Accessible Documents
Accessible Documents
One of the most useful accessibility practices in this guide has nothing to do with using LibGuides. Instead, it relates to the practice of creating accessible documents in programs such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, and Google Docs. "Applying these strategies not only enables students who rely on assistive technology to access your materials without additional supports, it also enhances the usability for everyone." [1]
In this guide, we will focus primarily on using built-in style options to create accessible documents, but many of the other principles that are discussed in the other tabs are applicable here (i.e., text and background contrast, font size, alternative text, etc.). For more succinct information about these principles, please review OIT's document How to Design Accessible Word Documents.
Since software is continuously being updated and may look a bit different depending upon which version you access, this guide will be as generically-specific as possible - with the hopes that some titles will not change.
Using Styles in Word Documents
On the Home ribbon in Word, you should notice a Styles section, which may or may not be marked. Look for a row of fonts with terms like Heading 1, Heading 2, or Normal underneath.
Just as discussed in the Using Header Tags section of the Content Markup tab, Word's Style section allows you to create invisible tags that allow easy navigation throughout your document. If these styles are used properly, end-users can open the Navigation Pane (View>Navigation Pane) for a clickable outline. Additionally, users using a screen reader will be able to logically navigate the document, skipping through areas that are not of use or that have already been reviewed.
Example:
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Using Styles in Google Docs
Using Styles in Google Docs is very similar to Word; however, accessing the Style options are a bit different. There are two general ways to access Styles. First, on the main ribbon, look for the drop-down marked Normal text. Selecting this drop-down will open a list of various available styles. Second, click the Format option at the top of the page. Within this section, you will find a larger list of available styles under the heading Paragraph styles.
To access the Navigation Pane, click View > Show document outline.
Using Bookmarks in Adobe Acrobat
If you are working on a PDF, you may need to operate in Adobe Acrobat rather than Word or Docs. Luckily, Acrobat also has a feature that allows you to create items similar to headings. In this instance, you will add a Bookmark to a page to create easy navigation.
To add a bookmark, you will need to first verify that the Navigation Pane is visible. To do this, click View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Bookmarks. Once the Navigation pane is open, make certain you are in Bookmarks by clicking the Bookmark icon, which looks like a rectangle with a triangle shape removed from the bottom. You should also notice the Add Bookmark icon, which is the same icon with a plus sign.
In Acrobat, these navigational items are handled a bit differently. Instead of using text as a header, Acrobat adds a bookmark to a page, or a place on a page. To add a bookmark, navigate to the top of the page you'd like to add it, and click the Add Bookmark icon. Once added, you can also name the bookmark. You can also drag the bookmark to embed it within another bookmark or move it to its own section.
To a certain degree, you can also mark a specific place on a page as a bookmark. To do this, scroll the page until the area you'd like to bookmark is at the very top of the page. Then, click the Add Bookmark icon. This may take a bit of adjusting to get exactly right. Also, this option doesn't work very well if the area is at the bottom of the final page in your document.
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