Microsoft Teams is fixing one of the worst things about PowerPoint presentations

Thanks to the new update, staring at your laptop trying to understand the tiny blurry text on a Microsoft Teams slideshow may soon be a thing of the past.

The video conferencing service finally solves one of the most annoying problems with viewing presentations online through Teams, allowing users to zoom in or zoom in on any slide they need.

Outlined in the official Microsoft 365 roadmap (Opens in a new tab), the update will allow users to view PowerPoint Live presentations to “privately zoom in on slides,” hopefully putting an end to eye strain forever.

Microsoft Teams PowerPoint slides

The feature also allows presenters to zoom in on specific slides for all attendees, which can be useful not only for viewing purposes, but also to help focus attention on specific areas or data points, such as financial results or data comparisons.

The update, which is still listed as “in development” for now, is scheduled to be generally available in November 2022 and available to Microsoft Teams users worldwide at launch.

It will be available to Microsoft Teams users on desktop, web, iOS, Mac, Android. The launch marks the latest phase in the collaboration between Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint Live, as the company looks to foster a closer connection between some of its most popular tools.

This includes integrating Cameo and Recording Studio, two existing tools Microsoft announced in 2021 to help improve the PowerPoint experience by allowing additional customization and recording tools, respectively.

Microsoft also introduced a recording studio for PowerPoint, allowing users to practice their presentations ahead of time. The idea is that viewing the video will help people hone their delivery and identify any areas for improvement before using Microsoft Teams.

The company also recently revealed support for real-time slide translation in PowerPoint Live, meaning slides can be translated instantly during a Microsoft Teams call. Both presenters and attendees can privately translate presentation content by right-clicking on the presentation, which will bring up the Translate Slides option.