CREATING ACCESSIBLE
WORD AND POWERPOINT FILES
NC3ADL Western Region Workshop
March 24, 2015
Carie Whitehead, Central Piedmont Community College
THE BASICS
Building a Solid Foundation
FONTS AND COLOR
 Use Sans-Serif Fonts such as Verdana, Tahoma and Arial
 Minimum font size of 12 pt. for Word and 14 pt. for PowerPoint (larger if projecting)
 Do not use color alone to convey information
 Do not over use color
 Use high contrast between foreground and background colors
 Web Aim’s Contrast Checker uses HEX Color Codes
http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker
 Think Outside the Slide’s Color Contrast Checker users RGB codes
http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/color-contrast-calculator
 Have 3 or less font changes or font colors on a page or throughout a presentation
STRUCTURE AND READABILITY
 PowerPoint: Check reading order of items on slides
 Use built-in styles and layouts to provide a true structure
 Avoid using text boxes, a bordered paragraph in Word provides a
similar effect an built in layouts in PowerPoint provide structure
 Always provide Alt-text for images, diagrams, charts, & tables
 File names should be alphanumeric, begin with a letter, avoid
spaces, avoid symbols other than underscore or dash, and
contain less than 32 characters
ADDING ALTERNATIVE TEXT TO IMAGES
In Word or PowerPoint:
 Right-click on an image, graphic,
chart, or table
 Select Format or Properties
 Select Layout & Properties, then Alt
Text (for a Word table go to the Al
Text tab of the Table Properties dialog
box)
 Fill in the Title. Do not say “image of”
or “picture of”
 Fill in the description 8-80 characters
LONG DESCRIPTIONS
 If 8-80 characters is not enough to replace the image, then add a long description
 Long Descriptions are usually necessary for:





Complex images
Graphs
Charts
Diagrams
Tables
 In Word, this can be a caption or in the content of the document
 In PowerPoint, look at Outline View. If it does not show up there, the Screen
Reader will not read it! Do not put it in Slide Notes unless you are generating a
Notes page handout or PDF that include this area.
HYPERLINKS
Every you ever been presented with a hyperlink and wondered if there is any point
in clicking? Is it even safe? Will you suddenly have a computer virus or be pulled into
an identity theft scheme?
Properly formatted hyperlinks do not just help users with accessibility needs!
Good hyperlinks answer these questions:
 Where am I going?
 Why am I going there?
 What am I going to do or what is supposed to happen once I get there?
They provide descriptive text that describes the target destination. It is not
required, but it is also a good idea to provide the actual URL as plain (not
hyperlinked) text when appropriate.
ACCESSIBILITY CHECKER
MICROSOFT WORD 2013
Creating an Accessible Document
DEMO OF A SCREEN READER
A Screen Reader User’s
Experience Using
Microsoft Word
To view on YouTube
Follow this Link Instead
http://youtu.be/D8XFk
GMF0sw
HEADINGS, STYLES, AND, LISTS
 Add headings from the Styles group (on the Home menu).
 Viewing the Navigation Pane helps to make sure the
Headings are working
 Change the look of a document by changing styles on the
Home tab
 Use built-in bulleted and
numbered lists from the paragraph group
on the Home menu
TABLES AND COLUMNS
 Always use the column option (on the Page Layout menu in the Page Setup
group) NOT tabs, spaces, or tables to create a multi-column look
 Use tables for data not page layout
 Tables





Do NOT merge or split cells or nest tables
Screen Readers read from top to bottom, left to right
Do not Draw Table, use Insert Table
Choose easily readable fonts
Choose a Table Style to visually distinguish the header row and use borders where
needed
TABLES CONTINUED
 In order for a screen reader to recognize the first row as a header row, it must also
be set to repeat at the top of each page
 Add table captions where appropriate to summarize and identify the table
 Add Alt Text when the caption is not used or does not sufficiently describe the
table
 Do not allow rows to break across pages
 Split complex tables up into simpler tables where appropriate
 Do not use the Enter key to create white space in the table, instead use cell
padding and cell margins
MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 2013
Creating an Accessible Presentation
SLIDES, OUTLINES, AND NOTES
 Slides
 ALWAYS use built-in slide layouts
 Make sure each slide has a unique title
 Outline Panel
 text only outline of the content of your presentation
 Great way to ensure logical sequencing
 Notes
 Not accessible by Screen Readers!
 Great for speaker notes or to create handouts
TABLES AND CHARTS
 PowerPoint Tables are images, not true
tables. They are not read by Screen
Readers.
Sales
 Word Tables and Excel Spreadsheets paste
in as PowerPoint Tables (graphics)
 The only true display of data in PowerPoint
is in a Chart
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Look
At
Me
I am
Not a
Table
1st Qtr
2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
4th Qtr
CHECK READING ORDER
 Make sure that the reading order of all object on the slide is logical
 On the Home tab, in the Drawing group, click Arrange and the choose
Selection Pane
 The Selection Pane lists the objects on the slide. Objects will be read back
beginning with the bottom list item and ending with the top list item.
Correct any out of order items using the Re-order arrows at the top of the
pane. If you are unsure which item is which you can hide or unhide items with
the eye icon.
INCREASE VISIBILITY FOR COLORBLIND
VIEWERS
 Avoid using orange, red, and green together in your template and text
 Use texture in graphs, instead of color, to highlight points of interest
 Circle or use animation to highlight information, rather than relying on laser pointers or color
 Keep the overall contrast in your presentation high
 View presentation in Greyscale to check contrast
View Menu, Color/Greyscale group, Greyscale
 Examples of what images look like when you are colorblind:
http://www.vischeck.com/daltonize
 Check your image: http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck
 Color Blindness Simulator: http://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator
PRESENTING
 Keep animations and transitions to a minimum
 Make sure that transitions aren’t too fast
 Screen Readers will read each transition element as a new slide!
 Cognitive load theory: Based on Clark and Mayer’s theories of cognitive load and
multimedia learning, and overload of either the visual or the auditory channel can
hinder learning. Do not overstimulate your learners with too much information on
the screen at once or by “jazzing-up” your presentation unnecessarily.
RESOURCES
Great resources for creating accessible files
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?
 Microsoft Office Help
 Creating accessible PowerPoint presentations: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Creatingaccessible-PowerPoint-presentations-6f7772b2-2f33-4bd2-8ca7-dae3b2b3ef25
 Creating accessible Word documents: https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Creating-accessibleWord-documents-D9BF3683-87AC-47EA-B91A-78DCACB3C66D
 WebAIM
 Microsoft Word: http://webaim.org/techniques/word
 PowerPoint: http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint
 Converting Documents to PDFs: http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/converting
 VLC Accessible Office 2010 Presentation
http://vlcprofessionaldevelopment.pbworks.com/w/file/56508508/accessibleOffice2010.pptx
 Web Accessibility Best Practices
 Microsoft Word: https://www.webaccessibility.com/best_practices.php?technology_platform_id=187
 PowerPoint: https://www.webaccessibility.com/best_practices.php?technology_platform_id=200
 Cognitive Considerations in Designing E-Resources:
http://michaelseery.com/home/index.php/2010/09/cognitive-considerations-in-designing-e-resources
QUESTIONS
CONTACT ME:
Carie Whitehead
Central Piedmont Community College, eLearning
carie.whitehead@cpcc.edu