Lists and SmartArt

Lists feature prominently in many PowerPoint presentations. Bulleted lists are useful as talking points and numbered lists organize outlines and instructions. SmartArt are graphical representations of lists using shapes and colours to demarcate list items. As lists indicate a specific meaning visually, lists must be created properly to be accessible and to ensure everyone understands the information in your slides. PowerPoint’s Check Accessibility tool does not check lists for accessibility, so this process must be manually done.

Who benefits from accessible lists

Creating lists using asterisks or dashes will not inform assistive technology that the content is part of a list. A manually created list may look like a list but does not function as a list. It is important that everyone is made aware of the presence of a list.

The following demonstrates screen reader software reading properly and improperly built lists.

Properly formatted lists organize information and make your content accessible.

• Use bullet lists to group items.
• A bullet list is best where the sequence is not important.

1. Use numbered lists for items where sequence is important.
2. Create a numbered list item by item to show order.

How do you know if you have a list or a “list”? Press Enter after the last item. If another bullet or number automatically populates you have a properly built, accessible list.

How to fix it

Use the list tools to create lists. On the Home tab, select Bullets or Numbering.

Use these buttons to start a new list or highlight existing content and select Bullets or Numbering to turn the text into a list.

Read more about adding bullets or numbered lists in PowerPoint.

SmartArt

There are some additional considerations for creating accessible SmartArt. Consult the Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning for information on making SmartArt accessible.

How to prevent it next time

Use default tools for numbered and bullet lists.

Customize the colour, size, or format of bullets and numbers in lists instead of manually creating a “list.”