How To Use the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint offers a built-in accessibility checker that is invaluable for making presentations accessible to everyone. This tool helps identify and fix common accessibility issues, ensuring your content is inclusive for all audiences.

Video Guide

Using the Accessibility Checker

To access this feature, go to the ‘Review’ tab and select ‘Check Accessibility’. This action opens the accessibility inspection results, displaying the errors in your PowerPoint file.

Fixing Alt Text Errors

A common issue is missing alt text for images. Alt text is essential as it describes images for those using screen readers. To fix this, simply select the image and add descriptive alt text. For example, in our case, we added alt text to PowerPoint accessibility tables and other images lacking this feature.

Correcting Table Headers

Another frequent error is tables missing a header row. Select your table and go to ‘Table Design’, then enable the ‘Header Row’ option. This step is crucial for screen readers to interpret table data correctly.

Resolving Duplicate Slide Titles

Duplicate slide titles can confuse screen reader users. A simple solution is to add unique identifiers like numbers to each slide title. This practice, as demonstrated in one of our earlier videos, improves navigation and comprehension for users relying on assistive technologies.

After applying these fixes, our PowerPoint presentation had no accessibility issues.

Utilizing PowerPoint’s built-in accessibility checker is a straightforward yet effective method to ensure your presentations are accessible to all, aligning with best practices under Section 508 and WCAG standards.

Remember, creating accessible content is not just a compliance requirement; it’s a step towards inclusivity, allowing everyone to have equal access to information.

Let me be your champion for inclusion. I offer tailored solutions (and self-paced courses!) to ensure your documents meet and exceed compliance expectations. For more detailed insights, tutorials, and in-depth discussions on accessibility and related topics, don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel: The Accessibility Guy on YouTube. Subscribe for regular updates!