Accessible Documents

Introduction

Many documents contain hidden obstacles that can impede students with a vision or reading disability. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint have a built-in Accessibility Checker to help find and fix these obstacles. Following these guidelines will allow you to create and remediate documents so they are accessible. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint provide a task pane that enables you to view and fix these issues before the content is finalized and shared.

Running the Accessibility Checker:

In Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, the Accessibility Checker can be accessed by following the steps below:

  1. Select the Review tab
  2. Select the Check Accessibility option
  3. The Accessibility Assistant pane appears to the right of the content and shows the inspection results which include how many errors are found, what the errors are, why they are errors, and how to fix them
  4. Select each of the highlighted errors under the Accessibility Assistant and follow the steps on how to resolve them; once they have been resolved the issues will be unhighlighted

Note: If you don’t see Check Accessibility on the Review tab, you might have an older version Microsoft PowerPoint. You can follow these steps to open the Accessibility Checker.

Accessibility Issues:

The Accessibility Assistant helps you find and fix issues in the following categories:

  • Color and Contrast: This category ensures the text is easy to read against its background
  • Media and Illustrations: This category checks for missing alt text and other media-related issues
  • Tables: This one looks for issues in table structure and readability
  • Document Structure: This category ensures headings and other structural elements are used correctly
  • Document Access: This category verifies if the document can be accessed programmatically, such as using screen readers

Note: All issues must be addressed. If you cannot resolve an issue, register for a Canvas Drop-in to review with an Instructional Designer.

Best Practices for making documents accessible:

  • Avoid using tables
  • Use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles
  • Create paragraph banners
  • Add alt text to visuals
  • Add accessible hyperlink text and ScreenTips
  • Use accessible font format and color
  • Create accessible lists
  • Adjust space between sentences and paragraphs
  • Test accessibility with Immersive Reader

For more information, refer to Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities

Resources:

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