Creating Accessible Learning: Accessibility Checker

The Accessibility Checker is a built-in tool that reviews your slides for accessibility. When you run the tool, it provides you with a list of accessibility errors, warnings, and tips, as well as additional information and help for fixing issues.

The Accessibility Checker doesn’t catch everything, so you will still need to do a manual accessibility check. But the tool is still a great resource for ensuring the accessibility of your PowerPoints while also helping you learn more about accessibility over time.

1. Open the Accessibility Checker. You can find the option on either the “Review” tab or the “Accessibility” tab of the PPT toolbar.
2. View Inspection Results. The Accessibility Checker pane will list any issues that need to be addressed (Figure 1).
3. Address issues. Select an issue to reveal details at the bottom of the pane about why and how to fix the item. You may also use the drop-down arrow next to an issue to reveal Recommended Actions (Figure 2).
4. Clear list items. Once an item has been addressed, the Accessibility Checker removes it from the list.

Remember, it’s important to do a manual check in addition to using the Accessibility Checker since some items require human intelligence to catch and fix.

Note: Sometimes the Accessibility Checker may list things that, upon review, are not an issue. In that case, it’s okay to still have items listed within the Accessibility Checker.