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Those who are hard of hearing can now follow along with videos that don’t have subtitles baked into them.
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft PowerPoint for the Web now allows you to upload captions and subtitles for videos, making it more accessible for the hard of hearing.
- To add subtitles, you need to format them as a WebVTT file and upload it into PowerPoint.
- This update demonstrates Microsoft’s dedication to accessibility and making their software user-friendly for all.
Microsoft PowerPoint is an excellent slideshow program, but it can be difficult to create presentations for the hard of hearing. While it’s usually fine to have slides with descriptive text on them, things get a little tricky when you want to show a video that doesn’t have subtitles baked into it. Fortunately, Microsoft is aiming to fix that with a new update to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 that lets you upload captions and subtitles for your videos.
As reported by Windows Central, the update first arrived on the Insider channel around a week ago. However, the feature has now been rolled out to everyone, so you should now be able to upload captions and subtitles in PowerPoint for the web regardless of whether you’re an Insider or not. This comes hot after Microsoft showed off all the exciting things coming to Microsoft 365 in the future.
Getting subtitles uploaded takes a little bit of work. To get them on your PowerPoint slideshow, you need to format your subtitles as a WebVTT file. You can then upload this into PowerPoint and it will use the file to generate subtitles for your video. If you don’t know how to make a WebVTT file, Microsoft has a guide on Microsoft Support on how to do it. You can do all the work required in Notepad, so there’s no need to download any third-party software.
This update for PowerPoint is a big win for people with accessibility issues. Microsoft has made major strides in making its software easier to use for everyone, including adding a lot of great accessibility options for Windows 11. As such, the next time you’re making a PowerPoint presentation, consider adding subtitles for any videos you add. You may help out someone who is hard of hearing, or at least someone watching your presentation from a place where they can’t have the audio turned up.
** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
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