Before sending your email message or sharing your document or spreadsheet, run the Accessibility Checker to make sure your Microsoft Office content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit.
Use the Accessibility Checker
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On the ribbon, select the Review tab. If you're using Outlook, note that you'll only see the Review tab when writing or replying to messages.
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Select Check Accessibility.
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Review your results. You'll see a list of errors, warnings, and tips with how-to-fix recommendations for each. See Rules for the Accessibility Checker for more information.
Fix recommendations with ease
To easily address accessibility errors and warnings, select an issue to open the Recommended Actions list. You can apply a one-click fix by selecting an action, or select the arrow button next to an action for more options.
Check accessibility while you work in Outlook
In Outlook, the Accessibility Checker runs automatically when composing an email, and a MailTip will provide a convenient nudge to correct accessibility issues before sending your email.
Select File > Options > Ease of Access and select if you want to see accessibility notifications through a MailTip while you work, in certain scenarios, or only when you manually open the Accessibility Checker pane.
The default option is to show accessibility notifications in certain scenarios, and if any accessibility issues are detected, a MailTip appears to guide you to review suggestions and fix the issue.
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Show me accessibility warnings while I work
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Show me accessibility warnings when:
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At least one recipient prefers accessible content
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Using a dark background to compose a message. If you're composing in Black Theme with dark mode enabled, which is the default for this theme, the Accessibility Checker runs but shows notifications only when text contrast is insufficient. Any other issues will still appear in the Accessibility Checker pane, but they won't cause the MailTip to appear.
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Composing a message to a large audience
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At least one recipient is outside my organization
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Composing a message with high importance
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Show me accessibility warnings only when I open the accessibility checker
Check accessibility while you work in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
To be notified of accessibility issues in your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents as you continue working on them, tick the Keep accessibility checker running while I work checkbox.
This adds the Accessibility button to your status bar, and keeps track of accessibility issues in real time. You can open the Accessibility Checker whenever you want by selecting the status bar button.
Note: The Keep accessibility checker running while I work checkbox does not exist in Outlook. Instead, the accessibility checker runs automatically in the background. Instead of an Accessibility button on your status bar, an accessibility MailTip will be shown in the message window, letting you review any accessibility issues before sending a message.
See also
Everything you need to know to write effective alt text
Use a screen reader with the Accessibility Checker
Make your content accessible to everyone with the Accessibility Checker
Before sending your email message or sharing your document or spreadsheet, run the Accessibility Checker to make sure your Office for Mac content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit.
Use the Accessibility Checker
On the ribbon, select one of the following options, depending on which app you are using:
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In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, select Review > Check Accessibility.
In OneNote, select View > Check Accessibility.
In Outlook, while writing or replying to an email message, select Options > Check Accessibility.
Tip: In Outlook, you can also access the Accessibility Checker from a MailTip at the top of the message window. The accessibility MailTip appears if one of your message recipients has set up a preference for receiving accessible email.
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Review your results. You'll see a list of errors, warnings, and tips with how-to-fix recommendations for each. See Rules for the Accessibility Checker for more information.
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Select a specific issue to see why you should fix the issue and steps to take to change the content.
See also
Everything you need to know to write effective alt text
Use a screen reader with the Accessibility Checker
Make your content accessible to everyone with the Accessibility Checker
Before sending your email message or sharing your document or spreadsheet, run the Accessibility Checker to make sure your Office for the web content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit.
Use the Accessibility Checker
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On the ribbon, select the Review tab.
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Select Check Accessibility.
In Outlook Online, the Check for accessibility issues button is located in the ... (More options) menu, which is available on the top and bottom toolbars when writing or replying to messages.
Tip: In Outlook Online, you can also access the Accessibility Checker from a MailTip at the top of the message window. The accessibility MailTip appears if one of your message recipients has set up a preference for receiving accessible email.
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Review your results. You'll see a list of errors, warnings, and tips. See Rules for the Accessibility Checker for more information.
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Click on an entry in the accessibility issues list to highlight the corresponding part of your document.
See also
Everything you need to know to write effective alt text
Use a screen reader with the Accessibility Checker
Make your content accessible to everyone with the Accessibility Checker
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.