Improve Accessibility of Word 2013

Back to Accessibility

Heading 1

• Open the document in Word.
• Place the cursor anywhere within the text of the title. Locate the “Heading 1” button under the Styles group of the Home tab. Click on the “Heading 1” button to assign the Heading 1 style to the title.
• If you do not like the way Heading 1 displays, right-click on the Heading 1 button. Left-click on Modify and choose the font, font size, and color that you want to use for the heading OR select the heading that displays and choose “Update Heading 1 to match selection.” Normally heading one is used once. You can break this rule if you need to use it a second time.

Heading 2

• Heading 2 will be assigned to titles of sections in your document such as Instructor Information, Course Outcomes, etc. Each should be on a separate line. Click anywhere within the section title and click the Heading 2 button. . Right-click and select the font, size, and color desired OR select the heading that displays and choose “Update Heading 2 to match selection.” NOTE: If you don’t’ see Heading 2, click on the drop-down arrow where the styles are displayed.
  If it is not on the expanded list, click on the arrow below “Change Styles” Click on “Options” at the end of the list that opens, then choose “Show next heading when previous level is used.”
• Assign 2 by clicking on each secondary level heading (think of your document as an outline) then click the Heading 2 icon in the Styles group at the top of the screen.

Lists

• If you have bulleted lists, the bullet icon at the top of the screen should be highlighted when you move the cursor over the bulleted items.
• If you have numbered lists, the number icon at the top of the screen should be highlighted when you move the cursor over the numbered items.

Images

• Assign alternate text to images. Right-click on the image. Choose Format Picture. Click the Layout and Properties icon in the pane at the right of the document. Choose Alt text. In the description box, enter a brief description of the image. Click on Close.

Tables

• Tables should be created with the Insert Table feature. Most likely that is the way they were created. Tables created with tabs are problematic for screen readers.
• Select the top row. For example, you may have a schedule of assignments with the headings “Week,” “Assignments,” and “Tests.” Select the headings, right click and choose Table Properties. Click the Row tab. Check the box next to “Repeat as header row at the top of each page.” Then click the Alt tab and enter a short description of the table content.

Links

• The words for a link should be understandable when read alone.
• Select a link then click on Insert and choose Hyperlink.
• In the “Text to Display” textbox, key the words that describe the link. If you are providing information for a printed document also, include the URL along with the descriptive words.
• Click on OK.

Save as PDF

• Save your document as PDF using File > Save as option. For “Type,” choose PDF. Click the Options button and select “Document structure tags for accessibility.” Click on Save.

Save Themes (Styles) for Editing Multiple Files

If there are additional files that use the same styles, it is a great time-saver to save the styles as a “Quick Style Set.” The styles can be applied to other documents at a later time.

To create the Quick Style Set:

• Ensure that the document where the styles were modified (your first document) is open in Word.
• Select the Design group. The theme for the current document is the one to the right of this icon.
• Click on “Save.”
• Assign a name that you will be able to identify later. It should save in the Templates/Document Themes folder.

To assign the same styles to a document, open the document and click on the Design tab. Click on the name of the theme that was saved. To revise a document, click within the paragraph where the style is to be assigned and click the appropriate style button.