Overview
This article is for university faculty, staff, and students to create and share accessible Word documents. It explains why Word is a good format and provides best practices and how-to documentation to help Word documents meet digital accessibility standards.
Making Word Documents Accessible
It is required that all digital content meets digital accessibility standards. Microsoft Word is the recommended format for internal documents shared within the university. Word documents are generally more accessible, easier to update, and better for collaboration than other formats. Word has accessibility tools like heading styles, alt text, an accessibility checker, and more. Word also includes settings to restrict permissions or share files as view-only. All students, faculty, and staff have access to Microsoft 365 tools through the university’s license.
Best Practices
To help make Word documents accessible, follow these best practices from the Microsoft Word Accessibility Quick Card by the Minnesota IT Services Office of Accessibility.
Quick Summary:
- Use Document Styles: Apply heading and paragraph styles with a logical hierarchy; start with an accessible template.
- Keep Headings Short: Use brief headings for easier navigation.
- Name Hyperlinks Clearly: Use descriptive link text; avoid “click here.”
- Use Simple Table Structures: Avoid nested or merged cells; include header rows and keep titles outside the table.
- Add Alt Text to Images and Objects: Provide clear, concise descriptions; mark decorative items appropriately.
- Align Images with Text: Ensure wrapped images are aligned with text, not placed in the middle of a sentence or paragraph.
- Check Color Contrast: Maintain WCAG ratios (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).
- Avoid Extra Blank Characters: Use built-in formatting tools instead of spaces or tabs for layout.
- Fill Document Properties: Add title, subject, and author in file properties.
- Run Accessibility Checker: Use the built-in tool and perform manual checks.
- Don’t Use Print to PDF: If you must export to PDF, start with an accessible Word document and use Acrobat’s Create PDF tool. Ensure PDFs meet accessibility requirements.
Training
More Resources
Still Need Help?
Creative Production offers help with document formatting, design, and redesign if needed. Please note, Creative Production cannot ensure accessibility for content created by other users. They may need to re-create a document to ensure accessibly, if you choose to use their services. Costs apply. Submit a ticket to request Creative Production services
IT Solutions primarily supports digital accessibility for academic and course-related materials including document accessibility, captioning and transcription services. Support for other content may be available if time allows, with costs applying to non-course materials. Submit a ticket to request IT Solutions services