Creating Accessible Documents

Description

This article provides instructions on how to create accessible documents at Idaho State University (ISU). The best practices in this article are provided to help you maximize the accessibility of your documents.

Guide Navigation

Headings

A good heading structure is often the most important accessibility consideration in Word and Google docs. When encountering a lengthy document, sighted users are able to scroll and look for headings to get an idea of its structure and content. Screen reader users can utilize headings to access a list of all headings in the document, jump from heading to heading, or even navigate by heading levels. However, this only works if Heading styles are used. Many document creators use a different font, a larger font size, bold formatting etc. to visually identify sections of the document. Applying heading styles will ensure that the document is navigable by all users.

Heading levels should represent the structure of the document. Think of it as an outline of the content.

  • A Heading 1 is the main content heading. There is generally only one Heading 1 per document.
  • A Heading 2 is a major section heading.
  • A Heading 3 is a sub-section of Heading 2.
  • A Heading 4 is a sub-section of the Heading 3, and so on.

Tip: Do not skip heading levels, such as using a Heading 4 after a Heading 2 with no Heading 3 between the two.

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Alternative Text (alt text) for Images

If an image in a document presents content or has a function, you must provide an equivalent alternative text (alt text) for the image. That information will be presented to a screen reader user when they encounter the image. There are two way to provide alt text in documents:

  1. Use the "Alt text" functionality in the software. You can add alt text to pictures, shapes, charts, SmartArt, etc.
    1. Right click on the image in the document
    2. Select Alt Text from the pop-up menu
    3. A side-bar will open next to the page where you can enter the alt text
  2. Describe the image content in the surrounding text of the document. For complex images like charts, you will often need to provide succinct alt text plus a table or lengthier text alternative near the image.

Alternative text should follow these best practices:

  1. Accurate and equivalent - present the content or function of the image.
  2. Succinct - a few words are usually enough; a short sentence or two is sometimes appropriate.
  3. No redundancies - do not provide information that is in the surrounding text.
  4. Do not include wording such as "image of..." or "graphic of..." - screen reading software identifies that an image is present, so it is not necessary to include that information within the alt text.
  5. If the image is purely for visual decoration, you can designate it as "decorative". In Word there is a box to check to indicate that it is decorative - in Google docs, you will need to enter alt="" in the alt text box

For more information and alt text examples, see the WebAIM article, Alternative Text.

Tip: When deciding what to include in alt text for an image, it is helpful to ask yourself, "If I did not include this image or I couldn't see it, what would I put in its place?" If the answer is "nothing", then alt="" or designating it as a decorative image is probably sufficient.

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Links (urls)

Links in documents allow users to visit web pages, send an email, and to navigate to headings or bookmarks within the document. Rather than simply copying and pasting the link into the document, use descriptive text that explains where the link will take the user. 

Follow these best practices to create accessible links:

  • Use descriptive link text that does not rely on context from the surrounding text. The link text should tell the user where they will be taken when they click on the link.
  • Keep the amount of text in the link to a minimum.
  • Word and Google docs will automatically format the link as underlined text that stands out from the surrounding content. 
  • Avoid ambiguous link text that is difficult to understand out of context. For example, "click here" or "fill out the form".

Tip: Avoid using underlined text for formatting purposes - underlined text should only be used to indicate a link. If you want to place emphasis on text, consider using bold or italics styles.

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Lists and Columns

Lists and columns add important hierarchical structure to a document. Sometimes users create lists and columns by manually using the Tab key to indent content. While this provides visual structure for sighted users, it does not provide the document structure needed for assistive technology users. There are two types of lists used in documents:
  1. Bullets - these are used for a group of items without an order or hierarchy.
  2. Numbers - these are used to present a group of items when the number of items matter or where there is an order or sequence.

To format information in a column format, use the column tool within the document software.

Tables

A data table is a grid of information organized into columns and rows. Sighted users scan a table to make associations between data in the table and their appropriate row and/or column headers. Screen reader users make these same associations if tables are structured correctly using the table builder tool within the software. Follow these best practices when creating tables:

  • Identify a single row of column headers and/or a single column of row headers.
    • Google docs: Position your cursor in the column header row, right click and select Pin header row. 
    • Word docs: Position your cursor in the column header row, right click and select Table Properties. Select the Row tab in the Table Properties window and select Repeat as header row at the top of each page.
  • Avoid merging table cells and/or leaving cells blank - this interferes with the table structure. Consider entering a dash within the empty cell.
  • Insert a title row or alt text - this alerts the user to what the table contains.

Tip: In Word, use the built-in table styles when possible - they are already formatted to indicate a header row and/or column.

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Converting Documents to PDFs

  • In Word, select File, then Save As and select the file type PDF. Alternatively, you can select File, Export, then Create PDF/XPS document. Microsoft Word documents keep accessibility information intact when properly converted to PDF in this manner.
  • In Google docs, select File, then Download, then PDF Document as the file type.

 

Additional Best Practices

  • Add a title to the document - this helps users determine the content before opening the file. File names are often ambiguous so it is important to also add a Title.
    • In Word, select File from the top navigation menu. Select Info and under the Properties column type the document Title.
    • In Google docs, by default the document title is created using the first line of text in the document. To modify the document title, click into the text in the top-left corner, delete any unnecessary text and type your desired file name. Press Enter or click anywhere on the page to save it.
  • Ensure that font styles and sizes are clear and readable. Font size should be a minimum of 11 points.
  • Provide sufficient contrast between text colors and background colors. Avoid using background colors when possible.
  • Do not use color as the only way to convey information. 
  • Provide a table of contents for long documents.
 

Tip: Use the built-in accessibility checker within Word by selecting File from the top navigation row. Select Info and then select the Check for Issues box. From the pop-up, select Check Accessibility. Use the Accessibility task pane that opens on the right-side of the document for correcting the identified issues. Unfortunately, Google docs does not provide an accessibility checker - consider downloading the document as a Microsoft Word file, opening the file in Word and running the accessibility checker. If you plan to link to the original Google doc, you can make the suggested corrections within the Google doc rather than in the Word file.

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