Using PowerPoint’s Document Masters for Accessible Handouts and Notes

We previously stated that PowerPoint’s Slide Master was often overlooked by users, but I must say that the Handout Master and Notes Master are features that are mostly unknown to many users. This is unfortunate because most of the time, they allow users to make their PowerPoint files work harder in much less time than having to create separate files for their presentation and document needs.

PowerPoint’s two document masters work in a similar way to the Slide Master. They allow you to determine the overall look of documents you might want to produce for your audience, so you are on brand while avoiding the obligation to create Word documents.

Again, our goal is to help you format the Handout Master and Notes Master so you can quickly produce documents from your presentation file. This means there will be no need to create multiple files before your next presentation. Your PowerPoint file...

Technical requirements

PowerPoint’s document masters can be found in all versions of the application. The topics discussed in this chapter can be applied to whatever version of PowerPoint you are using, although, you might encounter some differences if you are not using PowerPoint in its Microsoft 365 (M365) subscription model.

Configuring the Handout Master for a simple document

The Handout Master allows you to create a branded look for your simple document needs. Although many users don’t know about that specific master, many have used its view when printing handouts that have six slide thumbnails per page for their audience. Let's see how you can format it so your printouts or .pdf files will be branded and your audience sees your company information on each page.

To access the Handout Master, you need to use the View tab (1) and choose Handout Master (2) (Figure 4.1):

Figure 4.1 – Accessing Handout Master

Tip

Whenever you are unsure about what a button will do, take time to read the tooltip provided each time you hover over one so you will get a brief description, such as the one provided in Figure 4.1 for the Handout Master view.

You then get the Handout Master view tab where you will be able to make all the necessary formatting changes (Figure...

Configuring the Notes Master for a complete handout

The Notes Master allows you to create a branded look for documents that need an image of the slide and notes beneath it. The notes are captured from the notes pane beneath each slide in the Normal view. Most of the time, notes are used for the presenter, but that does not mean they cannot be used for your audience. There are some workarounds that allow you to create a file that can contain notes for the presenter and notes for the handout, but let’s start by going through the changes you should make in the Notes Master.

To access the Notes Master, you need to use the View tab and choose Notes Master (Figure 4.6):

Figure 4.6 – Accessing Notes Master

You then get the Notes Master view, from which you will be able to make all the necessary changes to customize your document’s look (Figure 4.7):

Figure 4.7 – Notes Master view

1. In the Page Setup...

Making your presentations accessible

Making documents and presentations more accessible is making sure users with a disability can access your content with the various devices they can use, such as screen readers. Whether your country has laws or official guidelines or not, there is no reason to shy away from making your documents and presentations accessible because Microsoft has included a great feature to help you do it: Accessibility Checker. This feature was made available as far back as Office 2010, although it was less user-friendly at the time. If you are using any of the more modern versions (Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 2021, or Office for M365), you will get a much nicer interface that helps you track where are the accessibility problems and how to solve them.

To display the Accessibility pane in your presentation, you can click on Accessibility in the status bar (1) to open the Accessibility pane and tab (2) (Figure 4.14):

Figure 4.14 ...

Printing your documents

You might be wondering why I would cover how to print documents, especially since most users have been doing so for a very long time. Even though everyone knows how they can print from the File | Print options, or Ctrl + P, many have overlooked some nice features hidden in PowerPoint’s printing options that you should know about. Those are the ones I will cover in this section.

When you are in the Print options view (Figure 4.15), you can change so much more than the number of copies and the printer properties:

Figure 4.15 – PowerPoint’s Print options view

Let’s review important settings that you might have missed all those years:

1. Selecting what you need to print might be something you are aware of already, but when we look at the bottom part of that drop-down list, we have two hidden gems. The first one is the possibility to print specific sections in your presentation. If you have put in...

Exporting your document as a .pdf file

Even though the PDF export feature has been available for many years within Office applications, many users still overlook some settings that might help them produce various types of PDF documents.

You first need to go to the Backstage view using the File tab. From there, you can use the Save a Copy (cloud file) or Save as function (local file), or use the Export function to start creating a PDF document from a PowerPoint file (Figure 4.17):

Figure 4.17 – Creating a PDF from a PowerPoint file

1. You can use the Save a Copy command and select PDF in the file type drop-down list.
2. There is also the possibility to use the Export command, then the Create PDF/XPS Document option.
3. In both cases, you might see an Investigate Accessibility button if any elements are missing to create an accessible PDF.
4. When you click on the Save button while in the Save a Copy section, it automatically creates the...

Summary

In this chapter, we discussed PowerPoint’s document masters to help you create handouts and notes from your main presentation file, and how to print them and create PDF documents. You now have enough knowledge to be able to leverage those masters so you can create professional-looking documents and visual slides for your delivery.

I will repeat myself from the previous chapter on the Slide Master: even if you have the feeling it will take you too much time, I can guarantee you that it is all worth it. Taking some time to format your document masters properly will save you time in the long run. Having everything you need in one properly formatted file will also save you the headache of having to manage various separate files.

In the next chapter, you will be learning about great design features that leverage AI to speed the presentation creation process with design ideas. When it comes to creating image layouts, visual lists, and timelines, or creating presentations...

Further reading

• Additional information on the Accessibility Checker: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f
• Information on how to write alternative text: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/everything-you-need-to-know-to-write-effective-alt-text-df98f884-ca3d-456c-807b-1a1fa82f5dc2
• Microsoft Intelligent Services: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/work-smarter-with-intelligent-services-4145a3f6-2d98-44db-8a8d-c77343eb90f1