---
title: "Top 6 PPT Issues in Panorama"
canonical: "https://help.cccs.edu/space/KnowledgeBase/969637889/Top%206%20PPT%20Issues%20in%20Panorama"
format: markdown
---
From presentations in lecture halls to class handouts in your course portal, PowerPoints are a versatile and visually appealing format. It can be difficult to balance aesthetics and accessibility, oftentimes resulting in many different accessibility issues in a single slideshow. These six issues appear very frequently in PowerPoint presentations. For any of these issues, you can select **Learn more **to learn how to fix the issue in its native software.

## 6. The language set is not specified for this content

Severity: **Minor**

Setting your PowerPoint’s language opens up many new possibilities for diverse audiences, such as accurate text-to-speech reading and Braille conversion.

### Fixing in Panorama

1. Open the Accessibility Report for the PowerPoint in Panorama.
2. Locate the language issue and select **Fix Issue**.
3. Choose the language for the slideshow in the **Replace language dropdown**.
4. Check **Add change to all instances of this issue **unless other languages appear in the slideshow. Otherwise, repeat step 3 for all instances of this error.
5. Select **Add Change **once done.
6. Select **Apply Changes **section in the Panorama accessibility Report once all accessibility issues are repaired.

![Panorama language window with a dropdown for the new language and a check box to add this change for all instances of this issue.](media://d36e8ff9-cf27-42c5-b067-47028b3c67a9)

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Open Outline View by selecting **View **and then **Outline View**.
3. Press **Ctrl + A **to select all text in the slideshow.
4. Open the **Review tab**, expand the **Language **dropdown, and select **Set Proofing Language.**
5. Choose the primary language of the slideshow.
  1. Select **Default **to set the primary language as default for all future slideshows.
6. Select **OK**.
7. Save the PowerPoint.
8. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report.

## 5. The font size is smaller than 9 points

Severity: **Minor**

Small, unreadable text is especially bad in PowerPoint presentations, where your audience could be anywhere in a room. PowerPoint presentations should aim for a font size of **18 to 30 pt **throughout.

### Fixing in Panorama

1. Open the Accessibility Report for the PowerPoint in Panorama.
2. Locate the font size issue and select **Fix Issue**.
3. Choose a font size greater than 9 pt, preferably **at least 18 pt**.
4. Select **Add Change**.
5. Select **Apply Changes **section in the Panorama accessibility Report once all accessibility issues are repaired.

![Panorama font size window with a dropdown to choose a new font size.](media://218a5f4b-18e1-4750-994d-2c532661e6dd)

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Select any text below 9 pt.
3. In the **Home **tab, choose a font size above 9 pt in the **font size dropdown**.
4. Repeat for any other text under 9 pt.
5. Save the PowerPoint.
6. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report.

![Home tab labeled 1, selected text box labeled 2, and font size dropdown with 26 entered labeled 3.](media://25e85a41-e31d-4e2b-b588-75a8c963a2ce)

## 4. The slide does not have a title

Severity: **Major**

Slide titles in a presentation work similarly to headings in a document. They chunk information into sections, establish an outline, and read out loud to screen reader users navigating through the presentation.

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Open the Accessibility Checker by selecting **Check Accessibility **in the **Review tab**.
3. In the Accessibility Assistant panel, select **Missing slide title**.
4. Either set selected text as the slide title, add a new slide title, or add a hidden slide title.
5. Repeat for any slides that have missing titles.
6. Save the PowerPoint.
7. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report.

## 3. The item does not have an alternative description

Severity: **Major**

PowerPoint presentations are more reliant on images than other types of documents and compensate with brief bullet points. Screen reader users struggle to understand the visual content of a slideshow without alternative descriptions for images relevant to the presentation. Slideshows also frequently use decorative elements that do not need to be read out loud by screen readers.

**NOTE: **Some images may already have alternate text that is inaccurate or not descriptive, such as a filename or URL. Always double check alt text in PowerPoint by right-clicking each image and selecting **View Alt Text**. 

### Fixing in Panorama

1. Open the Accessibility Report for the PowerPoint in Panorama.
2. Locate the alternative description issue and select **Fix Issue**.
3. Enter a brief description that summarizes the contents of the image. Aim for less than 120 characters.
4. Select **Apply Changes **in the Accessibility Report once all accessibility issues are repaired.

![Panorama alt text window with a text field labeled 'Add Alt Text' and a checkbox to update all images in the document.](media://b380bd86-b0b5-4c88-b778-897ac63143d8)

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Open the Accessibility Checker by selecting **Check Accessibility **in the **Review tab**.
3. In the Accessibility Assistant panel, select **Missing alt text**.
4. Enter a brief description that summarizes the contents of the image. Aim for less than 120 characters.
  1. If the image is decorative or aesthetic, select **Mark as decorative **to have screen readers ignore it.
  2. Refrain from using **Generate alt text for me **as it is often not accurate.
5. Repeat step 4 for all remaining images in the slideshow.
6. Save the PowerPoint.
7. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report.

![The Alt Text panel next to a selected image of a QR code. 'QR code that leads to the Panorama Access Form' is written in the text box.](media://d8dc036f-08ef-467b-938e-d3fc282218c0)

## 2. Check reading order of slide

Severity: **Minor**

Content in a slide is often laid out in a free-form way using custom slide layouts. As reading order is based on the order elements are added to a slide, it can often be jumbled and confusing to readers listening to the slide read out loud. A good reading order should match how the slide would be read by a sighted reader.

### Fixing in Panorama

1. Open the Accessibility Report for the PowerPoint in Panorama.
2. Locate the alternative description issue and select **Fix Issue**.
3. Verify the reading order in PowerPoint.
4. If the reading order has no issues, check **Verify reading order **and then select **Add Change**. Otherwise, follow the steps in Fixing in PowerPoint below.
5. Select **Apply Changes **section in the Panorama accessibility Report once all accessibility issues are repaired.

![Panorama reading order window with a single checkbox labeled 'Verify reading order'.](media://617881e9-75f7-43c7-9942-7be96a2b428f)

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Select the **Review tab **and then **Check Accessibility **to open the new Accessibility tab.
3. In the Accessibility tab, select **Reading Order Pane.**
4. For each slide, click through each element in the Reading Order pane and make sure they read in a logical order from top to bottom. If not, click and drag elements to reorder them.
5. Make sure that decorative or aesthetic elements are exempt from the reading order by unchecking the **check box **to the left.
6. Save the PowerPoint.
7. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report and follow the steps in Fixing in Panorama.

## 1. Insufficient contrast between foreground and background

Severity: **Major**

PowerPoint presentations often incorporate colorful themes which may sacrifice accessible color contrast for visual appeal. By using strongly contrasting colors, you can create a visually appealing presentation that can still be read by audiences who may struggle with colorblindness or visual impairments. Most text in a PowerPoint presentation is at least 18 pt and therefore needs to have a **3:1 contrast ratio minimum**. Text below 18 pt (or 14 pt and bolded) needs to have a **4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum**.

You can find a list of accessible PowerPoint themes and variants in our [Accessible PowerPoint Presentations article](https://help.cccs.edu/space/KnowledgeBase/902758403/Accessible+PowerPoint+Presentations).

**NOTE: **PowerPoint’s Accessibility Checker does not check for the contrast between text and background elements; only text on a shaded text box or shape. Likewise, Panorama checks the contrast of text against its background even if an image is used for the background. In both instances, use the [Colour Contrast Analyser](https://www.tpgi.com/color-contrast-checker/) to ensure the contrast is sufficient.

### Fixing in Panorama

1. Open the Accessibility Report for the PowerPoint in Panorama.
2. Locate the contrast issue and select **Fix Issue**.
3. Select the color swatch underneath **Text Color**.
4. Use the color sliders or the syringe tool to choose a new color. Pay attention to the Contrast Ratio on the right side. A ratio of at least 4.5:1 is ideal.
5. Once you have chosen a new color, select **Add Change**.
6. Repeat until all issues are fixed.
7. Select **Apply Changes **in the Accessibility Report once all accessibility issues are repaired.

![Panorama Contrast window with the text color set to red and the background color set to white. The contrast ratio is 4.63 to 1, which means it passes both large and small font checks.](media://86018936-e6e1-45b3-be5a-748162bb5bb9)

### Fixing in PowerPoint

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Open the Accessibility Checker by selecting **Check Accessibility **in the **Review tab**.
3. In the Accessibility Assistant panel, select **Hard-to-read text contrast**.
4. Choose a new font color, background color, or highlight.
5. Repeat step 4 for all remaining contrast issues.
6. Manually check the presentation for uncaught contrast issues using the Colour Contrast Analyser. Sample the foreground and background colors using the syringes below each color and ensure they pass the contrast checks.
7. Save the PowerPoint.
8. Update the document using the **Update Document **section in the Panorama Accessibility Report.