Accessibility Checker in Microsoft applications

Sushumna Rao

What is accessibility checker? Accessibility checker is a free tool available in Word, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, and PowerPoint on Windows, Office for the web, or Mac, and Visio on Windows. It helps you find most accessibility issues and explains why each might be a potential problem for someone using with assistive technologies like screen reader. It also offers suggestions on how to fix each issue.

Although the tool catches various types of accessibility issues in the document, there might be some issues It is not capable of detecting. For example it can detect missing alternative text and suggest text, but it cannot be accurate. That’s why it’s important to review your work visually to find the issues hiding from the Accessibility Checker.

Using accessibility checker

A screenshot showing option check accessibility in MS Word

The Accessibility Checker checks your file against a set of criteria to find any potential problems for making the it accessible. Then the Accessibility Checker classifies each problem as an error, warning, or tip. Then information on Why to fix is also provided to make you understand the accessibility issue.

Problem in the document that makes it difficult or impossible to read and understand for people with disabilities is classified as an Error
A problem in the document in most (but not all) cases makes the document difficult to understand for people with disabilities is classified as a Warning
A suggestion that will help to improve the user’s experience and make the document readable and accessible is classified as a Tip

You can see the list of errors, warnings, and tips with how-to-fix recommendations for each in the Accessibility pane.

Observe the screenshots given below.

If you are using Windows machine,

Click on File in MS Word / MS PowerPoint application
Click on Info
Click on small downward arrow Check for any issues and select check Accessibility
A window opens with issues (errors, warnings and tips) and fix options if there are any issues or the text in window says no accessibility issues found.
Or You can access the Accessibility checker from Review Menu
Or you can access Accessibility checker from the search option above menu bar of MS Word / MS PowerPoint application too