Welcome to AEM Part Six: Accessible Microsoft Office Word Document Design.

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Ilene Robertson
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1 Welcome to AEM Part Six: Accessible Microsoft Office Word Document Design. 1

2 Lets review the agenda for this presentation. First, we will review the three principles of accessible Word document creation, create an accessible Word document, check our document with Microsoft s Accessibility Checker, discuss the benefits of accessible design, and finish up with a discussion of more resources. 2

3 An accessible Word document should: well structured, flexible, and accessible. We will use these three principles to design our Word document during this training. 3

4 Lets create an accessible Word document. 4

5 Here is a Word document that has been styled with in line styles. In line styles are applied by selecting the text and then adjusting the text properties on the Home tab of the MS Word ribbon at the top of the page. The information contained in the document is sectioned with a title, subtitle, and subsequent headings, which increases readability, but the document lacks structure and flexibility. This is a flat file format and requires each sectioning element to be adjusted manually. If changes are needed in the future, the content editor will need to adjust each element lineby line. 5

6 Better document management. We can add structure to this document by using Microsoft styles, instead of in line styles. First, lets turn on the navigation pane for easier document viewing. Go to the View tab on the Microsoft ribbon and check the box next to the Navigation Pane. This will show a navigation pane on the left side of the document. 6

Now, lets format our document with MS styles. We will use MS Styles to add sectioning elements. Place the cursor on the line of text that will become the sectioning element.

7 Now, lets format our document with MS styles. We will use MS Styles to add sectioning elements. Place the cursor on the line of text that will become the sectioning element. We do not need to highlight the text. Go to the Home tab and expand the Styles group. Then, click the style that is appropriate. Here, I have added a title and a subtitle to the top of the document and now I am going to apply a Heading 1 style to the first sectioning element. It is important to apply heading elements in sequence. For example, a Heading 3 element would follow a Heading 2 element and a Heading 2 element would follow a Heading 1 element. It would not be appropriate to skip heading levels by having a Heading 3 element follow a Heading 1 element. 7

8 Here is a completed document that has been appropriately structured with MS Styles. Notice that the Navigation Pane displays the sectioning of our document in a tree view, based on the heading structure. We can also use the Navigation Pane to navigate to the various sections within the document. Just click on a section in the Navigation Pane and the focus will move to the beginning of the desired section. 8

9 We can now use Style Sets to adjust the global formatting of our document. 9

10 We can adjust the global formatting of our document with one click. Go to the Home tab and select the Change Styles button. Expand the Style Set menu and then sample the multiple choices by hovering over the Style Set name. The formatting of your document will be displayed, temporarily, in the Style Set upon which you hover. In this example, I am sampling the Elegant Style Set. 10

11 In this example, I am sampling the Formal Style Set. 11

12 If you do not find a Style Set that you like, you can modify the MS Style elements to meet your needs. The changes you make to the MS Style, via the modify option, will cascade to all MS Style elements in your document. To modify a MS Style right click a style element in the Styles group. For example, right click the Heading 2 Style element and select Modify from the context menu. You can also style text with inline styles and then select Update [In this example, Heading 2] to Match Selection from the context menu. 12

13 On the Modify Style dialog box you can adjust all aspects of the MS Style. The modifications that you make to the MS Style can be applied to the current document or all future documents. 13

14 Lets discuss accessible table design in Microsoft Word. 14

15 Here are the steps we will take to make sure our tables are user friendly and accessible. Simple layout is important for all users. If a table becomes too complex and/or nested, then the data most likely needs to be organized in more than one table. Also, make sure to use tables only to display data or forms, not to format textual or visual content. 15

16 To insert a table go to the Insert tab and then click the Table button. Use the cursor to graphically select the table column and row size. After you have inserted a table, type in a table name, just before the actual table, and apply the appropriate heading level to the table name. For example, you can label tables as Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, etc. 16

17 How to modify a table. For example, I forgot that I needed a date column after the name column. I will need to add another column to the table just after the first column. To add a column place the cursor in any row of the first column and click on the Insert Right button from the Layout tab. 17

Now, I need to merge cells so that I can add multiple trial dates for Donna. Highlight the cells that need to be merged. Then, Click the Merge Cells button from the Layout tab.

18 Now, I need to merge cells so that I can add multiple trial dates for Donna. Highlight the cells that need to be merged. Then, Click the Merge Cells button from the Layout tab. In this example, merging the cells that correspond to Donna s multiple trial dates in the first column is the same as listing Donna s name in each cell row. It is important to note that screen reader technology can navigate a table with this type of cell merge. 18

19 All the data has been added to the table. However, the table now spans across two pages. We can enhance the visual display and the accessibility by repeating the header row. We can do this by applying the Repeat Header Rows property to the first row of the table. 19

Set the Repeat Header Rows property by highlighting the first row of the table and then clicking the Repeat Header Rows button on the Layout tab.

20 Set the Repeat Header Rows property by highlighting the first row of the table and then clicking the Repeat Header Rows button on the Layout tab. The table header row is now visible above the table on the proceeding page(s). Also, using the Repeat Header Rows property prompts screen reader technology to announce the column name before it announces the value. This gives a screen reader technology user an audio reference when navigating the table. 20

21 A screen reader technology user may want a quick description of the table, before deciding to read the table data. This can be accomplished with an alternate text description set in the table s properties. Place mouse over the table and right click. Select Table Properties from the context menu. 21

22 From the Table Properties select the Alt Text tab, enter a brief description in the Description field, leave the Title field empty. 22

23 Lets review best practices for styling images in a Word document. 23

24 To insert an image go to the Insert tab and select an option from the Illustrations group. In this example, I will insert a SmartArt image from the Illustrations group. Notice: there is still text on the same line as the image. 24

25 I want the image to be at the top of the second page and the text to begin on a new line after the image. If I use the Return key to move the text to a new line, then the image moves up to the bottom of the first page. I can place the cursor before the image and keep adding returns until the image moves back down to the top of the second page Or insert a page break after the last paragraph on page one. To insert the page break: 1. Place the cursor at the end of the last paragraph on page one. 2. Press the CTRL + ENTER keys at the same time to add the page break. 25

26 I have added a page break after the last paragraph on page one to push the image to the top of the second page. I have also turned on the hidden symbols feature in Word to show the paragraph symbols (representing the line returns) and the page break. We still need to: 1. Set the image as inline with the text. 2. Title the image using a heading designation. 3. Add an alternate text description. 26

27 To set image as inline with text right click on the image, expand the Wrap Text options from the context menu, and select In Line with Text. The In Line with Text option keeps the image in the flow of the document. Images that are floated (not in the flow of the document) may not be recognized by screen reader technology and are presented out of context to the screen reader technology user. 27

28 Labeling the image with a header designation, in this case Heading 3, places the image in the document Navigation Pane. This makes the image: 1. easy to find. 2. Included in MS Word s auto generated table of contents (TOC) feature. 3. Findable with screen reader technology. 28

To add alternate text right click on the image and select Format Object from the context menu, add a short, concise description of the image in the Description field.

29 To add alternate text right click on the image and select Format Object from the context menu, add a short, concise description of the image in the Description field. Leave the Title field empty Note: information in the Title field is not maintained when the document is exported to other formats, such as PDF, and is not backwards compatible with earlier versions of MS Word. We already gave our image a title using a heading designation in the previous slide. 29

30 Other considerations: Use soft returns and page breaks instead of empty lines to format document. Soft return creates a new line within a paragraph and a return creates a new paragraph. A page break begins a new page. 30

31 Microsoft has added an accessibility checker to most of there 2010 office products, including MS Word. 31

32 To run the Accessibility Checker go to the File tab and select the Info panel, click the Check for Issues button, and select the Check Accessibility from the drop down menu. 32

The Accessibility Checker results are displayed in the right side panel. The Accessibility Checker has prompted us with a warning about the merged cells in a table.

33 The Accessibility Checker results are displayed in the right side panel. The Accessibility Checker has prompted us with a warning about the merged cells in a table. The instructions from the Accessibility Checker are to test and simplify the table structure. To test the table structure: 1) Select the first cell. 2) Press the Tab key repeatedly to make sure that focus moves across the rows and then down to the next row. 3) Merge or split cells as needed by selecting Merge Cells or Split Cells from the Table Tools Layout tab. The table structure should pass the test, because we did not include complicated merged cell structures in our table. 33

34 What are the benefits of designing a well structured and accessible Word document? Well, we can easily update our document for future use and quickly make global changes to document formatting. Some of the other benefits include the ability to auto generate a table of contents for our document and also to the ability to export to an accessible, userfriendly PDF. 34

To add an auto generated table of contents go to the References tab and click the Table of Contents button. Select a table of contents format that you like.

35 To add an auto generated table of contents go to the References tab and click the Table of Contents button. Select a table of contents format that you like. The TOC will be inserted into your document. The TOC can be used to navigate the document. Just click on the section element to go to that document section. 35

36 Other benefits include the ability to seamlessly create accessible and user friendly documents in the popular PDF format. To export a Word document to a PDF document go to the File tab, select the Save & Send panel, and click the Create PDF/XPS button. 36

On the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box select Optimize for: Standard, then click the Options button and checkmark the Create bookmarks using: Headings and Document structure tags for

37 On the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box select Optimize for: Standard, then click the Options button and checkmark the Create bookmarks using: Headings and Document structure tags for accessibility. Note: the Optimize for: Standard setting will maintain the accessibility tags. Selecting the Optimize for: Minimum size will remove the accessibility tags to decrease the file size. 37

38 We now have a well structured and accessible PDF. The MS Word heading elements were converted to bookmarks in the PDF file. The PDF document can be navigated via the bookmarks displayed in the Bookmarks pane. The PDF document is also friendly to screen reader technology. The accessibility tags added in the conversion process provide an underlying structure for the screen reader technology to interact with. 38

39 More Resources 39

40 Check out these resources for learning more about creating accessible Word documents from microsoft.com and WebAIM.org. WebAIM is well known as a great resource for accessible website design and other related technologies. 40

41 Thank you for joining us for the AIMing for Achievement training series. Look for new training series in the upcoming 2013 calendar year. 41

Creating Accessible Word Documents Tutorial

Creating Accessible Word Documents Tutorial 1. Use uniform heading structure/style guides to reinforce structure To keep trail of the structure, you can open the Navigation Pane. Edit built-in heading