reach into other slides or objects outside the scope. Matching ignores case. For later occurrences, an all-capital word remains all capitals, and an initial capital is retained when a lowercase replacement is used.

For example, if the same typo appears several times in one content item, Change all can correct its remaining occurrences together. If the same typo is also present in another content item, checking the first item does not change the other one. Choose that other item for a separate check, or start from the Slides List Box to check all text belonging to that slide.

Ignore and Ignore all.

Ignore, Alt+I, leaves the current occurrence unchanged and continues. The same word can be reported again if it appears later. This is useful when you want to make a decision in context each time.

Ignore all, Alt+G, leaves the word unchanged and skips matching later occurrences during the current check. This decision is temporary. The word can be reported again the next time you start spell check. If you want a correctly spelled name to be recognised in future checks, use Add to dictionary instead.

Your personal dictionary.

Your personal dictionary remembers words for future checks. Add only a word whose spelling you have checked. The action stores the original reported word, not the suggested replacement, and saves it immediately. Cancelling the spelling session does not remove it. If you only want to skip this occurrence, use Alt+I for the Ignore Button instead.

To remember a correctly spelled name or specialist term:

Step 1. When the word is reported, press Alt+W to focus the Misspelled word Edit Field.

Step 2. Read its exact spelling with your JAWS word or character commands.

Step 3. If the original word is correctly spelled and you want it recognised in future checks, press Alt+D for the Add to dictionary Button. The word is saved immediately. Spell check continues to the next finding or closes if finished.

Ignore leaves a word unchanged without adding it to the personal dictionary. This is useful when you do not want to make a decision about future checks.

Check the original word carefully before adding it; the action does not use the suggested correction.

Add to dictionary, Alt+D, stores the word currently shown in Misspelled word. It does not store the proposed Replacement. Use it for a name, organisation or technical term that you have checked and want to retain.

The word is saved immediately, and spell check continues. This is an important distinction from text corrections: cancelling spell check discards the staged text changes but does not undo words explicitly added to your dictionary. Personal words are recognised regardless of case and apply to both supplied English language choices.

The dictionary file is called personal-spelling.json and is stored in your Windows account’s %APPDATA%\PresentAble folder. It is created when you add a word and remains with your Windows account when the application is updated or removed.

The file contains an editable words list in JSON, a text format whose punctuation gives the file its structure. There is no dictionary-management dialog in this version. Removing a mistaken entry therefore requires editing the file in a text editor while PresentAble is closed. Keep the JSON punctuation intact. If the file contains invalid data, PresentAble reports the problem and preserves the file rather than replacing it.

Choosing UK or US English.

The initial language is English (United Kingdom). Both supplied dictionaries work offline. Changing language restarts the check from the beginning of its current scope. Corrections already made remain staged, but temporary Ignore all and Change all rules are cleared. An earlier word may therefore appear again.

To change the language during a check:

Step 1. With Spell check open, press Alt+L to focus the Spelling language Combo Box.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose English (United Kingdom) or English (United States). The check restarts as soon as the choice changes.

Step 3. If another finding is available, press Alt+S to return to the Suggestions List Box if needed. You can then continue reviewing the findings. If no findings remain, the dialog closes.

Step 4. Finish the check with Alt+F, or continue until it ends, to remember the chosen language. Escape cancels the check and retains the previously saved language.

Both dictionaries are available offline.

Changing language restarts the check from the beginning of its current scope. Corrections you have already made remain staged, but temporary Ignore all and Change all rules are cleared. You may therefore encounter an earlier word again under the newly selected dictionary.

Finish, or reaching the end of the check, remembers the chosen language for future checks. Cancel retains the language that was saved before this check. The spelling-language choice does not change the presentation's text or reformat its slides.

Finishing, cancelling and saving.

Finishing the spelling check accepts its corrections. If you started inside another editor, you must also save that editor’s changes before saving the project.

To keep corrections and save them to disk:

Step 1. Finish reviewing all findings, or press Alt+F to accept the corrections made so far. Spell check closes and returns focus to the control from which you started.

Step 2. If you started inside another editor, such as a content editor, Image properties or Edit table, press Tab to its Save Button, Save changes Button or Save table Button. You are still editing that dialog’s pending values.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space to accept the editor’s changes. If you started from the main window, continue directly to saving the project.

Step 4. When back in the main window, press Control+S to save the project. Complete a save file dialog if this is the first save.

To abandon the current spelling session, press Escape while Spell check is open. The distinctions below explain what is retained.

Finish, Alt+F, accepts corrections made so far and closes spell check. You can use it before all the chosen text has been checked. Reaching the end of the scope accepts the corrections in the same way. If the dictionary finds no unrecognised words, the dialog closes automatically with a short completion confirmation.

Cancel, or Escape, discards every text correction staged during this check, including corrections on earlier findings. The original text remains in place. Words added to the personal dictionary are retained because that action saved them immediately.

When you start from the main presentation window, accepted corrections are changes to the current project. A single Undo reverses the spelling operation. Save the project with Control+S when you want to keep it on disk.

When you start within an editor dialog, accepted corrections update that editor's pending text. You still need to use Save, Save image or Save table as appropriate to accept the enclosing editor. Cancelling that editor discards its pending changes, including its spelling corrections. In a table editor, checking Cell text checks that cell; start from the main Tables List Box when you want the whole table checked.

Checking Markdown on Import changes the typed source text. It does not update an existing presentation automatically. After correcting it, use Preview slides from text and review the proposed conversion in the usual way.

A selection-only practice exercise.

Use a new practice slide so these deliberate mistakes do not replace notes you want to keep. The exercise checks only one selected sentence.

Prepare the spelling practice slide.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+N to add a slide.

Step 2. Select Title and bullets with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Enter.

Step 4. Type “Spelling practice” as the title.

Step 5. Press Control+Alt+N to enter the empty Speaker notes field.

Step 6. Type “I acept this proposal.”

Step 7. Press Enter to start a new line.

Step 8. Type “We acept the plan.”

Check only the first sentence.

Continue with the practice slide’s Speaker notes open.

Step 1. Press Control+Home to reach the beginning of the notes.

Step 2. Hold Shift and press End to select the first line, then release Shift.

Step 3. Press F7. Only the selected sentence is checked.

Step 4. In Suggestions, use Up or Down Arrow to select “accept”.

Step 5. Press Enter to change the word.

Step 6. If another finding appears, press Alt+F to finish. Focus returns to the Speaker notes Edit Field, with the corrected range still selected.

Step 7. Press Control+Home to remove the selection.

Step 8. Read the first line. It should contain “accept”.

Step 9. Press Down Arrow to read the second line. It should still contain “acept”.

Keep or remove the spelling practice slide.

If you want to keep the practice slide, press Control+S to save the project.

Otherwise, remove only this practice slide as follows. Clearing other slide marks first prevents those slides from being included in the deletion.

Step 1. Press Escape to return to the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to remove any other slide marks.

Step 3. Press Delete.

Step 4. Read the confirmation to check that it concerns this one practice slide.

Step 5. Press Enter to confirm its removal.

The check corrects the first sentence while leaving the second unchanged. Immediately after the check, the corrected range remains selected; the inspection steps above then remove that selection. Selecting a passage is a useful way to check new text without revisiting all of your notes.

For a comparison, check a whole content item from its list:

Step 1. Select a different content item.

Step 2. Press F7 without opening the item’s editor. This checks the whole selected item.

These two exercises demonstrate the main rule: selected text takes priority; otherwise, the current Edit Field or selected presentation object supplies the scope.

The aim is to become comfortable with a repeatable sequence: choose the item, read its purpose or properties, make a deliberate change, review the result, and save the work. Shift+F1 and the Command Centre remain available whenever you need a reminder.

30. Finding and replacing presentation text.

What Find searches.

Find in presentation searches the text you can edit in your presentation. It includes the presentation name, slide titles, bullets, paragraphs, speaker notes, image alternative text and accessible details, table descriptions and cells, and the display names of sound and video recordings. It also finds retained content which a slide's current layout may hide.

The search does not examine words inside picture pixels or recorded sound. It does not change or search source filenames, file paths, original Markdown import text, previous AI prompts or saved reports. Decorative images do not contribute alternative text, although their accessible details remain searchable. The Command Centre's search is separate: it finds commands rather than presentation content.

Find works locally without an internet connection or API key. Open or create a presentation before using it.

Example: find a phrase in your Garden presentation.

Suppose that your presentation mentions Hartgen Consulting, but you want to use Hartgen Consultancy instead. First find where the old wording occurs. Open the Garden presentation before starting.

Step 1. Press Control+F in the main window. Find in presentation opens with the Find text Edit Field in focus. The search from your previous visit, if any, is selected so you can type a different search. This dialog contains only the controls for finding text.

Step 2. Type Hartgen Consulting. Matches appear as you type.

Step 3. Press Enter to run the search, hear its count and move to the Search results List Box. If there are no matches, focus stays in the Find text Edit Field.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to examine the results. A result might say Slide 8, speaker notes, followed by the matching extract. A table result includes the table number, row and column. Each occurrence is a separate result, even when a field contains the phrase more than once. Presentation name appears before slide results; slides follow presentation order.

Step 5. Press Enter on the result you want to edit. Find closes and opens the appropriate editing location. For a bullet or paragraph it opens that item's text editor. For a table cell it opens the table editor at that row and column. Titles, presentation name and speaker notes are focused directly. The matching characters are selected, ready to change.

Step 6. Change the selected wording in the editor.

Step 7. If the change is in an editing dialog, accept it with that dialog’s Save Button. If the field belongs to the main window, continue to the next step.

Step 8. Press Control+S to save the presentation to disk.

Step 9. Press Control+F again to revisit the remembered search. Results are recalculated from the current presentation, so they reflect edits you have made.

You can also press Down Arrow while in the Find text Edit Field to enter the Search results List Box. Alt+G activates Go to match. F8 continues to go to the selected accessibility-check result; it has not been reassigned to text searching.

Choosing how text matches.

Match case, Alt+C, is initially unchecked. With it unchecked, Garden and garden both match. Check it to distinguish capital and small letters.

Whole words only, Alt+O, is initially unchecked. An unchecked search for garden also finds the start of gardener. Check this option to find complete words. For a phrase, the beginning and end must be word boundaries. Search text is literal: punctuation does not act as a special search instruction.

Changing either option refreshes the results. Neither option changes any presentation text by itself.

Replacing individual occurrences.

Replace in presentation changes text directly. Closing the dialog does not undo replacements already made. Each Replace selected action can be reversed with Control+Z in the main window.

Leaving Replace with empty removes matching text. PresentAble prevents a replacement that would leave a presentation name or recording name empty. Replacing a recording’s display name never renames the file itself.

If Find is open, close it with Escape before starting.

Step 1. Press Control+H in the main window. Replace in presentation opens with the Replace with Edit Field in focus.

Step 2. Type the new wording.

Step 3. Press Alt+F to move to the Find text Edit Field.

Step 4. Enter the wording you want to replace, or keep the search remembered from Find.

Step 5. Press Enter to find the matches and move to the Search results List Box.

Step 6. Press Alt+R to focus the Search results List Box.

Step 7. Choose the occurrence with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 8. Read the slide, location and extract to check exactly what will change.

Step 9. Press Alt+T to activate Replace selected. Only that occurrence changes.

Results are recalculated, and focus remains in the results if any matches remain. If the replacement no longer matches the search, that occurrence disappears. When no matches remain, focus returns to the Find text Edit Field.

As an alternative to Alt+T, you can reach the Replace selected Button with Tab and activate it with Enter or Space.

Step 10. Continue with another result if needed, or press Escape to close Replace. Each accepted Replace selected action creates an Undo step. Control+Z in the main window reverses the most recent change.

Replacing all occurrences.

Replace all changes every matching occurrence included in the results. Review the search, replacement and matching options before using it. The whole operation is one Undo step, so Control+Z in the main window reverses it as a group.

Step 1. With the main window active, press Control+H to open Replace in presentation.

Step 2. Set Find text and Replace with as described in “Replacing individual occurrences”.

Step 3. Check Match case and Whole words only. Set them for the type of match you want, as explained in “Choosing how text matches”.

Step 4. Review the results before applying replacements.

Step 5. Press Alt+A for the Replace all Button. A confirmation states how many occurrences will actually change. Replacing a word with identical text does not count as a change.

Step 6. Read the confirmation. Yes is selected.

Step 7. Press Enter to proceed, or choose No to leave everything unchanged. All replacements are validated before they are applied. A short confirmation gives the number replaced, and the results update.

Step 8. Press Escape to close Replace. The entire Replace All operation is one Undo step, so Control+Z in the main window reverses that complete operation.

Step 9. Review your presentation. Previous layout measurements remain available, with changed slides labelled for rechecking. Run checks again after substantial replacements.

Step 10. Press Control+S when ready to keep the changes on disk.

Leaving Replace with empty removes matching text. PresentAble prevents a replacement which would leave a presentation name or recording name empty. The affected file itself is never renamed. Closing Replace does not undo replacements already made; use Undo if you wish to reverse them.

31. Reading a presentation overview.

An outline of the whole presentation.

Presentation overview collects the structure of your presentation into one readable report. It is useful when checking the sequence, planning changes or sending an outline to a collaborator. You do not need to export the presentation first.

The concise report begins with the presentation name and slide count. Each slide then has its own entry containing the title, layout, numbers of content items, images, tables and recordings, whether speaker notes are present, and counts of current structural errors, warnings and suggestions. Counts of zero are included.

Each image is identified as decorative, described or missing a description. Tables include their description and row and column counts. Recordings include their name, duration and start setting. The report always follows slide order.

These counts are the current local structural checks and layout estimates. They are not results from a previous PowerPoint rendering. For actual measurements, use Export and analyse. An overview does not request an OpenAI review or examine the sound or moving pictures inside a recording.

Example: share the Garden outline.

The overview can include the slide content and speaker notes as well as an outline. Before copying it for someone else, check these options. Speaker notes may contain private reminders you do not want to share.

Step 1. Open the Garden presentation.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+B. Presentation overview opens. The same command is on the Check menu and in the Command Centre.

Step 3. With focus in Overview text, a read-only Edit Field, press Control+Home to start at the beginning.

Step 4. Read with the normal JAWS reading commands and Up or Down Arrow. Opening the report is the request to read it; there is no additional Read Report Button.

Step 5. Press Alt+C to reach the Include slide content Check Box. The initial report is concise.

Step 6. If you want the actual words, image descriptions and table cells included, press Space to check the option. The report refreshes while focus stays on the Check Box. Uncheck it to return to the shorter outline.

Step 7. Press Alt+N to reach the Include speaker notes Check Box.

Step 8. Check it only if you want the complete notes included. The ordinary outline already states whether notes are present.

Step 9. Press Alt+O to return to the Overview text Edit Field.

Step 10. Read the revised report.

Step 11. Press Alt+P for the Copy overview Button when you want the complete text copied to the clipboard. Alternatively, select part of the report and press Control+C.

Step 12. Move to the document or message in which you want to use the outline.

Step 13. Press Control+V to paste the copied text. Copy overview includes precisely the content and notes options currently selected.

Step 14. When you return to the overview, press Escape to close it and return to the control from which you opened it. The presentation has not changed. Open the overview again after editing to obtain a fresh outline.

Copy a reading script with explanations after each point.

Reading script gives you the words to refer to while delivering your talk. Each slide's content is followed in sequence. Where an item has its own notes, those notes appear immediately beneath it. General notes follow the slide content. The script omits the ordinary overview's error and warning counts.

Step 1. Press Control+Alt+B to open Presentation overview. Focus begins in the Overview text Edit Field.

Step 2. Use Shift+Tab to reach the Reading script Check Box. Press Space to check it.

Step 3. The Include slide content and Include speaker notes Check Boxes are unavailable while Reading script is checked, because the script includes both. Tab to the Overview text Edit Field and press Control+Home to begin reading.

Step 4. Read with Up or Down Arrow and your normal JAWS reading commands. In the family example from Chapter 15, the second bullet is followed immediately by the explanation about Sarah. The next content item follows that explanation. The general notes have a separate heading at the end of the slide.

Step 5. Tab to the Copy overview Button and press Enter or Space. The clipboard receives exactly the displayed script. Alternatively, select a passage in Overview text and press Control+C to copy only that selection.

Step 6. Switch to the document in which you want to keep the script and press Control+V to paste it. This is ordinary editable text. Keep the slide headings to make it easier to follow the script alongside a PowerPoint slide show.

Step 7. Return to PresentAble and press Escape to close the overview. To return to the ordinary overview next time, uncheck Reading script. The choice is shared with Rehearsal during the current PresentAble session.

The copied script is a snapshot. Reopen Presentation overview and copy a fresh script after changing your slides or notes. Reading script also works with existing presentations containing only general speaker notes; those notes simply follow each slide's content.

32. Rehearsing your presentation.

Practising the sequence.

Rehearse presentation lets you work through your slides, read what each contains, consult your speaker notes and deliberately preview recordings. It is a reading and practice view. Deliver the final slide show using the exported PowerPoint in your chosen presentation application.

Rehearsal does not edit the presentation. Choosing a slide updates its content and notes without moving the main editor's selection or automatically reading a large block of text. The content and notes are normal read-only fields, available to JAWS speech and Braille. Accessible Output supplies only short confirmations such as the new slide position.

Descriptions reflect the structured content stored by PresentAble. Retained body text which is hidden by the selected layout is explicitly identified. Rehearsal is not a rendered visual assessment and does not reproduce PowerPoint's animation or playback timing.

Example: practise your Garden talk.

Step 1. Open the Garden presentation.

Step 2. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 3. Choose the slide from which you want to begin.

Step 4. Press F5 to open Rehearse presentation. You can also find the command on the Check menu or in the Command Centre.

Step 5. Check the selected entry in the Rehearsal slides List Box, where focus begins. It gives the position and title, such as Slide 1 of 6: Our Community Garden. Up and Down Arrow select slides. Home goes to the first entry and End to the last.

Step 6. Press Alt+C to focus the Slide content Edit Field.

Step 7. Use normal reading commands to read the title, layout and text. Images have their descriptions, tables identify their rows and columns, and local recordings have their names, durations and start settings. Earlier online references give their name and state that embedding is unavailable.

Step 8. Press Alt+N to focus the Speaker notes Edit Field.

Step 9. Read your reminders and practise what you plan to say. If the slide has no notes, the field says so. Reading here does not change the notes.

Step 10. Press Alt+Right Arrow to move to the next slide. A short message identifies its position and title. Focus stays in the reading area you are using, and that area updates to the new slide. Press Alt+Left Arrow to go back. Ordinary Left, Right, Up and Down Arrow retain their normal text-reading behaviour within the fields.

Step 11. Press Alt+S when you want to return to the Rehearsal slides List Box. A short static line after the list identifies the next slide, or says End of presentation. Moving beyond the first or last slide reports the boundary rather than wrapping unexpectedly.

Read content and item notes together in Rehearsal.

Step 1. Choose the starting slide in the main Slides List Box and press F5.

Step 2. Focus begins in the Rehearsal slides List Box. Press Tab to the Reading script Check Box and press Space to check it, if it is not already checked.

Step 3. Press Alt+C to focus the Slide content Edit Field. This now includes each item's notes directly below that item, with general notes at the end. Read with the ordinary text-reading keys. Checking the option does not automatically speak the script.

Step 4. Press Alt+Right Arrow for the next slide or Alt+Left Arrow for the previous slide. Focus stays in Slide content and the script changes to that slide.

Step 5. If you want to consult all the notes separately, press Alt+N to reach the Speaker notes Edit Field. That field remains available and includes both general notes and labelled notes for individual items.

Step 6. Uncheck Reading script if you want Slide content to contain only the slide material again. Press Escape when finished rehearsing.

This is a reading aid while you practise or refer to your material. It does not advance a PowerPoint slide show. Copy the full script from Presentation overview when you want it in a separate document.

Preview a recording during rehearsal.

Preview plays only the chosen recording. It does not start automatic recordings together or reproduce the slide show’s full sequence. Test the final exported PowerPoint to check those combinations and timings.

When the current rehearsal slide contains a local recording:

Step 1. Press Alt+R to reach the Recordings to preview List Box.

Step 2. Choose the recording with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Alt+V, or Enter in that list. Preview recording opens with the Play Button in focus.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space on Play when ready.

Step 5. Press Escape to close the preview. Playback stops and focus returns to the rehearsal control you used.

For an earlier online video reference, the Button is called Open online video in browser. It opens YouTube instead of a local preview. Switching back to PresentAble does not stop the browser’s playback.

Step 1. Select the online reference in Recordings to preview.

Step 2. Activate Open online video in browser.

Step 3. Use the website controls to play the video.

Step 4. Pause or close the video when finished.

Step 5. Press Alt+Tab to return to Rehearsal.

Edit a slide or finish rehearsing.

You can open the rehearsed slide for editing, or leave rehearsal and return to the slide you had selected before starting.

To edit something you noticed during rehearsal:

Step 1. Press Alt+E for Edit this slide. Rehearsal closes, the chosen slide becomes selected in the main editor, and focus is in the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Make the change with the ordinary editing controls.

Step 3. Press F5 again to resume practice from that slide.

To finish rehearsing without changing the editor’s selected slide, press Escape. Focus returns to the original control and slide from which you opened rehearsal. Rehearsing alone does not create an Undo step or make the presentation need saving.

There is no automatic whole-slide speech when you move. You choose whether to enter content, notes or the Recordings List Box. This keeps the amount of information under your control and allows you to practise at your own pace.

A link gives the audience a way to open a website or begin an email message. The words on the slide can be more meaningful than the address itself. For example, Visit the garden website can point to your garden's home page. Email the garden team can point to its contact address.

There are two parts to a link: its visible text and its destination. PresentAble asks for these separately. You do not have to type HTML or Markdown. In the exported PowerPoint, the visible text is underlined and carries the destination as a clickable link. It uses the presentation's text formatting.

A link on the visible slide belongs to one complete content item. It can be an ordinary text paragraph or a bullet. This version does not attach links to individual words within a longer content item, slide titles, table cells or images. If you need a short link beside an explanation, put the link in its own content item. Speaker notes can contain links on selected words within a sentence; chapter 15 explains those links with step-by-step examples.

Creating, editing, saving or selecting a link does not open it. Open link is a separate, deliberate command. An email link opens a draft in the configured email application; it does not send a message.

Choose a slide with a visible text area, such as Title and bullets, Text only, Image left, text right, or a layout with both video and text. Adding a link to a Title slide changes it to Text only so that the new content is visible. If the current layout is Table, Image only or Title and video, choose or create a slide with a text area first. PresentAble explains this if you try to add a link to one of those layouts.

Control+K adds a link in Speaker notes when focus is in that editing page. For the visible slide examples below, start in the Slides List Box or on the Content page. Note links work with every slide layout and do not add visible content.

The example addresses in this chapter illustrate what to type. Replace them with the website or email address you actually want your audience to use.

Step 1. Open your Garden presentation.

Step 2. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 3. Choose the slide that should contain the link with Up or Down Arrow. For example, choose your final slide, where you invite the audience to find out more.

Step 4. Press Control+K. Add link opens with the Link type Combo Box in focus. Website is selected initially. You can also choose Add link from the Slide menu, use the Add link Button on Content, or use the Content items context menu.

Use words that describe the destination, rather than only Click here. This helps someone who reads a list of links.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Link text Edit Field.

Step 6. Type Visit the garden website. These are the words your audience will see.

Step 7. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 8. Enter the web address, for example:

https://example.org/garden

If you enter example.org/garden without the opening prefix, PresentAble adds https://. You can enter a complete http:// address where that is what the website requires. Spaces are not accepted in the address; use the actual address supplied by the website.

Step 9. Press Alt+S for the Save Button. A short confirmation says that the link was added. Focus returns to the Content items List Box with the new item selected. Its entry identifies it as a website link and includes the visible text.

Movement applies to marked items when marks are present. Clear those marks first if you want to move only the new link.

Step 10. Clear other content-item marks if you want to move only this link.

Step 11. Use the usual Move up or Move down Buttons, or Control+Shift+Up Arrow and Control+Shift+Down Arrow, to position it among the other content items.

Step 12. Press Control+S to save the presentation.

Step 13. Run Control+F7 to review the slide’s checks. A link is still visible text, so a long label needs enough space on the slide.

Step 1. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 2. Select a slide with a text area.

Step 3. Move to its Content page.

Step 4. Press Control+K to open Add link.

Step 5. In Link type, press Down Arrow to select Email.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Link text Edit Field.

Step 7. Type Email the garden team.

Enter one email address only. Do not include a subject, message, list of recipients or attachment. PresentAble supplies the email-link prefix for you.

Step 8. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 9. Type one email address, for example:

hello@example.org

Do not include a subject, message, list of recipients or attachment. You can enter the address on its own; PresentAble supplies the email-link prefix for you.

Step 10. Press Alt+S to save the link. The new Content items entry identifies it as an email link.

Step 11. Press Control+S to save the presentation.

Attach a link to an existing content item.

You may already have a bullet such as Visit the garden website. You can keep that item and give it a destination.

Step 1. Move to Content items.

Step 2. Select the existing bullet or paragraph with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Alt+P on the Content page. Link properties opens for that item. Its existing text is already in Link text. Link type initially shows Website unless the item already has an email link.

Step 4. Choose Website or Email.

Step 5. Press Tab to the Link text Edit Field.

Step 6. Keep or amend the words that should appear on the slide.

Step 7. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 8. Enter the destination.

Step 9. Press Alt+S. The selected item now contains the link. A bullet remains a bullet. Other marked items are not changed by Link properties.

The same command is available from the Slide menu, the Link properties Button on Content, and the Content items context menu.

Step 1. Select the linked item in Content items.

Step 2. Press Enter or Alt+P to open Link properties.

Step 3. Use Tab to reach the text or address you want to change. Alternatively, Alt+T focuses the Link type Combo Box, Alt+X focuses the Link text Edit Field, and Alt+A focuses the Address Edit Field.

Step 4. Change the required value. Ordinary editing keys work in both Edit Fields. Shift+F1 explains the current control.

Step 5. Press Alt+S to save, or Escape to cancel. Cancelling leaves the item unchanged. After saving, Control+Z in the main window undoes the change.

Remove link, keep text removes only the destination. The item remains as ordinary text or a bullet, with its words intact. Control+Z can restore the link.

Step 1. Select the linked item in Content items.

Step 2. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key.

Step 3. Choose Remove link, keep text.

Step 4. Confirm with Yes.

Delete or Remove items instead removes the complete content item, including its words. Marked items can be removed together. Use Remove link, keep text when the words should remain on the slide.

Step 1. Select the linked item in Content items.

Step 2. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key.

Step 3. Choose Open link with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 4. Press Enter. Open link is also on the Slide menu and in the Command Centre.

A website opens in the usual Windows web browser. An email link opens the usual email application to prepare a message. This takes you out of PresentAble. You may need to configure a default browser or email application in Windows if none is available.

Step 5. Return to PresentAble when you have checked the destination. Opening an email draft does not send it. You decide whether to compose and send anything in your email application.

PresentAble checks the form of the address when you save the link. It does not establish whether a website exists or whether a mailbox can receive messages. Checking the destination yourself remains useful before sharing the presentation.

Step 1. Save your project with Control+S.

Step 2. Export a PowerPoint presentation with Control+Shift+E, or use Export and Analyse with Control+E.

Step 3. Review the exported presentation in PowerPoint. The link text is underlined and contains its destination. Test it using PowerPoint's link commands or slide show. A recipient's application and security preferences may affect how links open.

When importing an existing PowerPoint, review the conversion report. A website or email link covering a whole slide content paragraph is retained. A link covering only some words of a slide content paragraph is kept as ordinary text with a conversion warning.

Speaker notes retain website and email links on selected words, as described in chapter 15. Links to other slides, local files and unsupported objects are not converted to this link model. Word and Markdown import do not currently create these editable link destinations; attach them after import.

The destination is saved in the PresentAble project and travels with the item when you copy, move or duplicate it. It is also shown in the presentation overview and the slide content area of rehearsal. Comparing saved projects includes changes to destinations.

Find, Replace and spell check work on the visible words of the item. They do not change its destination address. Use Link properties to change an address deliberately. This prevents an ordinary presentation-wide text replacement from accidentally changing where a link goes.

34. Creating presentations from project templates.

A familiar starting collection.

A project template is a saved collection of slides which you can use as the starting point for new presentations. Suppose each episode of Demand Our Access begins with About Me, Professional Background and Presentation Accessibility, followed by several regular slides about the law. Prepare that collection once and save it as a template. For the next episode, create a presentation from the template and add the material specific to that episode.

The template includes the slides in their saved order, their formatting, text, speaker notes, links, images, tables and recordings. You can move, edit or remove any of those slides in the new presentation. It is an independent working copy. Editing the episode does not edit the saved template, and updating the template does not rewrite episodes already created from it.

A template creates a whole new presentation. To add one saved slide to a presentation you are already editing, use the reusable-slide library in chapter 35 instead.

Choosing the templates folder.

Choose the folder in which PresentAble will store and find your templates. Changing this setting does not move existing templates. If you change the library’s location, also copy the template files to the new folder.

Step 1. Press Control+Comma for Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+1 for Folders. Focus starts in the Projects folder Edit Field.

Step 3. Press Tab to reach the Templates folder Edit Field.

Step 4. Leave it empty to use PresentAble’s default Templates library, or enter your preferred folder path. If you prefer to choose from a folder list, use the Browse option described next.

To choose the folder from a list instead of typing its path:

Step 1. From Templates folder, press Tab to the following Browse templates folder Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space.

Step 3. Choose the folder.

Step 4. Confirm the selection to return to Settings.

With your folder choice made by either method:

Step 1. Press Tab to reach the Save settings Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space. Alternatively, Escape discards pending settings changes.

The default library is inside PresentAble's user data. In Portable it is Data, then Templates, beside the program. A folder you type is created when you first save a template there. Changing the folder setting does not move existing templates. If you change your library's location, copy the template files into the new folder as well.

Example: save a Demand Our Access template.

Step 1. Open or create the presentation containing the regular slides.

Step 2. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 3. Review the slide order with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 4. Use the ordinary editing commands to prepare the text, notes and other objects you want every new episode to begin with.

Step 5. Run checks with Control+F7. Saving a template does not automatically repair its slides.

Step 6. Review any findings.

Step 7. Check the speaker notes for reminders that should belong in every episode, or private details you should remove before sharing the template.

Step 8. Press Alt+F to enter the File menu.

Step 9. Use Up or Down Arrow to find Save project as template.

Step 10. Press Enter.

If you use Command Centre instead of the File menu, follow this alternative route:

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+C.

Step 2. Type Save project as template.

Step 3. Select that command.

Step 4. Press Enter.

Name and save the project template.

Continue here after opening Save project as template by either route.

Step 1. Save project as template opens with Template name selected. The suggested name comes from the current presentation. Type Demand Our Access to replace it. This names the library entry; it does not rename the project you have open.

If the template name already exists in the chosen folder, saving asks whether to replace it. Yes is selected. Choose No or press Escape to keep the existing copy.

Step 2. Press Tab to the Save template Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space to save. For the quicker route, press Enter directly from the Template name Edit Field instead of moving to the Button.

PresentAble confirms Template saved and returns to your previous control. The current presentation remains open at its existing file path. Unsaved edits were included in the template copy, but they are still unsaved in the original project.

Step 4. If you also want to save the original project, press Control+S.

The saved entry is one file ending in .presentable-template. Its pictures and local sound and video recordings travel inside it. An earlier online-video reference is retained for recovery, but must be removed or replaced with a local video before export.

Example: start the next episode.

Choose one route to New from template:

Then select and inspect the template:

Step 1. In the Project templates List Box, use Up or Down Arrow to choose Demand Our Access. If entries exist, focus starts in this List Box. The list does not announce the complete folder path with every name.

If the list is long, you can narrow it before continuing:

Step 1. Press Control+F to reach the Search templates Edit Field.

Step 2. Type part of the name. You can type several words; each must occur somewhere in the name.

Step 3. Press Down Arrow to move into the matching entries in the Project templates List Box. The search does not open or change a template. Clear the search to show every entry again.

Inspect and use the chosen template.

Continue with the required template selected. The following report-reading procedure is optional. If you do not need it, continue at “Create the episode from the template”.

Step 1. If you want to check the contents first, press Tab to the Show contents Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space. A read-only report opens directly in its Edit Field. It includes slide content, descriptions, recordings and speaker notes.

Step 3. Read the report with your usual reading commands. No media plays merely because you read it.

Step 4. Press Escape to return to the Project templates List Box.

Create the episode from the template.

Continue with the required template selected in the library.

Step 1. With the template selected, press Enter, or activate Use template. New presentation from template opens with Presentation name selected.

Step 2. Type a name for this episode, such as Demand Our Access: Accessible Meetings.

Step 3. Press Enter to accept it. Cancelling this dialog leaves the current presentation unchanged.

Step 4. If another presentation has unsaved edits, answer the prompt asking whether to save them before replacing that working view. Cancel keeps the old presentation open. Otherwise, the new presentation opens with focus in the Slides List Box, on its first slide. A short confirmation gives the slide count.

Step 5. Review the starting slides.

Step 6. Edit them for this episode if necessary. These changes belong to the episode, not to the template.

To add new material, choose the slide that should precede it and press Control+Shift+N.

Save the new episode as a project.

Continue with the new presentation open. Saving it creates a separate .presentable project. Future saves affect that project and do not overwrite the template file.

Step 1. Press Control+S. Because this is a new, unsaved presentation, the normal Save dialog asks for a project file.

Step 2. Choose the folder for the project.

Step 3. Enter a filename ending in .presentable in the File name Edit Field.

Step 4. Press Enter from that field. Alternatively, press Tab to the Save Button, then Enter or Space.

Updating and sharing templates.

Updating a template affects future presentations made from it. Projects already created retain their independent slides.

Step 1. Create a presentation from the template, following “Example: start the next episode”.

Step 2. Make the required changes.

Step 3. Open Save project as template, following the earlier template-saving procedure.

Step 4. Enter the existing template name.

Step 5. Save the template.

Step 6. Confirm replacement.

You can copy a .presentable-template file to another person's Templates folder, or choose a shared folder in Settings. No source image or local recording paths are needed for embedded media. Large recordings make template files larger. Give the other person a PresentAble version which supports templates and any features they contain, including support for retaining any earlier online-video references.

If the list is empty, save a template first or check the Templates folder setting. If a file has been removed, is damaged or is not a supported template, PresentAble reports the problem and leaves your current work open. A folder which cannot be written does not cause the current presentation to close or become marked as saved. Library entries can be renamed or removed using File Explorer; close and reopen the library list to see those changes.

Deleting a project template.

Delete an unwanted template file using Windows File Explorer. There is no Delete command in the Project templates dialog. Removing a template does not remove presentations you have already created from it, because those presentations contain their own copies of its slides.

If the Templates folder is shared through a cloud service, deleting a template there also removes it from the shared library on other computers when they synchronise. PresentAble’s Control+Z cannot undo a file deletion made in File Explorer.

Find the template folder.

Step 1. If the Project templates List Box is open, close it with Escape.

Step 2. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+1 to reach Folders.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Templates folder Edit Field.

Step 5. Read its location.

Step 6. If a path is present, press Control+A to select it.

Step 7. Press Control+C to copy the selected path. If the field was empty, continue without copying a path.

Step 8. Press Escape to close Settings without changing it.

Open the folder in File Explorer.

The default folder exists only after you first save a template there. If you use Portable with its default folder, open File Explorer with Windows+E, then open the folder containing PresentAble.exe, followed by Data, then Templates. Continue at “Remove the chosen template”.

For a copied path or an installed copy’s default location, use these steps:

Step 1. Press Windows+E to open File Explorer.

Step 2. Press Alt+D for the address bar.

Step 3. If you copied a path, press Control+V. For an installed copy using the default location, enter %APPDATA%\PresentAble\Templates instead.

Step 4. Press Enter to open the folder.

Once the folder is open, continue with the file selection and deletion steps.

Remove the chosen template.

Continue in the Templates folder in File Explorer. Check that you select the template file, not the Templates folder itself or a .presentable project.

Step 1. In the file list, select the unwanted template with Up or Down Arrow. For example, Demand Our Access is stored as Demand Our Access.presentable-template.

Step 2. Check the file’s name and type. If Windows hides filename extensions, press Alt+Enter for the selected file’s Properties to inspect them, then Escape to return.

Step 3. Press Delete.

Step 4. If Windows asks for confirmation, read the filename.

Step 5. Choose Yes only if the filename is correct. On a focused confirmation Button, press Enter or Space. The removal applies to this library file only.

Step 6. Return to PresentAble.

Step 7. Open New from template again. The deleted name should no longer be listed. Reopening refreshes the list after changes made in File Explorer.

If the Templates folder is shared through a cloud service, deleting a template there also removes it from the shared library used on the other computers when they synchronise. Independent presentations already created from it remain intact. To recover a deleted file, use the Windows Recycle Bin or the cloud service's deleted-file recovery where available. PresentAble's Control+Z cannot undo a file deletion made in File Explorer.

35. Saving and inserting reusable slides.

Keep a slide ready for another presentation.

A reusable slide is one complete saved slide. It is useful when you want to add About Me or Professional Background to a presentation which was not created from your usual template. It can include text, notes, links, pictures, tables or recordings. Use the normal layout rules for its contents, as you would for any other slide.

Save selected slide as reusable saves only the currently selected slide. To save several marked slides as separate reusable entries in one operation, use Save marked slides as reusable, described in “Saving several marked slides as reusable entries”. To save a complete starting collection for creating new presentations, use a project template instead.

Choosing the reusable-slides folder.

This setting tells PresentAble where to save and find reusable slides. Changing it does not move existing entries; copy those files into the chosen folder if necessary.

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+1 for Folders.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Reusable slides folder Edit Field.

Step 4. Leave it empty to use the default Reusable slides folder within PresentAble user data, or type a folder path. In Portable, the default is inside Data beside the program.

If you prefer to choose from a folder list, use this alternative from Reusable slides folder:

Step 1. Press Tab to the following Browse Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space.

Step 3. Choose the folder.

Step 4. Confirm the folder choice.

Save the reusable-slides folder setting.

With your folder selected by either method, save the setting:

Step 1. Press Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space. The folder is created when you first save a reusable slide there.

Example: save your About Me slide.

Step 1. Open a presentation containing the completed slide.

Step 2. Press Control+L to reach the Slides List Box.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select About Me.

Step 4. Check the selected title before continuing. Other marked slides do not affect this command.

Step 5. Use the Slide menu to choose Save selected slide as reusable. The same command is in the Slides List Box context menu, opened with Shift+F10 or the Applications key. You can also find it in Command Centre with Control+Shift+C.

The saved entry’s name need not match the title shown on the slide. As with an ordinary Windows filename, do not use a colon or other file-path punctuation.

Step 6. In Save reusable slide, keep the selected Reusable slide name or type a new one. The suggested name is the slide title. You could keep About Me or use About Me – conference version.

If the library name already exists, PresentAble asks before replacing it, with Yes selected. No or Escape retains the previous saved version.

Step 7. Press Tab to the Save reusable slide Button.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space. For the quicker route, press Enter directly from the Reusable slide name Edit Field instead of moving to the Button.

The confirmation says Reusable slide saved. You remain in the current presentation. Saving this separate copy does not save or rename the original project.

Step 9. Use Control+S separately if you also need to save the original project.

The entry is a file ending in .presentable-slide. It contains only that slide and the formatting needed to reproduce it. It does not include the other slides from the source presentation. The notes are included, so review them before sharing the file.

Example: insert About Me into a different project.

Step 1. Open the destination presentation.

Step 2. Press Control+L to reach its Slides List Box.

Step 3. Select the slide after which About Me should appear. For example, select your opening title slide to make About Me the next slide.

Step 4. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to choose Insert reusable slide.

Step 6. Press Enter. The same command is in the Slide menu and Command Centre.

Step 7. In the Reusable slides List Box, select About Me with Up or Down Arrow. When saved entries exist, focus starts in this List Box. Names appear without complete paths.

If you want to search the names instead, use this optional sequence before continuing:

Step 1. Press Control+F to reach the Search reusable slides Edit Field.

Step 2. Type part of the name.

Step 3. Press Down Arrow to enter the filtered Reusable slides List Box.

Review and insert the selected reusable slide.

Continue with the required entry selected in the Reusable slides List Box. You can skip the optional contents report and proceed to Insert slide if you have already reviewed it.

Step 1. To inspect the slide first, press Tab to the Show contents Button.

Step 2. Press Enter or Space to open the report, which includes the slide’s notes and descriptions.

Step 3. Read the report. Reading it does not insert the slide or play its recordings.

Step 4. Press Escape to return from the report.

Insert the chosen reusable slide.

Continue with the required entry selected in the library.

Step 1. Press Enter, or activate Insert slide. The library closes and a copy appears immediately below the destination slide you selected before opening the library. If the destination presentation had no slides, it becomes the first slide.

Focus moves to the new slide in the Slides List Box. The confirmation identifies its title and new number. Existing marked slides do not change the insertion point; marks are cleared so subsequent editing applies to the new selection.

Step 2. Edit the inserted slide as necessary. The saved About Me entry remains unchanged. You can insert it again into this presentation or another one; each insertion is an independent copy.

Step 3. Press Control+S to save the destination project. Control+Z immediately after insertion removes that insertion as one undo step. Cancelling the library before insertion leaves the project unchanged.

Formatting, media and accessibility checks.

The inserted slide retains the appearance it had when saved. PresentAble applies the formatting it had when saved as a slide-specific override (settings for this slide that take priority over the presentation’s general style), so a different destination theme does not silently change its fonts, sizes, colours or spacing. If you want it to match the destination instead, use Styles to change the current slide or reset its slide override, as described in chapter 21.

Its title, text, links, speaker notes, image descriptions, table content, recording settings and reading order are copied. Local media are embedded in the reusable-slide file. Earlier online-video references are retained for recovery and must be removed or replaced before export. A previously recorded image review is retained only when it still applies to the same embedded picture and frame.

Always run checks after insertion, particularly after editing the layout or formatting. A slide being reusable does not guarantee that it has no warnings, and the library does not repair missing descriptions or inappropriate content. Destination fonts and the environment used for PowerPoint playback can still affect the final presentation. Export and review the completed presentation before using it.

Revising a reusable slide.

Revising a reusable entry changes future insertions. Slides inserted earlier remain independent copies and do not change automatically.

Step 1. Insert the saved slide into a working presentation, following the insertion procedure in this chapter.

Step 2. Make your changes.

Step 3. Select the revised slide.

Step 4. Open Save selected slide as reusable.

Step 5. Enter the existing library name.

Step 6. Save the reusable slide.

Step 7. Confirm replacement.

To share it, copy the .presentable-slide file into the other person's configured Reusable slides folder, or use an agreed shared folder. Close and reopen the library list after adding, renaming or removing files in File Explorer. If an entry cannot be read, the error leaves the destination presentation open without inserting a partial slide.

Saving several marked slides as reusable entries.

You can prepare several reusable slides at once. Each marked slide becomes its own library entry, with its own name, rather than one combined file. For example, you can save About Me, Professional Background and Presentation Accessibility together, then insert any of them independently into a future presentation.

This command creates new entries and never replaces existing ones. Each final name must be valid and different from the other names and existing library entries. To update a saved entry, use Save selected slide as reusable and its replacement confirmation instead.

Step 1. Open the presentation containing the completed slides.

Step 2. Press Control+L for the Slides List Box.

Step 3. If earlier marks should not be included, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to clear them.

Pressing Space marks an unmarked slide and unmarks an already marked slide. The slides need not be next to one another.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select About Me.

Step 5. Press Space to mark it.

Step 6. Move to Professional Background.

Step 7. Press Space to mark it.

Step 8. Move to Presentation Accessibility.

Step 9. Press Space to mark it.

Step 10. Press Control+Shift+Q for Query Marked Slides to check the marks.

Step 11. Read the list with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 12. Press Escape to return without changing the marks.

Review names and save the marked slides.

Continue with the required slides marked in the Slides List Box.

If there are no marks, Save marked slides as reusable is unavailable in the context menu. Invoking it from the Slide menu or Command Centre explains how to mark slides.

Step 1. Press Shift+F10 or the Applications key in Slides.

Step 2. Choose Save marked slides as reusable.

Step 3. Press Enter. The same command is available from the Slide menu or through Command Centre with Control+Shift+C. It has no separate direct shortcut.

Step 4. Review the suggested names with Up or Down Arrow in the Marked slides List Box, where focus starts. The list contains only the marked slides, in presentation order. Each row gives the original slide number, its title and its proposed library name. The highlighted slide in the main window is not included unless it was marked.

Step 5. To change a suggested name, press Enter on its row, or press Tab to the Reusable slide name Edit Field. The name is selected.

Step 6. Type a replacement name. To edit only part of it, first use Left or Right Arrow to remove the selection. These edits change the proposed library name, not the title in your presentation.

Step 7. Press Enter from the Reusable slide name Edit Field to return to the List Box. This retains the edited name in the dialog without saving files. You can also use Shift+Tab to return.

Step 8. Choose another row with Up or Down Arrow if needed, and repeat the name-editing actions. Enter in the name field returns to the List Box so reviewing several names cannot accidentally save the whole collection.

Step 9. When all names are ready, press Tab to the Save all slides Button.

Step 10. Press Enter or Space. Each slide is saved as a separate .presentable-slide file in the Reusable slides folder. A short confirmation gives the number saved. Focus returns to the main Slides List Box, with the original selected slide and marks unchanged.

Step 11. Open Insert reusable slide to check the new entries. This library is sorted by name, so its order may differ from the presentation order used in the review dialog. Insert whichever entries you need, one at a time, using the earlier procedure in this chapter.

Suggested names start from the slide titles. Characters which cannot be used in a filename are replaced with spaces. A slide without a title receives a name such as Slide 3. Long names are shortened. When a name would repeat another suggestion or an existing library filename, a number is added, for example About Me (2). You can change any suggestion before saving.

Each final name must be valid and different from the other names and existing library entries. If you type a duplicate, an existing name or an invalid filename, PresentAble explains the problem and focuses the affected name with its text selected. Correct it and choose Save all slides again. This batch command never replaces an existing entry. To deliberately update an existing reusable slide, use Save selected slide as reusable and its replacement confirmation instead.

Escape or Cancel before saving discards the proposed names and writes no library files. Saving the reusable copies does not save pending edits in the original project; press Control+S separately if required. It also does not clear the marks. Use Control+Alt+Shift+Q when you have finished with them.

If saving fails, PresentAble attempts to remove new files from that operation and keeps the review open so you can correct the problem or cancel. If a newly saved file cannot be removed, or another program changed it meanwhile, the error identifies the files which remain and the review closes. Read the message before trying again. The source presentation remains open and unchanged.

Deleting a reusable slide.

Deleting a saved reusable slide removes its library entry. It does not remove independent copies you have already inserted into presentations. Use File Explorer for this task; Delete in PresentAble's main Slides List Box removes a slide from the open presentation instead.

A deletion from a shared cloud library also affects other users of that library when synchronisation completes. Recovery, where available, is through the Windows Recycle Bin or the cloud service. PresentAble’s Undo command cannot reverse the deletion.

Find the reusable-slides folder.

Step 1. If the Reusable slides dialog is open, close it with Escape.

Step 2. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+1 for Folders.

Step 4. Press Tab to the Reusable slides folder Edit Field.

Step 5. Read the folder location.

Step 6. If a path is present, press Control+A to select it.

Step 7. Press Control+C to copy the selected path. If the field was empty, continue without copying a path.

Step 8. Press Escape to close Settings without changing it.

Open the reusable-slides folder in File Explorer.

The default folder exists after you have saved at least one reusable slide there. If you use Portable with its default folder, open File Explorer with Windows+E, then open the folder containing PresentAble.exe, followed by Data, then Reusable slides. Continue at “Delete the individual reusable-slide file”.

For a copied path or an installed copy’s default location, use these steps:

Step 1. Press Windows+E to open File Explorer.

Step 2. Press Alt+D for the address bar.

Step 3. Paste the copied folder path. For an installed copy using the default folder, enter %APPDATA%\PresentAble\Reusable slides instead.

Step 4. Press Enter to open the folder.

Once the folder is open, continue with the file selection and deletion steps.

Delete the individual reusable-slide file.

Continue in the reusable-slides folder in File Explorer.

Step 1. Select the unwanted file with Up or Down Arrow. For example, About Me is stored as About Me.presentable-slide.

Step 2. Check that this is the individual reusable-slide file you intend to remove. If filename extensions are hidden, press Alt+Enter and check the file’s name and type in Properties, then Escape to return.

Step 3. Press Delete.

Step 4. If a confirmation appears, read it before choosing Yes.

Step 5. Confirm the deletion only if it names the correct file. Press Enter or Space when the required confirmation Button has focus.

Step 6. Return to PresentAble.

Step 7. Open Insert reusable slide again. The deleted entry should be absent.

You can also check a presentation that already uses the slide: its inserted copy is still there.

A deletion from a shared cloud library also affects other users of that library when synchronisation completes. Recovery, where available, is through the Windows Recycle Bin or the cloud service, not PresentAble's Undo command. Delete only the library entry; there is no need to find and delete separate picture or recording files, because local media are stored inside that entry.

36. Sharing a PresentAble presentation.

Decide what the other person needs.

There are two main files to consider. The .presentable project is your editable working presentation. The .pptx file is the PowerPoint version which you create by exporting. You can send either one or both, depending on what the recipient wants to do.

For example, the usual handover for our garden presentation would contain:

Our Community Garden.presentable
Our Community Garden.pptx

The second file is optional if the other person only needs to edit in PresentAble. Do not rename a .presentable file to .pptx to convert it. Use Export PowerPoint.

What travels inside the presentation.

A normal saved PresentAble project contains the slide titles, bullets, paragraphs, tables, links, speaker notes, image descriptions, reading order and presentation formatting. Pictures which have been added successfully and local sound and video recordings are embedded: their data are stored inside the project. You do not need to send a separate Images folder, the original microphone recording or the original video file to make those embedded objects available.

The exported PowerPoint also contains the pictures and local recordings used on its slides. Keep your original source files for your own future work, but you do not need to supply them separately for playback when the media are correctly embedded. Large pictures and recordings make the project and export larger, so allow enough time for copying or uploading.

An incomplete image placeholder is different. Copying a project cannot supply a picture which was missing when it was saved. Before sharing, replace missing sources and run the checks. A picture's visible filename alone is not proof that its image data are present.

Earlier online-video references remain in the project for recovery, but cannot be exported. Remove them or replace them with local video files before sharing an exported presentation. Copying a project does not download online videos. Website and email links likewise retain their destinations; the linked websites and email application do not become part of the presentation.

Font names and formatting are saved, but font files are not supplied with the project. If a chosen font is unavailable on the other computer, its replacement may change wrapping and fit. Check the appearance on the computer which will show the presentation. See chapter 20 for local recordings and handling earlier online references, and chapter 24 for export and analysis.

Speaker notes and image descriptions travel with the project, and notes are also included in the exported PowerPoint. Being absent from the visible slide does not make them private. Read the notes before giving the file to another person. A project may also retain its imported Markdown source or image-generation request details; share a working project with that broader content in mind.

Prepare a project for handover.

Prepare the final saved version before copying it. If PresentAble reports a save failure, resolve that first: the file already on disk may still contain an older version.

Step 1. Open the presentation you want to share.

Step 2. If an edit is pending in a dialog, press Tab to its Save Button, Save changes Button or Save table Button.

Step 3. Press Enter or Space to accept that pending edit into the working presentation. If no edit is pending, continue to saving the project.

Step 4. Press Control+S to save the complete project. If it saves without opening a dialog, continue to the checks.

Step 5. If a Save dialog opens, choose the destination folder.

Step 6. Enter a filename ending in .presentable in the File name Edit Field.

Step 7. Press Enter directly from that field. Alternatively, press Tab to the Save Button, then Enter or Space.

Step 8. Press Control+F7 to run the checks.

Step 9. Review the findings, including any missing images or recording problems.

Step 10. Review the speaker notes to check that they are appropriate for the recipient. You can use the presentation overview or Rehearsal to read through the material.

Prepare the PowerPoint copy if needed.

Continue after reviewing the project. Export after your final edits so that the project and PowerPoint files agree. If the recipient needs only the editable project, skip this stage and continue with “Locate and close the handover files”.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+E to export, or Control+E for Export and analyse.

Step 2. Complete the review steps described in chapter 24.

Step 3. Enter the filename in the output file dialog.

Step 4. Press Enter from File name Edit Field. Alternatively, press Tab to the Save Button, then Enter or Space.

Locate and close the handover files.

Step 1. Note the folder containing each file. They may be different because Settings has separate Projects and Export folders.

If you are unsure where the current project is saved, use Control+Shift+S to save a clearly named handover copy in a folder you choose. From then on, further saves affect that copy.

Step 2. Close the project with Control+W when you have finished preparing it.

Step 3. If asked to save further edits, complete that save before the handover. You now have a stable saved version for the other person to open.

Example: copy the garden presentation using a USB drive.

Step 1. Prepare and save the garden presentation using the preceding procedures.

Step 2. Connect the USB drive.

Step 3. Press Windows+E to open File Explorer.

Step 4. Press Alt+D to reach the address bar.

Step 5. Type or paste the folder containing Our Community Garden.presentable.

Step 6. Press Enter to open the folder.

Step 7. Press Tab to the file list.

Step 8. Select the project.

Step 9. Press Control+C to copy it. Copying leaves your working original in place.

Step 10. Open the USB drive in File Explorer.

Step 11. Choose a folder for the handover.

Step 12. Press Control+V to paste the project.

Step 13. Wait for the copy to finish.

If you also want to provide the .pptx export, repeat the copy from its export folder to the same USB folder. You do not need to compress these files into an archive.

Transfer the USB copy to the receiving computer.

Continue once copying to the drive has finished.

Step 1. Safely eject the drive using Windows.

Step 2. Connect the drive to the other computer.

Step 3. Use File Explorer to copy the files into a folder there that the recipient can write to, such as their chosen presentations folder.

Step 4. Open PresentAble on that computer.

Step 5. Press Control+O.

Step 6. Locate the copied .presentable file.

Step 7. With its name or full path in the File name Edit Field, press Enter. Alternatively, press Tab to the Open Button, then Enter or Space. Use this project-opening procedure when the editable .presentable file is available; Import PowerPoint is for importing a PowerPoint file.

Step 8. Check the presentation name, slide count, notes and media.

Step 9. Use Rehearsal to inspect the content.

Step 10. Preview any local recordings.

Step 11. If the supplied .pptx will be used for presenting, open it separately in PowerPoint and test the slide show.

Remove or replace any earlier online references before creating a new PowerPoint export.

An email attachment or file-transfer service can carry the same saved files instead of a USB drive. The recipient should download the complete files to a writable folder before opening them. Size limits may make a shared folder more convenient for presentations containing recordings.

Working through Dropbox, OneDrive or another shared folder.

A synchronised folder keeps local copies of shared files up to date through a cloud service. It can save you from manually copying each revision. However, PresentAble does not merge two people’s edits automatically. Take turns editing a shared presentation. A copy already open in the editor is not automatically refreshed when the cloud file changes.

Step 1. Agree a shared folder and make it available through the cloud service on each computer. Use its local folder path in PresentAble, not a website sharing address. The local path may differ between the computers even though both point to the same shared content.

Step 2. On each computer, press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+1 for Folders.

Step 4. Press Tab to reach the Projects folder Edit Field.

Step 5. Enter that computer’s local shared-folder path. Alternatively, press Tab to its Browse Button, then Enter or Space to choose the folder.

Step 6. Set Export folder separately if exports should also be shared.

Step 7. Press Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 8. Press Enter or Space.

Put the current project in the shared folder.

Changing Projects folder only changes the starting location for file dialogs. It does not move an already saved project or change where Control+S saves it. Continue in the current presentation after saving the folder settings.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+S to save a copy.

Step 2. Choose the shared folder.

Step 3. Enter the filename.

Step 4. Press Enter from File name Edit Field.

Step 5. If required, export a fresh .pptx into the agreed export folder.

Take turns editing the shared project.

Start with the person preparing the next revision. A filename appearing on the other computer does not prove that its latest contents have finished downloading.

Step 1. Finish your edits.

Step 2. Save the project successfully.

Step 3. Close the project.

Step 4. Wait until the cloud service reports that uploading or synchronising has finished before telling the other person to open that revision.

Step 5. On the receiving computer, wait for synchronisation to finish and check that the file is downloaded locally. Where the cloud service offers it, make the project available offline before relying on it away from the internet. This downloads the saved project, including embedded local media.

Step 6. Take turns editing the shared project. The next person should open it after the previous person has saved, closed it and finished synchronising. If both need to work independently, use separately named copies, such as Garden-Brian.presentable and Garden-review.presentable, and agree which will become the next main version. Chapter 25 explains comparing saved projects.

If you already have a different version open with unsaved edits, save those under a separate name before opening the received file. Do not assume that cloud synchronisation has updated the presentation already in memory.

Step 7. When you receive a completed revision, reopen the file to load it.

If a save reports access denied, a synchronisation client or another program may temporarily be using the destination. A failed save is not a completed handover, even if an older file is visible in the shared folder.

Step 1. Wait briefly.

Step 2. Try Control+S again.

Step 3. If saving still fails, use Control+Shift+S to save a separately named copy in another writable folder.

For conflicting copies created by the cloud service, retain both until you have compared them and decided which changes to keep.

Sharing templates and reusable slides as well.

A .presentable project already contains independent copies of any slides used from a template or inserted from the reusable library. The recipient does not need those original library files to open or edit that project.

If you also want them to use your starting materials for other presentations, copy the relevant .presentable-template files and .presentable-slide files separately. These are optional additions to the handover, not dependencies of the project. Chapters 34 and 35 explain the two libraries.

Step 1. Find the saved library files in the folders specified under Templates folder and Reusable slides folder in Settings.

Step 2. Copy the required files using File Explorer. There is no need to copy the entire application or its Data folder to share those entries.

Step 3. On the recipient's computer, place the templates in their configured Templates folder and the reusable slides in their configured Reusable slides folder. Alternatively, both people can set those two preferences to corresponding shared cloud folders. Configure them separately from Projects folder.

Step 4. Close and reopen New from template or Insert reusable slide to refresh the relevant list.

Step 5. If you want to inspect an entry, select its name.

Step 6. Press Tab to the Show contents Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space.

Step 8. Read the report.

Step 9. Press Escape to close it.

Step 10. Create a presentation from a template, or insert a reusable slide, to check that its content and media arrived. Future edits to that working copy do not update the saved library original. Replacing or deleting a file in a shared library does, however, affect the entry available to everyone using that library after synchronisation.

Taking previous versions to another computer.

Only the current .presentable file is needed to open the current presentation. Its older versions are separate. If you want the recipient to use Restore presentation backup with the same history, copy the matching .history folder as well. To keep the immediately previous saved version, also copy the .bak file when it exists.

For our example, the files and folder would be:

Our Community Garden.presentable
Our Community Garden.presentable.bak
Our Community Garden.presentable.history

The last item is a folder: copy it with all its contents. Keep it and the .bak file beside the project on the other computer, retaining their matching names. If you rename the project during the transfer, the matching backup filename and history-folder name must also match the new project filename for PresentAble to find them. Ordinary Save as does not transfer the previous file's history to the new name.

Copies in the additional Backup folder configured in Settings are another, separate collection. Transfer any of those dated .presentable files only if you want to preserve that additional archive. They are not needed to open the current project. Undo and Redo history from an editing session is not saved with the project and cannot be transferred.

What you do not need to copy.

For an ordinary presentation handover, you do not need PresentAble's program files, settings, recent-project list, recovery files or spelling dictionary. The application must already be available on the receiving computer; giving someone a project does not install PresentAble. Use the supplied application package appropriate to that computer separately from the presentation files.

Preferences such as folder locations, Guided or Standard mode and whether to announce shortcut keys are chosen independently on each computer. Presentation formatting travels in the project, but personal defaults for future presentations do not. Set the recipient's folders to real locations on their computer rather than copying another user's paths.

An OpenAI API key is not included in a project, template, reusable slide or PowerPoint export. Opening and editing a presentation and using its existing pictures or recordings do not need that key. If the recipient wants to make new OpenAI requests, they use their own configured connection or their existing Leasey key, as explained in chapter 3. Do not copy credential or activation files as part of a presentation handover.

Final check on the receiving computer.

Check the received copy before relying on it for a presentation.

Step 1. Open the received project in PresentAble.

Step 2. Check that the expected slides and notes are present.

Step 3. Run the presentation checks.

Step 4. Preview the local sound and video recordings.

Step 5. If a PowerPoint file is to be shown, test its slide show on that computer. Check the position of text, tables and pictures and the playback of any local recordings.

Keep the editable .presentable file available for later corrections. After making those corrections, export again to produce an updated PowerPoint file.

37. Questions which may arise while working.

I have moved to a control but no additional hint is spoken.

Step 1. Press Control+Comma.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2 for Speech and recovery.

Step 3. Press Tab twice, passing the Announce progress Check Box to reach the Guidance Combo Box.

Step 4. Use Up or Down Arrow to select Guided.

Step 5. Tab to the Save settings Button.

Step 6. Press Enter or Space.

Step 7. Move to a control with Tab and pause briefly to allow its hint to begin.

Guided enables the extra hints; Standard suppresses them.

Speak short confirmations is a separate setting. Unchecking it does not by itself disable Guided hints. If JAWS is also failing to announce the control's ordinary label or value, that is a different issue from the extra guidance. Shift+F1 provides the written control help for review.

A page shortcut put me somewhere different from where I left it.

Control+1 through to Control+5 deliberately put focus on the first control of the chosen workspace. Control+Tab also enters the next main workspace at its first control. This provides a consistent starting point when changing areas.

For the selected slide's available editing pages, use Control+Shift+J, Left or Right Arrow, then Tab. Control+Alt+N goes directly to the Speaker notes Edit Field. Control+L goes directly to the Slides List Box.

Enter starts another line instead of saving.

That is expected in a multi-line Edit Field. Tab to the named Save Button, Save changes Button or Save table Button and press Enter or Space.

In the Content items List Box, Enter opens the selected item's editor. It is the list's Enter action which edits an item; once inside its multi-line Edit Field, Enter edits the text itself.

I changed the Markdown but the slides did not change.

The Import Edit Field holds source text, not a live copy of the edited slides. Converting it again creates a replacement presentation; it does not merge changes with existing slides. To convert your revised source:

Step 1. Press Control+S to save the existing presentation if it contains work you want to keep.

Step 2. Press Control+1 to reach the Markdown text for slides Edit Field.

Step 3. Review the source.

Step 4. Press Control+Enter for Preview slides from text.

Step 5. Read the conversion report.

Step 6. If this source should replace the current presentation, Tab to the Create presentation Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space to accept it, or Escape to cancel the review.

Step 8. Press Control+L to review the new Slides List Box.

Step 9. Use Control+Shift+S to save a separately named project if you want to keep both versions.

There is text in Content but it is missing from the export.

Image only, Table and Title and video do not export ordinary body content. To inspect this:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the affected slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+L.

Step 4. Read the currently selected layout.

Step 5. If appropriate, choose a layout which shows text with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 6. Press Enter to accept it, or Escape to keep the existing layout.

Step 7. If the slide needs to remain a table or image slide, move its explanatory content to a separate text slide using chapter 14 instead.

Step 8. Press Control+F7 to review hidden-content and overlap findings.

Step 9. After correcting them, save with Control+S.

Step 10. Export again.

My style change has not affected the slide.

Changing the Styles fields alone prepares a draft change. To check and apply it:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. If only that slide should change, press Control+Alt+Shift+Q to clear unwanted marks.

Step 4. Press Control+3.

Step 5. In Apply formatting to, use Up or Down Arrow to choose the scope. The prepared field values remain available.

Step 6. Press Control+Alt+A.

Step 7. Read the scope confirmation.

Step 8. Press Enter to accept Yes if correct.

Step 9. Press Control+Shift+F to inspect the applied formatting.

Step 10. Read with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 11. Press Escape to close the report.

Step 12. Press Control+S to save the project.

Saving a personal default affects future presentations. It does not restyle the current one. Likewise, loading a selected slide's style fills the editor but does not itself apply a change.

I cannot find a font by typing.

Make sure focus is in the Font family Combo Box, then type the first few letters without a long pause. For example, AR can select Arial when present. Pause for about two seconds to begin another prefix. Use Up or Down Arrow to inspect nearby choices.

A project's stored font name can remain in the list even when that font is absent from the computer. That preserves the requested name; it does not install the font.

Results is empty.

Step 1. Press Control+F7 to run a fresh check.

Step 2. Press Control+5 to focus the Severity Combo Box.

Step 3. Use Up or Down Arrow to select All.

Step 4. Tab to the Results List Box.

Step 5. Use Up or Down Arrow to review any entries.

Step 6. If the list is still empty, Tab to the Read full report Button.

Step 7. Press Enter or Space.

Step 8. Read the overall outcome with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 9. Press Escape to close the report.

A filter can exclude findings, or no check may have run in this session. Editing refreshes local findings and retains earlier measurements with changed slides labelled for rechecking. An empty list alone does not certify that every slide is accessible.

A picture has a description but still will not export.

Alternative text and image data are separate. A missing-source placeholder can have a useful description while still lacking the actual picture. To supply it:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select the slide.

Step 3. Press Control+Shift+J.

Step 4. Choose Images with Left or Right Arrow.

Step 5. Press Tab to reach the Images List Box.

Step 6. Select the image with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 7. Press Enter.

Step 8. In Image properties, press Control+Tab until Source is selected.

Step 9. Press Alt+R for the Replace from computer Button.

Step 10. Select the actual image file, or enter its full path in File name Edit Field.

Step 11. Tab to the Open Button and press Enter or Space, or press Enter directly from File name Edit Field.

Step 12. Review Description and Crop using Control+Tab or Control+Shift+Tab.

Step 13. Press Alt+S for the Save changes Button.

Step 14. Press Control+F7 to check again.

Step 15. Press Control+S to save. Chapter 17 explains replacement in more detail.

An image quality suggestion returned after I recorded a review.

The recorded review applies to the source, crop and frame you reviewed. A change affecting that arrangement can require another review. Recording a review does not make every future version of the image automatically suitable.

A recording does not start while I edit.

Start playback controls the exported PowerPoint slide show, not playback during editing. To hear or watch the recording now, use preview:

Step 1. Press Control+L to select its slide.

Step 2. Press Control+Alt+M.

Step 3. Choose the recording.

Step 4. Press Control+Alt+P to open preview.

Step 5. Activate Play. Chapter 20 explains both preview and slide-show playback.

PowerPoint analysis is unavailable.

The additional measuring and rendering workflows require desktop PowerPoint. Ordinary local editing, structural checks and PowerPoint file export remain available without that measurement stage. Read the error report to identify whether the failure concerned export itself or the later analysis.

A command from Command Centre appears to do nothing.

Check the context it needs. Choose a slide before adding slide content, an image before opening Image properties, and a table before editing a table. Some actions report that an appropriate selection is needed. Use Shift+F1 on the corresponding control for its workflow.

I want to report a problem or suggest a refinement.

Include the version from Help, About, the workspace or dialog, the focused control, and the keys you pressed. Describe what JAWS said, what you expected to hear or happen, and what happened instead.

For example: “On Slides, Content, I selected the second bullet and pressed Enter. I expected its editor to open, but focus stayed in the list.” This gives a much more useful starting point than “editing does not work”.

If a report is relevant, use Copy report to keep its exact wording. Use a small example project when possible so the issue is easier to reproduce without unrelated material.

To copy the spoken feedback for a problem report, use JAWS Speech History:

Step 1. Press JAWS Key+Space, then H. Focus is on the most recently spoken item.

Step 2. Use Up Arrow to reach the beginning of the affected passage.

Step 3. Press Control+Windows+End to select from that point to the end of the history.

Step 4. Press Control+C to copy.

Step 5. Press Escape to close Speech History.

38. Complete keyboard reference.

Use this chapter to look up a command once you know what you want to do. The earlier chapters explain the features and provide worked examples. Each shortcut has its own entry, grouped under a heading for the place where it works.

Commands are grouped by where they work. Focus means the control that will receive your next keypress. The same keystroke can do different things in different windows or controls, so read the section heading and any condition in the entry before using it. For example, Enter can edit an item in a list, activate a Button or insert a new line in a multi-line Edit Field.

A plus sign means hold the keys together. “Then” means release the first combination before pressing the next key. For example, Alt+H, then P opens the Help menu and then chooses the update command.

Command Centre is Control+Shift+C. Query Marked Slides is Control+Shift+Q. Control+Alt+Shift+Q is the separate command that clears slide marks.

Main-window shortcuts should be used after closing or accepting an open editor or Settings dialog unless a dialog-specific behaviour is described.

General navigation.

Removal confirmations default to Yes. Choose No to keep the item.

Opening screen.

Workspaces and slide pages.

Create, open or import a presentation before using workspace shortcuts.

To go directly to an editing page for a particular slide:

Step 1. Press Control+L.

Step 2. Select a slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Control+Alt+1 for Content, Control+Alt+2 for the Images List Box, Control+Alt+3 for the Tables List Box, Control+Alt+4 for Audio and video, or Control+Alt+5 for the Speaker notes Edit Field. Focus enters the first control of an available page. If that page is unavailable, a short message explains this and focus stays where it was. Control+Alt+N remains available for Speaker notes.

Tabbed dialogs.

Help.

The Help menu opens the complete user guide. F1 opens the shorter keyboard reference supplied with PresentAble.

Command Centre.

JAWS application version.

Guided and Standard modes.

Choose Guided or Standard in Settings, Speech and recovery.

Guided adds a short spoken explanation after the normal control information. This is useful while learning, but the extra words can make a long slide entry harder to follow. Standard leaves these additional spoken hints off, so attention stays on the control and current slide. The separate Announce shortcut keys setting can speak the documented key in either mode. Neither mode changes the presentation. Shift+F1 provides detailed help in both. Action confirmations and progress messages have separate settings and are spoken and shown in Braille when enabled.

F4 requests the focused control's shortcut and hint in Braille in both Guided and Standard modes, including when Announce shortcut keys is unchecked. It adds no speech and does not move focus. A control without a shortcut provides its hint alone. Press a cursor routing key to return to the focused control's information. Chapter 5 includes a step-by-step example.

A control without a documented key has no keyboard reminder. Unchecking Announce shortcut keys does not change your Guided or Standard mode setting.

Shortcut announcements.

Use the primary commands in this reference. For example, Control+N creates a presentation, Control+O opens one, and Control+Shift+N adds a slide. Their former Alt alternatives are no longer active. Native underlined-letter accelerators and redundant Alt alternatives have been removed. Separate dialog commands and normal menu navigation remain available.

Announce shortcut keys is checked by default in Settings, Speech and recovery. To change it:

Step 1. Press Control+Comma to open Settings.

Step 2. Press Control+Shift+2 to open Speech and recovery.

Step 3. Press Tab three times to reach the Announce shortcut keys Check Box.

Step 4. Check whether the option is currently checked.

Step 5. If you want to change its state, press Space.

Step 6. Press Enter to save Settings.

The “Guided and Standard modes” section explains the spoken reminders and the separate F4 command for Braille guidance.

Uncheck this option to omit shortcut reminders without changing the separate Guidance setting.

Settings pages.

Each command selects a main Settings page and enters its first usable control.

These shortcuts work while Settings is open, including in its nested formatting pages.

In Settings, only Control+Shift+1 through to Control+Shift+5 select the main pages. Individual Settings controls have no direct shortcuts. Use Tab and Shift+Tab to reach them, Space to change a Check Box, and Enter or Space on a Button. Normal text-editing and help keys remain available.

Projects and settings.

Short recent-project names.

Step 1. Press Control+Shift+O to open Recent projects.

Step 2. In the Projects List Box, choose a project by name with Up or Down Arrow. Paths and file extensions are omitted. Identical names are distinguished by a numbered suffix.

Step 3. If you need to distinguish project locations, Tab to the Show location Button.

Step 4. Press Enter or Space.

Step 5. Read the full path.

Step 6. Press Escape to return. Enter in the Projects List Box opens the selected project.

Saving to a synchronised folder.

PresentAble briefly retries if Windows denies replacement of a file, as can happen while a sync service is using it. It continues to write a complete temporary file and replace the original safely; it does not erase the original to work around a lock. If the lock or permission problem persists, your edits remain open and a message explains that saving was not confirmed.

Step 1. Wait briefly.

Step 2. Press Control+S again.

Step 3. If saving still fails, use Control+Shift+S to save under another name or in a different writable folder. A file already visible in Dropbox or OneDrive may contain an earlier saved version, so do not assume the latest edits reached disk after an error.

Presentation backups.

Import.

Slides.

Add slide starts at Title slide in a new presentation, then remembers the last type you accept. Control+M adds a Title slide if no slide type has yet been chosen in the new presentation.

Content items.

Split content into next slide is available through the Slide menu or Command Centre without a dedicated shortcut.

For adding or editing a link in a content item, see “Website and email links” in this chapter.

Slides and Content items context menus.

Matching shortcuts are displayed beside their actions, such as Add slide, Control+Shift+N. Actions without a matching shortcut have no shortcut shown.

Text editors and other editing dialogs.

In a multi-line editing field, Enter inserts a new line. Use the Save Button to accept the text.

Clipboard and undo.

Cut slides and content items stay in place until a compatible paste succeeds.

Images.

Image quality and resolution review is also available through the Images menu and its page Button.

By default, paid OpenAI requests open a review before submission. In Settings, OpenAI preferences, Skip image request review lets Create image submit creation and description directly. The finished image still opens for review.

Image properties shortcuts.

Use the Source-page shortcuts only while Source is selected. The same Alt letter may have another meaning on another page.

Replace from computer and Save image copy are on the Source page of Image properties.

Tables.

Table editor shortcuts.

These keys apply inside Edit table. Save table accepts the pending table; Control+S in the main window subsequently saves the project.

The chosen row and column identify the Cell text you edit. The editor’s Add row, Add column, Remove row and Remove column Buttons operate on its selected position.

Styles.

In font Combo Boxes, type successive letters such as AR to select Arial. A pause of about two seconds starts a new prefix search.

Reading order.

Spelling.

F7 starts a check. The other commands in this section apply while Spell check is open. Chapter 29 explains the effect and scope of each action.

Find in presentation.

Replace in presentation.

Presentation overview.

Rehearsal.

Image descriptions in rehearsal.

Step 1. Press F5 to open rehearsal.

Step 2. Select a rehearsal slide with Up or Down Arrow.

Step 3. Press Alt+I to reach the Image descriptions Edit Field.

Step 4. Read the stored alternative text and Accessible details with your usual JAWS commands. Decorative images and missing descriptions are identified, and No images is stated when applicable.

Alt+Right Arrow and Alt+Left Arrow change slides while keeping focus in the Image descriptions Edit Field. Alt+C returns to the Slide content Edit Field, Alt+N goes to the Speaker notes Edit Field, and Escape leaves rehearsal.

Audio and video.

Audio or video properties.

Chapter 20 explains the recording properties in detail.

Recording preview.

Record audio.

Recording order.

Move recording up and Move recording down are available as Buttons on Audio and video, in its menu and through the Command Centre. To change the order:

Step 1. Select a recording.

Step 2. Activate the Move recording up or Move recording down Button, according to where you want to move it. Focus returns to the moved recording.

Control+Z undoes the move.

Earlier online-video references.

Online-video embedding is temporarily unavailable. Earlier references are retained for recovery and must be removed or replaced with a local video before export.

Speaker notes uses an ordinary Edit Field. In both Standard and Guided modes, entering the field or moving to another line with Up Arrow or Down Arrow produces a brief spoken indication if that line contains linked words. For example, “Link: garden website” identifies the linked part of a sentence. Ordinary lines have no additional announcement. The links list lets you review complete destinations and open them deliberately.

Begin with the required slide selected.

Step 1. Press JAWS Key+F7 to open Notes links.

Step 2. Use Up or Down Arrow to select a link. Each entry identifies its text and whether it is a website or email link.

Step 3. Press Tab to the Address Edit Field.

Step 4. Read the destination.

Enter edits the selected link. Use Open note link only when you want to visit its destination or prepare an email draft. Go to note text returns to the linked words in the editor. Escape returns to the notes without opening a destination. The list also works in Standard mode.

Project templates and reusable slides.

Save marked slides as reusable dialog.

Checks and reports.

Export.

Reading help and report text.

F1 opens keyboard help with focus already in its read-only Edit Field. Report windows also open directly at the beginning of their read-only text. While that field has focus:

In the HTML guide, use your normal JAWS browser reading and heading-navigation commands. The linked contents list leads to each numbered chapter. Code examples are presented as text with their line breaks retained.