Creating presentations that are accessible to everyone is an important consideration for content developers. Because Macromedia Breeze presentations are authored in Microsoft PowerPoint, it is important that the PowerPoint presentation itself be accessible.
Because PowerPoint presentations often contain graphics and animation, it is important to create a document that makes all visual elements available and accessible to disabled users. For example, when a blind user employs a screen reader to access the contents of an online presentation, it is necessary to give all graphics and animations the proper text equivalents to describe their function.
A wider audience can be reached when your PowerPoint presentations are made accessible. To create effective and accessible PowerPoints, it is best to start thinking about accessibility right from the development stage. Here are a few key steps that will help you to begin creating accessible PowerPoint presentation:
- Add text equivalents to all images
- Limit use of animations and transitions
- If animations are used, ensure that they remain accessible
- Use the Notes panel to include text transcripts of audio tracks
Add Text Equivalents to Images
For images or objects (e.g., charts) used in your presentation, add text equivalents (alt text) using the steps below.
Right-click on your image or object, or select the image or object and press Shift+F10.
- Select Format Picture… or Format Object…
Select the Web tab in the dialog box.
- Enter the alt text in the text area box provided. Be sure this text adequately represents the purpose of the image it describes. This text need not be a detailed description of the image but should convey the image’s function on the page.
Limit Animations and Transitions
Accessible presentations should limit transitions whenever possible. When a PowerPoint presentation is converted into a Macromedia Breeze presentation, transitions force the user to press the Play button to advance through each transition. This can result in a time-consuming and tedious experience for screen reader users.
Consider the example of a slide containing bullet points which fly in from the right: as each bullet transitions onto the screen, a screen reader will return to the top of the page and recommence reading the page’s contents from the beginning. To advance to the next bullet, the user will need to press the Play button. This can create a frustrating experience for the screen reader user. While it may be acceptable to occasionally use transitions, they should not be used on every slide. Limiting the use of transitions and animation to one per slide will help to improve the usability of your presentation for screen reader users.
Create Accessible Animations
Animations used in your PowerPoint presentations should be made accessible. Ensure that Macromedia Flash animations used in your presentations are accessible by following the recommendations for Macromedia Flash authoring at the Macromedia Accessibility Resource Center.
In addition, you should carefully consider your use of decorative animations. Constant motion on the screen may cause a screen reader to refresh frequently, thus making the presentation more difficult to use. Keeping animations to a minimum or eliminating them altogether will increase the accessibility of your content.
Add Text Transcripts for Audio
For presentations with narrative audio recorded and delivered in Breeze, it is important to provide a text transcript of this information for users with hearing impairments. Simply placing a transcript of the audio in the Notes panel within Microsoft PowerPoint can do this. This information is then made available to users within the notes pane in the final, published Macromedia Breeze Presentation.
