The following information includes best practices for creating documents that are accessible to people with disabilities.
Adobe
Adobe PDF is a widely used format for creating and sharing documents. It helps organize content for reports, manuals, or digital publications and ensures consistent formatting across different devices. Here are some tips to improve PDF files for better accessibility on the web.
Begin with a document that’s already accessible.
How to
Ensure your source document in Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, or InDesign follows accessibility best practices.
Why do this
Starting with an accessible source document reduces the need for extensive modifications during the conversion process, resulting in a more accessible final PDF.
Use settings that retain tags and accessibility formatting during conversion.
How to
Avoid using “Print to PDF” settings, as they may remove important accessibility features.
Why do this
Retaining accessibility settings ensures that the final PDF maintains its accessibility features, providing a better experience for all users.
Evaluate whether a PDF is the best format for sharing the information.
How to
Consider using alternative formats such as web forms or web pages.
Why do this
Choosing the most appropriate format for sharing information ensures that it’s accessible and easy to use for all users.
Check if your PDF has tags to provide structure for content.
How to
Open the Tags Panel by navigating to:
View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags
If tags are missing, select “Autotag Document” in the Accessibility panel.
Why do this
Tags provide structure for content, making it easier for assistive technologies to navigate the document.
Ensure the reading order matches the visual order of content.
How to
Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through the tags in the Tags Panel. Right-click to move or modify tags as needed.
Why do this
Matching the reading order to the visual order ensures a consistent experience for all users, particularly those using assistive technologies.
Tag images as <Figure> and add useful alt text.
How to
Select “Set Alternate Text” in the Accessibility Panel to add alt text to images.
Why do this
Tagging images and adding alt text ensures that users with visual impairments can understand the content conveyed by images.
Ensure text and elements have sufficient colour contrast.
How to
Use Adobe’s Accessibility Checker or other tools to check colour contrast.
Why do this
Sufficient colour contrast ensures readability for users with visual impairments and prevents barriers to accessing content.
Add metadata such as title, author, and language.
How to
Go to File > Properties and fill in the necessary information.
Why do this
Adding metadata helps make the PDF more accessible and searchable, enhancing the user experience.
Incorporate fillable text boxes or interactive form elements.
How to
Use Adobe Acrobat’s form tools to add fillable text boxes, radio buttons, checkboxes, and other interactive elements.
Why do this
Including fillable text boxes and interactive form elements, allows users to input information directly into the PDF, enhancing accessibility for individuals participating in application processes or completing forms.
Verify that fillable forms are accessible and easy to navigate.
How to
Use the Accessibility Checker in Adobe Acrobat to identify and resolve any accessibility issues with fillable forms.
Why do this
Ensuring the accessibility of fillable forms improves usability for individuals using assistive technologies and ensures compliance with accessibility standards.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a widely used tool for creating documents. It helps organize content for reports, essays, or collaborative projects and can be used to create professional handouts. Here are some tips to improve Word documents for better accessibility on the web.
Avoid common accessibility issues such as missing alternative text (alt text) and low contrast colours.
How to
Use the Accessibility Checker.
Why do this
Make it easy for everyone to read your documents.
In general, avoid tables if possible and present the data another way. If you have to use tables, use a simple table structure for data only, and specify column header information.
To ensure that tables don’t contain split cells, merged cells, or nested tables, use the Accessibility Checker.
Visually scan your tables to check that they don’t have any completely blank rows or columns.
How to
- Avoid using tables
- Use table headers
- Use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles
- Create paragraph banners
Why do this
Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table.
To check that the order of headings is logical, visually scan your document’s table of contents.
How to
- Use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles
- Create accessible lists
- Adjust space between sentences and paragraphs
- Create paragraph banners
Why do this
To preserve tab order and to make it easier for screen readers to read your documents, use a logical heading order and the built-in formatting tools in Word. You can also use paragraph banners to organize your content.
To find missing alt text, use the Accessibility Checker.
How to
Why do this
Alt text helps people who can’t see the screen to understand what’s important in images and other visuals.
To determine whether hyperlink text makes sense as standalone information and whether it gives readers accurate information about the destination target, visually scan your document.
Why do this
People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links.
To find instances of colour-coding, visually scan your document.
Why do this
People who are blind, have low vision, or are colourblind might miss out on the meaning conveyed by particular colours.
To find insufficient colour contrast, use the Accessibility Checker. You can also look for text in your document that’s hard to read or to distinguish from the background.
How to
Why do this
If your document has a high level of contrast between text and background, more people can see and use the content.
Headers and footers are visible only in the print layout view and the print preview. Double-click the header or the footer to activate and edit its content.
How to
Use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles to include titles, subtitles, page numbers, and all other important information in the main body of the document. Include any redundant information in the Header or Footer section.
Why do this
People who use screen readers miss out on important information as screen readers do not scan headers or footers.
Microsoft Powerpoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is a widely used tool for making slide presentations. It helps organize ideas for meetings, lessons, or live presentations and even creates handouts. Here are some tips to improve PowerPoint files for better access on the web.
First, you choose a slide theme or template for your PowerPoint presentation. The Design tab offers many built-in Themes and color Variants to change how your presentation looks. You can also make custom themes.
How to
Apart from built-in and custom themes, you can download thousands of templates. Go to File > New, and describe the template in the Search field. Add “accessible” to find templates tagged as “accessible” by creators. This increases the chance of finding a good template. If unsure, Microsoft has identified several templates optimized for accessibility.
Why do this
Some templates may have low contrast between text and background or busy backgrounds, which can make text hard to read. It’s best to pick a theme with good contrast and simple backgrounds. Especially if you’re showing your presentation on a projector, you need clear contrast and readability.
Slide “layouts” are vital for PowerPoint accessibility. They ensure the right heading structure and reading order for slide content.
Most layouts include a slide “title” at the top and one or more “placeholder” areas for content like lists, images, and tables. The title is read as a heading by screen readers, making it easier for users to navigate the presentation.
Creating a New Slide
You can change the layout of a slide anytime, but it’s easiest when creating a new slide. You can add a new slide from the Home or Insert tab. Choosing the New Slide icon usually copies the current slide’s layout for the new one. You can also pick the slide layout while adding a new slide.
On Windows – Click the small arrow or “New Slide” text under the icon to see available layouts.
On Mac- Click the small arrow next to the New Slide icon for a similar menu.
Changing Slide Layout
To change a slide’s layout:
- Select the slide.
- Go to the Home tab and click Layout.
- Pick the layout you want from the dropdown.
The new layout will be applied, and PowerPoint will try to adjust the slide contents accordingly. It usually works well when moving between pre-built layouts. But if you apply a layout to a slide with no structure (like pictures and text boxes on a blank slide), you may need to do some work to fit the correct layout.
Slide Master
Slide Master helps change all slides in a presentation, adjust specific slide layouts, or create new ones. You can make these changes in Slide Master view, ensuring accessible layouts while maintaining proper heading structure and reading order.
To open Slide Master, go to the View tab > Slide Master.
The left sidebar shows different layouts available in the presentation. The first slide is the Master Layout. Changes here affect every slide. Below are individual layouts. Changes to one of these affect every slide using that layout.
To make a new slide layout, choose Insert Layout, then Rename to give it a name. You can then customize it with placeholder objects, adjust sizes, etc.
When done, select Close Master View on Windows or Close Master on Mac. Changes in this view apply throughout the presentation.
Slide Reading Order
While using slide layouts is best, sometimes you need to add content in a different order. By default, screen readers read the slide title first, then other content in the layout’s order. Additional content follows the order you add it, ensuring a logical order for screen reader users.
You can check or change this order by going to Home > Arrange > Selection Pane. This pane appears on the right.
It shows every object on the slide, helping you reorder them. The reading order goes from bottom to top. Think of objects like layers. The first one is read first. Reorder by clicking and dragging. Windows also has up/down arrows for reordering.
Next to each item is an eye icon. Clicking hides the object visually but keeps it readable by a screen reader.
Images in PowerPoint need alternative text for accessibility. Adding alternative text differs between versions:
For PowerPoint 365 and 2019:
Right-click the image and choose Edit Alt text. Enter the alternative text in the sidebar.
For PowerPoint 2016:
Right-click the image, choose Format Picture. Go to Size & Properties, select Alt Text. Enter the alternative text in the Description field only.
Note: You can’t hide decorative images in PowerPoint 2016 or older, except in PDFs using Acrobat Professional.
Adding row and column headers to tables improves accessibility. PowerPoint lets you specify one row as column headers and one column as row headers.
When you paste a full URL onto a slide, PowerPoint makes it a link. But raw URLs might not make sense to screen readers. Change the link text to be descriptive:
On Windows: Right-click the link, choose Edit Hyperlink.
On Mac: Choose Hyperlink > Edit Hyperlink. A dialog opens. Enter descriptive text in the Text to Display field.
Note: For presentations shown electronically and in print, include the URL and a description in the link text. For example, “WebAIM Introduction to Web Accessibility (webaim.org/intro).”
PowerPoint has a tool to identify common accessibility issues. It’s similar on Windows and Mac, but the steps are different.
On Windows: Go to File > Info. Click Check for Issues, then Check Accessibility.
On Mac: Go to the Review tab, then Check Accessibility.
The Accessibility Checker sidebar shows errors, warnings, and tips. Clicking an item highlights the issue on the slide and offers instructions for fixing it.
Other Accessibility Principles
- Ensure text isn’t too small, especially for projector viewings.
- Avoid using colour alone to convey information.
- Keep transitions and animations simple; complex ones can be distracting.
- Use clear, simple language. If you have videos, make sure they’re captioned. If you have audio, include a transcript.
Convert PowerPoint to PDF
PowerPoint is great for presentations, but not always for web content. PDFs are often better for online sharing. They’re smaller, don’t have distracting transitions, and everyone has a PDF reader.
Accessibility features in PowerPoint are retained in PDFs if done correctly. If your presentation has tables or decorative images, and you know how to add accessibility info in Acrobat, your PDF could be even more accessible than the original PowerPoint file.
Sources: Adobe Acrobat documentation, Microsoft 365 documentation.