How to use the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Office Files

computer screen next to accessibility stick man and green tick

by JP Corcoran

The Accessibility Checker is a free tool built into Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint, to help improve the accessibility of your content. It identifies most accessibility issues, explains why each might be a potential problem, and offers suggestions on how to resolve them.

It’s worth noting that although the Accessibility Checker catches most types of accessibility issues, there are some it is not able to detect, for example the correct use of Alternative (Alt) text.

You can find the Accessibility Checker under the Review Tab in each of the previously listed Microsoft Office applications. To run the Accessibility Checker you can press Alt + R, A, 1, A. The findings are categorized into errors, warnings, tips, and intelligent services with how-to-fix recommendations for each.

For more information and tips on improving the accessibility of your Microsoft Office files using the Accessibility Checker you can visit Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker web page.