Where to Start with PowerPoint
The Universal Design Goals below are based on the Electronic Accessibility Rubric. Employees are expected to work towards meeting Universal Design Goals for their content.
Full Accessibility items are necessary to make content fully accessible. These items may require additional support or alternative access if needed for an accommodation.
The same concepts outlined here apply to other presentation formats, although other products are less accessible. Microsoft Office products are supported through our institutional licensing and provide the required level of accessibility. You may be required to use Microsoft Office for student accommodations.
Universal Design Goals
Use Slide Titles for Structure (Equivalent to Headings)
Slide titles behave like headings in other document types. Because they’re essential to the document structure, each slide should have a title, and it should be listed as a Title in the template, not just another text box with altered font styles.
Titles should also be unique and descriptive so that you can get the gist of the presentation from the outline view.
- Use the Click to add title field on every slide.
- Other fields can be left empty, but not the title field.
- Even if the entire slide is covered by an image, have a title behind it.
Use Built-in Slide Layouts
Microsoft’s built-in slide layouts provide a correct reading order that screen reading software can detect.
Once you’ve selected your layout,
- Use only the fields included in the slide layout
- Avoid drawing your own text boxes to add more content. If you do add text boxes, make sure to check the slide reading order.
- You can leave fields unused except for the title field
To choose a slide layout, use either the New Slide drop-down menu on the Home ribbon, or to change the layout on the current slide, select Home, Layout.
Select the layout that fits best with your content:
Make Links Descriptive
To add descriptive link text in Microsoft Office, first select the link. Right-click on the link and select Edit Hyperlink.
- Type the descriptive text in the Text to Display field.
- Leave the url in the Address field. This is the link that will be followed.
Ensure Sufficient Color Contrast
Choose a theme that has good color contrast, including on links. Check each variety of slide layout and only use those that have sufficient contrast.
Visit Color Contrast Tools page for instructions on checking color contrast.
Provide Basic Image Descriptions
Right-click on the image, then select Edit Alt Text from the context menu.
A sidebar will open on the right side of the document. Add your descriptive alternative text in the text box.
Designate a Header Row on Tables
To set the header row on a table in PowerPoint, select the Design tab in the ribbon under Table Tools.
Check the checkbox titled Header Row at the top left of the Design ribbon. If the table also has a header column, check the box titled First Column.
Full Accessibility
Adjust the Reading Order
It’s essential to check the reading order of slides if:
- Files were started in older versions of PowerPoint
- You’ve drawn your own content boxes on a slide
- You’re creating your own slide layout in a Template. You need to set the reading order in the master template, otherwise every slide based on that template will be out of order.
On the Home Ribbon, select the Arrange drop-down menu. Click on Selection Pane at the bottom of the Arrange menu.
The Selection Pane will appear on the right side of the document. This lists each element on the slide and the order in which it will be read.
Important! The reading order starts at the bottom and moves upwards.
Click on an element in the Selection Pane to see the corresponding element highlighted in the slide.
In the following screenshot, the Title will not be read first, since it is not at the bottom of the list. Content Placeholder 2 will be read first.
To fix the reading order, select Title 1 and click the down arrow to move it to the bottom of the list.
Check to make sure that each remaining item is in a logical reading order.
Tip: Instead of fixing the reading order, transfer your content to a fresh document made with an accessible template and use the built-in slide layouts.
Simplify Tables
Complex tables are those that often have more than one header row, merged cells, or additional titles in the middle of the table. These should be simplified so that they make sense with only one header row.
Visit Tables page for more about simplifying tables.
Provide Table Data for Charts and Graphs
Charts and graphs are usually generated using data from tables. Include the data tables alongside charts and graphs. This provides an alternative method of gaining the same information and is helpful for everyone including screen reader users.
Provide Long Description for Complex Images
For slides that contain complex images, tables or charts, simple alternative text isn’t enough to provide a complete understanding to your audience. Include a long description in the slide notes or in an appendix.
For charts and graphs, include the tabular data as an alternative method of gaining the same information.
Visit Long Description page for more.
Microsoft Accessibility Checker
To open the built-in Accessibility Checker, go to the Review Ribbon and select Check Accessibility.
This opens a sidebar on the right side of the document with a list of issues discovered. Clicking on a listed item takes you directly to the location that needs to be fixed.
You can also monitor accessibility as you continue authoring the document. At the bottom of the page next to the page count is an ongoing accessibility status update.
Note that there are some errors in the checker that we don’t cover on this website. You can learn even more about accessibility by resolving all the issues discovered using the Accessibility Checker. That’s why we consider this an advanced step.