PowerPoint Accessibility
Text Equivalents
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Text Equivalents
Assistive technologies employ alternative text (alt text) attached to images to inform users of the context and purpose of images and visual elements. Alt text is a text alternative to non-text content to ensure all users can access information.
To add alt text in Office desktop programs:
- Right click on an image and select Edit Alt Text…
- Enter a description in the dialogue box.
- If a graphic is purely decorative, check Mark as Decorative.
To add alt text in Office online programs:
- Select the image
- Navigate to the Picture tab
- Select Alt Text and enter your description in the Title field.
- If the image is purely decorative, leave the Title field blank.
The Office Accessibility Checker will flag images that need alternative text. Do not rely on the automatically generated alt text, it is rarely useful. In the Accessibility pane, Missing alternative text will appear as an error. You can select the drop down menu and choose Add a description.
Review this Pressbooks’ chapter on Alternative Text for more information.
Add alternative text to simple charts but also include table data for complex charts and data sets. Best practice is to include table data adjacent to the chart, but linking to the data elsewhere in the document is also an effective method. Ensure the link text explains the destination.
Captions and Transcripts
Ensure embedded media has text equivalents. Videos must have closed captions and audio must have a transcript.
To add captions to a video in PowerPoint they must be in .VTT format (3Play Media offers a free .SRT to .VTT conversion tool).
To add a .VTT caption file:
- Navigate to slide with video and select the video
- Via the Playback tab, click Insert Captions, and select Insert Captions
- Select caption file and click Insert
However, best practice is to embed a video or link to the video hosted elsewhere. This will keep the size of the PowerPoint file down and provide for easier, more equitable distribution.
Images and Graphics
Apart from adding effective alt text to images, there are a few additional considerations for visual elements in PowerPoint presentations.
Take note of groups of images:
- Click and drag to select the images or hold Control and click each image
- Right-click and select Group > Group
- Right click on grouped image and select Edit Alt Text…
Graphs and Charts in PowerPoint
- Do not include photos of charts or graphs, insert them properly via Insert tab > Chart dropdown
- A concise and meaningful title or caption helps all readers
- Add alt text to graphs and charts
- Do not rely on colour alone to distinguish data. Use symbols or different line styles. Include a legend
- Apply data and axis labels by selecting your graph or chart and navigating to Chart Design tab and selecting Add Chart Element dropdown
- Provide alternative formats, such as a table of data plotted via chart
- For a chart or graph, provide data in table form beside the element. If size and spacing is a concern, place the data in another slide or document and provide a link near the chart or graph.
Hyperlink Text
When linking to a website, use meaningful hyperlink text. Linked text should be descriptive, concise, unique and visually distinct. Do not use bare URLs. To learn more about writing link text, consult the accessible links chapter of this guide.
Use default styling (blue, underlined text in PowerPoint) for links including a contrasting colour and underlined text.
To add links in PowerPoint:
- Select the text you want to link
- Right-click and select Hyperlink or press Control (Command on macOS) and K
- Change the Text to Display text if necessary
- Paste the destination URL in the Address box
More information on hyperlink text in PowerPoint can be found here.
Alternative text is a text equivalent of graphics in a document or webpage. Alternative text is coded to be hidden visually, but read to a screen reader user.
Information presented in a grid format of rows and columns, generally to show a relationship between sets of set
A text equivalent of audio content in a video, displayed synchronously. Closed captions are toggled on or off by viewers, as opposed to open captions that are burned into the video and always displayed.
Transcription is the process of converting audio into written text. A transcript is a written record of all audio in media. Captions are synced to the content.
