Using the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint

One of the main reasons why PowerPoints make such an effective presentation tool is how they tend to be highly visual. For people who are blind or have low vision, these slides can be completely inaccessible to them. The resources on this page consist of a video tutorial and text directions for using the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Office.

Disclaimer:

The Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker does not catch all accessibility issues. For example, headings are a large part of creating accessible documents, but a lack of headings will not appear on the accessibility checker.

The responsibility still lies on the content creator to remediate for accessibility, so be sure to use the Instructional Accessibility Group’s checklists, trainings, and other resources to determine if your content is accessible.

1. Open an existing presentation in PowerPoint and review the content.
2. Select the Review tab.
3. Select Check Accessibility; an Accessibility Checker pane will appear on the right with ‘Inspection Results’ displayed. Note: Selecting the button icon with the page and person icon opens up the accessibility checker, selecting the words “Check Accessibility” opens the drop-down menu.)
   • This pane displays all accessibility concerns in the presentation and will display the reasoning for correction and recommendations for solutions.
     • The first section, labeled, ‘errors’ in the inspection results, provides a list of images without alternative text as well as videos; they also need titles, labels, and alt-text.
   • ‘Additional Information’ under the ‘Inspection Results’ offers suggestions on how to fix concerns.

To be sure you presentation is accessible, review the PowerPoint accessibility Checklist below.

Accessibility Checklist:

1. Do you describe all the material on your slide?
2. Is important text indicated by more than color?
3. Do all images have Alternative or Descriptive Text?
4. Will the presentation be provided elsewhere (i.e. Microsoft Teams or Canvas)?
5. Do all of the presentation slides have unique titles?
6. Is the presentation font clear and sized appropriately?
7. Are bullets appropriately numbered in presentations?
8. Are Animations unobtrusive?

If you answer no to any of these questions, revisit your presentation. If you answer yes to all, you are ready to save and distribute.