Accessible Documents
Essentially, making a document accessible means that any information conveyed by visual formatting (headings, font changes, tables, etc.), and other visual elements like images, need to be tagged - have computer code embedded that is attached to that element - so that a screen reader or similar technology will verbally convey the same information. It also means formatting your document with appropriate text sizes, print/background contrast, and information cues that are not dependent on color (see the Department of Rehabilitation's PDF for specific recommendations).
However, for MS Word and PDF documents to be compatible with screen readers (see Example 1 and Example 2 of screen readers in action) as well as other assistive technologies, certain steps need to be followed. This page provides some fundamentals for making your MS Word and PDF documents accessible. THIS PAGE IS ONLY A STARTING POINT. SEE THE RESOURCES AT THE END OF THE PAGE for more complete guidance on making your documents FULLY accessible, according to your needs.
A comprehensive, highly detailed Microsoft Support article on creating accessible documents is available. This worksheet condenses material from this and other sources.
*TIP: to simplify your life, set up a document for accessibility and then use it as a template for other similar documents. For example, set up the syllabus for one of your classes, and then save different versions of it named for each of your other classes. Then you can modify the content of a particular document as needed for that particular class.
*TIP: For Microsoft Office 2010 or later, an Accessibility Checker feature is available.
Checklist for accessible MSWord documents (from the Microsoft Support article on creating accessible documents):
- Add alternative text to images and objects
- Specify column header rows in tables
- Use styles in long documents
- Use short titles in headings
- Ensure all heading styles are in the correct order
- Use hyperlink text that is meaningful
- Use simple table structure
- Avoid using blank cells for formatting
- Structure layout tables for easy navigation
- Avoid using repeated blank characters
- Avoid using floating objects
- Avoid image watermarks
For most faculty members, the three most common items needing attention are Styles/Headings, alternative text ("Alt Text"), and Tables. See the full Microsoft article link above, or the resources listed below, for help with other areas in the list.
Before you start making changes, save a clean copy of your document so you have something to start over with if you need to.
1. Styles/Headings: The primary change for most MS Word users is to become familiar with using the Styles area of the toolbar. Styles are on the Home menu, on the right side of the bar for MS Word users with recent versions of the software.
Here are some tutorials for using Styles:
Microsoft Office Styles article
Shauna Kelly's Styles Tips – has tips for Styles in older versions of MSWord, as well
Youtube video on using Styles in MSWord
Remember that you can also enter Styles in the MSWord help menu to get assistance. Try exploring the Styles menus and options to try out a range of standard and customized choices. Notice how a change to a single heading will automatically update the rest of the same level headings throughout your document.
*TIP: When using your completed document as a template, don't cut and paste in content from other documents because you may lose the Styles tags and formatting that you worked so hard to put in there. Instead, type the content from the old document into the Styles-updated doument manually.
2. Alternative text: right click on the image or object > click on Format > click on Alt Text > enter a title AND a more detailed description. Your description especially needs to convey the critical points that you want visually-impaired readers, or users with text-only internet connections, to take from your image/object.
3. Tables: to make tables accessible in Word, keep them simple (don't merge or nest cells, use just one header row and/or one header column) and identify which row/column contains the headers. To do this in Word, select that row/column (Table > Select > Row), then right click the row and select "Table Properties". This brings up the Table Properties dialog. In this dialog, click the Row tab, and check the checkbox that says "Repeat as header row at the top of each page".
Why bother with this? Although this video shows issues with website tables (in html code) rather than MSWord documents, several of the same concerns apply.
Creating accessible PDF documents:
The simplest way for most of us to create accessible PDFs is to first create the document in MSWord using best practices in accessibility (see above). Then, for users of Word 2010 and 2013 (Windows):
- Go to File > "Save As..." and select PDF from the choices provided. By default this produces a PDF that preserves the document's accessibility features.
- When saving, select Options and be sure that "Document structure tags for accessibility" is checked. This is checked by default, but could become unchecked under certain circumstances.
- If you select "Minimize Size" to reduce the size of your PDF, be sure to repeat the preceding step, as this option might uncheck the "Document structure tags for accessibility" checkbox.
If you have an older version of MSWord, or you use Word for Mac, your process will be different. One of the resources below may have guidelines for you.
If your document is a paper one (you have a print-out or photocopy ONLY), then contact Technology Mediated Instruction (TMI) to request that they scan an ACCESSIBLE PDF for you. Do not scan it for yourself unless you and your scanner know how to create a text-based PDF rather than an image-based PDF (see the section below on "Converting existing PDF documents" for further explanation).
Why bother with this? This video has examples of how a screen reader interacts with un-tagged, poorly tagged, and properly tagged PDFs. It's 30 minutes long, but you can get some idea from just sampling it.
Converting existing PDF documents:
If you already have PDFs that you are using, you need to do a simple test to see if your PDFs are at least minimally readable by a screen reader. Open your PDF and use the select tool to select a portion of the document. If the select tool starts in front of a letter and then selects word by word or line by line as you scroll it, your PDF is in a text-based PDF format (you still may need technical assistance to add embedded tags to signal formatting such as headings and hyperlinks). If the selection tool appears to select an area of the document without any reference to the text formatting, your PDF is probably an image-based PDF and is not readable by a screen reader. Contact TMI for assistance creating accessible, text-based PDFs.
Other resources for additional help:
See the Checklist page's PDFs under the Websites heading, or the Accessibility area in the Blackboard community for faculty, for college policies and requirements for accessible documents and materials.
http://www.dor.ca.gov/DisabilityAccessInfo/DAS-Docs/7-Steps-2-Create-Accessible-Word-Document-January-2014.pdf
The Department of Rehabilitation's simple, easy-to-follow guide to creating accessible documents that includes considerations like font size, appropriate use of color and contrast, and other considerations not addressed in my brief overview above.
http://www.washington.edu/accessibility/documents/
Great resource with overview of accessibility concerns for documents as well as links specific to different document formats and document-creation software (MSWord, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat Pro).
http://www.ncdae.org/resources/cheatsheets/
Excellent set of links for creating accessible content, including documents in various formats, hosted and regularly updated by the National Center on Disability and Access to Education.
Material provided for information purposes only. For legal advice, consult a legal professional.