Tables, Charts and Graphs in Google Slides

Tables

Use simple tables in the presentation. A simple table is a table with one column and row header. Complex tables have irregular headers (header cells that span multiple rows or columns), merged cells, multi-level column or row headers, etc. Below is an example of a complex table.

Complex table example

Avoid creating complex tables to help with comprehension. To add a table to your presentation:

Go to Insert > Table. Click on the little arrow beside the Table to choose the size of the table by selecting the appropriate number of squares.

Table

Insert the table with the desired number of columns and rows. Designate the header row or column in the table. The table header helps the screen reader users navigate the table. The screen reader will read each cell and its associated header out loud. You cannot designate a header row in the table using Google Slides. You’ll need to download the Grackle Slides add-on. Grackle Slides is an add-on that runs in Google Slides that scans the presentation for accessibility issues. Follow the Grackle Slides Installation guide to download and install Grackle Slides for your Google account.

  1. When you perform accessibility testing using Grackle Slides, an issue appears regarding the table - “Tables should be tagged and described”.
    Grackle table
  2. Click the issue to expand the window and click on the Table +TAG button.
  3. A new window appears that allows you to designate a header row or column.
  4. Check Mark first row as header to designate the first row as a header. If your first column is also a header, check Mark first column as header. Click the Update button to make the changes.
    Grackle table header
    This will mark the first table row as a header.

Charts and Graphs

To create accessible charts and graphs, use the features available in Google Slides. Unlike Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides does not have the option to add an automatically generated data table related to the chart. Add alternative text to the chart to convey information to the screen reader users, or you can create a table manually below the chart using the Insert > Table option. Follow the steps below to create a chart/graph:

  1. Go to Insert > Chart.
  2. Click on the Chart and choose the type of chart or graph you want to use.
    Insert chart
  3. Once you click on the chart or graph, Google Slides inserts it into the presentation.
    Chart example
  4. To edit the data within the chart, click on the link icon and choose the Open Source option to open your Google Sheets source data.
    Open source button in charts
  5. Clicking on the open-source button will open Google Sheets in a new browser window where you can edit the information for the chart data.
  6. Once you are done updating the information in Google Sheets, go back to the Google Slides presentation and click on the update button (refresh symbol) on the chart/graph to update the chart.
    Update chart button