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Re: PowerPoint accessibility-alt question

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From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Apr 19, 2014 11:47AM

To the best of my knowledge, no MS Office program gives us the option of
setting a graphic (or other image item) as an artifact. And the HTML null
tag "" (double quotes) is not available in any office, graphics or desktop
publishing program. It's strictly an HTML tag at this time. Instead of
null, some programs allow us to apply an "artifact" tag (sometimes called
"background" or "decorative"), but MS Office programs do not.
I think this is a major shortcoming in MS Office programs.
Instead, they automatically artifact anything on a PowerPoint master slide
(what other programs call the "Master Page") and in Headers/Footers.

So, in your example Lisa, as long as the background image is correctly
placed on the master slide design, rather than directly on each individual
slide (or page), it should automatically be artifacted and left out of the
PDF's tag tree and Reading Order, and therefore ignored by screen readers. I
think that's the end result your trying get, correct?

To control your master pages for the PowerPoint slides:
1. Select Slide Master from the View ribbon tab.
2. Select the Master Title Slide, the larger one at the top of the list
which controls the appearance of all other slide masters. Right-click on the
photo to send it to the back, or behind all of the text on the master.

If you want this background image to be on only certain types of pages in
the slideshow rather than all of them, then instead of putting it on the
Master Title slide master, place it on the master for that particular slide
design. Select the particular slide master from the list on the left.

I know, the word "master" means many things in the above directions, but
that's Microsoft's choice, not mine. There's the master master, and then
lesser masters. Sigh. Try teaching this for a living!

Only placeholders on the masters can have Alt-text (placeholders are
inserted on the slide master by choosing Insert Placeholder from the Slide
Master ribbon tab). All other images that are not placeholders will be
automatically artifacted.

If you need to brush up on PowerPoint's slide layouts, check
www.microsoft.com for free tutorials.
For Mac Powerpoint, see
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/how-to/training/powerpoint
For Windows 2013 PowerPoint, see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/training-courses-for-power
point-2013-HA104015465.aspx
For Windows 2020 PowerPoint, see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/training-courses-for-power
point-2010-HA104039040.aspx

For other MS Office programs, see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx

- Bevi Chagnon
- PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, and Developers.
- Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
Accessibility.
- 508 Workshop: www.workshop.pubcom.com
- US Federal Training: www.gpo.gov/customers/theinstitute.htm