Word Accessibility
As mentioned in the bullet points on the bottom of the Home page Word files are often the beginning of a larger project. For example, many word files are uploaded to web sites for viewing or downloading, or they may be connverted to PDFs to be uploaded to a web page or shared with others.
Regardless of how your word file is to be shared ensuring it is accessible will benefit all users. This is especially true if the file is to be converted to a PDF file. When it comes to tagging PDFs for accessibility the accessiblity of the source file - in this case a word file, can have a huge impact on the resulting PDF and the work needed to make it accessible.
There are some types of content items that cannot be remeidated within a PDF. In these cases the original source file will need to be remediated for accessibility then reconverted into a PDF to ensure the content is accessible.
This brings me back to the point I made on the Background Page. Initially creating accessible content is always easier, less time consuming and more effective than remediating existing content for accessibility!
The Checklist
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Was the document given a decriptive file name?
- Descriptive file names help all users easily locate, open and switch between documents.
- File names need to be different than the title set within the document properties. Assistive technology will read the file name when the document is accessed, if the file name and the title are the same it may lead to confusion for the user as they may think they did not actually open the file.
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In the document properties, was the document given a contextual title in the Title Field?
- Contextual document titles allow users of assistive technology to quickly determine if the file contains the information they are seeking without having to read through the content.
- Many organizations use templates created to maintain consitency and branding across company presentations. Oftentimes the title field will be pre-populated with a generic title that will not be reflective of your presentations content.
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If the document content is not written in the English Language has the appropriate Language for the document been set within the Word Options - Language tab?
- The default language within the Word application is English. If the appropriate language for the document is not set words may be mispronounced by screen readers, which can lead to misinterpretation of both the meaning and overall concept of the information being conveyed.
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Have all protection restrictions been removed to allow users to manipulate controls (fonts, colors etc.) used within the presentation?
- Restricting access limits users to change font, color, and other settings. This may create barriers to the readability of content that can have a negative effect on the users ability to fully comprehend the topic being presented.
- Additionally, protection restrictions may limit assistive technology users from accessing presentaion content.
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Does the text/background, or images of text/background have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?
- Users with low vision and color blindness may have difficulty reading documents that do not present sufficient contrast and color difference between background and foreground elements. Exceptions:
- Large-scale text and images of large-scale text should have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1;
- Decorative images / images of text; including logotypes
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For long documents, does the document contain a Table of Contents (TOC)? If so was it created using the built in TOC style tool?
- The built in sytles within the word application were designed by Microsoft to make documents more accessible, use of them will assist you in making your documents accessible to all users.
- Users of assistive technology can use the links generated by the table of content style tool to easily locate and jump to specific sections of the document without needing to skim through all of the documents content to locate the information they are seeking.
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Were all visual headings created by using the built in Heading Styles to provide proper semantic structure? If so do they follow a logical heading structure (e.g., H1, H2, H3 etc)?
- Assistive technology does not recognize visual text formatting (bold etc), therefore it cannot infer and translate the meaning behind these types of visual cues to the user.
- When you use the built in styles, or “true styles” in Word, you are properly assigning a semantic heading tag to each heading area.
- Headings are used to break up sections of content and they provide a logical structure that the user can use to navigate through documents to quickly locate specific sections of content.
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Was a Sans Serif Font of at least 12 point in size used for all non-heading text?
- Serif and Cursive fonts often have flares or strokes on the tips or ends of the letters, which may be difficult for some learners to read, and those with vision impairments may have difficulty reading text that is smaller than 12 point in size. In addition, screen readers will often interpret symbols or non sans serif font bullets as letters or numbers.
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Was all non-heading text within the document formatted by using and modifying the built in paragraph sytle?
- Text should be formatted by using and modifying the built in paragraph style rather than by using the text formatting tool. This will ensure that the style you have applied remains intact and consistent throughout the document
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If color/text formatting (bold etc.) was used to convey important information, was the importance of the information conveyed in another manner?
- Importance of information conveyed by using color/text formatting will be unavailable to users of assistive technology.
- Importance of information indicated by color alone will be missed by those using non-color/non-visual displays.
- In addtion, those who experience color-blindness may not be able to dicern the colors used to indicate the importance of the information being conveyed.
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Are there lists in the document? If so were they created using the built in list sytle?
- Assitive technology cannot infer meaning from symbols and indentations. Use of the built in list sytle provides the structure that assitive technology software needs to idenfity, interpret and present the list items to the user in a manner which allows them to fully comprehend the context, meaning and relationships of the data being presented
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Does the document contain hyperlinks? If so, does hyperlink text convey the destination?
- Screen Readers contain a feature called a "Links List" which users can use to pull up and navigate to all the links contained within a document. When generic hyperlink text such as "click here" are used users are unable to dicern one link from another within the links list.
- In addition, generic hyperlink text will not provide users of assisitive technology with the intended purpose or destination of the link.
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Is any of the document text in columns? Is so were the columns created by using built in the column formatting tool?
- Assistive technology cannot read information in the correct reading order when using the enter, tab or spacebar keys to separate content into columns.
- Use of the built in column formatting tool will ensure that assitive technolgy identifies the text as being in a column, thus it will present the text to the user in the proper reading order.
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Does the document contain data tables? If so were they created by using the insert table function? Do the tables containg proper structural markup, (were the header rows, first and last column set)?
Was the text wrapping set to 'none'?
- Tables that do not have proper structural markup will not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology as the relationships between the intented header and data cells is not accurately represented.
- If the structural markup of a table does not match the visual representation of table then the information will not be accurately identified and rendered by assisitive technology in the manner intended.
- Improper table markup can lead to misinterpretation of the data being presented and may lead users to misunderstand the overall concept of the data being presented
- If the table is formatted to allow text to wrap around the table, assistive technology users will have difficulty finding the wrapped text on the page.
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Does the document contain images, charts, graphs or text boxes? If so, is the position of these items set to 'in line with text'?
- Assistive technolgy cannot access or edit information in images, charts, graphs or text boxes unless they are in line with text.
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Do all images, images of text, charts and graphs that provide meaningful information not conveyed within surrounding text have descriptive alternative text?
- Those with visual impairments, cognitive/learning disabilities often rely on the text based speech output of assistive technology to describe what is visually being presented.
- Alternative text should convey the meaning and concept of the information being presented without the need for visual cues.
- Low-vision users may use screen magnifiers and may have the magnification set to a level which makes it difficult to see an entire image etc. at once.
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Is the document free of form feilds?
- Form fields created in word are not accessible to users of assisitive technolgy.
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If any audio or video content was embedded into the presentation, were text alternatives (e.g., captions/transcripts) provided and are the audio and video controls accessible?
- Without captions or transcripts for video with audio users with hearing impairments may misinterpret the meaning and context of the visual content being presented. Additionlly, if there is an audio file with no corresponding video then they will miss the content entirely.
- Screen reader users rely on the text based speech output of assistive technology to describe what is visually being presented; therefore although they may be able to hear the corresponding audio the meaning and context of the information being presented may not be clear to them
- If the video/audio controls are not accessible (e.g. labeled) then screen reader users will find it difficult to access and navigate through them.
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Does the document contain flashing images?
- If not necessary, flashing images should be avoided or removed as content that flashes or flickers can trigger seizures for some users
- If flashing or flickering images are necessary it should not flash or flicker more than three times per second.
- Please see the W3C formula for calculating general flash and red flash thresholds to test your content to make sure it flashes or flickers at a safe level.
- In addition, flashing or flickering content can be distracting for users with cognitive/learning disabilities and all users in general.