Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Evaluation Guide

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Getting Started

This guide combines automated Accessibility Assistant checks with a series of manual checks to help you evaluate and repair common accessibility issues in Word and PowerPoint.

To start the Accessibility Checker, select the Review tab, then choose Check Accessibility. The sidebar that appears will be different depending on your version of Office:

If you are using the Office 365 subscription service, the Accessibility Assistant pane will appear. Use the checklist below.
If you are using a standalone version of Office 2019-2024 the pane reads “Accessibility” or “Check Accessibility”. Use our Office 2019-2024 evaluation checklist.

In the Review column of each table, “AA Pane” refers to the Accessibility Assistant pane and “Manual” refers to additional manual checks that you should do.

If the Accessibility Assistant detects issues in a specific category, the issue and number of occurrences will be displayed in the sidebar. Issue types that are not detected will appear in low contrast and have a checkmark. Click on an issue to repair it within the sidebar, then use the Manual review steps to identify any additional issues.

To review an issue without repairing it, use the Previous Issue/Next Issue button (left and right arrows in the upper-right corner of the sidebar), or choose the Back arrow in the upper-left corner.

Headings (Word-only)

Principle	Review	Repair
Document contains headings that use Word Heading Styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.)	AA Pane: No headings in document > Review Document Navigation to open the Navigation pane.	Create new headings or use Home tab > Styles gallery to apply the correct style to visual headings.
Text that serves as a visual heading uses the correct Word Styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.).	Manual: View tab > Navigation Pane Headings tab (), OR Document Map tab (). Verify that all heading text is correctly identified.	Click Home tab > Styles gallery. Apply the correct heading style to text that functions as a visual heading. Verify each heading is listed in the Navigation Pane.
Headings do not skip levels (e.g., Heading 1 to Heading 3).	Manual: Navigation Pane. Check for skipped levels.	Click Home tab. In the Styles gallery, change the heading to the correct heading level.
Headings are not empty	Manual: Navigation Pane. Check for empty lines.	Delete empty headings OR change the heading style to Normal to change it to an empty paragraph.

Slide Titles (PowerPoint-only)

Principle	Review	Repair
Each slide should have a title	AA Pane: Missing slide title	Title empty: Edit Slide Title > enter a descriptive title Click Approve (), OR Click Approve an Edit (). Title missing: Click Add Slide Title (onscreen) OR Add Hidden Slide Title (offscreen). Title not in the correct placeholder: Select the title and click Set as Slide Title and check reading order.
Slide titles are descriptive	Manual: View > Outline View. Check for a descriptive title.	Select Title placeholder and add a descriptive title.
Slide titles should usually be unique	AA Pane: Duplicate slide title	Click Edit Slide Title. Add a unique and descriptive title. Click Approve (), OR Click Appprove an Edit ().

Slide Reading Order (PowerPoint-only)

Principle	Review	Repair
The reading order of the contents of a slide is logical.	AA Pane: Check reading order	Click Verify reading order. Use the Reading Order Pane to ensure the element sequence matches the visual order on the slide.

Section Names (PowerPoint-only)

Principle	Review	Repair
Presentations are organized by sections (recommended)	Manual: View > Normal. Look for descriptive section names.	Select the slide below the new section's location. Click Home tab > Section menu > Add Section. Add a unique and descriptive name.
Section names are not default values, generic (e.g., Section 1), or duplicated.	AA Pane: Default section name	Click Rename Section. Add a unique and descriptive name.
Section names are accurate	Manual: View > Normal. Confirm that a section name accurately describes its slides.	Click Rename Section. Add a unique and descriptive name to accurately describe its slides.

Images

Principle	Review	Repair
Images (and other non-text objects) have equivalent alternative text or are marked as decorative.	AA Pane: Missing alt text	For each image, do one of these: Enter the equivalent alternative text (or fix AI-generated alt text) and click Save. If AI-generated alt text is equivalent (it usually isn’t) click Approve. If the image is decorative, click Mark as decorative.
Alternative text is equivalent	Manual: Right click the image > View Alt Text	Update the alt text (if needed) or check Mark as decorative.
Wrapped images (not “In Line with Text”) are anchored in a logical place.	Manual: Home > Show ¶ > Select the image to show the anchor and review its position.	Reposition the anchor (mouse-only) or the image (mouse & keyboard)

Color and Contrast

Principle	Review	Repair
Document text has sufficient contrast with its background.	AA Pane: Hard-to-read text contrast	Click a color picker option, OR Click More font colors and select one of the high contrast options.
Check for contrast issues in: Text in objects Other vital information in objects All text in PowerPoint	Manual: Visually scan for content with low contrast and test with a contrast checking tool.	For images: Update or replace images with sufficient contrast. For text: Home > Font Color. Select a color with sufficient contrast.
Color is not used as the only way information is presented (color reliance).	Manual: Visually review the document for color reliance.	Add an additional method that provides the same information (e.g., document structure, text, icons with alternative text).

Tables

Principle	Review	Repair
Cells in the first row of a table that function as column headers are marked as headers.	AA Pane: Missing table header	Click Use first row as header.
Cells in the first column of a table that function as row headers are marked as headers.	Manual: Determine if the text in the first column functions as a row header.	Select the table. Click Table Design. Check the First Column checkbox.
Tables avoid merged cells or split cells when possible.	AA Pane: Use of merged or split cells	Select the table. Click Table Design. Fix the issue with: Merge Cells OR Split Cells
Avoid layout tables. Where they must be used, ensure that the content reading order matches the visual order.	Manual: Review the document for tables that do not present data. Use `Tab` key to check reading order.	Click Table Layout tab > Convert to Text to remove content from a table and use an alternate layout method (e.g., columns), OR Rearrange the table’s content to align the reading order with the visual order.
Tables should not use empty columns or rows for visual formatting.	Manual: Review the document for tables with empty columns or rows.	Right-click the empty column or row. Select Delete Cells. Choose Delete entire row or Delete entire column. Click OK.

Other Principles

Principle	Review	Repair
Link text is descriptive.	AA Pane: Unclear hyperlink text, AND Manual: Review the document for link text that is not descriptive.	Right-click the link. Select Edit Hyperlink. Add descriptive text to the Text to Display field. Click OK.
Embedded media has equivalent captions and/or transcripts (PowerPoint only).	AA Pane: Missing audio or video subtitles	Right-click the media. Windows: Select Insert captions. Select a WebVTT or SRT file from the picker. Click OK. Mac: Select Edit captions. Select the document language on the Generate Captions from dropdown menu, OR Click Insert Captions from File, select the file from the Choose one or more WebVTT or SRT files picker, and click Insert.
Text that functions as a list of items is identified correctly.	Manual: Click on the text. On the Home tab, verify that the correct type—Bullets or Numbering—is highlighted.	Highlight the text. Click Home and select Numbering or Bullets. Ensure that each item is on a separate line.
Document does not have spelling or grammar issues.	Manual: Proofread content using: Word: Review tab > Editor PowerPoint: Review tab > Spelling	Use Word’s Editor pane to locate and correct issues Use PowerPoint’s Spelling pane to locate and correct issues
Document has a descriptive file name.	Manual: Determine if the filename displayed in the title bar at the top of the application window describes the document.	Click File > Save As. Update the filename as needed: File Name field () Save As field ()
Document has a descriptive Title (recommended for PDF conversion).	Manual: Verify that the document has a descriptive Title. File > Info > Title () File > Properties > Summary tab > Title ()	Add text that describes the document (often the same as the Heading 1), or update the existing text as needed.