Accessible Power BI reporting

Power BI content is not currently accessible for all users. Power BI is missing several features that would allow a report or dashboard to be fully accessible.

This guidance helps you create Power BI reports and dashboards that are accessible for as many people as possible.

Accessibility requirements

Power BI content that Norfolk County Council (NCC) creates or commissions must be accessible for as many people as possible. This is a legal requirement.

Making a Power BI report or dashboard accessible means making sure that a disabled user can navigate and understand the content in a similar amount of time and effort as a user who is not disabled. Making digital content accessible can make it easier for most people to use and understand, not only disabled people. Find out more about accessible content.

These webpages help you check and improve the accessibility of your Power BI dashboards and reports.

Before you start

Plan your Power BI content carefully to help you identify and fix accessibility issues.

There are several key factors you should consider that impact accessibility:

Purpose

• What is the purpose of the dashboard and why are you creating it? 
• What is the key information you are providing?
• Why have you chosen to use Power BI and is it necessary?
• How will it be shared?

Answering these questions will help you to structure and design the flow of your dashboard. It can also help you meets your stakeholders' needs.

The requested information may already be available in an existing report or dashboard. The information may also be better suited to a different medium rather than a Power BI dashboard. 

Audience

Understand who will be using the dashboard.

• What is their technical skill level?
• What information are they looking for?

This will help you decide what kind of visuals to use, how complex they should be, and how to structure your dashboard.

If you plan to make your content publicly available, you must ensure that it complies with information governance requirements. This is as well as being accessible.

Layout

The layout of your dashboard should:

• Be clean and easy to navigate
• Consider that adaptive technology users may experience the content in different ways
• Use whitespace effectively to avoid clutter
• Make sure that the most important information is easy to find and understand

Data

Ensure that you are sharing data in line with its sensitivity and privacy notices. You must store all data in a secure manner. If in doubt, NCC staff should contact the NCC Information Governance team.

Consider the type of data and how to present it to convey the information you want to share. This might influence the types of visuals you use (tables, charts, etc.) and how they're configured.

Consistency

Create or use a theme so that there is consistency across your dashboard in the use of:

• Colour
• Size
• Style
• Language

Keep placement of filters, buttons, logos and titles the same across your dashboard pages. This provides a simpler experience for users.

Interactivity

Power BI dashboards can be very interactive, so consider how users might engage with the data.

This could include sorting, filtering, or drilling down into more detailed views. Choose appropriate options to help prevent confusion.

The more customisation you allow, the harder it is to provide understandable and accessible content.

Performance

If your dashboard is slow to load or update, users might not use it. Consider the volume of data you're working with, and how you can optimise performance.

Testing

Always test your dashboard with a subset of your users to ensure it meets their needs and is easy to use. This can also help you catch issues before the dashboard is widely distributed.

Accessibility

Make your dashboard accessible to as many users as possible. This includes:

• Choosing an appropriate design
• Using simple language
• Making sure your report is compatible with accessibility tools

This guidance can help you to create accessible Power BI content, where possible. View the accessibility checklist for Power BI.

Further guidance on using Power BI

The build Power BI visuals and reports training course by Microsoft offers guidance on planning and designing dashboards and reports. It serves as a good introduction and provides instructions on how to apply formatting. It does not focus on accessibility.

Title and file name

Are the file, dashbaord and page names clear, relevant and descriptive?

More about using accessible Power BI titles and file names.

User guidance

Have you provided guidance on how to use the dashboard and accessibility options?

More about including user guidance in your Power BI dashboard.

Colour

• Are you using a consistent theme for colour, size, style, and language?
• Have you chosen a colour palette with adequate contrast and suitable colours for all elements?

More about accessible colour contrast.

Images and alternative text

• Have you added alternative text to visuals to explain their content and meaning?
• Are any images/shapes relevant, good quality, and hidden from screen readers if decorative?
• Have you provided adequate alternative text for all visual objects, logos, and icons?
• Have you provided headings and alternative text for each textbox?

More about how to make images, objects and textboxes accessible in Power BI.

Links

Are any links descriptive and underlined?

More about using accessible links.

Text

• Is the text clear, in an easy-to-read font, and consistent in colour, size, style, and alignment?
• Are you using simple and plain language, avoiding complex terms and jargon?
• Is text in tables left-aligned and numbers in tables right-aligned?

More about writing accessible text and formatting accessible text.

Data visualisations

• Have you used whitespace effectively to avoid clutter?
• Are your charts and tables simple, with a limited number of visuals on each page?
• Have you chosen the simplest type of visual that presents the information needed?
• Are the data labels clear and readable with adequate contrast?
• Are the alternative tables for visuals logically laid out and understandable?
• Are tooltips not the sole means of conveying important information?
• Have you avoided unnecessary elements like shaded backgrounds, borders, patterns, textures, shadows, and 3D shapes?
• Are important visual insights obvious without needing to interact?

More about how to use graphs, charts and tables in Power BI.

Reading order

• Does the content follow a standard visual reading order (top to bottom, left to right)?
• Have you removed unnecessary layering and ensured the tab order follows the visual navigation of the dashbaord page?
• Are all filters set up correctly and does the report open on the correct first page?

More about reading order, layering and tabbing in Power BI.

Accessibility checks using shortcuts and tools

• Are all details visible with high contrast settings?
• Can you access all aspects of the dashboard with a keyboard only? 
• Is navigation logical and easy using the tab key?
• Does the content make sense through audio when tested with a screen reader?

More about accessibility tools and shortcuts in Power BI.

Dashboard title

Give your Power BI dashboard a clear title that reflects its content.

Page names

Give each page of your dashboard clear and descriptive names that reflect their content.

Users will use the dashboard pages to navigate the report once published. So, the page names must be clear to follow.

File name

Make sure your Power BI file has a clear and descriptive file name.

Examples

Bad title example: 02-24-performance-v2.5-final

Good title example: Norfolk Safeguarding Performance Dashboard

A good title or name is specific and includes key geographies and topics.

You should include guidance to help people use your Power BI report or dashboard.

You must include an accessibility statement. This helps users understand which parts of the content they may or may not be able to access. Learn more about including an accessibility statement.

Other types of guidance you may wish to include are:

• A contents - descriptive links to other pages in the report
• Report information - including:
  • Author/owner details
  • Purpose statement
  • Key details on data sources
  • Exclusions
  • Date of last refresh
  • Information governance statement
  • Contact details
• Glossary - this explains key terms and abbreviations
• Accessibility guidance - this explains how to use Power BI and its accessibility options

Accessibility guidance

Accessibility guidance should include how to:

• Expand data
• Access alt-text
• Turn on high contrast settings
• Access using keyboard shortcuts
• Use focus mode
• Show visuals as tables. Using keyboard controls Alt+Shift+F11 will show the data used in most graphics in a table format.

Learn more about accessibility tools and shortcuts.

Choose a colour palette for your Power BI dashboard that is:

• Consistent
• Contains suitable colours for use with all elements (text and graphs or charts)
• Has accessible colour contrast

We recommend using the inbuilt accessible colour themes. For example, using a white background with clear contrast between content colours.

Consider stakeholder branding when choosing your colour palette.

Accessible colour contrast

Colour contrast is the difference between two colours. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have clear criteria on the lowest contrast allowed between colours.

All touching colours in your Power BI dashboard must have an accessible contrast, apart from logos and decorative images. Find out more about images in Power BI.

How to check colour contrast is accessible

Use a colour contrast checker to ensure that the colours you choose are accessible.

Colour contrast checkers give you a contrast ratio score. They tell you if the ratio score passes or fails against WCAG criteria.

Use the WebAIM Contrast Checker to review your colour combinations.

Colours in graphs and charts

Be consistent with your choice of colours across the graphs and charts in your dashboard.

It can be useful to use borders within visuals to add contrast.

Do not rely on colour alone to provide important information.

What to consider when choosing graph/chart colours:

• Would the chart be understandable in black and white? Some people cannot see colour at all.
• Do your colours work with specific types of colour blindness? Use the Coblis online colour blindness simulator.
• Do the colours make sense? Colours can infer meaning. Consider what meaning your users might interpret from your choice of colour. 
• You should use shades of one colour for continuous data, and different colours for categories. Learn more about how to present different types of data in charts.
• Would you like selected data points to be a contrasting colour to the default line, bar, or column colour? 

Further guidance on using colour in charts on the Government Analysis Function website.

Alternative text

Informative images and visuals must have alternative (alt) text. This is to explain their content and meaning where it is not explained in visible text, such as in their titles.

Learn more about alt text and when and how to use it.

How to add alt text in Power BI

Add alt text to images and visuals in your dashboard by navigating to the alt text option:

1. Go to the "Format visual" option
2. Go to the "General sidebar"
3. Select the "Alt text" option

Using decorative images and shapes

Decorative images can increase engagement, provide visual clues and improve understanding.

However, decorative images can be distracting. They can create confusion and cause problems for those using accessibility tools. So, be thoughtful when deciding to use decorative images. Ensure they don't conflict or impede on any other graphic or text element on the page.

Don't use 3D shapes.

Images of text

Avoid using images of text. You should use textboxes instead.

Logos and icons

You will likely need to include at least one logo on your report.

Logo images:

• Must be good quality
• Can include text
• Do not have to use colours with an accessible colour contrast

You should clearly brand the content as a Norfolk County Council dashboard.

Go to our logo guidelines for more information on using the Norfolk County Council logo.

You should add alt text to logo images. If you repeat the same logo across the dashboard, you should hide the repeated images using the tab ordering hide option.

Textboxes

You should include a title in any textboxes. Textbox titles should describe the information within the textbox.

How to format textboxes in Power BI

Power BI guidance recommends switching the scan function off when using screen readers.

If you switch the scan function off, screen readers will not read out the contents of a textbox. They will only read out the headings.

Therefore, you must add all the textbox text as alt text. This is so that screen readers can still access the text when the scan function is off.

Avoid using lots of text and many headings within one textbox. Instead, only include essential information and split the content across multiple text boxes.

When including links in a Power BI dashboard, you should use clear and descriptive link text.

Avoid linking to:

• Inaccessible or untrustworthy sites
• Sites where a user must pay or register to see the information 

Link text

Link text should describe where the link is taking the user. Users should be able to understand where they are going by the link text alone.

Link text also allows screen readers to read where the link will take the user. 

Go to our accessible content guide for more information about link text and how to use it.

Examples

Bad link text: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/

Good link text: Go to the Department of Health and Social Care Fingertips website

How to present links

Do not use colour alone to show that a link is a link (different from normal text). Make sure that link text also has an underline.

Plain English 

Written content in your Power BI dashboard should use plain English. This is simple and clear language that avoids complex wording and jargon.

Using plain English will help ensure that all users understand the text as intended. It will help your dashboard reach:

• A broader audience  
• New users
• Non-native speakers 
• Users with various cognitive impairments 

How to write in plain English

• Write in short, clear sentences
• Use easy words where possible. For example, "doctor" instead of "general practitioner". The Plain English website provides an A to Z of alternative words.  
• Do not include more than one piece of information in a sentence
• When writing instructions, do not rely on the user being able to see the page. You should not refer to things only by colour, size, position or shape.  
• Explain what acronyms, abbreviations and technical terms mean the first time you use them. For example, "Norfolk County Council (NCC)".  You could add a separate section or page for definitions.

Go to our accessible content guide for more information on writing accessible content.

Writing for your target audience

We recommend using plain English. But, you should find the right balance. Using common industry terms and avoiding oversimplifying information can be helpful. This will depend on your target audience. It may also be difficult to fit long chart titles and labels in Power BI.

Consider who you are aiming your dashboard at. You can then write to suit the audience. For example, a dashboard aimed at technical users could contain more acronyms and industry terms than one aimed at members of the public.  

Tools for writing

Use a readability checker such as the Hemingway Editor to check any text. This reviews your text and highlights any complex sentences and common writing errors. It gives text a readability score (grade 8 is recommended for most users).

You can use Power BI Auto-text/narrative function to create text. But, as with all autogenerated content, you will need to check it for accessibility. It will not be accessible by default.

Font formatting 

To ensure your dashboard is clear and readable, consider the font colour, size and style you use. This is important for people with conditions like dyslexia and visual impairments.

Aim for consistency across your dashboard. This provides a clearer experience for users.  

Font choice

The choice of font is important for accessibility and readability. Especially for users with dyslexia.

Many fonts are created with this in mind. For example, Sans serif fonts. These are perceived as less crowded and therefore easier to read.

Recommended fonts include Verdana, Calibri, Tahoma, Arial, Corbel and Helvetica. 

Font size 

Avoid using small text as this is harder to read.

We recommend using a text size no smaller than size 12. Due to Power BI's automatic formatting this is not always possible.

Font styling

We recommend avoiding:

• Using italics. This can be hard for some people to read.
• Using block capitals. This can be hard for some people to read.
• Underlining text. This can make the text look like a link.  

Font colour

There must be enough contrast between the font colour and the background colour.

Learn more about accessible colour contrast.

Headings, titles and labels

Apply visual formatting to your titles, headings and labels. Use a larger font size (where possible) and bold formatting. This helps users looking at your report find key information and navigate the layout.

Titles and headings with the same level of importance should look the same. The more important your title or heading is, the bigger it should be.  

Axis titles should be smaller than graph/chart titles. Axis labels and data labels should be smaller than axis titles. Ensure that text in a graph/chart is not obstructed by other chart elements. More information on how to format graphs and charts.

Text alignment 

Use the same text alignment across your dashboard, for consistency. Left aligning text makes it easier to read. Especially for users with dyslexia.

Avoid centre aligning text, particularly when it runs over more than one line.

Right align numbers in tables. This is so it is easier to see the size of the numbers as they increase.

Number formatting

Make the numbers in your graphs/charts easy to understand. To do this, you should:

• Use commas in large numbers. For example, "1,000" or "250,000" 
• Use units to shorten numbers. For example, use "m" for millions, such as "50m". Make sure you explain all abbreviations in the first instance.
• Avoid using more decimal places that you need. For example, use "10.5" instead of "10.50". Consider rounding to whole numbers if a high level of accuracy is not required.
• Avoid using more than 2 decimal places (except in exceptional circumstances). For example, use "3.65" not "3.652". 
• Use currency symbols for values that represent amounts of money. For example "£1,000".
• Use percentage symbols for values the represent percentages. For example "20%".
• Use long date formats instead of short date formats where you can. For example "1 April 2024" instead of "01/04/2024".

Formatting that is not possible in Power BI

• Line and word spacing are not controllable in Power BI
• Power BI may truncate longer titles. This cannot be manually adjusted.
• You cannot make Y-axis labels horizontal in Power BI
• It is not always possible to control font size within graphs and charts. This is due to Power BI pre-set formatting. If this happens, consider if the page is too crowded and if the graph may be better placed on another page.

We refer to visual presentations of data as visuals or visualisations. Visuals are graphs, charts, tables and matrices.

Choosing the type of visual 

Power BI offers many different types of visuals. From simple bar and line charts to more advanced maps and custom visuals.

You should choose the simplest type of visual that presents the information you need.

Simple charts or tables, clearly showing the data, are more effective than complex visuals with novelty features.

More about choosing the right chart on the Government Analysis Function website.

Presenting visuals

Whitespace 

Whitespace is the empty space around visuals in a dashboard, or within a visual. The right amount of whitespace in your visuals can help to: 

• Reduce visual 'noise' and clutter
• Highlight the important elements of the visual 
• Reinforce the important insights or trends in your data

Increase whitespace by:

• Using fewer elements
• Avoiding unnecessary formatting in your visuals

This will make your visuals more impactful and more comfortable for users to look at. 

Sort order

Sort order is the way, or order, that your graph/chart displays the data.

Use a sort order that matches and makes sense with your data. For example:

• For time series data, use an oldest to newest sort order
• For alphabetical data, use an A-to-Z sort order

For other data series, largest to smallest is usually the best choice.

Sort order is also very important for showing data correctly in the 'Show as a table' option. 

Slicers, filters and buttons 

Be consistent with positioning and colouring of slicer, filters and buttons across your dashboard. Put them in a logical order.

Gridlines

Gridlines sit in the background of a chart to help users read the data points.

Power BI decides the number of gridlines shown when you add the data. You can choose to show or hide gridlines in many Power BI visuals.

Gridlines can make a visual look cluttered if they are not needed to be able to interpret the data. Consider using data labels instead of gridlines and test this with your audience.

Shapes

Decorative shapes are sometimes used to:

• Highlight areas of charts, such as upper and lower confidence limits
• Bring attention to specific data points

You must add alternative text to decorative shapes to make them accessible. Learn more about alternative text.

Shapes can be distracting or confusing for people using screen readers or navigating using their keyboard. 

Shapes are not linked to the underlying data, so will not update if you can interact with the visual. This may be confusing or misleading.

We recommend using the in-built features within visuals instead of shapes. For example, constant lines and trend lines. Please note: these may not be fully accessible. 

Show data graphs as tables

Power BI allows users to view most inbuilt graphs as tables instead. This is helpful if users are unable to see the graph content.

Check that all alternative tables are laid out logically. They should all have understandable column/row titles. 

Create your own tables if the visualisation does not provide one or the default version is not suitable. Check the default alternative table by using keyboard command Alt+Shift+F11.

Tooltips

Tooltips are often added to charts to provide extra or supplementary information. You should not use tooltips to convey important or critical information.

Users can hover over the graph to reveal the tooltip.

Tooltips are not accessible by keyboard. This means that they are not accessible for users:

• With motor issues
• Who do not have a mouse
• Who use some screen readers

Other ways to access tooltip content:

1. Access a chart's tooltip content via the table provided. This is by selecting the "Show Data" option. Check that this information makes sense and is accessible in the table format. Make users aware that they can access tooltip content via this option.
2. Recreate a chart's tooltip content as an extra tab. Then, create a button to the tooltip. This will allow users to get the same information. Include a back button on the same page so users can return to the original page. Note: You can make these objects 'invisible' by adding the instructions as alt-text. But, leaving the text in means that the option is available to all users and so is more inclusive.

Guidance on how to create report tooltip pages in Power BI.

How to link from objects to pages:

1. Go to "Shape options"

2. Change the "Action" field to go to the tooltip page

Types of simple visuals

Bar and column charts 

Bar and column charts display data using rectangles. Bar charts use horizontal rectangles (bars). Column charts use vertical rectangles (columns).

Choosing between a bar and column chart will depend on the space and size you have available.

Using a horizontal bar chart is best when there are lots of categories or long category names.

Formatting bar and column charts

• Gaps between bars/columns should be narrower than the width of a single bar
• Limit stacked bar charts to four categories. Avoid using stacked bar charts where there is a mixture of positive and negative numbers.
• Limit clustered bar charts to four bars per cluster. Avoid using clustered bar charts for time series data.

Using colour

If your chart shows a continuous series (time or numbers), use different shades of the same colour for all bars or columns. For example, use the lightest shade for the lowest value and the darkest shade for the highest value.

If your chart shows a categorical series (data with no specific order), use different colours for each bar or column.

Make sure the colours have similar saturation (how pale or bold they are) and tone (how dull or bright they are). This is so that one colour doesn't stand out too much and look like a highlight.

All colours must have an accessible contrast. Learn more about accessible colour contrast.

Line and area charts

Line and area charts display trends over time.

Formatting line and area charts

• Limit line charts to a maximum of four lines. Use small multiples if necessary but ensure axes have the same scale. Consider using a focus chart if there are more than 4 lines. 
• Always use markers when more than one line is being shown. Use different shapes for different lines.
• Only use different line styles and weights when meaningful. For example, to show secondary data, incomplete data, forecast, target, subcategory or trend.
• Avoid using very thin lines

Tables and matrices

Tables and matrices display data in a structured format. Tables only have row groups. Matrices have row groups and column groups.

Formatting tables and matrices

• Align numbers, percentages, currencies, and dates to the right of the column. This makes them easier to read and to compare values down a column. Learn more about formatting numbers.
• If using icons, choose icons that are simple and not prone to misinterpretation. 
• Banded rows can be helpful to some users. They can also be confused with highlighting or colour coding. If using banded rows, make sure there is accessible colour contrast between your text and background on all rows. Learn more about accessible colour contrast.
• Conditional formatting can be useful for some users and distracting for others. Ensure that the information the formatting conveys is available in an alternative format. For example, use the Power BI suggested symbols from the conditional formatting menu. A screen reader will read these out.
• Limit the number of variables or spread the data across multiple tables or matrices. This will make the data easier to understand.

Complex visuals and accessibility issues

You may need to use more complex visualisations. Be aware that users may not be familiar with them or how to interpret information presented in a new way. 

You may need to educate users on new visuals. Learn more about user guidance.

Scatter charts

Scatter charts in Power BI cause problems with screen readers and keyboard navigation. This is because they go to/read out every data point. So, it can be difficult to interpret trends.

Pie charts

Pie charts are not accessible in Power BI. This is because they:

• Limit the degree of detail they can convey
• Are difficult to compare accurately
• Are often misused
• Are hard to magnify for better visibility

Maps

Power BI maps are not accessible with screen readers. This includes choropleths, bubble maps and geographic mapping.

How to improve accessibility when using complex visuals

If you use complex visuals, you must:

• Ensure that colours meet colour contrast requirements 
• Ensure that data can be viewed in a table as an alternative
• Provide an alternative text description of what the visual shows 

Custom visuals 

The built-in visuals in Power BI should enable you to show everything you need to.

If you decide to use custom visuals from other developers, you must:

• Ensure they are Power BI certified. To identify Power BI certified visuals, sort by 'Power BI Certified'. Power BI certified visuals have a white tick in a blue sun/star shape.  
• Assess whether they meet the accessibility guidelines in this guidance. Go to the Power BI accessibility checklist.

Text in visuals

When using text in your visuals, follow our guidance on writing text and formatting text.

Titles

• Give every visual a descriptive title. Titles should describe what the visual is showing, without being too long. They may also describe the axes.
• Use fewer words and 'frontload' titles to ensure important information is read first. For example, "Norfolk population by current age band" not "Breakdown of current ages of people who live in Norfolk". 
• Use dynamic titles to describe the data. For example "50% of respondents agreed with the proposal". You can create dynamic titles in Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) measures. Learn how to create dynamic titles on the Microsoft Learn website.

Subtitles

Some Power BI visuals allow you to include subtitles. You can use subtitles to give contextual information about the visuals. Such as, what the data is, the geography the data relates to, or the period shown.

Subtitles can also be dynamic. They can change when users interact with the visual or apply slicers or filters. Learn how to create dynamic subtitles via guidance on the LinkedIn website.

Consider whether a subtitle is necessary to avoid adding unnecessary visual elements. 

Axes labels

You should use label axes to help users interpret the data. The exception to this is if this information is already shown by the data labels or explained in the title.  

All numerical axes should start at 0. This is to avoid misrepresenting differences across your data points.

If your data is condensed into a small range of numbers, use zoom sliders to allow users to change the axes if needed. Zoom sliders only work if there is enough room available in your visual.

If your data's distribution is large, consider using logarithmic axes and spacing out the data points to make them easier to understand. 

While many Power BI visuals allow secondary axes, it is best to avoid dual axes, as they can be confusing for users.

Data labels

When you add data labels to a Power BI visual, Power BI decides whether they should sit:

• Above or below the lines, or
• Inside or outside of the bars or columns

You can change this in the visual settings to ensure the data labels are not difficult to read.

All data label text must have accessible colour contrast with its background. Learn more about accessible colour contrast.

Legends

Limit the use of legends in visuals. They require users to match visual keys such as colour and shape to data items.

If you do need to use a legend, do not rely on colour alone to match the legend to the data. Use different shapes as well.

Items in the legend should appear in a logical order. The legend will be in the same order that data items appear on the chart.

All Power BI dashboards should:

• Contain a clear structure and flow
• Ensure that each page contains related content
• Have a logical journey
• Have a consistent structure

Visual reading order

Use a standard visual reading order. Make the order that users should read the content of the report pages obvious.

Do this by making sure your content follows a top to bottom, left to right reading order. This can be either:

• Top left, top middle, top right, then bottom left, bottom middle, bottom right, or
• Top left to bottom left, top middle to bottom middle, top right to bottom right

Layers and tabbing order

You can layer different items on top of one another in Power BI. This can be to:

• Make the content look more interesting
• Improve ease of moving items by grouping items together as one

When building a dashboard, we often do not consider the order in which we create the objects on each page. By default, the order that you create objects will be the:

• Tabbing order when using keyboard navigation
• Order that a screen reader reads out the content

The difference between layers and tabbing 

Layering is where we see an object compared to other objects around it.

Tabbing is the order in which we want the reader to experience each object. Tabbing is especially important for people using a keyboard or other assistive technology, such as screen readers.

Tab ordering

When layering objects, we may want to see one object in front of another. This doesn't mean we want to interact with them in the same order we see them. For example, the order in which you see the objects might be different from the order in which you need to use them.

So, you must use tab ordering. This organizes the order that different technologies interpret each object.

Tab ordering should follow the visual navigation of the dashboard (left to right, top to bottom).

Example of layered objects showing the visual layer order:

Example of layered objects showing the correct tab ordering (left to right): 

The screenshot examples show two layered textboxes. One textbox is on the left and is layered behind the second textbox which is on the right.

The default tab order shows that the textbox in the front will be tabbed to or read out by a screen reader before the textbox at the back. This order is incorrect. It does not follow the visual reading order (left to right).

The textbox at the back should be read first and the textbox in the front should be read after. This is achieved by changing the tab ordering.

How to view and edit the tab order

1. Go to the "Selection" menu
2. Select the "Tab order" option
3. Make sure the objects are in the order you want the viewer to consume the report. Move objects up and down the list to re-prioritise.

You can also change the order within groupings in this way.

You must hide decorative images in your dashboard. Do this by selecting the hide/display option (eye symbol). By doing this, screen readers and tabbing will ignore this object.  

Layers

How you order layers affects what is visible in your dashboard. 

Remove unnecessary layering and coloured backgrounds. Do not include a coloured background or shapes beneath a graph or table where possible. 

Layering lots of objects over each other can make colours hard to see. Especially when users invert the colours or use high-contrast mode.

How to view the layering order

To access the layer selection panel, go to:

1. "View"
2. "Select"
3. Choose the layer option (if it's not already chosen). From here you can also move an object above or below another object to change their layering order.

How to edit the layering order

1. Select the object you want to move
2. Select "Format"
3. Select "Bring forward" to move the object up or select "Send backward" to move it down

Grouping layers 

Grouping layers is useful when you want to associate two or more objects with each other. This is so that they stay together and move together. For example, you can group a picture and a graph together.

To group layers you can use the layer selection panel or this keyboard method:

1. Select each object whilst holding the "Ctrl" button
2. Right-click one of the objects
3. Select "Group"

You can ungroup them the same way by selecting "Ungroup." Once grouped, you can move both objects at the same time with one click.

Once you group layers together, you will see that the objects are in one group within the tab section. When you tab across the dashboard it will now treat these grouped objects as one.

Layer names

You must ensure that all layers have unique and descriptive names/alternative text. This includes objects and combined/grouped layers. The layer name should explain what the layer shows.

Screen readers will read out the layer name.

Add layer names by:

• Double click on the name in the layer menu. Add an alternative text description for the layer (object or grouped layer), or
• Click on the group in the layer menu. Go to the "Visualizations pane", then "Format visuals", then the "alt text" section. Add an alternative text description for the layer (object or grouped layer).

Having clear layer names makes it quicker and easier for users to navigate the dashboard. For example, if a user wanted to ignore the filters and skip straight to a specific object, such as a graph.

Accessibility tools in Power BI make the content easier to use.

When creating Power BI content, you must consider how someone using these tools will view the information and adapt the report.

Learn more about how to use Power BI reports by using accessibility features.

Keyboard shortcuts

Power BI has its own recommended shortcuts. View all keyboard shortcuts in Power BI.

Dashboards work better and are easier to navigate when the scan mode is off. You can turn scan mode off using keyboard command CapsLock + Space bar.

Try the core keyboard navigation commands in your dashboard. Make sure navigation is easy and that you have considered ordering. Learn more about how to order your dashboard.

View all Windows keyboard shortcuts for accessibility.

Keyboard navigation/tabbing

You can use in-built and customisable keyboard commands to navigate content. This is comparable to how you would use a mouse.

Use the Tab key to move from object to object. Use the Enter key to go into more detail for an object.

If there are multiple items within an object:

• Use the arrow keys to navigate through them
• Use the Enter key to explore specific segments of the objects
• Use the Escape (Esc) key to come back out of the segment or object

Alternative tables for graph data

You can show the data in most graphs and charts in Power BI as a table instead. Do this by:

• Using keyboard command Alt + Shift + F11
• Selecting the menu (three dots at the top right of the graph/chart)

Windows Narrator

Windows Narrator is an in-built screen reader.

Screen readers give audio descriptions of the content visually displayed on a screen. The narrator reads any text on the page, along with descriptions of objects and data points. They also read out any image descriptions given in the alternative text.

You can turn Windows Narrator on by:

• Using keyboard command Windows key + Control (Ctrl) + Enter
• Searching for "Narrator" in the Windows search bar

Guidance on how to use Windows Narrator.

Learn more about screen reading software on the Royal National Institute of Blind People website.

Screen magnifiers

There are two types of screen magnifier:

1. A physical magnifier that the user places in front of the screen to magnify the content
2. A digital tool applied in the computer's display settings to enlarge content

Colour contrast settings (dark mode/high contrast)

There are pre-set colour contrast combinations within computer settings and Power BI settings. For example, dark mode or high contrast mode. This displays the content with a black/dark background and light foreground content.

This is particularly useful for users who are visually impaired, have dyslexia or have dyspraxia. 

Find a contrast theme in Power BI by:

• Searching for "Contrast themes" in the Windows search bar, or
• Using the key command left Alt + left Shift + Print Screen
• Choose the appropriate contrast theme and apply

You can also select high contrast mode from the dashboard itself by:

1. Selecting the "View" button (this is a rectangle to the top right of the dashboard)
2. Selecting the "High contrast colours" option
3. Picking a contrast setting  

Learn how to change colour contrast in Windows.

You can also change the contrast and brightness of your screen using your computer settings.

All NCC Power BI dashboards and reports should include an accessibility statement. This helps users understand which parts of the content they may or may not be able to access. It also tells them how to request the information in a more accessible format.

Provide the statement on a separate page or in a section within an information or guidance page.

This webpage includes an example of an accessibility statement. Use part or all of this suggested text within your accessibility statement. You will need to customise the list of accessibility issues to match your dashboard or report.

Suggested text for accessibility statement

We are working hard to make sure all our Power BI content is easy for everyone to use. However, this [report/dashboard] does include some accessibility issues.

Accessibility issues

1. Maps and screen readers: screen reader users may have trouble reading maps. You can switch to "Show as Table" view by tabbing to the map and using the ALT + Shift + F11 shortcut. Press Enter to make the screen reader read out values.
2. Tooltips: you can't open tooltips (pop-up information) using a keyboard. You also can't hover over tooltips using a mouse without the tooltip disappearing. Where tooltips are used, we've tried to include the information elsewhere too.
3. Headings: assistive technologies may not recognise some text as a heading text. This may make the information difficult for some users to understand.
4. Colour coding in visualisations: Power BI doesn't allow the use of textures or patterns in graphs, charts, and maps. We use data labels and keep legends clear and consistent to help you understand colour coded content.
5. Scrolling: when zooming in or using devices with smaller screens, you may need to scroll both horizontally and vertically to view all content.
6. Line and word spacing: you can't adjust spacing in Power BI. You can do this using external tools, but this may cause some text to no longer be visible.
7. Title length: longer titles may not be fully visible. We've tried to keep titles short where possible to prevent this.
8. Chart Y-axis labels: labels on the Y-axis can't be made horizontal, so may be difficult to read.
9. Font size: some text may be very small, which may be difficult to read. This is because Power BI doesn't allow us to change text size in some places.

Accessibility features in Power BI

Power BI has some built-in accessibility features to help everyone use it more easily. This includes:

• High contrast mode: This may make it easier for you to see some content. Learn more about Power BI high contrast mode.
• Keyboard navigation: Keyboard shortcuts you can use to move around Power BI without a mouse. Read the full list of Power BI keyboard navigation shortcuts.
• Screen readers: Power BI works with screen readers to convert text into audio. More details about using Power BI with screen readers.
• Focus and view modes: This may help you focus on specific content. Learn more about Power Bi focus and view mode.

Alternative formats

To request any of the information in this [report/dashboard] in an alternative format that you find more accessible, please email [insert service email address].

You may want to use screenshots from a Power BI dashboard in other, non-Power BI reports, such as:

• PDFs
• Word documents
• Excel spreadsheets

If so, remember that the screenshot will be an image. It won't include notes or interactive features that come with a Power BI dashboard.

You may need to change the appearance of the graph when you take it outside of Power BI to ensure that it is accessible.

• How to make graphs and charts accessible in PDFs
• How to make graphs and charts accessible in Word
• Using images in Excel

Some elements you will need to change may not be available in Power BI. You will need to manually make these changes using different software. Such as an image manipulation program (Microsoft Paint for example).