Word Processing

Core Concepts in Word Processing Documents

Regardless of which word processing software you are using, there are some accessibility testing techniques and concepts that apply broadly, which are outlined here. Specific details about how to check documents for these concepts in a few common platforms are below. Reading this section first may be beneficial if you are a beginner to checking accessibility in word processing documents.

Heading Structure for Navigation

Headings allow those using screen readers to navigate the document. Headings are also useful for visual users navigating a document because they allow the user to see an outline of the document and navigate between headings quickly.

  • Tips for successful headings:
    • Headings should follow a logical, nested order, with heading 1 the highest level, heading 2 next, and so on.
    • For ideal use with a screen reader, heading 1 should be the highest level of heading in your document (don’t use the built-in title style as your highest heading), and your document should contain a single heading 1.
    • The text of a heading should describe the content it comes before.
  • In most word processing platforms you must use built-in heading styles (the visuals of which are editable) to designate the level of a heading. Simply bolding or increasing the font size on text does not make it a heading.
  • In most word processing platforms, headings can be used to automatically generate a table of contents that links to each heading.

Image Management

Images that convey meaningful information need alternative text (alt text) to describe that information. Alt text should provide the same relevant information that the image is meant to visually convey, not just a description of the image with details that aren’t relevant to the context or are already included in other text.

Plain Language and Readability

It is important that written content is readable for the audience it is intended for. Writing clearly and simply is challenging and depends on the context of the document you are creating or testing.

  • For more information: WebAIM: Writing Clearly and Simply
  • Tools to test for plain language and readability:
    • Hemingway App
      An editor which assigns a readability score based on which grade level could understand your writing. The lower the grade level score, the more readable your document is. Hemingway identifies sentences which are hard to read and other common writing issues. The online version is free. There are paid versions with and without generative AI available as well.
  • Font format and style also impact readability. There is not one specific font style or size that ensures accessibility, but many considerations for different users’ needs.
    • This WebAIM: Typefaces and Fonts article gives a great overview of some considerations. 
    • In a Word processing document, a common recommendation is to aim to have a familiar, sans-serif font, at 12pt size at minimum.
    • It is recommended not to overuse italics, bold, or all caps.

Lists

Use built-in unordered (symbols) or ordered (numbered) lists.

  • Simply adding a dash or a number before text may indicate a list item to a visual user but it will not translate to screen-reader users.
  • Ordered (numbered) lists should be used in situations where the order of the list items is important. For example, an ordered list is helpful if you are giving instructions about the order to complete tasks in.

Use of Color

Color should never be used as the only way to communicate a piece of information.

Table Management

Do not use tables for layout purposes; instead, use columns.

Links should convey clear and accurate information about their destination.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Accessibility Assistant

Word has a built-in accessibility assistant which can guide you through problems with a complete document or provide guidance while creating a new document.

  • This guide will highlight common areas that need attention but you may also want to review Microsoft’s guide to make your Word documents presentations accessible to people with disabilities and Microsoft’s Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker guide.
  • To access the accessibility checker navigate to Review then Check Accessibility. This opens an accessibility pane where you can find an inspection of your document, which may include information about color and contrast, alt text, and issues with tables in your document.
  • Please note that the accessibility assistant is a helpful tool but using it alone won’t ensure you’ve checked for all accessibility issues. For example, it might tell you if you do or don’t have headings but it won’t tell you if your heading structure is logical.

Image Management

Edit alt text in the accessibility pane or in the image’s context menu (right click the image) and select View Alt Text.

  • The auto-generated alt text is unlikely to provide context-relevant, meaningful details. You may want to use it as a starting point or write your own.
  • You may receive an “Image or object not inline” error message. This indicates that it is not clear where the image falls in the reading order of the document.
    • To fix this error, select the “In Line with Text” option from the Wrap Text or Layout Menu options.
    • You can also drag and drop the anchor icon that appears when an image is selected to the place the image should be in the reading order.

Color Contrast

The accessibility assistant will display an error if the contrast between text and background is insufficient. Change the font or background color to suit your needs and create high-enough contrast to resolve the error.

Table Management

If you must use a table to communicate data, the table must have a header row indicated. If it does not, the accessibility checker will give an error.

  • The first row of a table is often indicated as the header row by default. You can check this by navigating to Table Design then Table Style Options and determining if the Header Row option is checked.
  • If the first row is indicated as the header, ensure your first row contains headers for the corresponding columns.
  • The accessibility assistant may give a warning for merged or split cells. Keep tables simple and do not merge cells.

Headings

Microsoft’s accessibility assistant may tell you if you don’t have headings in your document, but it won’t tell you if your heading structure is logical, so it needs to be manually reviewed.

  • In Word, you designate a heading level by changing the “style” of the text to one of the built-in text styles.
  • Visual users can manually check the order of headings by activating the navigation pane under the View toolbar.

Google Docs

Google Docs does not have its own internal accessibility checker, so the steps to check accessibility are the same as those listed in the Core Concepts in Word Processing section of this guide with some additional information specific to Google.

Image Management

  • To edit the alt text, select an image and either:
    • Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + y (or Command + Option + y on Mac)
    • Access the context menu (or right-click menu) for the image and choose Alt text
    • Navigate to Image options then Alt text
  • To ensure a screen reader reads the image alt text in the relevant order, navigate to Image options then Text Wrapping, and select Inline with text.

Headings

  • To designate text as a heading in Google Docs, change the style of the text.
    • This is done via the styles dropdown in the main toolbar or by navigating to Format then Paragraph styles.
  • Visual users can manually check the order of headings by showing the document tabs sidebar. You can access the document tabs by either:
    • Selecting the hamburger (or collapsed menu) icon on the left side of the screen
    • Selecting View then Expand tabs & outlines sidebar

Other Tools/Strategies

  • Grackle Docs is an automated tool that can check your document for accessibility, but your organization must use Google Workspace and allow add-ons. See Install Grackle Docs for more information.
  • If you have access to Microsoft Word, you can download the Google Doc as a Word Document, use the built in Accessibility Checker, then re-upload it in Google Docs.

Pages (Apple)

Pages does not have its own internal accessibility checker, so the steps to check accessibility are the same as those listed in the Core Concepts in Word Processing section of this guide with some additional information specific to Pages.

Image Management

  • To edit the alt text, select the image, Format (the paintbrush icon) in the main toolbar, then Image and edit the description.
  • To ensure a screen reader reads the image alt text in the relevant order, in the Format sidebar, select Arrange and change the text wrap to inline with text.

Headings

  • To designate text as a heading in Google Docs, change the paragraph style of the text in the Format sidebar.
  • Visual users can manually check the order of headings by enabling the Table of Contents in the View menu. In the table of contents sidebar, select edit to check which level of heading you’d like displayed in the table of contents.

Navigating to Other Content Types

Use these links to continue (or return) to the other content types in this section: