Post on 07-Mar-2020
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 1
Use HeadingsWhy?Screenreadersdonotreadunderlineandboldasheadings.Ascreenreaderuserwillnotknowthattextisaheadingunlessyoudesignateitassuch.
Whentypinganewsectionheading,usethepresetheadingsavailableontheHomeribbon.Justclickontheappropriateheadingstyleintheribbonandtypeyourheading.Whendoneandreadytostarttypingregulartext,justclickNormalontheStyleportionoftheformattingribbon;youmayneedtonavigatethroughtheStyleoptionstodoso.Remembertokeepyourheadingshierarchical;forexample,usingHeading1foratopheadingthenHeading2forasubheading.
Tip:Youcanchangeanalreadyexistingheaderintoanaccessibleheadertextbyputtingthecursoronthattextandclickingontheappropriateheading.Tip:Youcaneasilykeepyourcurrentformattingandstillmaketextintoanaccessibleheader.Simplyplaceyourcursorontheoldheaderthenrightclickontheappropriateheaderselection;inthemenuthatappears,selectUpdatetoMatchSelection.Tip:YoucanchangethedefaultheadingstylesbyrightclickingonaheaderstyleintheribbonthenselectingModifyandmakechangesasdesired.Tip:YoucanalsousestylessuchasEmphasistoindicatewordswithinaparagraphthatyouwouldlikeemphasized.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 2
Create Formatted Lists Why?Hand-createdlistscannotbereadproperlybecausescreenreadersneedspecificformattingtoletusersknowwhat’salist.
Whencreatingbulletedornumberedlists,usethelistformattingtoolsavailableintheParagraphsectionoftheHomeribbon.Tip:Youcanchangethetypeofbulletandstillmaintainaccessibility.Justclickonthedropdownmenunexttothelistformattingtoolandselectthetypeofbulletyouwishtouse.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 3
Add Alternate Texts to Images and Graphics Why?Screenreaderuserscanalsobenefitfromtheincludedimagesifyouprovidedescriptionsofthem.It’sespeciallyimportantifthechartorgraphaddsinformationtothepointyou’remaking.Whenaddingimagestoyourdocuments,providealternatetextsdescribingtheimagesused.RightclickontheimageandselectFormatPicture.Intheformattingpane,choosetheLayout&PropertiestabthenselectAltText.TypeausefuldescriptionoftheimageintheDescriptionfield.
Tip:Whenaddingalternatetext,besuccinctyetaccurate.Trytoprovideanequivalentoftheimage’scontentandfunction.Keepingalternatetexttofewerthan125charactersisrecommended.Generally,includingsomethinglike“Imageof…”or“Pictureof…”isnotnecessary;justbyusingalternatetextindicatesimagesorgraphics.Tip:Ifanyimageispurelydecorative,alternatetextisnotneeded.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 4
Format Tables Carefully Why?Screenreadersreadtablesonecellatatime,lefttorightthentoptobottom.Cellsthataresplit/mergedorthathaveothertablesembeddedwithinthemcauseproblemsforscreenreaders.Makesurethatthefirstrowofatableissetasaheaderrow.PlaceyourcursorinthetoprowandrightclickthenselectTableProperties.Inthedialogueboxthatopens,selecttheRowtab.ChecktheboxnexttoRepeatasheaderrowatthetopofeachpagethenclickOK.
Tip:Tochecktheorderinwhichthecellswillberead,placeyourcursorinthefirstcellofthetable.RepeatedlystriketheTabkey;thecursorwillmoveintheorderthatascreenreaderwillgothroughthetable.Note:ThesedirectionswillvarysomewhatwhenusingMicrosoftWordforMacs.ThekeyisusingtheFormatTablemenutosetthefirstrowasatableheader.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 5
Create Clear Links Why?Everyoneuseshyperlinkstonavigatebetweentexts.However,justpastinginaURLdoesn’tallowsomeoneusingascreenreadertoknowwherethathyperlinkwilldirectthem.Whenaddingalinktotext,beginbyactuallytypingthedestinationforthatlink.(Forexample,type“TheCenterforTeachingExcellence”forsendingsomeonetotheCTE’swebpage.)Thenhighlightandrightclickonthetext.Inthemenuthatappears,selectHyperlink.IntheInsertHyperlinkdialoguebox,pasteortypetheURLforthedestinationpageintheAddressline.Whenfinished,clickOK.Yourgoalistohavealinkthatlookslikethis:TheCenterforTeachingExcellence.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 6
Run the Accessibility Checker Why?Microsoft’sbuilt-inaccessibilitycheckerwillletyouknowifyourdocumentcontainsanyaccessibilityissuesandhelpyoufixthem.SelecttheFiletab.NexttotheInspectDocumentinformation,opentheCheckforIssuesdropdownmenuandselectCheckAccessibility.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 7
Update Your File Types Word1997-2003filesarenotcompatiblewiththeAccessibilityCheckerandotherfeatures;therefore,ifyou’reexperiencingtrouble,it’sagoodideatoupdateyourfiletypes.UndertheFilemenu,selectSaveAsthennavigatetowhereyouwishtosavethefile.WhentheSaveAsdialogueboxopens,usetheSaveastypedropdownmenutoselectWordDocument.ClicktheSavebutton.
Thedialogueboxbelowmayopen,askingyouwhetherornotyoureallywanttochangefiletypes.JustclickOKbecauseyouwanttheaccessibilityfeatureavailableinthelatestversionsofWord.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 8
Make Sure to Identify the Language Why?Screenreadersaremultilingual.Beforereadingadocument,theywilllookforthelanguageusedtocreatethedocument.OpentheReviewribbonandclickonthedropdownmenuforLanguage.ChooseSelectProofingLanguagefromthemenu.Inthedialogueboxthatopens,selectthelanguageyouwishtousethenclickOK.ThedefaultisusuallyUnitedStatesEnglish,butit’softengoodtocheck.
Hint:Ifyouareworkinginadocumentwithmorethanonelanguage,youcansimplyhighlightaparagraph(oranypartofthetext)thenfollowtheprocessabovetosetthelanguageforjustaportionofthetext.
Tips & Tricks Making Accessible MS Word Documents
, 2017
pg. 9
Ensure that PDF’s Are Tagged When Created Why?TaggingaPDFsimplytellsthescreenreadertheorderinwhichtoreadthedocument.TocreateaPDFfile,selectFilethenSaveasthennavigatetothelocationwhereyouwishtosavethefile.Inthedialoguewindowthatopens,makesuretoselectPDFfromtheSaveastype:dropdownmenu.Toensurethatafileistagged,clickontheOptionsbutton.
MakesuretheboxforDocumentstructuretabsforaccessibilityischeckedthenclickOK.