{"id":1062,"date":"2024-08-19T17:46:14","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T21:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/?post_type=back-matter&p=1062"},"modified":"2025-07-08T12:41:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T16:41:26","slug":"powerpoint-check-accessibility-tool","status":"web-only","type":"back-matter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/back-matter\/powerpoint-check-accessibility-tool\/","title":{"raw":"PowerPoint Accessibility Assistant","rendered":"PowerPoint Accessibility Assistant"},"content":{"raw":"PowerPoint has a built-in tool to check for common accessibility issues.\r\n

Check Accessibility<\/h2>\r\nTo open the Accessibility Assistant<\/strong>:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Move to the Review<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Select\u00a0Check Accessibility<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nThis will open the Accessibility Assistant panel on the right side of the window.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nAt the bottom of the Accessibility Assistant pane open\u00a0Settings<\/strong> and check Show accessibility status for the Accessibility Assistant in the Status Bar.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>A message will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the PowerPoint window. The message will update automatically as you add or change content. <\/span>Accessibility: Good to go<\/strong> means you have no issues.\u00a0<\/span>Accessibility: Investigate<\/strong> indicates something is broken. Click the message to go directly to the Accessibility Assistant panel.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nWhen the Accessibility panel is open, a new tab appears on the PowerPoint toolbar labelled Accessibility.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2564\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1477\"]\"\" Screenshot of Windows PowerPoint Accessibility tab[\/caption]\r\n\r\nNote, on macOS the Accessibility<\/strong> tab shows\u00a0Selection Pane<\/strong> in place of\u00a0Reading Order Pane. <\/strong>The difference is significant as the Selection Pane reads bottom-to-top, and the Reading Order Pane reads top-to- bottom. Read more on the Check Reading Order page.<\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2562\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"2240\"]\"\" Screenshot of macOS PowerPoint Accessibility tab[\/caption]\r\n\r\nUse the\u00a0Accessibility<\/strong> tab as a shortcut to various tools and features to help you fix accessibility issues.\r\n\r\nConsult Microsoft Support for more information about using the accessibility checker<\/a>.\r\n

    Results<\/h2>\r\nThe Accessibility Assistant<\/strong>\u00a0will display results in the Accessibility Assistant <\/strong>pane, including:\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nHard-to-read text contrast\r\n\r\nMissing alt text\r\n\r\nMissing audio or video subtitles\r\n\r\nMissing table header\r\n\r\nUse of merged or split cells\r\n\r\nMissing slide title\r\n\r\nDuplicate slide titles\r\n\r\nCheck reading order\r\n\r\nDefault section name\r\n\r\nDuplicate section name\r\n\r\n \r\n
    <\/div>\r\nEach of the above will be explored in greater detail in this course.\r\n
    \r\n

    Check-in<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

    While the Accessibility Assistant flags many errors, it does not check for every possible accessibility issue. In addition to the listed results, this guide explores manual checks you should do to maximize the accessibility of your content.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Windows v. macOS v. browser<\/h2>\r\nThere are slight differences to the tools and features available in PowerPoint depending on the environment in which you are working. Some may be as minor as the label on a menu or button, but some are more significant. To get the full features of PowerPoint work on the desktop version (macOS or Windows).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2102\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"319\"]\"\" Screenshot of Accessibility Assistant displaying options to rectify a missing slide title error including \"add slide title\" and \"add hidden slide title\"[\/caption]\r\n\r\nHowever, between macOS and Windows there is one significant difference. In the Accessibility Assistant panel on Windows select any listed error for additional information and (in most cases) a button shortcut to help you resolve the issue. For macOS and browser version of PowerPoint, errors need to be fixed via the Accessibility <\/strong>tab or individual tools.\r\n\r\nRead more about how to make PowerPoints accessible.<\/a>\r\n
    \r\n

    Next Steps<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

    \r\n\r\nReturn to the I want to module<\/a><\/strong> or use the back button in your browser to return to where you were.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

    PowerPoint has a built-in tool to check for common accessibility issues.<\/p>\n

    Check Accessibility<\/h2>\n

    To open the Accessibility Assistant<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Move to the Review<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n
    2. Select\u00a0Check Accessibility<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      This will open the Accessibility Assistant panel on the right side of the window.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      At the bottom of the Accessibility Assistant pane open\u00a0Settings<\/strong> and check Show accessibility status for the Accessibility Assistant in the Status Bar.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>A message will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the PowerPoint window. The message will update automatically as you add or change content. <\/span>Accessibility: Good to go<\/strong> means you have no issues.\u00a0<\/span>Accessibility: Investigate<\/strong> indicates something is broken. Click the message to go directly to the Accessibility Assistant panel.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      When the Accessibility panel is open, a new tab appears on the PowerPoint toolbar labelled Accessibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      Screenshot of Windows PowerPoint Accessibility tab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Note, on macOS the Accessibility<\/strong> tab shows\u00a0Selection Pane<\/strong> in place of\u00a0Reading Order Pane. <\/strong>The difference is significant as the Selection Pane reads bottom-to-top, and the Reading Order Pane reads top-to- bottom. Read more on the Check Reading Order page.<\/a><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      Screenshot of macOS PowerPoint Accessibility tab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Use the\u00a0Accessibility<\/strong> tab as a shortcut to various tools and features to help you fix accessibility issues.<\/p>\n

      Consult Microsoft Support for more information about using the accessibility checker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Results<\/h2>\n

      The Accessibility Assistant<\/strong>\u00a0will display results in the Accessibility Assistant <\/strong>pane, including:<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Hard-to-read text contrast<\/p>\n

      Missing alt text<\/p>\n

      Missing audio or video subtitles<\/p>\n

      Missing table header<\/p>\n

      Use of merged or split cells<\/p>\n

      Missing slide title<\/p>\n

      Duplicate slide titles<\/p>\n

      Check reading order<\/p>\n

      Default section name<\/p>\n

      Duplicate section name<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      Each of the above will be explored in greater detail in this course.<\/p>\n

      \n
      \n

      Check-in<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

      While the Accessibility Assistant flags many errors, it does not check for every possible accessibility issue. In addition to the listed results, this guide explores manual checks you should do to maximize the accessibility of your content.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      Windows v. macOS v. browser<\/h2>\n

      There are slight differences to the tools and features available in PowerPoint depending on the environment in which you are working. Some may be as minor as the label on a menu or button, but some are more significant. To get the full features of PowerPoint work on the desktop version (macOS or Windows).<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      Screenshot of Accessibility Assistant displaying options to rectify a missing slide title error including “add slide title” and “add hidden slide title”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      However, between macOS and Windows there is one significant difference. In the Accessibility Assistant panel on Windows select any listed error for additional information and (in most cases) a button shortcut to help you resolve the issue. For macOS and browser version of PowerPoint, errors need to be fixed via the Accessibility <\/strong>tab or individual tools.<\/p>\n

      Read more about how to make PowerPoints accessible.<\/a><\/p>\n

      \n
      \n

      Next Steps<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

      \n

      Return to the I want to module<\/a><\/strong> or use the back button in your browser to return to where you were.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1655,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"back-matter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1062","back-matter","type-back-matter","status-web-only","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/back-matter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1655"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3276,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/1062\/revisions\/3276"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter\/1062\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"back-matter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/back-matter-type?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/a11yondemand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}