Documents

You likely work with electronic documents on an almost constant basis. Perhaps you post PDF reports or Excel spreadsheets to the web, distribute handouts and PowerPoint presentations to students in Canvas, or attach a PDF newsletter to an email. Use the following resources and start designing your documents with access in mind before you share them.

Get familiar with the Microsoft Accessibility Checker and use it as a guide when designing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Files.

Microsoft Word

Check templates for accessibility features, even ones marked as accessible-ready.
Use heading styles (h1 through h6) rather than just formatting text to appear larger/bolder.
Format lists using bullets and/or numbered styles. Avoid pseudo lists.
Embed hyperlinks in descriptive, purposeful text. Avoid generic text like “click here.”
Add a Title to document properties metadata (different from file name).
Add alt text to all graphics.
Avoid layout tables. Ensure that tables show relationships between data.
Avoid complex tables with merged and nested cells.
Use table headers.
Ensure there is sufficient color contrast between foreground and background, especially with text.
Use standard sans serif fonts like Verdana, Calibri, and Arial to maximize readability.
Use line spacing that is 1.5 times
Review with the Microsoft Accessibility Checker as you design and before sharing.

More Word Resources

Microsoft Word Accessibility Essentials, recorded workshop video [video]
Make Word Documents Accessible, Microsoft official [guide]
Creating Accessible Word Documents [article]

Excel

Name worksheets.
Use cell A1 as the title of the spreadsheet.
Data formatted as tables needs descriptive headers.
Name the table.
Use chart titles and labels.
Remove blank rows/columns.
Empty cells include “no data.”
Alt text for images, charts, and tables.
Use alt text in cells where color is the only way to convey meaning (conditional formatting.)
Formatting emphasis, ALL CAPS and strikethrough not perceivable to some users.
Link to other sheets for keyboard-only users.
Adjust text wrapping and column width to improve readability of all cell data.
Avoid hiding rows and columns.
Alert users with text where frozen panes are active.
Review with the Microsoft Accessibility Checker as you design and before sharing.

More Excel Resources

Make Excel Spreadsheets Accessible [official guide]

PowerPoint

Distribute your slide deck ahead of time.
Choose built-in slide layouts. Text boxes you add to layouts will not appear in Outline View.
Use the Slide Master to modify slide layouts.
Add alt text to all graphics.
Use captions for complex graphics.
Give each slide a unique title even if it’s a continuation of the previous slide.
Make sure embedded videos include closed or open captions. Use .VTT format in PowerPoint.
Use the Reading Order panel by arranging objects from bottom to top.
Ensure links are descriptive.
Use 24pt-28pt minimum text formatting.
Include table headers.
Use the 7x7 rule: no more than seven bullets or seven lines of text per slide, and no more than seven words per line.
Review with the Microsoft Accessibility Checker as you design and before sharing.

More PowerPoint Resources

Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Essentials, recorded workshop [video]
Make your PowerPoint Presentations Accessible [official guide]
PowerPoint Accessibility [article]

Google Documents

When creating documents, presentations, sheets, and more using Google, it is essential to include accessibility in your planning and execution to make the content readable to everyone. The following approaches should be used to create accessible content using Google.

Visit the make your document, presentation, sheets & videos more accessible help page from Google
Include alternative text for any images that convey meaning and mark decorative ones
Use tables for data
Use comments and suggestions instead of writing notes
Check for high color contrast
Use informative link text instead of saying "click here"
Check text size and alignment
Use text to support formatting
Use numbered and bulleted lists
Use headings to organize your document
Include navigation landmarks in your document
Present slides with captions
Share a link to the HTML view of your presentation

More Google Resources

Adobe Acrobat PDF

PDF stands for “portable document format.” PDF documents display their original layouts and styles regardless of the operating system or application used to display them (hence the “portable” part).

PDFs are really intended for printing and they can contain numerous barriers for people who use assistive technologies. Whenever possible, try creating an HTML alternative to your PDF, or use a Word document. If you must use a PDF, read the quick tips below.

Run the Accessibility checker and use the report to guide you.
PDFs must include tags.
Use the tags tree to check reading order.
Add alt text to all graphics, mark decorative where appropriate.
Embed hyperlinks in descriptive, purposeful text.
Ensure that heading and list tags are used logically and create structure.
Make sure bookmarks match navigation structure like headings, lists, links, images, etc.
Avoid layout tables.
Avoid blank and merged cells.
Include table headers.
Include metadata like title, language, author, keywords, etc.

Creating more accessible InDesign PDFs

Using Adobe InDesign to create visually appealing documents? You can follow specific steps while you design to structure and prepare a document for accessibility properly.

Converting Microsoft files to PDF

You can use the Office programs to save or convert your files to PDFs so that you can share them or print them using commercial printers. And you won’t need any other software or add-ins. Just make sure you use the Microsoft Accessibility checker to verify you have an accessible document to start.

Read the Save or convert to PDF Microsoft Support article for the most up to date step by step instructions

More PDF Resources

Adobe Acrobat and PDF Accessibility Essentials, recorded workshop [video]
Adobe Acrobat and Accessible PDF Forms, recorded workshop [video]
How to Make PDFs Accessible [video]
Create and Verify PDF Accessibility [official guide]
Understanding the Tags Tree [article]
PDF Accessibility [article]
Make PDFs More Accessible [article]

Canva

Canva is a popular design tool that can create all kinds of different electronic documents, such as sheets, docs, presentations, and more. Canva has been working on accessibility tools within their system, but when designs are downloaded into PDF and PPT, the designs do not meet accessibility standards.

When using Canva for electronic documents, you must assess the accessibility of the designs both within Canva and when they are downloaded into PDF or PPT.

Canva accessibility features for PDFs

Alerts to add alt text to your images, graphics, and icons
Color contrast check on all elements of your project
Simple reading order and headings tagging to generate assistive technology-friendly PDFs. “Simple” means no more than one heading and one subhead with minimal graphics.

Using the Accessiblity Checker

Canva’s accessibility checker is best for simple designs. Using it is easy. Under the top menu title ‘File’, choose ‘Accessibility’ and toggle to ‘Check Design Accessibility’. The Canva Accessibility Check will appear and will look at three main areas: typography size, contrast, and alternative text.

To optimize accessibility when designing in Canva:

Keep designs simple.
Heading sizes should follow sequential order using the same font size for each style.
Body copy should be at least 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) high based on the uppercase letter “I”, which is roughly 12 points for print and 16 points for digital sans-serif fonts.
Use the ‘Position’ tool to arrange layers so the content you want screen readers to read first is the bottom layer. This layer arrangement applies to both graphic elements and text.

Review downloaded files for accessibility

Reference the Essential Practices of Accessible Design when generating your Canva content, with the understanding that you may have to use additional tools to create fully accessible PDFs and PowerPoints. See the best practices for PDFs and PowerPoint above.

Always check your content for color contrast, use free tools such as WebAIM's Contrast Checker
Fix any accessibility issues for the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro, or in Microsoft PowerPoint using the accessibility tool before you share out the documents.