Because your presentation will be made available
on the Internet, the Americans With Disabilities
Act (ADA) requires that certain accessibility
standards be met.
This brief tutorial will help you meet those
requirements as you create your presentation.
A list of HHS guidelines is included at the end of
this slideshow. Between here and there, you will
find out ways to accommodate those guidelines
when preparing your presentation.
Please read through the HHS
guidelines before you begin
creating your presentation.
All slide text must be viewable in the Outline view.
Simply inserting a new textbox or shape into your slide
will not accomplish this requirement.
For each slide you create, select a layout with as many
placeholders as you will need for that slide. If the
template doesn’t have an option with enough
placeholders, create an additional layout option that
does (View/Slide master, Insert layout, Insert
placeholder).
Plan ahead to your most complex slide. Extra
placeholders can easily be moved, resized, removed, or
ignored, slide by slide, but if you don’t have enough
you’ll need to create another new slide master layout
option.
1.
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4.
Select Slide
Master from the
view menu
Select Insert
Layout
Click on Insert
Placeholder to
select type
(repeat as
needed)
Close Slide
Master view
Note that neither
this inserted text
box nor the
graphic shows
up in the outline
view.
The textbox above
needs to be in a
pre-established
placeholder to be
included in the
Outline View.
You can deal with
the screenshot
graphic with
alternate text (AltText).
You must include Alt-Text with all contentcarrying images and charts you include in your
presentation.
Only you know what you expect that image to
convey to your audience. That expectation is
what your Alt-Text needs to be.
If an image is decorative, make sure the AltText is blank (delete whatever file information
the PowerPoint may have included when you
inserted the image).
Alt-Text: Bar chart—Fewer
problems in those who start
drinking later
Or
Alt-Text: Bar chart—Percentages
of Past Year Alcohol Use Disorder
(Abuse or Dependence) Among
Adults Aged 21 or Older, by Age of
First Use (SAMHSA, 2005)
Age started drinking:
<12 years = 16%
Ages 12 to 14 years = 15%
Ages 15 to 17 years = 9% (etc.)
Whatever best fits your message—
If someone attending your presentation said
they couldn’t see the image very well, what
would you tell them about it to get your
message across?
Step 1: Right
click the
image
Step 3:
Step 2: Select Select
“Alt-Text”
“Size and
Position”
Step 4: Delete or
fill in Alt-Text
Step 1: Right
click the
image
Step 3:
Step 2: Select Select
“Alt-Text”
“Size and
Position”
Step 4: Delete or
fill in Alt-Text
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
Create tables within PowerPoint.
Indicate top-left cell as Header Row (Table
Tools/Design).
Table 1-1. Indication of Header Row
Header Row
Some layout and formatting practices may
confuse or impede assistive technology, so:
 Use Paragraph spacing to create blank lines in
your text, not extra hard returns.
 Avoid unnecessary animation within slide
text.
 Don’t rely on color alone for emphasis or
content identification.
 Group multiple associated images on a slide
and provide Alt-Text as needed to the group.
 Use provided templates only.
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Accept or reject and turn off track changes.
Remove all comments from the document.
Fill out Document Properties information.
Ensure that the filename is concise but
informative, using no spaces or special
characters (except hyphens and underscores).
Example – rename:
A.R. Johnson Plenary Session & Overview.pptx
to
Johnson_plenary.pptx
If you need assistance with making your
presentation accessible (“508-compliant”),
please contact us:
Email: sstevens@jbsinternational.com
Phone: (240) 645-4765

Microsoft Office: Creating accessible
PowerPoint presentations -
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/creatingaccessible-powerpoint-presentations-HA102013555.aspx

WebAIM: PowerPoint Accessibility http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/
The following guidelines have been established
by HHS/SAMHSA for preparing PowerPoint
presentations to meet Section 508 Compliance
requirements.
Document Layout and Formatting
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7.
All slide text must be viewable in the Outline View.
All slides should be absent of flickering/flashing text and/or
animated text.
All hyperlinks should display the fully qualified URL, e.g.,
http://www.samhsa.gov, not www.samhsa.gov.
All hyperlinks should be active, i.e., validate to an active Web
destination.
All slides should have their text accessible via the Outline View.
Any text within Text Boxes or Graphics (with embedded text) will
not be accessible via the Outline View and will not be adequately
identified by the screen reader application. Please also note that
color should not be used as the primary means of emphasizing an
important point.
Track Changes must be accepted or rejected and turned off.
All comments and formatting marks must be turned off.
Document Images
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6.
All slide graphics (images, grouped images, and non-text elements)
that convey information should have Alternative Text (Alt-Text)
associated with them. Please also note that any images that are
included as part of the Slide Master will not be accessible to the
screen reader for interpretation and this practice should be avoided.
Images used only for decoration (do not convey information) should
have blank Alt Tags.
All instances of multiple associated images on a slide (e.g., boxes in
an organizational chart) should have the images grouped as one
object.
All slides with multilayered objects must be flattened into one image
and use one Alt-Text for this image.
All charts should have Title, Legend, and Axis labels associated with
them. This will give users a number of reference points to use in order
to correctly interpret the information being presented.
Complex images (i.e., charts, graphs, flowcharts, etc.) must have
descriptive text immediately after the image.
Document Tables
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
All tables should be created within PowerPoint. Tables created outside of
PowerPoint should be identified as images and treated as such.
All tables should have a logical layout of the information based on rows
and columns. In addition, the tables should be oriented so that they are
read from left to right and top to bottom.
All tables should have readily identifiable column and row headers.
Column and row headers should be clear and concise and should assist
the reader in identifying the segmentation of the data in the table.
Tabular data should be displayed with a table. Instances of data aligned
into a tabular format via the use of tabs or spaces are not acceptable.
Row/column headers should start in the first left-hand column of the
table.
All tables should be clearly and concisely identified with a name, number
(if applicable), and a description of the contents. This information will help
clarify the purpose of the table and identify its relationship to the
presentation. Note: In some cases naming/numbering of tables may not
be appropriate. For example, a small data table in a presentation may not
need a reference.
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5.
Notes/Additional Requirements
Document file names should not contain spaces (i.e., “ “) or
special characters (e.g., !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, etc.).
The document file name should be concise and generally
limited to 20-30 characters, but clearly communicate the
contents of the file.
A separate accessible alternative version of the document
should be provided when there is no other way to make the
content accessible. Organizational charts, complex graphics,
flowcharts, etc., are examples of documents that will require a
text equivalent.
The document must utilize the recommended fonts (Times
New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, and Helvetica).
The Document Properties (i.e., Subject, Author, Title,
Keywords, and Language) must be properly filled out. Note:
For “Author” do not use individual names or contractor names.
Only use the government organization name (e.g., HHS).
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