Grackle Workspace is an add-on to the University of Maryland Google Workplace that can be used to check the accessibility of Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets. Grackle is available for faculty and staff using their UMD Google accounts.
Grackle can evaluate your Docs, Sheets, and Slides for common accessibility issues by launching the tool when working in any of these three Google workspaces. A side panel identifies issues such as:
Before you begin: Please ensure that you are not also logged into a non UMD Google account before you launch Grackle. From anywhere in Google, click on your profile image in the upper righthand corner of the screen. If a non UMD Google account is listed there, please sign out. (Grackle will give an error message about permissions when you attempt to Export PDF if you are logged into more than your UMD account.)
Grackle Workspace does not require accessibility expertise but does give detailed feedback. Simply log into Google with your UMD account and launch the add-on from the Extensions toolbar menu in Docs, Slides, or Sheets. A one-time permission per app is required.
NOTE: Grackle Workspace is not intended for documents that contain restricted data, as defined by the University’s Data Classification Standard. Any questions about sensitive or restricted data should be directed to itsupport@umd.edu.
To check your Google Docs, open the document and launch the Grackle Docs Extension.
To check your Google Slides, open the document and launch the Grackle Slides Extension.
To check your Google Sheets, open the document and launch the Grackle Sheets Extension.
Grackle gives you information about each check that it runs.
Failed checks and Warnings are potential accessibility issues or barriers. Select the sections that are flagged by Grackle to address accessibility issues. Select the left side of the button to move to the identified issue, such as in Figure 1, identified as Table and Image. Select the right side of the button to fix the issue, in this case Tag.
Some feedback may be more detailed. If you are not familiar with a flagged topic, revisit the Six Essential Steps for more information. And remember that every accessibility issue you fix is a barrier removed!
Once you've addressed flagged issues, select Re-Check to ensure any fixes implemented meet accessibility standards.
Grackle has a built-in feature to export Google Docs and Slides into accessible PDF format. Fix all issues in the Accessibility Check results, then use the Export to PDF button at the top of the Grackle extension sidebar.
NOTE: Google Workspace does not support marking images as Decorative. While Grackle allows you to mark an image as Artifact, please be aware that this will allow screen readers to skip the image when the file is exported to PDF, but will not have any impact on the original Google file, so you will still need to add alternative text to all images in Google Docs, Slides and Sheets.
Please email itaccessibility@umd.edu if you have any questions or need assistance.