Module 8: Creating Links with Unique and Descriptive Names

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Voice Over (VO): Accessible Electronic Document Community of Practice, AED-COP.

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VO: You are watching how to author and test Microsoft PowerPoint presentations for accessibility.

VO: This is Module 8, creating links with unique and descriptive names. This video is one in a series showing how to make a PowerPoint presentation section 508 conformant.

VO: When adding links to a PowerPoint presentation, you must make sure that each link has a unique and descriptive name.

VO: Additionally, the purpose of the link should be discernible when reading the surrounding content.

VO: Assistive technology users rely on meaningful names to determine the destination, function, or purpose of links.

VO: For example, multiple click here links confuse assistive technology users because the name for each link is the same while the destinations may be different.

VO: PowerPoint automatically creates a hyperlink when a user pastes a full URL onto a slide and presses Enter or Space.

VO: Raw URLs may not make sense to screen reader users or others, so make the link descriptive.

VO: To insert a link, copy the URL, select the desired text in your presentation. Right click or hold Shift and press F10, select Link.

VO: Paste the link into the address field and select OK. To change the link text, right click the link and select Edit link.

VO: A dialog will appear. Click in the Text to Display field at the top of the dialog and enter descriptive link text.

VO: Note, deleting the last character in the link name will remove the link. If you are creating a presentation that is intended to be displayed electronically, as well as being provided as a printout, you may want to include the URL and description in the link text.

VO: For example, gsa section 508 and then www.section508.gov. To test for accessibility, find hyperlinks within a slide.

VO: Do the links have meaningful names that describe their destination, function, and or purpose, or are these determinable within context?

VO: If not, the document fails this test. On this slide, the link Click Here is unclear and has no context.

VO: This example is not accessible. This slide contains two links, www.section508.gov and get my Section 508 questions answered.

VO: This example is considered accessible because the links are uniquely named or their destination, function, and or purpose can be determined through context.

VO: Thank you for watching Module 8. You are encouraged to watch the other modules in this video series and revisit modules to gain a mastery of the information provided.

VO: To learn more about Section 508, visit www.section508.gov. This video is a product of the Accessible Electronic Document Community of Practice, Chief Information Officers Council, and the Federal Aviation Administration.