Accessibility: Word

Headings

• The first step to making accessible Word documents is to use style elements or headings for formatting.

• Using these headings enables students utilizing screen readers and other types of assistive technology to browse available topics. It also helps them get a sense of a page's organization and structure. This is especially important when dealing with lengthy documents where a student may prefer to skip to a specific section of the document. 

• Heading 1 should be used for the title or most important subject. There should only be one Heading 1.

• Heading 2 is reserved for major sections of the document. Heading 3 would be a sub section of Heading 2, and you would continue with any additional headings as needed, making sure to use headings in successive order.

• The regular paragraph body of the document should use the Normal style.

Watch a Video: Improve Accessibility with Heading Styles

Spacing

• Avoid creating blank spaces for formatting with the space bar or the tab key because screen readers will read aloud blank spaces.

• To correctly add blank space in a document, use the formatting options in the Paragraph Properties window. For assistance see the Microsoft Help page: Change Spacing between Paragraphs.

Watch a Video: Accessible Document White Space

Alternative Text

Why You Need It

• Use it it if you will be sharing a Word Document online.

• The purpose is to provide a nonvisual description of your images for users who are blind or have low vision.

Image Types that Need Alt Text

• Charts

• Illustrations

• Images of Text

• Pictures

• Shapes

• Smart Art

Alt Text Best Practices

• Don't repeat what is in the surrounding text.
• Consider your audience and the context of why you are sharing the image.
• Keep the description concise and to the point- no more than 125 characters.

Watch a Video: Improve Accessibility with Alt Text

How to Use the Accessibility Checker

1. From the ribbon, select the Review tab.
2. Select Check Accessibility
3. See Rules for Accessibility Checker for more information.

Watch a Video: Check Document Accessibility

Accessible Tables 

Background Information

• ​Tables should be used to show columns and rows of information.

• Always use insert table tool to create your table. Manually creating tables with tabs or using the Draw Table tool will result in a table that cannot be read by screen readers.

Best Practices for Creating Accessible Tables

• Always designate a header row for your table. This enables screen readers to announce the relevant header along with the data in a cell. This is also useful when a table spans more than one page.

• Incorporate universal design by accompanying your table with a clear title and description.

• Do not include merged cells, split cells, or nested tables because screen readers will not be able to read these correctly.

• Do not include empty rows and columns for formatting because a screen reader reads each cell in a table.

• Try navigating through your table using only the tab key cell by cell starting in the upper left corner and ending in the bottom right.

Watch a Video: Create Accessible Tables in Word