Accessible Power BI reporting
Images and textboxes
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:
- Go to the "Format visual" option
- Go to the "General sidebar"
- 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.
