Grackle Slides

A slides title is crucial for a number of reasons, primarily because it enhances accessibility, usability, and comprehension for all readers, including those with disabilities or those who are simply trying to quickly find information.

To set the slide title:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Presentation title is required
3. Select Edit Title to adjust the title or ensure there is a title block found in the first slide.

Setting the slides language is essential for screen readers to pronounce words correctly, ensuring accessibility and a clear user experience for individuals who are blind or have low vision.

Typically, a slides language is set to English by default. If your slide is in another language:

To set the slides title:

1. Select File from the slides menu
2. Select Language
3. Choose the slides language from the list

Alternatively, you can select Set Language from the Grackle Slides checker.

Keep in mind that the language setting applies to the entire slide presentation. If your slides contains multiple languages, it’s a good idea to create a separate presentation for each language, as you cannot apply different language settings to specific sections within Google Slides.

A slide needs a unique title because it serves as the main heading, allowing users to quickly identify and navigate to specific topics within the presentation.

To add a title to slides:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select A slide should have a title check
3. Select the Slide # button to identify the slide that’s missing a title
4. Add a title to the slide, or adjust the layout to ensure there is a title field
5. Repeat as needed

This is a similar principal to each webpage having a single heading 1. Slide titles must be unique to help navigation for users relying on screen readers or other keyboard-only navigation tools.

To check for unique slide titles:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Slide title should be unique check
3. Select the Slide # button to identify the slide that has an identical title
4. Adjust the title field on one or more of the affected titles to ensure they are unique
5. Repeat as needed

Empty slides interrupt the flow for assistive technology users, causing confusion because they might assume content failed to load or that the presentation has abruptly ended.

To check for empty slides:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select A slide should not be empty check
3. Select the Slide # button to identify the slide that is empty
4. Add content to the slide, or remove from presentation
5. Repeat as needed

Tables must be tagged or marked as layout tables to distinguish between data tables that require row and column headers for screen readers and decorative tables that should be ignored.

It is best practice to use tables only for tabular data. The only way to properly tag a table in a Google Slides is with Grackle, so you should always run a Grackle report before sharing slides that contain tables.

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Tables must be tagged and described
3. Select the Table button to locate the table
4. Select the +Tag button to open the Tag Table options
5. Update the options to define the purpose and structure of the table in your slides.
6. Select Table is used for layout only if the table is purely decorative. When checked, it tells assistive technologies to ignore the table’s structure.
7. Select Mark first row as header for tables that contain data and use the top row to label the content of each column.
8. Select Mark first column as header for tables that use the first column to label the content of each row.
9. Select Associate with column headers and Associate with row headers to further define the table settings and help assistive technologies, like screen readers, understand the relationship between a data cell and its corresponding header cell in a table.
10. Use Mark as header cell for Column, Row, or Both to further define complex data tables.
11. Update and repeat as needed

Merging cells is bad for accessibility because it breaks the grid structure of a table, which makes it incredibly difficult for people who use assistive technologies like screen readers to understand the data.

Screen readers navigate tables by counting rows and columns and reading header information for each cell, but merged cells disrupt this logical structure, causing them to get “lost” and present information out of order or without the proper context.

If your table contains merged cells:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select The use of merged cells is not recommended
3.  Select Locate to identify the tables with merged cells
4. Highlight the merged cells, right-click and select Unmerge
5. Repeat as needed

You should avoid using empty cells in a slide table because they can confuse both visual and screen reader users. Instead of leaving a cell blank, it’s best to use a clear indicator such as N/A, —, or “Not Applicable” to represent that there is no data.

When a table serves as a template for users to enter data, it’s fine to leave cells blank. Just be sure to create the template with properly tagged header rows and columns. This provides the necessary structure and context for both screen readers and visual users, even before any content is added.

Images should have alternative text or be marked as artifacts to provide context for users with screen readers and to ensure the slide is accessible to everyone.

Marking an image as an artifact signals to assistive technologies, like screen readers, that the element is decorative or non-essential and should be completely ignored.

To add alternative text or mark as artifact:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Images should have alternate text
3. For each image listed, select Image to find the image in the slide
4. Select +Tag to access the Tag Image or Graphics window
5. Either select Mark as artifact if the image is purely decorative, or add an Alternative Text description
6. Repeat as needed

Meaningful non-text elements like shapes or drawings, should have alternative text or be marked as artifacts to provide context for users with screen readers and to ensure the slide is accessible to everyone.

Marking an element as an artifact signals to assistive technologies, like screen readers, that the element is decorative or non-essential and should be completely ignored.

To add alternative text or mark as artifact:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Elements should have alternate text
3. For each image listed, select Rectangle to find the element in the slide
4. Select +Tag to access the Tag Image or Graphics window
5. Either select Mark as artifact if the image is purely decorative, or add an Alternative Text description
6. Repeat as needed

An empty text box can be confusing noise for users relying on assistive technology.

If a text box is present but has no content, a screen reader might still announce its existence (like “Text Box 5”), interrupting the flow and making the user think they missed content or that something failed to load.

If it serves no purpose, it shouldn’t be there.

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Text boxes should not be empty
3. Select the Text Box button to locate the empty text box
4. Add text or remove from slide
5. Repeat as needed

Lists must be created using the official “Bulleted List” or “Numbered List” tools in Google Slides.

If you use things like empty line breaks, extra paragraph returns, or separate text boxes to make items look like a single list visually, assistive technologies like screen readers won’t recognize the connection.

The screen reader’s job is to announce the list structure, for instance: “List with 5 items,” followed by “Item 1 of 5,” “Item 2 of 5,” and so on. If the list is broken, the reader will treat the items as a series of disconnected, ordinary paragraphs, making it impossible for the user to understand the organized relationship between the points.

To fix:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Lists should not be broken apart
3. Select the List button to locate the slide with the broken lists
4. Remove the break in the list, or apply a new slide layout to create two separate lists in different text boxes
5. Repeat as needed

Fine print should be avoided because it is difficult or impossible for many users to read, especially those with visual impairments or on smaller screens.

If Grackle slides identifies small print, change to 12pt or larger, and consider using bold or bullet points instead of small, dense text blocks.

High color contrast should be used to ensure text and essential visual elements are easily distinguishable and readable for all users, especially those with visual impairments, low vision, or color blindness.

Use Grackle Slides to locate the text with low contrast then review Brand Standards: Colors for tips on more accessible contrast options to use in your document.

In-line style changes refer to applying visual formatting like bold, italics, or changing the text color within a block of text, especially when that formatting is intended to convey critical meaning or status.

The Problem: While you can see the difference, screen readers do not consistently announce these visual changes. If you write, “The password is the word secret,” a sighted user sees the emphasis from the bold text, but a screen reader may simply read, “The password is the word secret,” with no audible indication that the styled word is important.

Grackle flags this because if you are relying on color or bolding to convey meaning (e.g., all bold words are key terms), a user with a visual impairment will miss that meaning.

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select In-line style changes may lack clear meaning
3. Select the TEXT_BOX button to locate the slide with the text styling
4. If the styling isn’t needed, you can remove it from the text
5. If the styling is required to convey meaning, select the +TAG option to access the Tag Image or Graphics window
6. Enter an alternative text description to provide context for the text styling
7. Repeat as needed

When you hit the Enter or Return key multiple times after your last bullet point or paragraph in a text box, you create invisible, empty lines.

While you may not see anything on the slide, the screen reader detects these empty lines as blank paragraphs or empty returns. Instead of moving smoothly to the next slide or the next element, the user is forced to listen to the screen reader announce meaningless blank spaces, which disrupts their focus and makes them think content is missing.

To fix:

1. Launch Grackle Slides
2. Select Empty trailing lines could be removed
3. Select the Paragraph button to locate the empty paragraph on the slide
4. Delete the empty paragraph
5. Repeat as needed

When you are building your slides:

• Use built-in layouts as these often are easier to navigate.
• Ensure there is a logical reading order to your content by using the Tab key to navigate through the content.
• Verify the color contrast of your text and in your images.
• Ensure any media includes alternatives like captions and transcripts.
• Write descriptive link text and don’t use generic text like “Click Here” or paste the URL.

When you are presenting your slides:

• Read the Title and Transitions – Always announce the title of the slide and any transition slides. This confirms the user is on the correct slide, especially if a screen reader has trouble auto-detecting the change.
• Describe Visuals Aloud Verbally – describe the meaning of important charts, graphs, or images on the screen. Do not simply say “As you can see here…” Instead, say, “This bar chart shows an increase in attendance from 2023 to 2024, rising from 50% to 75%.”
• Read Key Takeaways – Read the key bullet points on the slide, especially if you plan to elaborate on them. This ensures the information is conveyed aurally, even if the user can’t read the screen.
• Be Clear about Your Movement – When referring to an area of the slide, be specific. Instead of “look down here,” say, “In the bottom-right corner, you will find the contact email.”
• Provide the Presentation Link – Share a link to the accessible version of the Google Slides presentation (or PDF export) before the session starts. This allows users of assistive technology to follow along at their own pace and review the content beforehand.
• Offer Breaks – If the presentation is long, build in planned breaks. This is crucial for users with cognitive disabilities or those who require frequent pauses when processing dense information.