Making Word Processing Documents Accessible · Web viewWhen making Word documents accessible, ... letters, ampersands, dashes, underscores, and other characters that make sense

Making Word Processing Documents Accessible

We at Purdue are committed to continuous improvement and as accessibility practices are updated, we will update our manuals. This version of the manual was finalized on 7.5.18

When creating an accessible word processing documents, there are five main things to check before running the accessibility checker.

You will need to verify that:

1) Headers are used appropriately; 2) Spacing is done correctly; 3) Hyperlinks are not too long; 4) Each image/table includes an appropriate alt text description provided; and 5) Any tables in the document have a header row indicated.

Step-by-step visuals are provided below.

Verify that headers are used appropriately

A good heading structure is probably the most important accessibility consideration. Use built-in Styles to identify Heading 1, Heading 2, etc., rather than simply increasing the font size and making it bold. This provides structure that is used to navigate through the document when using assistive technology like a screen reader. Screen readers start by reading the headings. Headings range from most important or prominent (H1) to subsequent subsections decreasing in importance under a main topic (H2, H3, H4). Basic text is set to the Normal style and will be read left to right, top to bottom in order as it appears in the text. Note: if you don’t like the look of the formatting for the default styles, they can be edited to better meet your needs.

Select the text, and then select the appropriate heading style from the Styles section of the Home tab ribbon.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2017 (Mac)

1ITaP Teaching and Learning Technologies *Questions? Contact [email protected]

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NOTE: By default, Heading 1 and Heading 2 are available in the ribbon. Word will automatically add Heading 3 to the menu after Heading 2 is used in the document, and so on for additional heading levels.

If you have already formatted the text you want to make into a heading, and would like to preserve the appearance, right-click the heading level in the Styles ribbon and select Update Heading to Match Selection.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2017 (Mac)





Verify that spacing is done correctly

When making Word documents accessible, it is important that you format your spacing correctly. Tapping on the space bar to create white space between sections of text, including paragraphs, will return an accessibility report with spacing errors. The best way to add appropriate extra space between words on the same line is by using tabs. The best way to add space between lines is to use Paragraph settings. To correct issues with extra spacing in the Inspection Results, simply delete the extra spaces. If you then feel as though you need to add extra white space, add spacing before and after your text to get the desired results.

Word 2016 (PC)

Layout Tab on the ribbon > Paragraph > Spacing before or after. (To see extended paragraph options, click on downward diagonal arrow in bottom right corner of the Paragraph section.)

Word 2017 (Mac)

Format menu > Paragraph > Spacing before or after





Consider setting up spacing to correspond with your styles, e.g. for Heading 1 use 18 before and 12 after, for Heading 2 use 16 before and 12 after, for Heading 3 use 14 before and 12 after, for Normal use 6 before and 6 after. They don’t have to match these exactly. The idea is that Spacing Before corresponds with the heading level. When done correctly, there shouldn’t be any blank lines between paragraphs (i.e., you can’t click the cursor between them), but there will still be an appropriate amount of white space to offset the text.





Verify that hyperlinks are readable

The accessibility report will likely flag any hyperlinks used in the document. Realize that a visually impaired person using a screen reader has to listen to the entire URL being read aloud. According to Webaim.org, a leading resource in web accessibility, provides this explanation:

URLs are not always human-readable or screen-reader friendly. Many URLs contain combinations of numbers, letters, ampersands, dashes, underscores, and other characters that make sense to scripts and databases, but which make little or no sense to the average person…Does this mean that URLs should never be used as links? No. If the URL is relatively short (such as a site’s homepage), the URL may be used as the link text. The key is to be considerate of screen reader users who must listen to the longer, less intelligible URLs.

If you need to provide a hyperlink that is longer than the basic short link to a site’s homepage, consider using a URL shortener such as goo.gl or bit.ly. These free web-based tools provide short URLs that can be easily shared.





Verify that each image/table has an appropriate alt text description

For every image you include in the document that provides substantive information, you will need to add alternative text (alt text). Because screen readers cannot read the text included in basic images, the alt text, or basic summary description of the image, is required. For technical topics, such as course content, the instructor will likely be the best person to provide this information, as they are the subject matter expert (SME) for the course.

NOTE: Writing good alt text is a skill that can be developed. An excellent article on alt text is available at WebAIM Alternative Text (http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/).

For even more information on alt text, check out this “alt Decision Tree” describing how to use the alt text in various situations. Alt Text Decision Tree

To add alt text to an image:

1. Right-click on the image and select Format Picture

Word 2016 (PC)




https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/

http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/


Word 2017 (Mac)

2. Select Layout and Properties and then select Alt Text3. Enter alt text into the Description field. Do not put alt text into the Title field.

Word 2016 (PC)





Word 2017 (Mac)





Verify that existing tables have a header row indicated

Use column headers in tables and explicitly identify the header row. Headers provide information necessary to navigating the table for users of assistive technology. Please avoid splitting or merging cells, as this makes it difficult for screen readers to accurately read the content.

1. Click anywhere in the header row.2. Select the Design tab (Table Design in Mac).3. Make sure the box in front of Header Row is checked.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2017 (Mac)

When making new tables, we support and recommend following WebAim’s directions found here: https://webaim.org/techniques/word/word2016win#tables2016

The creator will note that when “repeat header row” is used, it not only identifies the header row, but it also automatically places the header row at the top of the next page when a table breaks across pages.




https://webaim.org/techniques/word/word2016win#tables2016


Verify that tables have an alt text description

Alternative text is not just required on images. Tables also need an alt text description. Generally, the name of the table is sufficient.

1. Click anywhere in the table.2. Select the Layout tab.3. Select Properties.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2017 (Mac)

4. In the Properties dialogue box, select Alt Text.5. Type the description of the table in the Description field.6. Click Ok.

Word 2016 (PC)





Word 2017 (Mac)

Creating Lists

Step 1: Check for Lists Review the document. In this document, there is a list under the ‘Course

Objectives’ heading. Check to see if the list is recognized by Microsoft Word. Highlight the list under

Course Objectives and check if either of the list buttons are selected. In this document, Microsoft Word does not recognize it as a list (see picture

below). NOTE: Assistive technology used by people with disabilities also won’t know this is a list.

To change this, we need to identify it as a list Step 2: Create Numbered and Bulleted Lists





With your list still highlighted, click the bulleted list button because the order of this list does not matter.

Adding descriptive web link Text

Step 1: Check Web Links Locate the weblink at the bottom of the page.

Step 2: Create a Descriptive Web Link from an Existing Hyperlink

On MAC: Right click anywhere on the hyperlink and hover over ‘Hyperlink,’ then click ‘Edit Hyperlink.’

On a PC: Right click anywhere on the hyperlink, and click ‘Edit Hyperlink.’





In the ‘Text to display’ field, delete the URL. NOTE: Do NOT delete the ‘Address’ field.

Add text that describes where the link will take you when it is selected.

For this example, type “Physics 218 Homework.”





Run the Accessibility Checker

Once you have attended to all the recommendations above, you are ready to check your document to see if it is accessible.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2016 has a built-in tool that checks your document for accessibility problems. The Accessibility Checker makes it much easier to identify and repair accessibility issues. To use the tool, select File > Info > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility.

Word 2017 (Mac)

In Word 2017 for Mac, the tool is found by going to the Tools menu > then selecting Check Accessibility.





Understanding the inspection results

If you have successfully made your document accessible, then the inspection results will indicate, “No accessibility issues found. People with disabilities should not have difficulty reading this document.” However, if you have missed something, the results will show up based on the degree of severity of the issue:

Errors: issue that are reported as errors include content that is very difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to understand.

Warnings: Warning, in many cases, mean that the content is challenging for people with disabilities to understand.

Tips: Tips let you know that, even though people with disabilities can understand the content, it could be better organized or presented to improve their experience.

To fix the issue with the document, click on the issue in the Inspection Results, this will show you the issue in the document. Below the Inspection Results list, you will find an explanation of Why and How to fix the document.

For additional resources on how to fix specific issues, check the list of Accessibility Video Training from Microsoft.




https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Accessibility-video-training-71572a1d-5656-4e01-8fce-53e35c3caaf4?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Accessibility-video-training-71572a1d-5656-4e01-8fce-53e35c3caaf4?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US


Verify that your Inspection Results are error free

If you have followed all the recommendations above and have formatted your document correctly, then your inspection report should come back with no errors. On the off chance that you missed something, the report will show you where and what errors remain. Simply make the recommended corrections. Once the issue is resolved it will disappear from the errors list. When you have an all clear, save your document with the satisfaction of knowing that all of your learners will be able to access the content successfully.

Word 2016 (PC)

Word 2017 (Mac)


