When you insert an audio file into a PowerPoint slide, a small speaker icon appears on the slide. This icon is visible during a slide show unless you take specific steps to hide it. The icon can distract your audience or reveal that you have sound effects ready before they play. The solution is to set the audio to play automatically and then hide the icon in the playback settings. This article explains exactly how to hide the audio icon so your slides remain clean and professional.
Key Takeaways: Hiding the Audio Icon in PowerPoint
- Audio Playback tab > Play Audio > Automatically or Play across slides: Sets the audio to start without clicking and enables the Hide During Show option.
- Audio Playback tab > Hide During Show checkbox: Makes the speaker icon invisible when you enter Slide Show mode.
- Animation Pane > Start With Previous or Start After Previous: Controls audio timing when multiple audio clips or animations are on the same slide.
Why the Audio Icon Appears and How to Hide It
PowerPoint inserts a speaker icon on the slide whenever you add an audio file. By default, the icon remains visible in Slide Show mode because PowerPoint assumes you need to click it to start playback. The icon is part of the slide’s normal content layer, not a separate overlay. To hide it, you must change the audio playback behavior so that the icon is no longer needed for interaction.
The core setting is in the Audio Playback tab. You need to change the start trigger from On Click to either Automatically or Play across slides. Once the audio no longer requires a click to start, the Hide During Show checkbox becomes available. When you check that option, the icon disappears during the slide show but remains visible in Normal view for editing.
Prerequisites
You need a presentation that already contains at least one audio file. The audio file can be an MP3, WAV, M4A, or WMA format. PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, PowerPoint 2019, and PowerPoint 2016 all support this feature. The steps are identical in each version.
Steps to Hide the Audio Icon During a Slide Show
- Select the audio icon on the slide
Click the speaker icon once to select it. The Audio Playback tab appears in the ribbon at the top of the PowerPoint window. If you do not see the icon, switch to Normal view and scroll to the slide that contains the audio file. - Open the Audio Playback tab
Click the Audio Playback tab on the ribbon. This tab contains all controls for audio start behavior, volume, and icon visibility. - Change the Start option to Automatically or Play across slides
In the Audio Options group, find the Start drop-down menu. Click the drop-down and select Automatically or Play across slides. Automatically starts the audio when the slide appears. Play across slides continues the audio through multiple slides. Either option enables the Hide During Show checkbox. - Check the Hide During Show box
In the same Audio Options group, check the box labeled Hide During Show. The speaker icon will now be invisible when you run the slide show. You can still see and edit the icon in Normal view. - Test the slide show
Press F5 on your keyboard to start the slide show from the beginning. Navigate to the slide with the audio. The audio plays according to your chosen start option, but the speaker icon is not visible. If the icon still appears, return to Normal view and verify that Hide During Show is checked and the Start option is not set to On Click.
If You Need the Audio Icon for a Different Purpose
You might want the audio to play automatically but still keep the icon visible as a visual cue. In that case, do not check Hide During Show. The icon remains visible but the audio still starts automatically. This is useful when you want the audience to know that sound is available, such as for a narration button.
Common Issues When Hiding the Audio Icon
The Hide During Show checkbox is grayed out
This happens when the Start option is set to On Click. Change the Start option to Automatically or Play across slides. The checkbox becomes available immediately. If it remains grayed, close and reopen the Audio Playback tab or restart PowerPoint.
The audio icon still appears during the slide show
The icon may appear if you inserted the audio using the Record Audio feature instead of the Audio on My PC option. Record Audio creates a sound clip that behaves differently. Delete the recorded audio and insert it again using Insert > Audio > Audio on My PC. Then apply the Hide During Show setting.
The audio does not play when the icon is hidden
The audio may not play if the Start option is set to Automatically but the slide contains multiple animations that delay the audio. Open the Animation Pane from the Animations tab. Locate the audio entry and set its trigger to Start With Previous or Start After Previous. This ensures the audio starts immediately when the slide appears, even with the icon hidden.
Audio plays on the wrong slide after hiding the icon
If you set Play across slides, the audio continues through subsequent slides. The icon remains hidden on all those slides. To stop the audio on a specific slide, select the audio icon in Normal view and set the Stop option in the Audio Playback tab to After Current Slide or click the Trim Audio button to set an exact end time.
Audio Playback Options Comparison
| Item | On Click (default) | Automatically | Play across slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Icon visibility during show | Always visible | Can be hidden | Can be hidden |
| Start trigger | Requires a mouse click on the icon | Starts when the slide appears | Starts when the slide appears and continues |
| Audio continues to next slide | No | No | Yes |
| Hide During Show available | No | Yes | Yes |
Use On Click when you want the audience to control playback. Use Automatically for a single slide with background music or narration. Use Play across slides for a soundtrack that spans multiple slides.
After hiding the icon, you can still adjust the audio volume, fade duration, and trim points using the same Audio Playback tab. The icon remains editable in Normal view but stays invisible during the presentation. For presentations with multiple audio files, repeat the steps for each icon on each slide. If you need to show the icon again temporarily, uncheck Hide During Show before the presentation starts.