NCDAE Tips and Tools: Microsoft Word

Created: February 2006

This document is intended as a discussion of the accessibility of Microsoft Word.

We will add to this page based on any comments we receive. We are most interested in ways in which users have increased accessibility through the use of tools or workarounds that enhance Word accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

Description

Microsoft Word is currently the most common word processor on the market. Because it is so common, the .doc format has become the de facto standard for text documents. Word files can also be the starting point for other files, such as PDF and HTML.

This resource was created using Windows Office 2003 and Mac Office X. Some of the features, techniques and commands mentioned may be different in other versions of Microsoft Word.

Product Website

For more information on Word or to open a 30 day trial account, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/word/prodinfo/default.mspx.

Increasing Word Accessibility

There are at least two things you can do to increase the accessibility of Word documents:

Improve the native accessibility of the original Word file.
If you export the Word document to another format, ensure it is accessible as well.

The following sections will address each of the two points.

Improve Native Accessibility

Whether you decide to use the original Word file or save a Word document as a PDF or HTML file, it will be easier to create an accessible document if you keep the following considerations in mind while creating the Word file:

Accessibility challenges within Microsoft Word
Accessibility challenge	Disability type(s)	Solution(s)
Only true headings and lists will convey semantic meaning to a screen reader user.	Blind	Create true headings and subheadings (Heading 1, 2, 3 etc.), not just bolded, enlarged or centered text. If you would like to change the appearance of a heading,select Format > Styles and Formatting (Format > Style in Mac). This will change the appearance of all instances of a certain element (e.g. every Heading 1) Create true bulleted or numbered lists.
Images must include an alternative description (alt text) to be meaningful to a screen reader user.	Blind	Windows users: Right Click the image, select Format Picture (or select Format > Picture from the menu bar), click the Web tab and enter the description in the box labeled Alternative text Mac user: There is no way to create alt text for an image in MS Office for Mac. This must be done in Office for Windows, or you must convert it to HTML and add the alt text manually.
Complex charts or tables may not contain proper headings, captions or summaries.	Blind	If you have one row of headers across the top, you can set this row as a header by selecting the table and choosing Table >Table Properties > Row tab > Repeat as Header Row at the top of each page. If a table has more than one row of headers, or it has a set of column headers, it is not possible to add proper headings.
Poor color contrast, especially in images and charts.	Color blindness, Low vision	Ensure sufficient color contrast in text, charts and images. One way to verify this is to print out the document on a Black and white printer. Ensure sufficient contrast in charts and images.
Large file size may make it difficult to download a file.	All users	Reduce file size by importing correctly sized images instead of resizing them in Word. In Windows: Compress a resized picture by selecting the image and choosing Format > Picture > the Compress button
Word must be installed on the user's computer in order for the presentation to be viewed.	All users	Include a link to Word Viewer. Create an HTML equivalent.
Documents with forms that can be filled in on the screen (checkboxes, text fields etc.) may not be accessible to screen reader users and may not export correctly to other formats.	Blindness, all users	Make sure that form elements have text descriptions. Verify that the form can be completed using common screen readers.
A piece of clip art or a text box may be read out of order by a screen reader. That is, the reading order and the visual order may be different.	Blind	Show formatting marks by selecting the toolbar button with the ¶ symbol. This should allow you to see special characters showing the layout of the page. With these formatting marks enabled, select an image or other object. An anchor should appear, showing you where the object appears in the reading order. If the anchor does not appear in the proper place, you can move it with your mouse. If you cannot find the ¶ button on your toolbar you can also enable this feature through the menu. In Windows, Select Tools > Options the View tab or section. Under the Formatting Marks section, select the checkbox labeled All. On Mac select Word > Preferences > View. Under the Non printing characters section select the checkbox labeled All. Verify the reading order using a screen reader.
A document may be confusing if it is not written in simple language or divided into meaningful sections.	Cognitive, all users	Use the simplest language and structure appropriate for the content Run your word document through a free readability tool and make adjustments if necessary Increase white space between sections Set important words apart to improve comprehension Chunk text into meaningful sections; include headings and sub-headings for sections.

Export Word Documents to Other Formats

Many times, Microsoft Word is used to create a file that will eventually exist in another format. If the Word document has been created following the guidelines addressed in the previous section, it may be possible to export a Word document in a number of formats and still retain many or all of the accessibility features.

Although a Word document may be saved as several different types of files, there are three very common formats that will be addressed in this section:

RTF (Rich Text Format).
PDF (Portable Document Format).
HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language).

Note: Any time you convert a file to another format, it is recommended that you ensure the accessibility features, such as alt text for images and headers for tables, remain intact.

RTF

Although Microsoft Word's .doc format can be opened by many programs, it is not a guarantee that the original look and layout will be preserved. The Rich Text Format, or RTF, is a format that can be opened and edited in almost all Word processing programs.

To save a document in Rich Text format, select File > Save As from the main menu. In the Save As Dialog box choose Rich Text Format.

PDF

A PDF (Portable Document Format) file is made accessible to a screen reader user through a series of tags. Although there are countless programs that can be used to export a Word document to PDF format, there is only a very small number of programs that can save Word documents as properly tagged PDF files. Of these, Adobe Acrobat is the most reliable. If you use another program to save a Word document as a PDF file, do not be surprised if the exported PDF is not accessible to screen reader users.

It is not always possible to create a perfectly tagged PDF using only Word. A document with complex tables or forms will probably need to have the tagging process completed in Acrobat. For more information on PDF accessibility, visit http://www.webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/.

In summary, it is possible to convert a Word document into a properly tagged PDF if you can verify the following.

The Word document has been appropriately tagged.
The document is exported to PDF using a program that creates tagged PDF, probably a recent version of Adobe Acrobat.
The PDF is correctly tagged.

HTML

Many of the pages on the web today were created, at least in part, in Microsoft Word. Although an HTML file created in Word may be accessible (that is, all the information can be accessed by a person with a disability), the accessibility can be improved by making sure the file is as small and clutter-free as possible. HTML files created in Word have a reputation for being very large, sometimes as much as ten times the size of a normal HTML file containing the same information. This can be a disadvantage if someone is using a dial-up connection. This large file size is due to an attempt to make the HTML file look as close to the original Word document as possible. A layout intended for print can sometimes be confusing when viewed in a browser, causing a potential problem to people with cognitive disabilities.

There are a few things you can do to increase the accessibility of an HTML document created in Word:

Make the file as compact as possible. Remove any unnecessary styles, line breaks, etc.
When you save the file as HTML, use the cleanest format possible..

In Windows: To save a document as a filtered web page, select File > Save As from the main menu. In the Save As Dialog box choose Web Page, Filtered. A filtered web page is a leaner version of a Word HTML file. It looks very similar to the default web page created by Word, but it is much smaller
In Mac: Although you cannot save a document as a filtered web page, you can still reduce the size of the HTML file by choosing File > Save As > choose Web Page from the Format menu and choose Save only display information into HTML.

Remove unnecessary markup. Some programs, like Dreamweaver or HTML Tidy, may help you do this. If you are familiar with HTML, you can also do it yourself.
Make sure the HTML file is accessible. You will probably want to double check data tables and form elements, since these are not always saved correctly.

Additional resources

WebAIM- Microsoft Word Accessibility Techniques: http://www.webaim.org/techniques/word/
Word product information: http://www.microsoft.com/office/word/prodinfo/default.mspx
Microsoft Word viewer, for those who do not have Microsoft Word installed on their computer: http://www.microsoft.com/office/000/viewers.asp

Links to VPAT

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a vendor-generated table that describes to what extent a product complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. It follows a template created by The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).
While there is not a VPAT for Microsoft Word specifically, there is a VPAT for the entire line of Office products (Word, Excel, FrontPage etc.). VPATs for Office X for Mac, 2000, 2001 for Mac, XP, 2003 and 2004 for Mac are available at http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/section508.mspx#ECAA.

Comments

The National Center on Disability and Access to Education invites comments on this fact sheet. We would like to add accessibility workarounds that others have found useful, as well as add links to important resources. Please contact the author with questions, comments or suggestions.

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