Creating Accessible Presentations & PDFs

Color Usage

Please avoid using color alone to convey information within the content. Apply color as a decorative or accent element.

Colors should provide maximum contrast between content and the background, so text and non-decorative images are legible for anyone with low vision or color deficiencies.

Avoid using green on red or red on green as red/green color blindness is the most common.

Color should not be the only indicator for interactive elements (Example: Underline links or mark a required field with an asterisk).

Add Alternative Text to Images

Please add alternative text to all images included in your presentation.

PC

To add alternative text in Microsoft Word/PowerPoint, right click on an image and click Edit Alt Text. If an image is decorative, select the option Mark as decorative or enter a single space in the provided field.

MAC

To add alternative text in Microsoft Word/PowerPoint, control-click the object and select Edit Alt Text to open the Alt Text pane. In the Alt Text Pane, type a brief description of the object and its context. If an image is decorative, select the option Mark as decorative, or enter a pair of quotation marks (“”) in both the title and description.

Reorder Slide Objects

When designing your slides, please use the built-in title placeholder for slide titles. We also ask that you use the Selection Pane to order your slide elements in the correct order for screen readers. To fix the reading order, refer to the steps below.

To open the Selection Pane, while in the Home tab, select Arrange and in the drop-down menu click on Selection Pane.

Note: Items from the slide will be listed in reverse order (bottom to top). A screen reader will begin reading from the bottom of this list.

To change the reading order, rearrange the object in the list by dragging and dropping items or by selecting an item and then clicking on Bring Forward/Send Backward.

Exporting as a Tagged PDF

When exporting your PowerPoint to a PDF, please select the option Document structure tags for accessibility. To convert your PowerPoint to an accessible PDF, refer to the steps below.

Click File, then Save As. Then select More Options.
Select where you want the file to be saved.
For the Save as Type, select PDF, then click Options.
Check the box Document Structure Tags for Accessibility, then click ok.

Run it through an Accessibility Checker

After completing these steps, it is recommended to use the Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker. To ensure your content is accessible, refer to the steps below.

On the ribbon, select the Review tab. Click on Check Accessibility. In the sidebar pane, you will find a list of errors, warnings, and tips with how-to-fix recommendations for each.

or

You may also upload the file to your Blackboard course as an unavailable item, so Blackboard Ally can check it as well.

More instructions on creating accessible PowerPoints can be found on the Microsoft Website.

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