48 PDFs, Word Docs, and Excel Files

This section describes guidelines for creating accessible content in PDFs, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets. Many of the same accessibility techniques and principles that apply to authoring in HTML also apply to creating document based OERs.

PDFs

Converting or publishing open resources as PDF documents can create accessibility barriers, particularly for learners with visual impairments. Accessibility issues are very common in PDF files that were scanned from printed sources or exported from a non-PDF document format. Scanned documents are simply images of text. To make scanned documents accessible, you must perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on these documents, and proofread the resulting text for accuracy before embedding it within the PDF file. You must also add semantic structure and other metadata (headings, links, alternative content for images, and so on) to the embedded text.

When you export documents to PDF from other formats, it is important to ensure that the source document contains all the required semantic structure and metadata before exporting. Unfortunately, some applications do not include this information when exporting and require the author to add or “tag” the document manually using PDF editing software. You should carefully consider whether exporting to PDF is necessary at all.

Best Practices for Authoring Accessible PDF Documents

• Explicitly define the language of the document so that screen readers know what language they should use to parse the document.
• Explicitly set the document title. When you export a file to PDF format, the document title usually defaults to the file name, not a human readable title.
• Verify that all images have alternative content defined or are marked as decorative only.
• Verify that the PDF file is “tagged”. Make sure the semantic structure from the source document has been correctly imported to the PDF file.
• Verify that a logical reading order is defined. This is especially important for documents that have atypical page layouts or structure.
• If your document includes tables, verify that table headers for rows and columns are properly defined.

Accessible PDF Resources

WebAIM’s PDF Accessibility site provides a detailed and illustrated guide on creating accessible PDFs.
The National Center of Disability and Access to Education has a collection of one-page “cheat sheets” on accessible document authoring.
Microsoft provides detailed guidance on generating accessible PDFs from Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Adobe provides documentation on how to create and verify PDF accessibility.

Word Documents

Many of the same accessibility techniques and principles that apply to authoring one content also apply to creating Word documents. Keep formatting simple. Use headings, paragraphs, lists, images, and captions. Use tables for tabular data. Do not add unnecessary indents, rules, columns, blank lines, or typographic variation. Use standardized styles for formatting your text, such as Normal, Heading 1, and Heading 2, rather than manually formatting text using text styles and indents. Formatting text for its semantic meaning and not for its visual appearance allows users of assistive technology to consume and navigate documents effectively and efficiently.

Additional best practices include:

• Images must have descriptive text associated with them.
• Documents should be well structured.
• Hyperlinks should be meaningful and describe the destination.
• Tables should include properly defined column and row headers.
• Color combinations should be high contrast.
• Verify the accessibility of your document using Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker.

Excel Spreadsheets

Many of the same accessibility techniques and principles that apply to authoring data tables in HTML also apply to creating Excel spreadsheets. Microsoft has a guide to creating accessible Excel workbooks.

• Images must have descriptive text associated with them.
• Column and row headings should be programmatically identified.
• Hyperlinks in spreadsheets should be meaningful and describe the destination.
• Use a unique and informative title for each worksheet tab.
• Do not use blank cells for formatting.
• Color combinations should be high contrast.
• Verify the accessibility of your workbook using Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker.

Additional Microsoft Accessibility Resources

• Microsoft guide to creating accessible Word documents.
• Microsoft tool that allows you to check Word documents for accessibility issues.
• Microsoft guide to creating accessible PowerPoint presentations.
• Microsoft guide to creating accessible Excel workbooks.
• Microsoft tool that allows you to check Excel workbooks for accessibility issues.
• Microsoft guide to creating accessible PowerPoint presentations.
• WebAIM’s guide to PowerPoint accessibility.