今日吃瓜

今日吃瓜
今日吃瓜

Teaching with Technology

Information Technology

Digital accessibility: Documents

Accessible documents are designed so people who use assistive technology, have visual disabilities, or have cognitive disabilities like dyslexia or ADHD can understand them. It is much easier to create an accessible document than to try to make an inaccessible document accessible later.

Strategies for creating accessible documents

Use the library e-reserves system

If you need to share scanned documents or online articles with your students, request them through . The Library partners with Disability and Accessibility Resources and Instructional Technology Services to ensure e-reserves are accessible.

Consider whether you need a document

Online content, such as text entered into your Moodle page, is often more accessible than documents.

When possible, use Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word documents, and PDFs created from accessible Word documents, are more accessible than Google Docs or PDFs created using other programs.

Use default text formatting

  • Use font size 11 or larger.
  • Keep line spacing greater than 1. Text editing software usually sets the default for single-spaced text at 1.15. Allow more space between paragraphs. More white space makes your text easier to read.
  • Do not justify your text. Justified text is especially difficult for people with dyslexia to read.
  • Do not use tabs or extra spaces to create columns or add formatting. Doing this may make your text inaccessible to screen reader users. Instead, use formatting options in your text editor.

Microsoft Word

We recommend using Microsoft Word to create text documents. Word documents are often more accessible than documents created using other text editing programs.

Use headings and lists to organize your text

Use Word's styles options to designate headings and lists in your document. Never use text formatting (such as bold or larger text) alone. Screen readers rely on properly formatted headings and lists to navigate documents.

Use color carefully

Do not use color alone to convey meaning. If you use color in your document, check color contrast. People with color blindness or other visual impairments may not be able to understand your document if the color contrast is not high enough.

Create accessible tables

You can create simple tables in Word that are accessible, but more complicated tables require advanced accessibility options.

  • To add a table in Word, select the Table option from the Insert menu. You can select the number of columns and rows you need, making sure you include a row for your headers.Word Insert menu with Table selected
  • Tables must have column headers to be accessible. Your table will likely be most accessible if you include row headers as well. By default, Word designates the first row as headers for columns and the first column as headers for rows. In the Table Design menu in Word, check to be sure that the Header Row box is checked to designate the first row as column headers and the First column box is checked to designate the first column as row headers.Word Table Design menu showing Header Row and First Column boxes checked.
  • Make sure that your table does not include merged or split cells. These more complicated tables require additional work to be accessible.
  • Your table should not include any blank cells. For cells with no data, consider entering information such as "none" or "not applicable."

Add alternative text

All images that convey information must have alternative text to be accessible to people using screen readers. Images that do not convey information should be marked as decorative.

Add a title to your document

A document title helps all users identify your document. In Word, the title is different from the file name.

  • To add a document title in Word, choose Properties from the File menu.Word File menu showing Properties option.
  • Add your title in the summary tab, and select OK to save it.Word Properties window showing Title option in the Summary tab.

Use the Word accessibility assistant

Microsoft products include accessibility checkers to help you create accessible files. While the Word accessibility assistant is helpful, it does not identify all accessibility issues. Make sure you check your work manually as well.

  • Choose Check Accessibility from the Word Review menu. The accessibility assistant will open in the right panel.Check Accessibility in the Word Review menu
  • Select areas for improvement in the accessibility assistant to fix issues and learn more.Word accessibility assistant pane.
Word accessibility assistant showing recommended fix.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a good choice for creating collaborative documents. However, the Google Docs interface is not as accessible as Microsoft Word, and documents created in Google Docs have some limitations when it comes to accessibility.

  • Users of VoiceOver, the screen reader that Macintosh provides, may have challenges accessing Google Docs. VoiceOver users must change some of their default settings to be able to use Google Docs.
  • It is not possible to create accessible tables in Google Docs.
  • It is not possible to mark images as decorative in Google Docs.

Use headings and lists to organize your text

Use Google's styles options to designate headings and lists in your document. Never use text formatting (such as bold or larger text) alone. Screen readers rely on properly formatted headings and lists to navigate documents.

Use color carefully

Do not use color alone to convey meaning. If you use color in your document, check color contrast. People with color blindness or other visual impairments may not be able to understand your document if the color contrast is not high enough.

Add alternative text

All images that convey information must have alternative text to be accessible to people using screen readers.

Note that it is not possible to mark images as decorative in Google Docs, so it is best to avoid using images for decoration only.

PDFs

Unlike Microsoft Word documents, PDFs present specific accessibility challenges. You must have Acrobat Pro to confirm that a PDF is accessible.

Create a PDF from a Word document

You can create an accessible PDF by starting with a fully accessible Word document.

  • Choose Save As... from the File menu, and then choose PDF as the File format (it will be an export format).
  • From the options, choose Best for electronic distribution and accessibility.Word export to PDF option.
Do not use the option to print as a PDF to create a PDF document from Word. This will result in an inaccessible document.

Scanned documents and accessibility

PDFs created from scanned documents are generally not accessible.

  • If you need to share readings with your students, request them through the Library system. There are practices in place to ensure that documents in e-reserves are accessible.
  • If you must share a scanned document, use SensusAccess to make your document more accessible.