A PowerPoint slide deck has been created in Windows 11 with the goal of making it 508 accessible before exporting to a PDF file. However, there is a recurring issue with the ™ symbol being converted to an image tag during the PDF export process.
Several methods have been attempted, including:
• Using keyboard shortcuts
• Inserting the symbol through the ribbon (Insert > Symbol)
• Printing to PDF using the ribbon's create PDF option
• Creating PDF through print and save as options
• Creating new blank documents and trying other existing documents
• Experimenting with different fonts
Despite these efforts, the problem persists: while the ™ symbol can be inserted in PowerPoint without issue, it turns into an image in the PDF export, causing it to be skipped in screen readers and not tagged in the PDF's tag tree. In contrast, Word and Excel export the ™ symbol correctly as a <P> tag.
PowerPoint Example:
State Example™ Fatality Program (text in PowerPoint)
What is read in PDF export:
State Example Fatality Program
PDF Tag Appearance:
State ExampleImage (471): w:184 h:176 Fatality Program


Is there a particular step that might be incorrect when using the ™ symbol in PowerPoint? What adjustments can be made to ensure it exports correctly as a <P> tag in the Adobe PDF file?
Any guidance on this issue would be appreciated.