Making Documents Accessible
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Presentation Transcript
Making Documents Accessible By Wes Majerus, Iowa Department for the Blind
Why Make Documents Accessible? • In many cases your accessibility changes can make the document easier to read for everyone. • Your patrons will appreciate being able to get access to your information no matter how they read the document. • It is the law for State and Federal agencies.
Common Document Elements • Images • Tables • Form Controls • Headings • Links • Data conveyed by color
Images • Are everywhere in the world. • Can either be decorative or informative. • Should be described with Alternative Text. • Many platforms allow you to do this.
Meaningful Alternative Tags • If the image is decorative, like a border or separator, the alt text should be empty, or contain a space. • Screen readers sometimes read the file name of the image without alt text. • Less is more. • The words “Picture of”, “Image Of”,, etc. are redundant in the text. • If the image is actionable, such as a link or button, the alt text should describe the action, not what the image is. • A house taking you to the home page should just say “Home or “Home page.
Tables • Should be created using the creation tool’s Insert Table function. • Should not be used to lay out the text; only for data. • Headers should be in the same table as data and should be in the first row or column. • Example: television schedule with the times across top and channels in left column.
Form Controls • Most common types are radio buttons, checkboxes, edit fields, and dropdown lists. • Use the platform’s labeling function to give the control a meaningful name. • For grouped controls like radio buttons and check boxes, make sure question is read aloud. • Ensure that edit controls have meaningful labels.
Headings • Serve to break the document into sections. • Should be created through the heading styles in the creation platform, not just by font changes. • Sections of the document should be denoted by increasing heading numbers. • Limit use of heading 1 to the main content beginning.
Links • As mentioned, image-based links should have alternative text stating where the link goes or what it does. • “Click Here” is not a meaningful link name. • In-text links should not be vague when read out of context. Example, the word “This” in a sentence is the only link text.
Content conveyed by color alone • Should be avoided at all costs. • This affects those who are color blind and those using the computer with a screen reader that doesn’t read color automatically.
Implementation using Adobe Reader • The most important aspect with Adobe is ensuring the PDF is Searchable. • This allows screen readers to access text. • Use the authoring tools styles function to create headings. • Many authoring tools let you right-click on a photo/graphic to add alternative text. • Adobe has documents available for credating accessible forms. • Use authoring tools’ functions to create data tables with column and row headers denoted or in the first row or column. • Meaningful link text can be added
Google Docs • Google Docs allows for the creation of headings through the Styles selection by highlighting desired text and switching from normal. • Google allows for the insertion of Tables. • Right-Click photos to add alternative text. • Google Forms allows for the labeling of controls.
Microsoft Office • Office is unique because it contains an Accessibility Checker. • This will point out areas that might be inaccessible. • Headings are accessed through the Styles menu, or by pressing CTRL+Alt+1, 2, or 3 after highlighting text. • Use the Insert Table function to create an accessible table. • When making Word forms, use the Legacy Form Controls as they are more accessible. • Right-click images to add alternative text. • Saving office Docs as PDF will carry all of these attributes over.
Resources • Making Documents Accessible in Acrobat Pro: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html • Making Documents Accessible in Google Docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6199477?hl=en&ref_topic=6039805 • Using the Office Accessibility Checker: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/use-the-accessibility-checker-to-find-accessibility-issues-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f