Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility

Use built-in slide designs for inclusive reading order – PowerPoint has built-in slide designs that contain placeholders for text, videos, pictures, clip art, and more. They also contain all the formatting, such as theme colors, fonts, and effects. To make sure that your slides are accessible, the built-in layouts are designed so that the reading order is the same for people who see and people who use technology such as screen readers.

1. On the View tab, click Normal.
2. In the Thumbnail pane, locate the place where you want to add the new slide. Right-click, and select New Slide. Click the new slide to select it.
3. On the Design tab, expand the Themes gallery, and select the slide layout that you want. PowerPoint automatically applies this layout to the new slide.
4. Go to the new slide, and add the title and content that you want.

Set the reading order of slide contents – If you didn’t start out with one of the built-in slide designs, next we explain how you can ensure the slide reads in the correct order.

Use the Selection pane to set the order in which the screen readers read the slide contents. – The Selection pane lists the objects on the slide in reverse order. When the screen reader reads this slide, it reads the objects in the reverse order listed in the Selection pane.

1. On the Home tab, in the Drawing group, select Arrange.
2. In the Arrange menu, select Selection Pane.
3. In the Selection pane, to change the reading order, do one of the following:
   1. Drag and drop items to the new location.
   2. Select the item and then select the Up arrow button (Bring Forward) or Down arrow button (Send Backward).

Use a built-in slide design – When you use one of the built-in slide designs, you will have a Title place holder where you can add a unique title to the slide.

Restore place holders – If you didn’t use a built-in slide design from the start, you can do the following:

1. To restore all placeholders for the selected slide, on the Home tab, in the Slides group, select Reset.
2. On the slide, type a unique and descriptive title.

Hide the slide title – If you wish, you can make a title invisible on the slide, but still voiced by screen readers.

1. On the Home tab, in the Drawing group, select Arrange.
2. In the Arrange menu, select Selection Pane.
3. In the Selection pane, locate the Title text box, and then click the eye icon next to it.

People who are blind, have low vision, or a reading disability rely on slide titles to navigate. For example, by skimming or using a screen reader, users can quickly scan through a list of slide titles and go right to the slide they want.

Add alt text to images – PowerPoint does not automatically generate alt texts for drawn images, such as clip art, diagrams, or icons. If you want to add an image that is an icon, clip art, or other image that is not a photograph, you need to add the alt texts manually.

1. Right-click an image and select Size and Position.
2. In the Format Picture pane, select Alt Text.
3. In the Description text box, type the alt text for the image.

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Add alt text to SmartArt graphics

1. Right-click a SmartArt graphic and select Size and Position.
2. In the Format Shape pane, select Alt Text and type a description for the graphic.

Tip: Include the most important information in the first line, and be as concise as possible.

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Add alt text to shapes, including shapes within a SmartArt graphic

1. Right-click a shape and select Size and Position.
2. In the Format Shape pane, select Alt Text and type a description for the shape.

Tip: Include the most important information in the first line, and be as concise as possible.

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Add alt text to charts

1. Right-click a chart and select Format Chart Area.
2. In the Format Chart Area pane, select Size & Properties.
3. Select Alt Text and type a description for the chart.

Tip: Include the most important information in the first line, and be as concise as possible.

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Add alt text to tables

1. Right-click a table and select Format Shape.
2. In the Format Shape pane, select Size & Properties.
3. Select Alt Text and type a description for the table.

Tip: Include the most important information in the first line, and be as concise as possible.

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Review or edit automatically generated alt texts in photos

PowerPoint for PC in Office 365 automatically generates alt texts for photos by using intelligent services in the cloud. You can review and edit the auto-generated alt texts.

Note: This feature is only available to Office 365 subscribers who have joined the Office Insider program. If you are an Office 365 subscriber, make sure you have the latest version of Office.

1. Right-click an image.
2. Select Edit Alt Text to open the Alt Text pane.
3. In the Alt Text pane, review the description in the text box.
4. Do one of the following:
   1. To accept the suggested text, close the Alt Text pane and return to the PowerPoint slide.
   2. To change the suggested alt text, type your preferred text in the box. Once you’re done, close the Alt Text pane and return to the PowerPoint slide.

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How to add descriptive links in my presentation

Automatic transitions can be distracting, can cause screen readers to re-read slides, can read parts of the slide out of order, and/or may not give users enough time to read slide content.

Some transitions may also be too distracting for low vision users. Acceptable transitions include:

• Fly in from left
• Wipe right
• Typewriter
• Appear
• Laser from right

The correct slide layout is probably the most significant step that can be taken to ensure that the slideshow will be accessible.

When someone who can see reads a slide, they usually read things, such as text or a picture, in the order the elements appear on the slide. In contrast, a screen reader reads the elements of a slide in the order they were added to the slide, which might be very different from the order in which things appear.

PowerPoint contains a collection of pre-set accessible slide layouts. In order to ensure that the slideshow is maximally accessible, use these built-in templates when constructing the slideshow.

Research shows that too much text on a slide is the worst way of transferring the information you are presenting. The brain simply cannot multitask as well as people think it does. If you deliver complex information and ask your audience to read too many words on a slide at the same time, they will probably not retain much of the information presented.

Slides that work best have a balance of words and pictures instead of text alone.

Text boxes are always read by a screen reader after all content placed in the pre-existing ‘Content Placeholders’. More than one Text Box will really complicate predicting their reading order.

Also know that text placed in text boxes will not appear in the Outline view therefore complicating converting your PowerPoint to HTML or other formats.

PowerPoint contains built-in slide layouts that you can apply to any slide. When you use them with a new slide, these layouts automatically make sure that the reading order works for everyone.

It is recommended never adding text boxes. But, if you have decided to add text boxes to a slide, make sure the reading order of the text box(es) makes sense.