Adding audio to your PowerPoint presentations can enhance your slides and captivate your audience. However, the default audio icon that appears on each slide with audio can be visually distracting. Fortunately, hiding the audio icon in PowerPoint is easy – whether you use PowerPoint on Windows, Mac, or the web.
In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to hide audio icons during your PowerPoint slideshow presentation.
Why Hide the Audio Icon?
Before jumping into the steps, you may be wondering – why hide the audio icon at all? Here are some key reasons:
- Cleaner look: Removing visual clutter allows your slides’ content and design to shine. The audio icon may detract attention.
- Avoid confusion: If you don’t need to manually trigger audio playback, the icon could confuse your audience.
- Retain surprise factor: Hiding audio surprises can help captivate your viewers when timed audio suddenly begins playing.
Now let’s look at how to easily hide audio icons in PowerPoint on desktop and web versions.
Hide Audio Icon in PowerPoint Desktop
Hiding the audio icon works the same whether you use PowerPoint on Windows or Mac. Follow these steps:
- Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the audio icon on the slide. This will display audio tools/options.
- Go to the Playback tab > Audio Options section.
- Check the box for “Hide During Show”.
This will hide the audio icon during full-screen slideshow view. The icon will still display in normal edit view.
Hide Audio Icon in PowerPoint Web
The PowerPoint web app makes it just as easy to hide audio icons:
- Select the audio icon on your slide.
- Go to the Audio tab > Audio Options section.
- Check the box for “Hide During Show”.
The audio icon will now be hidden when presenting slides in full-screen presentation mode.
Set Audio to Play Automatically
In most cases, you’ll want automatic audio playback if hiding icons during presentation mode. Here’s how to enable this:
- With the audio icon selected, go to the Playback tab.
- Check the box for “Play Across Slides” if it’s background audio, or “Play in Background” for slide-specific sounds.
Now the audio will play automatically without needing to click the icon.
Adjust Audio Icon Position
Instead of fully hiding icons, you can also move them out of sight:
- Select the audio icon on your slide.
- Click and drag the icon off the visible slide area into the gray space.
This keeps the icon accessible in edit view without showing during presentations.
Test and Confirm It’s Hidden
To verify the audio icon is hidden:
- Select “Slide Show” tab > “From Beginning” or press F5.
- Use arrow keys to navigate between slides with audio.
- Confirm icons are now hidden from view.
- Press Esc key to exit slideshow preview.
Troubleshooting Tips
If audio icons still display during your presentation after following the above steps, try these troubleshooting tips:
- For PowerPoint desktop, disable “Show Media Controls” under Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show options.
- For PowerPoint web, disable “Show Media Playback Controls” in slideshow settings.
- Ensure icons are fully off slide area if adjusting positions instead of hiding.
- Test in both edit view and full-screen presentation view.
Recap and Next Steps
And that’s it! You’ve learned how to easily hide audio icons in Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows. Now your presentations can feature polished slides free of visual distractions.
Key next steps:
- Hide icons for all slides with audio to maintain consistent appearance
- Set audio clips to play automatically or in background
- Test slideshow to confirm icons are fully hidden
Hiding unnecessary icons is one small way to level up your PowerPoint skills. For more tips, check out our blogs on basic PowerPoint tutorials and advanced PowerPoint techniques.