Make your OneNote notebooks accessible to people with disabilities

What to fix

Why fix it

How to fix it

Include alternative text with all pictures and embedded files.

Alternative text that describes pictures and other objects is important for people who can’t see the screen. Screen readers read alternate text aloud, so it’s the only information that some people will have about pictures and objects. Ensure that the alternative text is meaningful.

Avoid using images as the sole method of conveying text, as lengthy alternative text is cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader.

Add alternative text that describes the image or object for people who can't see it. Keep it brief, but include a description of what's important about the image.

If you have to use an image with a short text in it, repeat that text in the body text.

When inserting a file printout, make sure to keep the original file on the page as an alternative source of the information.

Add alt text to images

Add alt text to embedded files

To find missing alternative text, use the Accessibility Checker.

Add meaningful hyperlink text.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking from the text "Click here," include the full title of the destination page.

Add meaningful hyperlink text

Give section groups, sections, and pages unique names, and remove empty items.

Notebooks with content named descriptively make it easier for you to find specific information in your notes. This also helps people using screen readers to know what a section, section group, or page contains without opening it.

Rename sections

Delete sections

Rename section groups

Delete section groups

Add a title or rename a page

Delete a page

Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information.

People with impaired vision, no vision, or colorblindness might miss the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

Make sure you don’t use color alone to convey meaning. Create text that duplicates the meaning of the color or other sensory characteristics.

Use additional means to convey the information, such as a shape or label. For example, consider using a green checkmark to indicate success and a red X to indicate failure, instead of green and red shading.

Use accessible text formatting

Use sufficient contrast for text and background colors.

The text in your notebooks should be readable in the high contrast mode so that everyone, including people with visual disabilities, can see it well.

For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who have low vision to distinguish text and shapes.

Use accessible text color

Use a larger font size (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts, and appropriate white space.

People with dyslexia perceive text in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish letters and words. For example, they might perceive a line of text compressing into the line below, or adjacent letters seeming to merge.

Having multiple blank lines or consecutive spaces can make keyboard navigation slow and screen reader usage more cumbersome.

To reduce the reading load, you can, for example:

• Use familiar sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive use of italics or underlines.
• Include sufficient white space between lines and paragraphs, but avoid more than two spaces between words and two blank lines between paragraphs.
• Left-align your paragraphs instead of using justification. This helps to avoid uneven gaps between words, which can create a visual effect of a river of white space flowing through the paragraph.

Use accessible text formatting

Use appropriate text alignment and spacing

Use built-in headings and styles.

Screen reader software recognizes built-in heading styles as headings, and can announce headings to the listener. Screen reader software also enables people to navigate by heading. To make it easier for screen readers to read your notes, use a logical heading order and the built-in formatting tools in OneNote.

In addition, people with reading disorders such as dyslexia depend on headings to help them structure information, and divide the information into smaller-sized chunks that are easier to process.

To make navigation easier, organize headings in the prescribed logical order. Use Heading 1, Heading 2, and then Heading 3, rather than Heading 3, Heading 1, and then Heading 2.

Use headings to organize the information in your notes into small chunks. Ideally, each heading includes only a few paragraphs.

Apply built-in heading styles

Use bulleted lists

Use ordered lists

To find headings that are not in a logical order, use the Accessibility Checker.

Keep information in a single note container.

In OneNote, you can add notes anywhere on a page by clicking and adding content. This creates a new note container.

Having all notes on a page in a single container helps screen reader users read in one place without having to navigate to multiple locations on the page.

Try moving all of the information on a page into a single note container. If a note container becomes too large, you can split it across multiple pages or add descriptive headers. (Screen readers refer to note containers as “content blocks.”)

Use a simple table structure, and specify column header.

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table. Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

Add a table header

To ensure that tables don't contain nested tables, use the Accessibility Checker.

Make audio or video accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired users.

Subtitles typically contain a transcription (or translation) of the dialogue.

Closed captions typically also describe audio cues such as music or sound effects that occur off-screen.

Video description means audio-narrated descriptions of a video's key visual elements. These descriptions are inserted into natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Video description makes video more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Where possible, ensure that audio and video files are accessible before being inserted into OneNote.

Alternatively, insert an additional file into the notebook to provide supporting subtitles, captions or video description.

What to fix

Why fix it

How to fix it

Include alternative text with all pictures and embedded files.

Alternative text that describes pictures and other objects is important for people who can’t see the screen. Screen readers read alternate text aloud, so it’s the only information that some people will have about pictures and objects. Ensure that the alternative text is meaningful.

Avoid using images as the sole method of conveying text, as lengthy alternative text is cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader.

Add alternative text that describes the image or object for people who can't see it. Keep it brief, but include a description of what's important about the image.

If you have to use an image with short text in it, repeat that text in the body text.

When inserting a file printout, make sure to keep the original file on the page as an alternative source of the information.

Add alt text to images

Add alt text to embedded files

Add meaningful hyperlink text.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking from the text “Click here,” include the full title of the destination page.

Add meaningful hyperlink text

Give section groups, sections, and pages unique names, and remove empty items.

Notebooks with content named descriptively make it easier for you to find specific information in your notes. This also helps people using screen readers to know what a section, section group or page contains without opening it.

Rename sections

Delete sections

Rename section groups

Delete section groups

Add a title or rename a page

Delete a page

Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information.

People with impaired vision, no vision, or colorblindness might miss the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

Make sure you don’t use color alone to convey meaning. Create text that duplicates the meaning of the color or other sensory characteristics.

Use additional means to convey the information, such as a shape or label. For example, consider using a green checkmark to indicate success and a red X to indicate failure, instead of green and red shading.

Use accessible text formatting

Use sufficient contrast for text and background colors.

The text in your notebooks should be readable in the high contrast mode so that everyone, including people with visual disabilities, can see it well.

For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who have low vision to distinguish text and shapes.

You can change the text colors in the desktop, Windows 10 app, and online versions of OneNote. The modified colors will be visible when the notebook is opened in the iOS version. For instructions on how to use accessible text colors in OneNote for Windows, Mac, Windows 10 app, or Online, see the respective sections in this article.

Use a larger font size (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts, and appropriate white space.

People with dyslexia perceive text in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish letters and words. For example, they might perceive a line of text compressing into the line below, or adjacent letters seeming to merge.

Having multiple blank lines or consecutive spaces can make keyboard navigation slow and screen reader usage more cumbersome.

To reduce the reading load, you can, for example:

• Use familiar sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive use of italics or underlines.
• Include sufficient white space between lines and paragraphs, but avoid more than two spaces between words and two blank lines between paragraphs.
• Left-align your paragraphs instead of using justification. This helps to avoid uneven gaps between words, which can create a visual effect of a river of white space flowing through the paragraph.

Use accessible text formatting

Use appropriate text alignment

Keep information in a single note container.

In OneNote, you can add notes anywhere on a page by clicking and adding content. This creates a new note container.

Having all notes on a page in a single container helps screen reader users read in one place without having to navigate to multiple locations on the page.

Try moving all of the information on a page into a single note container. If a note container becomes too large, you can split it across multiple pages or add descriptive headers. (Screen readers refer to note containers as “content blocks.”)

Use a simple table structure.

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table.

Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

All tables created in OneNote for iOS are created with a header row by default. To add a table header that has been removed, you must use the Windows Desktop app to Add a table header.

To ensure that tables don't contain nested tables inspect them visually in OneNote for iOS or use the Accessibility Checker in the desktop, Windows 10 app, or online versions of OneNote.

Make audio or video accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired users.

Subtitles typically contain a transcription (or translation) of the dialogue.

Closed captions typically also describe audio cues such as music or sound effects that occur off-screen.

Video description means audio-narrated descriptions of a video's key visual elements. These descriptions are inserted into natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Video description makes video more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Where possible, ensure that audio and video files are accessible before being inserted into OneNote.

Alternatively, insert an additional file into the notebook to provide supporting subtitles, captions or video description.

What to fix

Why fix it

How to fix it

Include alternative text with all pictures and embedded files.

Alternative text that describes pictures and other objects is important for people who can’t see the screen. Screen readers read alternate text aloud, so it’s the only information that some people will have about pictures and objects. Ensure that the alternative text is meaningful.

Avoid using images as the sole method of conveying text, as lengthy alternative text is cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader.

Add alternative text that describes the image or object for people who can't see it. Keep it brief, but include a description of what's important about the image.

If you have to use an image with short text in it, repeat that text in the body text.

Add alt text to images

You can add alt texts to embedded files in the desktop, Windows 10 app, and online versions of OneNote. For instructions on how to add alt text to embedded files in OneNote for Windows, Mac, Windows 10 app, or Online, see the respective sections in this article.

Add meaningful hyperlink text.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking from the text “Click here,” include the full title of the destination page.

Add meaningful hyperlink text

Give sections groups, sections, and pages unique names, and remove empty items.

Notebooks with content named descriptively make it easier for you to find specific information in your notes. This also helps people using screen readers to know what a section, section group or page contains without opening it.

Rename sections

Delete sections

Add a title or rename a page

Delete a page

You can rename and delete section groups in the OneNote desktop and Windows 10 app versions. For instructions on how to rename or delete section groups in OneNote for Windows, Mac, or Windows 10 app, see the respective sections in this article.

Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information.

People with impaired vision, no vision, or colorblindness might miss the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

Make sure you don’t use color alone to convey meaning. Create text that duplicates the meaning of the color or other sensory characteristics.

Use additional means to convey the information, such as a shape or label. For example, consider using a green checkmark to indicate success and a red X to indicate failure, instead of green and red shading.

Use accessible text formatting

Use sufficient contrast for text and background colors.

The text in your notebooks should be readable in the high contrast mode so that everyone, including people with visual disabilities, can see it well.

For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who have low vision to distinguish text and shapes.

You can change the text colors in the desktop, Windows 10 app, and online versions of OneNote. The modified colors will be visible when the notebook is opened in the Android version. For instructions on how to use accessible text colors in OneNote for Windows, Mac, Windows 10 app, or Online, see the respective sections in this article.

Use a larger font size (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts, and appropriate white space.

People with dyslexia perceive text in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish letters and words. For example, they might perceive a line of text compressing into the line below, or adjacent letters seeming to merge.

Having multiple blank lines or consecutive spaces can make keyboard navigation slow and screen reader usage more cumbersome.

To reduce the reading load, you can, for example:

• Use familiar sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive use of italics or underlines.
• Include sufficient white space between lines and paragraphs, but avoid more than two spaces between words and two blank lines between paragraphs.
• Left-align your paragraphs instead of using justification. This helps to avoid uneven gaps between words, which can create a visual effect of a river of white space flowing through the paragraph.

Use accessible text formatting

Use appropriate text alignment

You can change the font type and size in the desktop, Windows 10 app, and online versions of OneNote. For instructions on how to change the font type and size in OneNote for Windows, Mac, Windows 10 app, or Online, see the respective sections in this article.

Keep information in a single note container.

In OneNote, you can add notes anywhere on a page by clicking and adding content. This creates a new note container.

Having all notes on a page in a single container helps screen reader users read in one place without having to navigate to multiple locations on the page.

Try moving all of the information on a page into a single note container. If a note container becomes too large, you can split it across multiple pages or add descriptive headers. (Screen readers refer to note containers as “content blocks.”)

Use a simple table structure.

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table.

Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

All tables created in OneNote for Android are created with a header row by default. To add a table header that has been removed, you must use the Windows Desktop app to Add a table header.

To ensure that tables don't contain nested tables inspect them visually in OneNote for Android or use the Accessibility Checker in the desktop, Windows 10 app, or online versions of OneNote.

Make audio or video accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired users.

Subtitles typically contain a transcription (or translation) of the dialogue.

Closed captions typically also describe audio cues such as music or sound effects that occur off-screen.

Video description means audio-narrated descriptions of a video's key visual elements. These descriptions are inserted into natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Video description makes video more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Where possible, ensure that audio and video files are accessible before being inserted into OneNote.

Alternatively, insert an additional file into the notebook to provide supporting subtitles, captions or video description.

What to fix

Why fix it

How to fix it

Include alternative text with all pictures and embedded files.

Alternative text that describes pictures and other objects is important for people who can’t see the screen. Screen readers read alternate text aloud, so it’s the only information that some people will have about pictures and objects. Ensure that the alternative text is meaningful.

Avoid using images as the sole method of conveying text, as lengthy alternative text is cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader.

Add alternative text that describes the image or object for people who can't see it. Keep it brief, but include a description of what's important about the image.

If you have to use an image with short text in it, repeat that text in the body text.

When inserting a file printout, make sure to keep the original file on the page as an alternative source of the information.

Add alt text to images

Add alt text to embedded files

To find missing alternative text, use the Accessibility Checker.

Add meaningful hyperlink text.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking from the text “Click here,” include the full title of the destination page.

Add meaningful hyperlink text

Give sections groups, sections, and pages unique names, and remove empty items.

Notebooks with content named descriptively make it easier for you to find specific information in your notes. This also helps people using screen readers to know what a section, section group or page contains without opening it.

Rename sections

Delete sections

Rename section groups

Delete section groups

Add a title or rename a page

Delete a page

Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information.

People with impaired vision, no vision, or colorblindness might miss the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

Make sure you don’t use color alone to convey meaning. Create text that duplicates the meaning of the color or other sensory characteristics.

Use additional means to convey the information, such as a shape or label. For example, consider using a green checkmark to indicate success and a red X to indicate failure, instead of green and red shading.

Use accessible text formatting

Use sufficient contrast for text and background colors.

The text in your notebooks should be readable in the high contrast mode so that everyone, including people with visual disabilities, can see it well.

For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who have low vision to distinguish text and shapes.

Use accessible text color

Use a larger font size (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts, and appropriate white space.

People with dyslexia perceive text in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish letters and words. For example, they might perceive a line of text compressing into the line below, or adjacent letters seeming to merge.

Having multiple blank lines or consecutive spaces can make keyboard navigation slow and screen reader usage more cumbersome.

To reduce the reading load, you can, for example:

• Use familiar sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive use of italics or underlines.
• Include sufficient white space between lines and paragraphs, but avoid more than two spaces between words and two blank lines between paragraphs.
• Left-align your paragraphs instead of using justification. This helps to avoid uneven gaps between words, which can create a visual effect of a river of white space flowing through the paragraph.

Use accessible text formatting

Use appropriate text alignment

Use built-in headings and styles.

Screen reader software recognizes built-in heading styles as headings, and can announce headings to the listener. Screen reader software also enables people to navigate by heading. To make it easier for screen readers to read your notes, use a logical heading order and the built-in formatting tools in OneNote.

In addition, people with reading disorders such as dyslexia depend on headings to help them structure information, and divide the information into smaller-sized chunks that are easier to process.

To make navigation easier, organize headings in the prescribed logical order. Use Heading 1, Heading 2, and then Heading 3, rather than Heading 3, Heading 1, and then Heading 2.

Use headings to organize the information in your notes into small chunks. Ideally, each heading includes only a few paragraphs.

Apply built-in heading styles

Use bulleted lists

Use ordered lists

Keep information in a single note container.

In OneNote, you can add notes anywhere on a page by clicking and adding content. This creates a new note container.

Having all notes on a page in a single container helps screen reader users read in one place without having to navigate to multiple locations on the page.

Try moving all of the information on a page into a single note container. If a note container becomes too large, you can split it across multiple pages or add descriptive headers. (Screen readers refer to note containers as “content blocks.”)

Use a simple table structure.

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table.

Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

All tables created in OneNote for Windows 10 are created with a header row by default. To add a table header that has been removed, you must use the Windows Desktop app to Add a table header.

Make audio or video accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired users.

Subtitles typically contain a transcription (or translation) of the dialogue.

Closed captions typically also describe audio cues such as music or sound effects that occur off-screen.

Video description means audio-narrated descriptions of a video's key visual elements. These descriptions are inserted into natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Video description makes video more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Where possible, ensure that audio and video files are accessible before being inserted into OneNote.

Alternatively, insert an additional file into the notebook to provide supporting subtitles, captions or video description.

What to fix

Why fix it

How to fix it

Include alternative text with all pictures and embedded files.

Alternative text that describes pictures and other objects is important for people who can’t see the screen. Screen readers read alternate text aloud, so it’s the only information that some people will have about pictures and objects. Ensure that the alternative text is meaningful.

Avoid using images as the sole method of conveying text, as lengthy alternative text is cumbersome to navigate with a screen reader.

Add alternative text that describes the image or object for people who can't see it. Keep it brief, but include a description of what's important about the image.

If you have to use an image with short text in it, repeat that text in the body text.

When inserting a file printout, make sure to keep the original file on the page as an alternative source of the information.

Add alt text to images

Add alt text to embedded files

Add meaningful hyperlink text.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking from the text "Click here," include the full title of the destination page.

Add meaningful hyperlink text

Give section groups, sections, and pages unique names, and remove empty items.

Notebooks with content named descriptively make it easier for you to find specific information in your notes. This also helps people using screen readers to know what a section, section group or page contains without opening it.

Rename sections

Delete sections

Add a title or rename a page

Delete a page

You can rename or delete section groups in the OneNote desktop or Windows 10 app version. For the instructions on how to rename or delete section groups in Windows desktop or Windows 10 app, see the respective sections in this topic.

Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information.

People with impaired vision, no vision, or colorblindness might miss the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

Make sure you don’t use color alone to convey meaning. Create text that duplicates the meaning of the color or other sensory characteristics.

Use additional means to convey the information, such as a shape or label. For example, consider using a green checkmark to indicate success and a red X to indicate failure, instead of green and red shading.

Use accessible text formatting

Use sufficient contrast for text and background colors.

The text in your notebooks should be readable in high contrast mode so that everyone, including people with visual disabilities, can see it well.

For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who have low vision to distinguish text and shapes.

Use accessible text color

Use a larger font size (18pt or larger), sans-serif fonts, and appropriate white space.

People with dyslexia perceive text in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish letters and words. For example, they might perceive a line of text compressing into the line below, or adjacent letters seeming to merge.

Having multiple blank lines or consecutive spaces can make keyboard navigation slow and screen reader usage more cumbersome.

To reduce the reading load, you can, for example:

• Use familiar sans-serif fonts, such as Arial or Calibri.
• Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive use of italics or underlines.
• Include sufficient white space between lines and paragraphs, but avoid more than two spaces between words and two blank lines between paragraphs.
• Left-align your paragraphs instead of using justification. This helps to avoid uneven gaps between words, which can create a visual effect of a river of white space flowing through the paragraph.

Use accessible text formatting

Use appropriate text alignment

Use built-in headings and styles.

Screen reader software recognizes built-in heading styles as headings, and can announce headings to the listener. Screen reader software also enables people to navigate by heading. To make it easier for screen readers to read your notes, use a logical heading order and the built-in formatting tools in OneNote Online.

In addition, people with reading disorders such as dyslexia depend on headings to help them structure information, and divide the information into smaller-sized chunks that are easier to process.

To make navigation easier, organize headings in the prescribed logical order. Use Heading 1, Heading 2, and then Heading 3, rather than Heading 3, Heading 1, and then Heading 2.

Use headings to organize the information in your notes into small chunks. Ideally, each heading includes only a few paragraphs.

Apply built-in heading styles

Use bulleted lists

Use ordered lists

Keep information in a single note container.

In OneNote, you can add notes anywhere on a page by clicking and adding content. This creates a new note container.

Having all notes on a page in a single container helps screen reader users read in one place without having to navigate to multiple locations on the page.

Try moving all of the information on a page into a single note container. If a note container becomes too large, you can split it across multiple pages or add descriptive headers. (Screen readers refer to note containers as “content blocks.”)

Use a simple table structure.

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table.

Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

All tables created in OneNote Online are created with a header row by default. To add a table header that has been removed, you must use the Windows Desktop app to Add a table header.

Make audio or video accessible to visually impaired and hearing impaired users.

Subtitles typically contain a transcription (or translation) of the dialogue.

Closed captions typically also describe audio cues such as music or sound effects that occur off-screen.

Video description means audio-narrated descriptions of a video's key visual elements. These descriptions are inserted into natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Video description makes video more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Where possible, ensure that audio and video files are accessible before being inserted into OneNote.

Alternatively, insert an additional file into the notebook to provide supporting subtitles, captions or video description.