We want all textbooks and other educational materials created to be usable by all our students. Legally, this means the materials should be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. ADA and Section 508 compliance allow more students to access open educational resources and should be prioritized during formatting. The following pages describe key aspects of compliance applied to several file types.

Often, OER specialists will initially format in Word and then convert the file to a PDF. While Word does have an accessibility checker, the PDF accessibility checker is often used as the final test of a document’s accessibility.

Documents created in Microsoft Word and Google docs can be quite accessible, but there are some tips that OER authors should use to ensure that the documents they create will not only be accessible in Word but also be accessible when transformed into other formats (Web pages, PDF documents, braille documents). To easily build accessible documents in Word (and other word-processing tools like Google docs and Open Office), the writer will need to become familiar with the editing toolbars. Using the proper styles "tags" the document with hidden code that makes the document understandable to screen reader software.

The basic tips to keep in mind include the following:

• Use styles to denote headings.
• Use list styles to create numbered and bulleted lists.
• Provide alternative text for all images.
• Ensure headers within tables are tagged.
• Ensure adequate color contrast between all text and the background.
• Use tabs, not spaces to move words.

Tutorials

While word processing software used to vary dramatically, Word for Windows, Word for the Mac, and Google docs actually function very similarly! Here are a few terrific videos that will help the writer get a bird's eye view of making documents accessible, and for Word users, a terrific online resource that should be bookmarked for future use:

• Microsoft Office Support: Make Word documents accessible
• Google Support: Make documents accessible

To better understand the guidelines for designing electronic documents, please watch the following video presented by the OEI as an introduction to basic accessibility in MS Word:

Basic Accessibility in MS Word

Headings within a document--whether Word, Google Doc, PowerPoint, or PDF--should be used to separate content into "chunks" by identifying the main ideas or concepts of the page. Headings also identify a change in the flow of information on the page and allow individuals to visually scan the document for the desired information.

From an accessibility perspective, properly formatted headings are valuable as they provide individuals using screen readers with a simple method to navigate within a document. Rather than reading line-by-line through a document or web page, the use of headings allows individuals to move through the information based on heading topic.

To help students get the most from headings, follow these three rules:

1. Ensure the headings are logical and descriptive.
   • There should only be one Level 1 Heading.
   • Use Level 2 Headings as the main topics. (A page may only require h2s.)
   • Use Level 3 for subtopics.
2. Use Styles to denote headings.
3. Maintain the semantic structure of the headings (don't skip levels).

   ---

   ---

• Windows
• Mac
• Google Docs

Windows

Windows

To create headings in Word 2016 for Windows:

1. Highlight the text that will be the heading (or place the cursor within the text).
2. In the Home tab, select the appropriate heading style from the Styles.

---

Additional Windows Resources

• WebAim: Microsoft Word for Windows 2016 Headings
• Microsoft Support: Adding a Heading

Mac

Mac

To create headings in Word 2016 for the Mac:

1. Highlight the text that will be the heading (or place the cursor within the text)
2. In the Home tab, select the appropriate heading style from the Styles.  

If the window is small, the style may be hidden. Select Styles, and a drop down menu will appear. 

---

Additional Mac Resources

• Microsoft Support: Add a heading in Word 2016 for Mac
• WebAim: Word 2016 for Mac, Creating and Editing Headings

Google Docs

Google Docs

To create headings in Google Docs:

1. Highlight the text that will be the heading (or place the cursor within the text)
2. From the menu bar, select the Styles drop-down menu, and then select the appropriate heading level.

Styles can also be accessed from the Format menu. 

---

Additional Google Resources

• Google support: Make documents accessible
• Google support: Add a title, heading or table of contents to a document

Lists can help transform dense sentences or paragraphs by making the material more visually accessible. Lists are terrific ways to:

• present related ideas to students;
• illustrate items in a group;
• present pieces of a series; or
• outline steps in a process. 

They also capitalize on white space, which can help make the content more visually appealing.

To make a list accessible, however, please ensure to use the list style. Simply adding sequential numbers or bullet icons before each line of text or item in the list does not make the list accessible. 

• Windows
• Mac
• Google

While hyperlinks are a helpful and simple way to quickly direct students to web-based resources, they can pose accessibility challenges when the purpose and destination of the links are unclear to screen reader users. Screen readers will identify all the links in the document and present them  in an alphabetical list for easy navigation, but the links need to be descriptive. To make the links accessible to every student, follow these rules:

• Identify the purpose or function of the hyperlink as part of the hyperlink name.
• Be as descriptive as possible without being overly long--the user will have to listen to the whole link before moving to the next link on the list.
• Integrate the link into a sentence--sighted users will see the link, and screen readers will identify the link.

There are also a few things to avoid. Avoid using vague or repeated text for hyperlinks, such as Click Here, Read more, or Link. In addition, in keeping with the idea of being descriptive, links should not be URLs. Not only are most URLs not descriptive, they are usually very long.

Additional Hyperlinks Resources

• Links and HyperText
• Links: Usability & Web Accessibility

• Windows
• Mac
• Google

Including Images with Alt Text

To ensure a document is accessible, it's important to add a text description to images. This allows individuals who are visually impaired or blind using screen-reader software to "hear" the description of the image. Additionally, for individuals who are using a text-only Web browser or other mobile device, the text description still provides access to the information when the images are not displayed.

There are scenarios where descriptive alt text is not required--sometimes an image is just there for visual appeal. It's purely decorative. In this case, alt text is not necessary, as the image has no value in helping a student using assistive technology to understand the information being presented. Many images, however, have a pedagogical purpose, and, therefore, require a description explaining the information the image conveys. 

When providing alternative text for images, the CCC High Tech Center Training Unit offers the following guidelines:

• Keep the alternative text brief (10 words or less), but be descriptive.
• If there is text content in the image, include the exact text in the alternate text box.
• Do not use the word "image" to begin the description - instead identify the type of image being used if it is relevant to the image content (e.g., photograph, painting, screenshot).
• If the image is very detailed and cannot be summarized in a few sentences, consider placing additional information about the image into the page text preceding or following the image.

Tables

To ensure students can navigate through a table with ease, all tables should be formatted for optimal use with a screen reader, including properly denoting the table header row. Remember, the header row allows the screen reader to keep track of where it is within the table, providing valuable information that allows visually impaired students to better understand the table. To maximize the clarity of the table, it's important to avoid nested tables (a table within a table), split and merged cells, and empty cells.

Accessible PDFs

The path to creating accessible documents is full of potholes. One particular issue is the software students will need to open a file--if they are provided with a Word document, they will need Word to read it. In addition, if their operating system or version of Word is not the same as the document creator's, there is no guarantee the document will look the same to them as it did to the person who created the file.

Converting Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, and Google Slides documents (Excel and Google Sheets, too) to a PDF eliminates the software issue. With PDFs, students can download the free Adobe ReaderLinks to an external site., allowing universal access to the course material, and, the document will look exactly the same as when it was designed. 

There is, however, a caveat:

The PDF is only as accessible as the original document.

In other words, an accessible PDF is built from an accessible Office or Google document. If the original file has an accessibility issue, that issue will be passed on in the PDF format. Additionally, sometimes new accessibility issues occur as the file is being rendering into the PDF format, so even if the Word document was 100% accessible, the PDF version may not be!

It's important to always check a PDF for accessibility and, if needed, remediate the accessibility issues in Adobe Acrobat ProLinks to an external site..

The following tabs on this page will provide guidance on converting Office for Windows files into PDFs, converting Office for the Mac, and converting Google docs. In the next section we'll cover using Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Retrofitting PDFs

For many years, there was an unfortunate myth floating around that the PDF format magically made documents accessible. Now, however, it's time to confront the skeletons in the closet, and check those old PDFs. 

Never assume a PDF, even one that looks very professional, is accessible.

Checking PDFs

The best way to check a PDF is with Adobe Acrobat Pro. If using PDFs extensively, investing in this software could prove invaluable to a campus with OER specialists. Adobe Acrobat has a host of tools, including an Accessibility Checker. To run an accessibility report, open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro:

1. Select the Accessibility tool.
2. Select Full Report from the menu bar.
3. Select Start Checking.

The accessibility report will open in the left column. Follow the feedback to correct any errors. 

Retrofitting

The approach to retrofitting PDFs will depend on whether the OER specialist owns the original source file that was converted to PDF. If they have the original file, that's where they'll start:

1. Ditch the inaccessible PDF.
2. Retrofit the original source file and format accordingly.
3. If choosing to retrofit the original source file, after fixing any accessibility issues, convert the file to PDF.

If this is not the original source file, Adobe Acrobat Pro will be needed to make the file accessible:

1. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. Run the Accessibility Check.
3. Follow the tips generated by Adobe to fix any issues.

Using Adobe requires practice. They have some terrific web-based tutorials, included in the additional resources. 

Additional Resources

• PDF Accessibility OverviewLinks to an external site.
• Using the Acrobat Pro DC Accessibility CheckerLinks to an external site.
• Acrobat Pro DC Accessibility Repair WorkflowLinks to an external site.
• Acrobat Pro Touch Up Reading Order ToolLinks to an external site.