Introduction
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Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular tools for creating slide show presentations. It is often used to organize thoughts for a meeting or lesson, to present key points in a live presentation, and even to create handouts. This article outlines how to can make PowerPoint files more accessible on the web.
Unless noted, the steps outlined in this article apply to Office 2016 for Windows and Mac. Most screenshots are from the Windows version.
Templates and Themes
The first step in creating a PowerPoint presentation is choosing a slide theme or template. The Design tab contains many built-in Themes and color Variants that can be used to change the look of a presentation, as well as the ability to create custom themes
Some of these templates have low contrast between slide text and the slide background, and a few may also have busy backgrounds that can make text even more difficult to read. Be sure to choose a theme with good contrast and with simple backgrounds. If the presentation will be viewed on a projector, the contrast and readability may need to be even more pronounced.
In addition to built-in and custom themes, there are thousands of templates available for download. You can search for a template by selecting File > New, and then describing the template in the Search field. Add the word 'accessible' to the search for templates that are tagged as 'accessible' by the creator. While this doesn't guarantee accessibility, it increases the likelihood of finding a good template. If in doubt, Microsoft has identified several templates that are optimized for accessibility.
Slide Layouts
The most important part of PowerPoint accessibility is the use of slide 'layouts.' Used correctly, these will ensure information on the slides have the correct heading structure and reading order.
Most slide layouts include a slide 'title,' usually at the top of the slide. They also typically contain one or more 'placeholder' areas where you add content like lists, images, and tables to each slide. The title will be presented as a heading to screen reader users, and will be the first thing read on each slide. If each slide has a descriptive title, this will make it much easier for screen reader users to read and navigate the presentation.
Create a new slide
Although you can change the layout of a slide at any time, it is usually easiest to choose your layout when creating a new slide. You can add a new slide from the Home or Insert tab. If you choose the New Slide icon, PowerPoint will usually create a new slide with the same layout as the currently-selected slide.
You can also select the slide layout while creating a new slide. In Windows, select either the small arrow or the text 'New Slide' right below the icon, and a menu will drop down with all the available slide layouts. Select one of these options to create a new slide with this layout.
In Mac, select the small arrow next to the New Slide icon to show a similar dropdown menu.
Change slide layout
To change the layout of an existing slide:
- Select the slide you would like to change.
- On the Home tab, select Layout.
- Choose the desired layout from the dropdown.
This new layout will be applied to the selected slide and PowerPoint will try to move the slide contents to the correct place in the new layout. If you're moving from one pre-built layout to another, this usually works fairly well. But if you apply a layout to a slide that wasn't structured correctly in the first place (e.g., pictures and text boxes added to a blank slide), it may take some work like cutting, pasting, and deleting unnecessary boxes to apply the correct layout.
Slide Master
It is possible to make changes to all slides within a presentation, like changing the text size of all slide titles. You can also make changes to a specific slide layout, or even create new custom layouts. All of these changes are possible in the Slide Master view. This view allows you to create accessible layouts that meet the needs of the presentation while maintaining a proper heading structure and reading order.
To open Slide Master, select the View tab > Slide Master.
The different layouts that are available in the presentation will be displayed in the left-hand sidebar. The first slide in this sidebar is the Master Layout. Changes made to the Master Layout will usually be applied to every slide in the presentation. Below this Master Layout are the different individual layouts. Changes made to one of these will be applied to every slide that uses this layout.
To create a new slide layout, select Insert Layout, and then Rename to give the new layout a descriptive name. You can then insert placeholder objects, change the size and position of objects on the slide, etc.
Once all the changes are complete, select Close Master View on Windows or Close Master on Mac. Changes made within this view will automatically be applied throughout the presentation.
Slide Reading Order
Although it is best to use slide layouts when possible, there may be times when you need to add content to a slide when it would be impractical to create a new slide layout. By default, a screen reader will read the slide title first, followed by other content in elements defined in the slide layout. Then it will read any additional content on the side in the order it was added to the slide. If you add content with this principle in mind, it should be presented to screen reader users in a logical order.
You can check or change this reading order by selecting Home > Arrange > Selection Pane. The Selection Pane will appear in the right-hand sidebar.
The pane will show every object on the slide. Highlighting an object in the pane will also highlight it in the slide. The reading order for the elements in this page is bottom to top. At first this may seem illogical, but it helps to think of these objects as layers on a slide. The first object on the slide will be read first. If another object is added to the page on top of the this first object, it will be read next by a screen reader (and will also cover the first object visually). To reorder an item, simply click and drag. PowerPoint for Windows also has up/down arrow buttons that can be used to reorder items.
The Arrange dropdown menus also includes options to reorder a single object. This will change the visual position on the page as well as the reading order.
- Bring to Front moves an item to the top layer, meaning it will be read last by a screen reader.
- Send to Back moves an item to the bottom layer. It will be read first by a screen reader.
- Bring Forward moves an item up one layer, or later in the reading order.
- Send Backward moves an item down one layer, or earlier in the reading order.
If you use these options, be sure to check the Selection Pane to ensure the reading order makes sense.
To the right of each item is an icon that looks like an eye (). Clicking on this icon will hide the object visually in the slide, but it will still be read by a screen reader.
Alternative Text for Images
PowerPoint presentations usually include images, and these images need equivalent alternative text.
Powerpoint On A Mac
PowerPoint 365 and 2019
The process to add alternative text is straightforward in PowerPoint 365 and 2019:
Right-click on the image and select Edit Alt text, then enter appropriate alternative text in the field that appears in the Alt Text sidebar.
If the image is decorative, leave the field blank and check Mark as decorative.
Do not select the 'Generate a description for me' button (Windows-only). The quality of the automatically-generated descriptions is usually very poor, and a description of an image is often not the same as alternative text.
PowerPoint 2016
To add alternative text to an image in PowerPoint 2016:
- Right-click on the image and choose Format Picture.
- In the Format Picture sidebar, Select the Size & Properties icon and choose Alt Text.
- Enter appropriate alternative text in the Description field only (not the Title field).
Unless it is part of the slide background, there is no way to hide a decorative image in PowerPoint 2016 or older. If the presentation is saved to a PDF, decorative images can be hidden in Acrobat Professional.
Tables
In HTML, there are ways to identify row and column headers in a data table that make the contents of the table much more accessible to screen reader users. PowerPoint allows you to identify a single row of column headers and a single column of row headers. To identify the headers in a table:
- Click inside the table. The Table Tools options should become visible, and the the Design tab (called Table Design on Mac)should be open .
- If the top row of the table contains headers for each column (most tables do), make sure the Header Row checkbox is checked.
- If the first column of the table contains headers for each row, make sure the First Column checkbox is checked.
In the Table Styles section, select a style where the table headers are clearly identified visually. Make sure the style has good contrast.
Most screen readers will not identify table headers in PowerPoint, but we still recommend going through this process. It is important to identify headers visually, and support for table headers in Microsoft Office is improving constantly. Plus, these headers will identified when saving to PDF in the most up-to-date versions of PowerPoint.
Links
PowerPoint automatically creates a hyperlink when a user pastes a full URL onto a slide and presses Enter or Space. Raw URLs may not make sense to screen reader users or others, so make the link text descriptive.
To change the link text right-click the link and select Edit Hyperlink. On Mac, right-click the link and select Hyperlink > Edit Hyperlink. A dialog will appear. Click in the Text to Display field at the top of the dialog and enter descriptive link text.
If you are creating a presentation that is intended to be displayed electronically and in a printout, you may want to include the URL and a description in the link text. For example, 'WebAIM Introduction to Web Accessibility (webaim.org/intro).'
Check Accessibility
PowerPoint includes a tool that will identify many common accessibility issues. The accessibility checker is basically the same in Windows and Mac, but the steps to start the check are different.
To run the accessibility checker in Windows, select File > Info. Select the Check for Issues button and choose Check Accessibility.
To start the accessibility checker in Mac, select the Review tab, then choose Check Accessibility.
In Windows and Mac, the Accessibility Checker sidebar will appear to the right. The checker presents accessibility errors (e.g., images with no alternative text), warnings (e.g., unclear link text) and tips (e.g., check slide reading order for slides with custom content). Selecting an item in the report will highlight the issue within the slide. Information about the issue, and instructions on how to repair it, will also appear at the bottom of the sidebar.
When the issue is addressed, it will disappear from the report automatically.
Other Accessibility Principles
- Make sure text is not too small, especially if the presentation will be viewed on a projector.
- Do not use color as the only way to convey information.
- Transitions and animations should be simple.
- Complex or automatic transitions and animations can be distracting.
- Use clear and simple language. If you have embedded video, ensure the video is captioned.
- If you have embedded audio, include a transcript.
Powerpoint For Mac 2011
Convert PowerPoint to PDF
PowerPoint is effective for face-to-face presentations, but it is usually not the best format for content on the web. The file can be large, and users must either have Microsoft Office or a plugin in order to view the file. PDF is often a better format to present PowerPoint presentations electronically. The file size is relatively small, distracting slide transitions are usually removed, and everyone has a PDF reader.
All of the accessibility features outlined in this article will be retained in a PDF file, assuming it is created correctly. (See our article on Creating PDF files from Office documents). If your presentation has tables or decorative images, and you know how to add accessibility information in Adobe Acrobat, your PDF file could even be made more accessible than the original PowerPoint file.
Looking for a free way to read Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Visio, or Lync documents without buying the latest versions of these applications yourself?
Similarly, if you own the Microsoft Office suite, do you share documents with those who don’t?
Most office software power-users will be frustrated using a tool like this every day, due to the limited tools, but your situation may merit using one of these free, web-based viewers anyway. While you cannot edit documents in these free online interfaces, you can view, copy, or print Office documents authored by others – without having to commit to Office yourself.
Alternatives to Free Viewers: Free Office Software Suites and Apps
Before downloading a viewer, also consider the free Microsoft Office Online (Web Apps), which allow you to both read and perform a limited but effective range of editing. You will find Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote apps available for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android.
If someone sends you file permissions to a document housed on Microsoft’s cloud OneDrive, you can make edits using this web app.
Free Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer For Mac
Since both the viewers and the web apps are used in your browser, and therefore require an internet connection, the latter may make more sense to you as a solution.
There are other free or open source office software suites and apps available.
Word Viewer
Microsoft produced free viewers for its Word application up until 2003. Since then, Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, and 2013 have come to fruition; however, the viewer was not updated for each of these versions. Those interested in a free, online viewer for Word have just used the Microsoft Word 2003 Viewer, which worked fairly well for documents produced across all these versions.
Luckily, now you can find a recent update that replaces the Microsoft Office 2003 Viewer. This download is a replacement for Word Viewer 2003 and all previous Word Viewer versions.
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Excel Viewer
Excel spreadsheets are among the most popular in the world, so it makes sense to have a solution that reads them as well as possible, even if you do not use Microsoft Excel on your device.
As with the Word Viewers, Excel Viewers have a new version that replaces the Excel Viewer 97, as well as Excel Viewers created earlier.
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Free Powerpoint For Mac Download
PowerPoint Viewer
PowerPoint Viewer has likewise been around for some time with a long-standing version, PowerPoint Viewer 97, being used for subsequent versions.
The most recent version of the PowerPoint Viewer has a few improvements and caveats. You can now opening password-protected Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (assuming you are privy to the password, of course). You will also notice a few features not available with this PowerPoint Viewer, including running macros while viewing a file or opening linked, embedded objects or files.
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Free Powerpoint Reader For Mac
Microsoft Visio Viewer
Even some Office power users have never heard of Microsoft Visio. This is a diagramming program for creating flow charts, organizational charts, or other visual representations.
While you cannot create or edit in-depth, you can do the following within the viewer: view files with extensions such as .vsd, .vsdx, .vsdm, .vst, .vstx, .vstm, .vdx, .vdw, or .vtx, use keyboard shortcuts and shortcut menus, view shape properties, adjust some layers settings, print some elements which fit to a given screen, and use some comment functions.
Since Visio is not typically included in some of Microsoft’s pre-packaged versions, it makes sense for businesses, for example, to buy one copy for the main user or a single computer device. This way, the Visio 2013 Viewer can be installed for free for others on the team to collaborate on.
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Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Whiteboard Viewer
This web conferencing tool offers a great way to share a record of online brainstorming and other presentations, even if those you were working with have not purchased access to Lync Server 2013. It converts the contents of your whiteboard session to HTML5, which is then viewed in a compatible browser.
Powerpoint Download For Mac
You May Also Need This Compatibility Pack
Keep in mind that the viewers may not resolve some of the more intricate compatibility glitches you could run into. For that reason, Microsoft also offers its Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats.
Free Powerpoint Reader For Mac
Since each new program version tends to allow new file types, you may need this compatibility pack to properly upload the file you are interested in.
Always Read License Terms
As with all downloads, make sure to read license terms regarding fonts and other aspects of files you may be interested in copying or printing. Even though you have not purchased a full version of Microsoft Office, you are still agreeing to license terms for these viewers by using them. In fact, you cannot install or use the fonts on other devices at all, because you have not purchased the right to do so.