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NCDAE Tips and Tools: Microsoft PowerPoint

Created: December 2005

This document is intended as a discussion of accessibility and Microsoft PowerPoint.

We will add to this page based on any comments we receive. We are most interested in ways in which users have increased accessibility through the use of tools or workarounds that enhance PowerPoint accessibility to individuals with disabilities.

Description

PowerPoint is presentation software from Microsoft. Although typically used to display "slides" during face-to-face meetings and presentations, it is also used on the web and with distance education technologies in several ways:

Product Website

For more information on PowerPoint or to open a 30 day trial account, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint/prodinfo/overview.mspx

Increasing PowerPoint Accessibility

There are two things you can do to increase the accessibility of a PowerPoint presentation.

  1. Improve the native accessibility of the original PowerPoint file.
  2. Create an accessible HTML version in addition to or instead of the PPT (PowerPoint) file.

The following sections will address each step.

Improve Native Accessibility

Whether you decide to use the original PowerPoint file or create an HTML equivalent, it will be easier to create an accessible presentation if you keep the following considerations in mind while creating the PowerPoint file:

Accessibility challenges within Microsoft PowerPoint
Accessibility challenge Disability type(s) Solution(s)
Each container in a slide will be read by a screen reader in the order it was created, not the order the order it appears (e.g. a text box is added to the template may be read last even if it is found at the top of the page). Blind
  • Make sure the content you see in the outline view reflects the order of the content on the slide.
  • If it is not visible in the outline (e.g. a text box), check the reading order with a screen reader or export it to HTML and look at the order of the text in the source code.
Only true headings and titles will convey semantic meaning to a screen reader user. Blind
  • Use the formatting palette to ensure that all intended headings are true headings, lists are true lists, etc.
  • Ensure that all titles are in title boxes for any slide layout
Images must include an alternative description (alt text) to be meaningful to a screen reader user. Blind
  • Windows users: Right Click the image, select Format Picture (or select Format > Picture from the menu bar), click the Web tab and enter the description in the box labeled Alternative text
  • Mac user: There is no way to create alt text for an image in MS Office for Mac. This must be done in Office for Windows, or you must convert it to HTML and add the alt text manually
Embedded video or audio clips must be captioned. Hearing Make sure all audio or video is captioned before you embed it into PowerPoint. When appropriate, include a transcript.
Complex charts or tables may not contain proper headings or long descriptions. Blind
  • If the user has MS office, it may be possible to interpret the data in Excel.
  • It may be difficult or impossible to make tables and charts accessible within PowerPoint presentations, consider converting to HTML using one of the methods mentioned below.
Poor color contrast, especially between the background and the text. Color blindness, Low vision
  • Ensure sufficient color contrast between text and background
  • Ensure sufficient contrast in charts and images
Animations can be distracting and may cause a screen reader to re-read a slide. Cognitive, blind Limit the use of animations.
Large file size may make it difficult to download a file. All users Reduce file size by importing correctly sized images instead of resizing them in PowerPoint.
Transitions between elements in a slide (e.g. bullet points or words fly on the screen), or between slides, can be distracting and may cause a screen reader to reread a slide. Cognitive, blind
  • Limit transitions, especially between bullet points.
  • Use simple transitions, like fades, in place of complex ones.
Powerpoint must be installed on the users computer in order for the presentation to be viewed. All users
  • Link to PowerPoint Viewer.
  • Create an HTML equivalent.

Create an HTML Version

It will often be easier to make a PowerPoint file accessible by converting it into HTML. Sometimes it is the only way to ensure accessibility.

Methods and tools for converting PowerPoint slides to HTML
Tool or method Description Issues or considerations
Use Save as Web Page option in PowerPoint (Not recommended). Select File > Save as Web Page. Make sure to save the file as Web Page and not Single File Web Page.
  • Files are displayed in a set of frames with missing or confusing titles. This may be particularly difficult for screen reader users, who rely on meaningful frame titles to navigate within sets of frames.
  • Depending on the version you are using, frames may not have names.
  • The presentation may have problems if viewed in a browser other than Internet Explorer.
Convert the slides to HTML manually.
  • Copy the content in the outline view of PowerPoint into an HTML editor and format it yourself.
  • File > Send To > Microsoft Office Word > Outline only and paste the Word document into an HTML editor.
  • Some content, including images, charts, embedded media and text boxes, will have to be added into the HTML file manually.
  • The outline may not represent the visual reading order.
  • The presentation will be one long page of text.
  • This process can be consuming.
Use Illinois Accessible Web Publishing Wizard, LecShare or other conversion tool to create the HTML file. There are a few products that help you create HTML files, usually by guiding you though a wizard that prompts you to add descriptions for images, headers for tables, etc.
  • You must purchase the tools from a vendor.
  • The conversion process usually creates dozens of files.
  • Some of the HTML may need to be edited manually.
Use Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System (S5) to re-create the presentation from scratch. A single XHTML document that can be viewed slide by slide or as an outline.
  • Some content, including images, charts, embedded media and text boxes, will have to be added into the HTML file manually.
  • Intermediate to advanced knowledge of HTML and CSS are necessary to create and edit the template.
  • Behavior can be inconsistent on different browsers and screen resolutions.
  • This process can be time consuming.

Additional resources

Links to VPAT

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a vendor-generated table that describes to what extent a product complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. It follows a template created by The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).

While there is not a VPAT for Microsoft PowerPoint specifically, there is a VPAT for the entire line of Office products (Word, Excel, FrontPage etc.). VPATs for Office 2000, 2001 for Mac, XP, 2003 and 2004 for Mac are available at http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/section508.mspx#ECAA

Comments

The National Center on Disability and Access to Education invites comments on this fact sheet. We would like to add accessibility workarounds that others have found useful, as well as add links to important resources. As a living document it is our intent that over time the fact sheet will assist people who wish to provide accessible education experiences using PowerPoint software.

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NCDAE is supported by: Utah State Univerisity - Center for Persons with Disabilities
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Project #P116Z050043
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