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PowerPoint Quick Guide

Accessibility Checklist for MS PowerPoint

  • Use Master Slides with a defined, unique title on each slide
  • Check the reading order of each slide
  • Create a meaningful title and file name
  • Use descriptive, unique link text (and consistent link styles)
  • Use real text, not images of text
  • Use appropriate alternative text for meaningful images 
  • Use simple table structures with correct headers for data
  • Don't use color, size, orientation, or visual location alone to convey meaning
  • Double-check your color contrast
  • Check your language settings if necessary
  • Use the PowerPoint accessibility checker, but don’t rely on it exclusively

Accessibility in PowerPoint: Detailed Guidance

Note: the following guidance is written for desktop versions of PowerPoint. PowerPoint Online is missing some of the needed features to support accessibility.

Using Master Slides can help ensure that every slide has clearly defined title elements and meaningful reading order. Both of these things are required under WCAG because they are important for assistive technology users and may also help some users with cognitive and learning disabilities.

To view your Master Slides, go to the View tab, then select Slide Master (Key commands: Alt, W, M). You can edit your Master Slides here, but you shouldn’t need to do so if you are using PCS templates. These templates have Master Slides with a clearly defined title and logical reading order. When you are finished viewing your Master Slides, close out of the Master Slide View to return to editing the content of your slides (Key command: C).

For each slide you create, enter a meaningful title into the title field. A meaningful title briefly summarizes the contents of the slide. Using the title field ensues that your title will be identified as a heading to assistive technology users. If you convert your slideshow to PDF format, your titles will also convert to appropriately tagged headings.

Sometimes text at the top of a slide can be styled to look like a title without actually being defined as a title. If you are reviewing slides that were not created from PCS templates, you will want to check to make sure each slide has a defined title. To do this, go to the Review tab, then choose Reading Order Pane from the Check Accessibility dropdown (Key Commands: Alt, R, A1, R). This will open the Screen Reader region in the ribbon, and the Reading Order Pane on the right side of the screen. If you have a Title listed at the top of the Reading Order Pane, your slide has a defined title. If you don’t see a Title listed in the Reading Order Pane you may still want to double check. Sometimes titles are not always correctly listed in the Reading Order Pane. This is often the case if you convert slides from Google Slides to PowerPoint. To doublecheck if your slide has a title, click on the Slide Title dropdown (Key Command: T1). If Edit Slide Title appears as an option, your slide has a defined title (even if it isn’t correctly indicated as such in the Reading Order Pane).

If for any reason your slide doesn’t have a title, the Add Slide Title option will appear under the Slide Title dropdown. Choose this option and add an appropriate title to your slide.

Make sure that each slide title you use is unique. This can help avoid confusion for all users but is particularly crucial for assistive technology users.

Finally, slide titles should accurately and briefly summarize the content they introduce. Avoid titles longer than seven words if at all possible.


Relevant Standards


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​The Reading Order of a slide determines the order in which information will be presented to assistive tech users. If the Reading Order doesn’t represent the logical order of information on the slide this can cause confusion for these users.

To view the Reading Order for each slide, go to the Review tab, open the Check Accessibility dropdown. Then select Reading Order Pane (Key commands: Alt, R, A1, R). The Reading Order Pane will appear on the right side of the window.

Check the order of items in the Reading Order Pane to ensure logical order. The Title element should always come first. After that, reading order should generally flow from left-to-right, top-to-bottom. However, this is not a strict rule. Sometimes it is more logical to place an element first that appears visually below or to the right of another element. Use your best judgement to ensure that items will make sense to all users, including users of assistive technology. If you need to move an item in the Reading Order Pane, you can click and drag the item. Alternately, you can select the item and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change its position.

Note that any decorative items, such as non-meaningful icons or dividers, can be removed from the Reading Order Pane. Click the checkbox next to the item to uncheck the item. That item is now “artifacted” – it will still be visible on screen, but assistive technology will disregard it.

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Relevant Standards


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A meaningful document title and file name can help everyone correctly identify your PowerPoint slides. This is particularly helpful for assistive technology users and people with cognitive or learning disabilities.

The document title is what appears at the very top of your window when you open the document i​n MS PowerPoint. It is also announced to screen reader users when they open the document. By contrast, the file name is what appears next to the file icon wherever that file is stored on your computer and helps you find and identify it.

​A PowerPoint file must have a meaningful title to meet accessibility standards. It is also best practice for a PowerPoint file to have a meaningful file name. As a matter of best practice, the title and file name should be the same or similar to one another to avoid confusion. The title and file name should also be the same or similar to the document’s Heading 1.

To change the document title, go to File, Info, and then find the Title field under Properties. You may have to click Show All Properties to review the Title field. Add your title to the Title field.

To change the File name, close the file. Then, right click on the file icon, and select Rename. Then type a meaningful file name. Note that documents that can be downloaded from an agency website should be configured to download with a meaningful file name, not an ID number.


Relevant Standards

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​Descriptive link text helps all readers understand where links go. This is particularly important for assistive technology users, as well as people with cognitive and learning disabilities. In addition, this practice aids screen reader users, who may encounter link text out of context (in a links list) and need clear information about the destination of each link. Furthermore, links should be unique and they should be clearly and consistently styled to avoid confusion.

When creating a link, choose text that clearly describes the destination of that link. Your link text should be short – in most cases, six or fewer words will suffice. But a reader must know, with relative precision, where a link will take them. Ask yourself: if all the other text on this slide were removed, would I know where this link takes me?

These days, most readers encounter digital documents on a device screen. Embedded links work much better in this context. Also, embedded links work better for assistive technology users if link text is descriptive. However, unlike in MS Word, there is no easy way to print a version of your PowerPoint slideshow with URLs displayed. Also, your audience is more likely to encounter your slides in the context of a meeting where they may not be able to click on embedded links. For this reason, when working in PowerPoint, we recommend creating an embedded link with descriptive text and adding the full url in brackets after the link text.

So, for example, your link might look like this in the context of a slide.

“For more information visit WCAG 2.2 [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/]”

To make an embedded link in PowerPoint, select the link text, right click on your selection, and choose Link from the menu. The Insert Link dialog will appear. Enter the URL in the Address field and click Ok.

You should also avoid using repetitive link text. Slideshow authors will sometimes use the link text “Click here” or “Read more” multiple times in a document. This link text is not descriptive, and it is also repetitive. Two links in a slide deck must not have the same link text, unless the two links share the same destination. In the first example above, the link text should tell readers where they will go if they click on the link. In the second example, the link should tell readers what they can read more about.

Furthermore, if your link opens a document, it is good practice to list the document format in parentheses after the link text. For example, “Accessibility Policy (pdf).” This alerts readers that clicking the link will open a document and prepares them for the type of document that will open.

Finally, the visual styling of links should be conventional and consistent. As a matter of convention, links are usually indicated with an underline. To avoid confusion, reserve underlines for links, not for emphasis. Links should also be a different color from surrounding text to support findability. This color must meet minimum color contrast thresholds. Note that the predefined link style in PCS templates meets color contrast thresholds.

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​Relevant Standards


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​Sometimes authors will paste images of text into a document. However, when we use images of text this reduces accessibility for assistive technology users, including people who use screen readers, reflow, text-to-speech software, and magnification software.

WCAG SC 1.4.5 – Images of Text requires us to use real text instead of images of text. However, sometimes images that we use in a document will contain text. This is ok. Note that alt text must fully convey any text that appears in the image unless the text is incidental.

Finally, be aware that logos are an exception to the “no images of text” rule. Logos are often partly, or en​tirely, images of text. This is ok. Just be sure to include concise, accurate alt text for any logos. For example, “Oregon Health Authority logo.” In most contexts, more information that this will be excessive for assistive tech users.


Relevant Standards

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​​Meaningful images in a PowerPoint file must have appropriate alternative text (or alt text). This allows assistive technology users to understand the image. If an image is decorative, it should not have alt text and should be marked as decorative.

Before creating alt text, decide if your image is meaningful or decorative.​

​Examples of meaningful images:

  • A photo of a person using a new medical device.
  • An image of a health insurance card.
  • A bar graph showing monthly expenses.
  • An organization’s logo.

Examples of decorative images:

  • A blue divider separating two sections of text on a page (layout elements are generally not meaningful)
  • An icon of a clock next to the words “Time for your annual checkup” (the clock image is purely reinforcement for the text and provides no additional information)
  • A generic cartoon image of two people talking (the image is decorative unless the image conveys information not found in the text)
  • If the image is decorative, right click on it, select “View alt text,” and check the box next to “Mark as decorative.” If the image is meaningful, right click on it, select “View alt text,” and add a description in the alt text field.

Good alt text should be:

  • Concise: limit your alt text to one or two sentences if possible. Focus on the most important details and leave out less important information.
  • Descriptive: describe the image as objectively as possible. You can include emotional descriptors if relevant but avoid personal judgements or conjecture.
  • Contextualized: context can greatly affect the meaning of an image. Ask yourself, “Why was this image included in this document? What does it mean in the context of the document as a whole?”

Remember that we must avoid images of text whenever possible. Use real text instead. However, sometimes images (such as photographs) in a document will contain text. This is ok. Note that alt text must fully convey any text that appears in the image unless the text is incidental. For example, the text on a street sign in the background of an image would be incidental, unless the image is intended to convey the information found on that street sign.

Similarly, you must include all data contained in a graph or chart in your accompanying alt text. If doing so will take much more than 140 characters, consider adding a visible, real text image description to the body of your document. If neither of these solutions are possible, consider reducing the complexity of your graph or chart.


Relevant Standards


​It’s best practice to use tables for presenting data, not for formatting text on a page. Tables used for layout purposes, rather than to structure data, can be confusing for assistive technology users. When creating tables, you should avoid merged or split cells whenever possible. Instead, tables should have a simple, consistent structure (the same number of columns and rows) throughout. This helps avoid confusion for assistive technology users and people with cognitive and learning disabilities. Furthermore, tables must have header rows and columns correctly designated (under Table Design) so that assistive technology will interact correctly with them. Don’t put your table title in the first row of your table – put it just before your table. And finally, choose a visual style for your table that meets minimum color contrast and will be easy to parse for readers with visua​l processing disorders and cognitive and learning disabilities.


Use tables for data, not text layout


Tables are intended to contain tabular data. That is, a table should have headers: a horizontal row header, a vertical row header, and sometimes both. Inside the table cells there should be numbers or short text items that relate directly to the header or headers at the top of the column or at the beginning of the row.

Tables are not intended to structure the layout of a document when there is no tabular relationship between the headers and cells. Using a table simply because it provides a pleasing visual layout in your document is not the best approach and can create confusion for assistive technology users.

A better way to structure a slide with complex layout is to create a new master slide and position content placeholders within that master slide to match your desired layout.


Avoid merged cells and split cells


It is technically possible to create merged cells and split cells in a table in PowerPoint, but they can create significant barriers for assistive technology users. Both of these structures result in irregular tables which are problematic for screen reader users in particular. Furthermore, they can create difficult to solve problems with table regularity if the document is later converted to PDF.


Use correct header designations


When a screen reader user encounters a table in a slideshow, they will likely use special key commands to navigate that table. These key commands allow the user to hear the data in each cell, as well as any associated information in the column and/or row headers. This means that a screen reader user can read the table with the same ease as a sighted user without having to continually navigate from the cell data back to the header data. In order for this feature to work, headers need to be correctly designated.

When your table is selected, a menu option for “Table Design” will appear in the ribbon. Go to Table Design, then Table Styles. Usually the options for both “Header row” and “First column” will be selected by default. “Header row” refers to what are more commonly called column headers; “First column” refers to what are more commonly called row headers. A column header appears at the very top of a table column and provides information about all the cells that are ranged under it. A row header appears at the far left of a row and provides information about all the cells that come to the right of it. Some tables have both row and column headers; some have only one or the other; and some tables have no headers. Select or deselect the options for “Header row” and “First column” to correctly reflect the structure of your table. (Key commands: Alt, JT, O or M)

Note that when you select or deselect these options it may change the visual appearance of the headers in your table. You can readjust the appearance of your headers by going to Font under the Home tab (Key commands: Alt, H, FF)​

If your table has a title, don’t put the title inside a cell or a series of merged cells. Make your title a Heading that comes just before the table.


Visual table styles


You may want to alter the style of your table. You can do this by selecting the table and going to Table Design and then Table Styles (Alt, JT, A). In most instances, a grid table is a more accessible choice than a list table, because grid tables have clear borders around all data cells. You may have to fully open the Table Styles dialog box to view this distinction. 

An accessible table also must have sufficient contrast between the text color and the background color. Using zebra stripes (alternating dark and light rows) in your table design can help some readers parse the table more easily without losing their place. However, be sure that the shaded cells meet color contrast minimums: 4.5 to 1 color contrast for regular size text (defined as less than 18-point normal weight, or 14-point bold). Note that some of the built-in PowerPoint table styles with zebra stripes lack sufficient color contrast. Therefore, you should always be prepared to test your table with a reliable color contrast tool.

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Relevant Standards


​You can use visual charateristics to reinforce meaning. But they should always be supplemented by real text conveying the same meaning. This ensures that all readers can access the information - including colorblind readers, reflow users, magnification software users, and screen reader users.

Incorrect examples include:

  • Red-colored text (with no text signifiers) to show a wrong answer
  • A graph key that only uses color to identify categories
  • Instructing readers to "Click the button on the right side of the screen"
  • Using a larger-sized image of a pill to indicate a larger dosage

Correct examples include:

  • Red-colored text, accompanied by the word "Incorrect," to show a wrong answer
  • A graph key that uses color and text labels to identify categories
  • Instructing readers to "Click the Submit button on the right side of the screen"
  • Using a larger-sized image of a pill, accompanied by a dosage amount, to indicate a larger dosage

Relevant Standards


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​Under WCAG, content must meet minimum color contrast thresholds. Strong color contrast is intended to improve the accessibility of content for readers with low vision, color blindness, and visual processing disabilities. All text items must meet these thresholds. Some non-text items must meet them, as well. If you used agency (PCS) templates, and consulted the most recent OHA Graphic Standards Manual, you’re off to a good start. However, you should check your color contrast with a reliable tool if you used any non-standard colors in your document, or if you added an informational graphic (like a chart, graph, or meaningful icon).

According to WCAG, regular-sized text must have a contrast ratio of 4:5 to 1. Large-scale text must have a contrast ratio of 3 to 1. Note that large-scale text is defined as “at least 18 point or 14 point bold or font size.”

WCAG also requires 3 to 1 color contrast for non-text components. This includes user interface components, like buttons and form field borders. It also includes graphical objects, where the parts of the graphic are important to the meaning. See WCAG SC 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast for more information on color contrast for non-text items.

Use a reliable tool to test color contrast. A good tool for testing color contrast on both websites and in documents is the TPGi Color Contrast Analyzer. Note that the PowerPoint Accessibility Checker can be helpful in identifying color contrast problems but does sometimes produce false negatives and/or false positives.

A note on OHA standard colors and color contrast (from the OHA Graphics Standards Manual):

  • OHA Blue may be used for all text against white, Oregon Sunshine and the recommended background tints of Oregon Sunshine, OHA Blue, and Sea Glass. It can also be used for ordering items, such as bullets or numbers. 
  • OHA Orange may be used only for large text against white and the recommended tint of Oregon Sunshine. It can also be used for ordering items, such as bullets or numbers. 
  • Oregon Sunshine may be used only against OHA Blue. It should not be used for text, or for ordering items such as bullets or numbers on white or any color other than OHA Blue. 
  • Sea Glass may be used only for large text against white or for ordering items, such as bullets or numbers. 
  • Beauty Berry may be used for all text against white and against the recommended background tints of OHA Blue, Sea Glass, Beauty Berry and Oregon Sunshine. It can also be used for ordering items, such as bullets or numbers. 
  • Black may be used for all text against white, Oregon Sunshine and the recommended tints of OHA Blue, Oregon Sunshine, Sea Glass and Beauty Berry. 
  • White may be used for all text against OHA Blue and Beauty Berry. It may be used only in large text against OHA Orange and Sea Glass.

Relevant Standards


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Microsoft software on state devices will default to English unless these settings have been changed. If you are writing a document in a language other than English you may need to change the language setting for that document. This ensures that assistive technology will process your text correctly.

To change the language setting for a document, go to File, Options, and select Language. Ensure that the Office display language is set to the correct language. If the correct language is not currently available, you may need to select "Install additional languages from Office.com." Note that you will need to download and install a language pack from Microsoft to do this.


Relevant Standards


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​The PowerPoint accessibility checker can provide helpful advice, but it is not aligned to any relevant accessibility standard.

To ensure accessibility of a Word document, use agency (PCS) templates whenever possible, and follow the guidance found in this Word Quick Guide.​