Tips for Creating Accessible Power Point Documents

• Choose font styles that are easy to see and read. For example: Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, Verdana, Helvetica, etc. These fonts will also be legible when magnified using screen magnification software.
• Use Bold, Underline and Italics sparingly as they can be difficult to read.
• Use at least 20-point font in order to make the document easier for people to see and read.
• Each slide should have a unique title.
• Do not overload slides with too much information as it may be overwhelming to your audience.

• Use good contrasting colors. This will reduce eye strain and eye fatigue for anyone reading the document. It will make the document easier to read and process.
• Here is an example of a poor color contrast:

• Choose a simple and clean background for slides
• Avoid busy and distracting backgrounds altogether

Transitions and animations could be a distraction to people with a variety of disabilities such as those with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Dyslexia, etc. It can distract them away from the content being presented.

Turn off Transitions

Select the Transitions tab and select None

Turn off Animations

Select the Animations tab and select None

• Any images such as graphics, charts, clip art, etc. must have descriptive alt text describing what is represented by the image. It is recommended to use high quality images for optimal viewing for everyone.
• Don’t use images of text. If it is necessary to do so, remember to add an alt text description for the image.

          Add Descriptive Alt Text to Images

• Right click on the image
• Select View Alt Text  from the menu that is displayed

• The Alt Text dialog box appears on the right side of the document. Type an appropriate description for the image in the box.
• Select the “X” on the upper right corner of the dialog box to close it.

• Label hyperlinks correctly using meaningful hyperlink text. For example: do not use “click here”, “read more”, or “here” etc. The text in the hyperlink should indicate what the user should expect once they activate the link. Do not include a long confusing hyperlink as users of screen readers often read links out of context when navigating documents.
• Example of a hyperlink that’s labelled incorrectly:
  Here is how Facebook took action against spam:
  https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/facebook-took-action-against-1-4-billion-pieces-of-spam-content-in-a-3-month-span/
• Example of a hyperlink that’s labelled correctly: Here is how Facebook took action against spam.

Create a Meaningful Hyperlink

• Right click on the hyperlink
• Select Edit Link from the menu

• In the dialog box that appears, in the Text to Display box type an appropriate meaningful name for the hyperlink.
• Click the OK button

• The hyperlink will be renamed per the text that was typed in the Text to Display box.

Transcripts and captions are essential to students who are Deaf or hard of hearing as it is the only way they can independently access audio and video content.

In addition, transcripts & captions:

• Allows students with cognitive and learning disabilities to better comprehend and retain information.
• Are helpful to international students.
• Increases comprehension for everyone.

          Other Considerations 

• Transcripts & captions should be 100% accurate.
• Do not use videos with rapid flashing as this can induce a photo-epileptic seizure.
• If flashing or blinking must be used in a video, flashing or blinking should not occur more than 3 times per second.
• YouTube is an easy and low-cost option to add captions to a video. Use these Captioning With YouTube tutorials to assist with creating captions.
• PowerPoint for Office 365 also offers the option to create subtitles and closed captions for individuals.

• Select the Home tab
• In the Drawing group select Arrange, then choose Selection Pane from the menu that is displayed.

• The Selection pane will open on the right side of the document.
• Click and drag the items in the list to reposition the reading order.
• The reading order goes from bottom-up. For example, the last item in the Selection pane will be read first and the first item will be read last.

• Click on the “X” on the top right of the selection pane to close it.

• From the Review tab on the ribbon, select the Check Accessibility icon and choose Check Accessibility from the menu.

• The Accessibility Checker dialog box appears on the right side of the document, possibility displaying errors or warnings.

• Select an error or warning to get a list of slides with errors or warnings to be addressed.
• Now select a slide to get a menu with recommended actions.

• Apply fixes to each item that appears on the slide and throughout the document.
• Click on the “X” on the top right of the Accessibility Checker dialog box to close it.