Digital Accessibility

Creating Compliant Documents

PDFs are the preferred format for all digital documents distributed online. The easiest way to create compliant PDFs is to export directly from Microsoft Word. 

Start with an accessible Word document

The accessibility of your final PDF heavily depends on the source Word document. Use proper heading styles, alt text for images, and clear table structures in Word before exporting to PDF.

Using Microsoft Word's built-in heading tool is essential for creating well-structured and accessible documents. Headings (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.) not only visually organize your content but also provide crucial structural information for assistive technologies like screen readers. Properly formatted headings allow users to navigate documents easily, understand the hierarchy of information, and quickly find specific sections. Using Word's built-in heading styles ensures consistent formatting and creates a logical document outline, which is vital for accessibility and overall document usability.

Changing the size, color, or boldness of plain text does not create a heading. You can, however, change the size, color, and boldness of the different headings if the default options do not work with your document. Headings should cascade upward

Headings can be found in the Styles pane under the Home tab in Microsoft Word.

  

Adding alternative text ("alt text") to images in Microsoft Word is crucial for making your documents accessible to people with visual impairments who use screen readers. Alt text provides a textual description of an image, allowing screen readers to convey the image's content and context to the user. Here's a guide on how to add alt text in Word:

This is the most direct and reliable method, especially in newer versions of Word.

  1. Select the image
    Click on the image you want to add alt text to.
  2. Open the "Picture" or "Format Picture" tab (depending on your version)
  3. Click the "Alt Text" button
  4. Add your description
    Make sure your description is a concise and descriptive explanation of the image

Writing Effective Alt Text

  • Be concise
    Keep your descriptions brief and to the point. Aim for under 125 characters if possible.
  • Be descriptive
    Provide enough detail so that the user understands the image's content and purpose.
  • Provide context
    Consider the surrounding text and how the image relates to it.
  • Avoid redundancy
    Don't repeat information that is already in the surrounding text.
  • Don't start with "Image of..." or "Picture of..." 
    Screen readers already announce that it's an image.
  • For decorative images
    If an image is purely decorative and doesn't convey any meaningful information, you can either leave the alt text blank (in newer versions of Word) or use two quotation marks with no space between them ("") in older versions. This tells screen readers to ignore the image.
  • For complex images (charts, graphs, etc.)
    If an image contains complex information, provide a brief summary in the alt text and consider including a more detailed description in the surrounding text or in a caption.
Example:

Instead of:

Photo of a student

Use:

Undergraduate students studying in the Student Center

Exporting Word Documents as PDFs

Exporting Word documents as PDFs is generally straightforward across different operating systems (Windows and macOS), as long as you're using a reasonably current version of Microsoft Word. This is the most reliable method for creating accessible PDFs as it preserves document structure and metadata.

  1. Go to the "File" menu
  2. Select "Save As" or "Export":
    • In newer versions of Word (Microsoft 365, Word 2016 and later), you'll likely see an "Export" option. Select this, then choose "Create PDF/XPS Document."
    • In older versions, you'll see "Save As." Select this.
  3. Choose "PDF" as the file type 
    In the "Save As" or "Export" dialog box, find the "Save as type" or similar dropdown menu. Select "PDF (*.pdf)" from the list of available file formats.
  4. Click "Options" 
    Before saving, click the "Options" button in the "Save As" or "Export" dialog box.
    1. Ensure "Create bookmarks using headings" is checked: This is crucial for creating a navigable PDF for screen reader users.
    2. Ensure "Document structure tags for accessibility" is checked 
      This is essential for creating a tagged PDF, which provides semantic information to assistive technologies.
  5. Click "OK" in the Options window
  6. Choose a location and filename & Save/Publish 
    Select where you want to save the PDF and give it a descriptive filename.

  1. Go to "File" > "Save As..."
  2. Choose "PDF" as the file type
    In the dialog box, find the "File Format" dropdown menu. Select "PDF" from the list of available file formats.
  3. Set export method
    Select: "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service)"
  4. Choose a location and filename & "Export"
    Select where you want to save the PDF and give it a descriptive filename.

Heading 1

Generally, there should only be one Heading 1 in your document. This is usually the title of the document.

Heading 2

Heading 2 denotes subheadings within a section under Heading 1.

Heading 3

Use Heading 3 to break up content within sections already defined by Heading 2.

Heading 3

This is a section sub-section under the same topic defined in Heading 2

Second Heading 2

A second Heading 2 divides the information defined by the Heading 1 even further.

These heading levels create a clear structure for the information within the document, improving readability.

Heading 1

Generally, there should only be one Heading 1 in your document. This is usually the title of the document.

Heading 3 × Incorrect

Headings should always cascade upward one at a time. Heading 1 should be followed by Heading 2, followed by Heading 3, etc. You should never skip a heading level. The formatting of the heading can be changed without changing the heading level.

Heading 4 Correct

This is the correct usage of Heading 4—to break up content under Heading 3 into sub-sections

Heading 2 Correct

While you should never skip Heading levels as they ascend, it is ok to jump to a lower Heading level when appropriate. Remember, the content under each subsection should relate to the next lowest Heading the precedes it. In this case, this Heading 2 is sectioning information defined in the Heading 1 at the top of the page.

Heading 1 × Incorrect

Generally, you should never have more than one Heading 1 in your document.

Heading 5 × Incorrect

It might be tempting to jump several heading levels to create smaller sub-headings for additional notes about a section. This is incorrect. You should always use the next sequential heading level when subdividing content. You can restyle the heading once the correct level has been selected.