If you are using abbreviations or acronyms in a document, ensure that they are explained the first time that they are used, and usee tooltips in online documents. The PDF format Portable Document Format , was designed to allow people to share documents that look the same in every operating system. However, this format presents challenges for some disabled people, because PDF s can be difficult to navigate, or incompatible with screen reading software. Keep text layout as simple as possible, for example, avoid using text boxes.
Complex layouts make it harder for Acrobat to infer the correct reading order during conversion to PDF , which may reduce the accuracy of screen reading software.
Use paragraph and heading styles to define the document's structural elements. Acrobat will use Word styles to establish the document structure. Always retain a copy of your document in Word format so that it can be easily converted to alternative formats if required. Microsoft PowerPoint is commonly used to create slide show presentations to convey information in a visual format.
It can include a combination of text, tables, images, charts, and graphics. For users of assistive technology, screen readers and Braille devices can interpret content in a PowerPoint presentation if accessibility principles are followed. Accessibility principles for documents also apply to emails - when your emails are accessible, people with differing abilities can read and work with your messages.
Microsoft guidance at shows you how to add alt texts to images so that people using screen readers are able to listen to what the image is all about, and use fonts, colors, and styles to maximize the inclusiveness of your email messages before sending them.
Accessibility features can be amended in Outlook by going to the File menu , then Options , then Ease of Access. When allowing the software to automatically generate Alt text, ensure that you check it for accuracy and amend if necessary.
Skip nav Menu. When documents are in electronic form, they are easier to distribute and can be more accessible than print documents for students with disabilities. However, in order to be fully accessible, certain steps must be followed to be sure the scanned document is of high quality. For details, see Creating High Quality Scans. The UW now offers an online Document Conversion Service to help students, faculty, and staff at the University of Washington to produce alternative versions of documents quickly and easily.
Using good heading structure helps people without eyesight to understand how the document is organized.
Screen reader and Braille users can also jump between headings, which makes navigation much more efficient than if there are no headings. Making text larger and bold does not make it a heading. Visit Microsoft website for more information about creating Headers in Word. Without using these tools, a list is not really a list, which makes the content more difficult for screen reader users to fully understand. Note that both ordered and unordered lists are highly customizable.
Just click on the arrow adjacent to the desired list button to design a list that meets your needs. Please read the following:. Some people perceive colour differently, therefore colour should never be the only way of conveying information.
Use a combination of shapes, colours and text. Graphs and charts can be difficult to understand, as meaning is often conveyed exclusively through colour. Try printing a chart in black and white. Are you able to perceive the information easily? The featured example uses a combination of solid and dashed lines to easily distinguish the data. Some people have difficulty perceiving or distinguishing text that has little contrast between the foreground and background.
Use colour combinations with strong contrast, such as black text on white background. Avoid using light colours for body text. For more tools and resources on colour contrast, please continue reading the Contrast section on the Website Accessibility page. We recommend sharing the original document with view-only permissions. Users will be able to download the document in different formats with the view-only link.
Review the document to ensure it retained the heading structure and any alt text you added. Then save as a PDF best for online distribution and accessibility. The concepts above are applicable to most authoring tools, including Microsoft Office. We recommend using the most up-to-date version of Office which features a built-in accessibility checker.
The following print-friendly tip sheets will help you improve the accessibility of Microsoft Office and PDF documents. Watch video tutorials on creating more accessible documents, workbooks and slideshows in Office, created by Microsoft.
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