Accessibility Services (ZAB)
Creating accessible documents in Word 2019/Word 365
The following guide explains how you can create accessible documents in Word 365 or Word 2019. The first part lays out the basics to observe for every document created in Word. The second part provides more in-depth information on elements that may not arise in every document, but when used will need to be taken into account when creating an accessible document.
Microsoft provides information on how to create accessible documents. In addition, there is a LinkedIn Learning course on how to create accessible documents which is free to staff members of Bielefeld University.
Basic settings
To ensure that the font is legible, please pay attention to the following points:
- Use sans serif fonts, such as Arial and Helvetica
- Avoid fine or very bold font weights
- Avoid narrow or wide type widths
- Line spacing should be 150 % of the point size
- Font size should be minimum 12 point
- Use colours sparingly, black type on a white background is optimal
- Avoid the colour combination red-green and complementary colours (e.g. blue-orange).
- If a coloured background is chosen, ensure high contrast for the text.
In this Word template, the above points have already been adapted. You are welcome to use it for your own purposes:
Style Sheets
Using style sheets is a basic requirement for creating accessible documents. Style sheets give the document a structure that makes it easier for screen readers to read.
It is important, then, to use a logical structure for your headings. After doing this, you can format them easily using the integrated formatting tools in Word. First select the heading you wish to format by highlighting it. Then click on the Home tab in the menu and select one of the heading styles. Use the style ‘Heading 1’ for main headings, ‘Heading 2’ for subheadings, ‘Heading 3’ for minor headings and so on. Always begin with ‘Heading 1’ and do not skip any heading levels. If you are not happy with the way the style pages look, you can always change them. To do this, place the cursor on the respective style sheet, click the right mouse button and select the option Modify. Now you can adjust paragraphs, font and other settings according to your own wishes.
Document properties
Having accurate information about documents helps people with visual impairments to work with and manage different documents better. This includes properties such as title or author, which should be added to each document. These settings can be found under the following path:
Windows: Via the menu tab File > Information, where you can insert or modify them there.
macOS: Via the menu tab File > Properties. In the window that opens, you can now enter the document properties under Summary.
Check accessibility feature
The check accessibility feature on Word can be used to identify elements in a document that are not accessible. Go to the Review tab and then click on the Check Accessibility option. A list of errors, warning and tips will appear, as well as recommendations on how to correct these. If you now select one of the problems listed, you will be informed why you should fix it and the exact procedure to do will be displayed. Although the majority of accessibility problems are detected by the automatic accessibility check, there are some that this feature is unable to identify. Because of this, it is important to check the document once again manually. Our portal describes the method we use to check documents for accessibility.
PDF export
After you have checked your document for accessibility, it can now be exported as a PDF document. It is important here that the document is exported as a PDF with the appropriate settings, otherwise none of the accessibility information will be preserved in the PDF.
Windows: Go to File>Export>Create PDF/XPS Document. A new window will open in which you can select the location where it will be saved. Before you save the file, however, click on the Options… button. This will open another window. Please tick the boxes for Document properties and Document structure tags for accessibility and then confirm this with OK.
macOS: Click on the three dots next to each other on the toolbar and select the option Save As. A hard disk symbol will appear directly next to the three dots. Select it. A new window opens. Click on the file format window to select PDF from the pull-down menu. Place a tick in the top button Best for electronic distribution and accessibility. Finally, click on the Export button.
Tables
Tables in documents, in particular, can be a great challenge for people with visual impairments. Because of this, it is important to create tables that are as clearly structured as possible. The following points will help you create a table that is as clear and accessible as possible.
Table description
A table description is useful for both people with and without a visual impairment in order to be able to recognise what the table contains. To add a table description, click in the table and then right-click on the cross at the top left corner of the table. A menu will open and you can then select the item ‘Insert caption’. After you have entered the description, you can accept it by clicking on OK.
Use of titles and alternative texts
Titles and alternative texts help people with visual impairments to understand tables better and should therefore be used especially with more complex tables.
Windows: Click anywhere in the table and move the cursor to the cross in the top right corner of the table. Right-click and select the option Table properties. A new window will open. In the new window, select the Alternative text tab. Now you can insert the title and alternative text of the table.
Divide into smaller tables
Particularly large and complex tables cannot be optimally read aloud by a screen reader. Therefore, if possible, they should be divided into several smaller tables.
First Column
In many tables, the first column contains headings that describe the contents of the table. In order for a screen reader to properly reproduce this, the first column should be marked as such. To do this, go to the tab Table Design and check the box for the item First Column.
Header Row
The header row of a table should also be marked as such, so that it can be read out correctly by the screen reader. Click anywhere in the table and then go to the Table Design tab. Then place a tick in the box for the option Header Row on the left.
To ensure that the header row can be recognised by the screen reader even in a page break, please do the following: Right click with the mouse in the field of the first table row, select Table Properties and then go to the Row tab. Now tick the option Repeat as header row at the top of each page and confirm with OK.
Supplementary information
Each row of a table must have the same number of columns so that contents can be assigned to the correct column heading. This means that no table cells should be merged.
Graphics
Every image in a document must be described by an alternative text, which in turn is read out to users of screen readers. Graphics which add visual interest but do not contribute to the page content do not need an alternative text. These graphics only need to be marked as ‘decorative’. Screen readers will then skip these graphics and will not read them aloud. When adding alternative text, do not rely on the default alternative text settings.
To add alternative text, first select the graphic with the left-click option on the mouse. Then go to the tab Picture Format and select Alt Text. A window will open on the right-hand side of the interface in which you can type your alternative text.
Links
When inserting links into your document, it is important to make them clear so that a screen reader can read them out in an understandable way. For users of screen readers in particular, this additional information is just as helpful as including alternative text for graphics. Links should not consist of just one word or whole sentences. The link should contain just enough text so that the reader can understand from the text what it is about.
Windows: Right-click on the inserted link and select Edit Hyperlink. In the Text to Display box you can specify what should appear there. Then enter the destination of the link in the Address line. Finally, click on the ScreenTip button in the top right-hand corner and add a short note in the ScreenTip box about where the link will take you.
macOS: Klicken Sie mit der rechten Maustaste auf den eingefügten Link und wählen Sie die Option Link > Link bearbeiten aus. Nun können Sie in der Zeile Anzuzeigender Text angeben, was anstelle des Links dort erscheinen soll. Danach geben Sie das Ziel des Links in der Zeile Adresse an. Zum Schluss klicken Sie auf den Button Quickinfo oben rechts und geben dort einen Hinweis an, welche Informationen man über den Link bekommt.
The link is now clearly integrated in the document and it will read, for example, "Bielefeld University" instead of ‘www.uni-bielefeld.de’.
Lists
If you want to present information clearly in a list, you should use Word's standard list feature. To create a list, go to the desired place in the document and on the Home tab choose the Numbering button. Here you can choose the number formats you wish to use. Please do not use Roman numerals, as these will not be read out correctly by a screen reader.
Line and paragraph spacing
People with visual impairments may not be able to see text elements clearly. For better readability, you should therefore use larger spacing between lines and paragraphs within a text.
Line spacing: Click on the Home tab on the ribbon, then go to the Line and Paragraph Spacing tab. Here you can increase the spacing to 1.5.
Paragraph spacing: You should not set paragraph spacing manually (by pressing Enter several times). Instead, it should be set in advance and be at least 18 pt. To do this, go to the Line and Paragraph Spacing tab again and select Line Spacing Options…. A new pane will open. Under Spacing, select 18 pt. from the option After using the small arrows on the right of the number field.
Header and footer
No important information should be written in the header and footer of a document. A screen reader cannot recognise this information and therefore cannot read it aloud. Less important content, such as logos that are repeated on every page, can be added to headers and footers.
In the following Word document, the individual points of this tutorial are once again explained clearly using examples:
Beispiel_Barrierefreies_Word_Dokument.docx