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Issues using Accessibility features in PowerPoint/exporting to PDF (self.Blind)
submitted by CasualFox
Hi, I'm using PowerPoint to create a poster (single slide, A1) to present some research. I wanted to take the opportunity to open a dialogue about accessibility in my field and have taken steps to make sure it is accessible for neurodiverse and visually impaired viewers. As part of this I have been using the Accessibility feature.
I have now assigned a reading order to all elements of the poster, and added Alt Text to images and tables. However I am still running into several issues.
1. When I use the Check Accessibility feature, it still flags up a "Warning" to "check reading order". The reading order is set, but there is no obvious way to mark "check reading order" as resolved.
2. I have tried using Narrator to read the poster in PowerPoint presentation mode, but it does not appear to read anything. I am not sure whether this is because I am new to Narrator and am using it incorrectly, or perhaps because PowerPoint still wants me to "check reading order" and therefore has not actually set the reading order yet.
3. Ideally I would like to export it as a PDF and retain the accessibility features. $1. However, when I try to get Narrator to read the PDF (in Edge) it only reads the window information and file name, and Edge's native PDF reader does read the document but is clearly not following my accessibility tags, as it does not identify any of my Alt Text or ignore elements I have marked as "decorative". It also read out the contents of tables rather than reading Alt Text I had assigned them instead.
Both of the latter two problems could either be be because of the "check reading order" issue, or because I am not using Narrator correctly (entirely possible - I am a novice), or something else entirely.
I would really appreciate if anyone has any insight into how to solve this. Thanks!
I have now assigned a reading order to all elements of the poster, and added Alt Text to images and tables. However I am still running into several issues.
1. When I use the Check Accessibility feature, it still flags up a "Warning" to "check reading order". The reading order is set, but there is no obvious way to mark "check reading order" as resolved.
2. I have tried using Narrator to read the poster in PowerPoint presentation mode, but it does not appear to read anything. I am not sure whether this is because I am new to Narrator and am using it incorrectly, or perhaps because PowerPoint still wants me to "check reading order" and therefore has not actually set the reading order yet.
3. Ideally I would like to export it as a PDF and retain the accessibility features. $1. However, when I try to get Narrator to read the PDF (in Edge) it only reads the window information and file name, and Edge's native PDF reader does read the document but is clearly not following my accessibility tags, as it does not identify any of my Alt Text or ignore elements I have marked as "decorative". It also read out the contents of tables rather than reading Alt Text I had assigned them instead.
Both of the latter two problems could either be be because of the "check reading order" issue, or because I am not using Narrator correctly (entirely possible - I am a novice), or something else entirely.
I would really appreciate if anyone has any insight into how to solve this. Thanks!
AndAdapt 1 points 2y ago
I make presentations everyday for my job. However, I use reveal as it's accessible to create and read with a screen reader.
Power point usually works ok with a screen reader in presentation mode. So if you message me on here I will test for you
Power point usually works ok with a screen reader in presentation mode. So if you message me on here I will test for you
CasualFox [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Hi, really sorry for the slow reply, but thanks for the response! After another hour and a half or so of metaphorical keyboard slamming and irritated grumbling I managed to work it out - no thanks to Microsoft Support, who insisted (incorrectly) that it was impossible to export Accessibility features to PDF. So after that I forgot to check back into my own Reddit questions!
It turns out the solution was quite simply that I was viewing the PDF in the default Edge PDF viewer, which isn't compatible with Accessibility features. All I needed to do was download Adobe Acrobat and it worked fine, including following the reading order.
Thanks again for the answer :)
It turns out the solution was quite simply that I was viewing the PDF in the default Edge PDF viewer, which isn't compatible with Accessibility features. All I needed to do was download Adobe Acrobat and it worked fine, including following the reading order.
Thanks again for the answer :)
IronDominion 1 points 2y ago
I think what’s happening here is the modality of how your trying to read things is wrong.
For 2, screen readers cannot read a PowerPoint in present mode to my knowledge, as it’s drawn as an image. Reading order is for being read in edit mode.
For your PDF issue, this is due to the type of PDF that is exported. Other screen readers are significantly less likely to run into this issue than narrator, but basically PowerPoint is exporting the PDF as a image PDF, so narrator treats it like a picture. The easiest way to fix this is by making the PDF editable in Adobe Acrobat, but I know not everyone has access to that. Essentially you need to make the PDF editable so screen readers that lack OCR functionality can read the text
For 2, screen readers cannot read a PowerPoint in present mode to my knowledge, as it’s drawn as an image. Reading order is for being read in edit mode.
For your PDF issue, this is due to the type of PDF that is exported. Other screen readers are significantly less likely to run into this issue than narrator, but basically PowerPoint is exporting the PDF as a image PDF, so narrator treats it like a picture. The easiest way to fix this is by making the PDF editable in Adobe Acrobat, but I know not everyone has access to that. Essentially you need to make the PDF editable so screen readers that lack OCR functionality can read the text
CasualFox [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Hi, really sorry for the slow reply, but thanks for the response! After another hour and a half or so of metaphorical keyboard slamming and irritated grumbling I managed to work it out - no thanks to Microsoft Support, who insisted (incorrectly) that it was impossible to export Accessibility features to PDF. So after that I forgot to check back into my own Reddit questions!
It turns out the solution was quite simply that I was viewing the PDF in the default Edge PDF viewer, which isn't compatible with Accessibility features. All I needed to do was download Adobe Acrobat and it worked fine, including following the reading order. It was actually already correctly exported to be read by Acrobat.
Thanks again for the answer :)
It turns out the solution was quite simply that I was viewing the PDF in the default Edge PDF viewer, which isn't compatible with Accessibility features. All I needed to do was download Adobe Acrobat and it worked fine, including following the reading order. It was actually already correctly exported to be read by Acrobat.
Thanks again for the answer :)
retrolental_morose 2 points 2y ago
Screen readers can obviously, read presentations as they are being presented, else how would a screen reader user present?
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