1. Creating Accessible Electronic Documents
Allison Archer and Jessica Harden

2. Objectives Participants will be able to:
use the accessibility checker.
implement a heading structure within documents.
create alternative text for images.
set reading order for presentation slides.
structure tables with headers.
make appropriate use of hyperlinking.
maintain accessibility when converting Word documents to PDFs.

3. Accessibility Checker
We will use this process throughout
Word
“Tools” or “Review”
“Check Accessibility”
PDF
Click “Accessibility”
“Full check”

4. Heading Structure Used for navigation Hierarchical
Headings should not be skipped
Formatting should be consistent
Lists (ordered and unordered)
Rearrange document structure in Outline view
Table of contents

5. Alternative Text for Images
Read by screen reader in place of image
Text should be equivalent and succinct
Should not be redundant or include phrasing “image of…”
Alt Text Examples
Use ”description” field, not “title” field

6. Reading Order Determined by slide layout
Can be mixed up if text and images are not added to an existing layout
Manually adjust using the accessibility checker

7. Tables Row and column headers for screen reader reference
Repeat header rows at the top of each page
Table summary as alternative text

8. Color Contrast
The difference between the text color and the background color
Color contrast and size can make text difficult to read
Benefits not only low vision users, but everyone
Contrast Checker Tool

9. Hyperlinks Descriptive Examples www.unf.edu/cirt
Click here to access the CIRT website.
Link to CIRT website
CIRT Website

10. Converting Word to PDF Always do “Save as” Never “Print to PDF”
Make sure “Document structure tags for accessibility” is checked