{"id":203,"date":"2020-08-10T23:43:16","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T06:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/?p=203"},"modified":"2020-08-10T23:43:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T06:43:19","slug":"ms-word-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/31-days-to-a11y\/ms-word-accessibility\/","title":{"rendered":"MS Word Accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As the most popular word processing program out there, it seems like a huge misstep to not address the basic best practices for creating accessible documents in MS Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognizing how much power is in MS Word, I am only going to address some of the big items with most impact on accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is so much that MS Word can do, and so much that can be done to enhance accessibility in MS Word, that it deserves a week of its own posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For today, I want to show you how to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Style text with headings and make them look the way you want them to look,<\/li><li>Add an alternate text description to an image,<\/li><li>Run the MS Word Accessibility Checker.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s get busy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heading Styles in MS Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In MS Word there is a \u201cStyles\u201d panel on the home tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"603\" height=\"184\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles.png\" alt=\"MS Word styles pane\" class=\"wp-image-121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles.png 603w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles-300x92.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word Style Pane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When you have your cursor in a line of text and you click on one of the styles, it applies that style to your line of text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pretty easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I often hear people complain that they don\u2019t like the way the default styles appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is at this moment that I realize this individual doesn\u2019t know about the Style Manager in MS Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you press ALT + CONTROL + SHIFT + S you will open the Styles Manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles-manager.png\" alt=\"MS Word Styles Manager\" class=\"wp-image-204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles-manager.png 200w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/styles-manager-120x300.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word Styles Manager.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the far right of each style is a pull-down menu toggle. In this menu is an option to \u201cModify Style\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Modify Style window open, you can adjust the font, size, color, and a variety of formatting details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"526\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/modifystyle-window.png\" alt=\"MS Word Modify Styles window\" class=\"wp-image-205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/modifystyle-window.png 526w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/modifystyle-window-293x300.png 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word Modify Styles window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this way you can adjust all the Heading styles to look however you like them to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now the Heading styles can make your document accessible while not making your document unpleasing to the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternate Text in MS Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you insert an image in MS Word, it is easy to associate an alternate text description for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right-click on the image, and select \u201cEdit Alt Text&#8230;\u201d from the menu that appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"162\" height=\"474\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-rightclick-menu.png\" alt=\"MS Word Edit Alt Text option from the right-click menu.\" class=\"wp-image-206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-rightclick-menu.png 162w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-rightclick-menu-103x300.png 103w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word Edit Alt Text option from the right-click menu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When the Alt Text pane appears, erase the automatically generated alt text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"260\" height=\"283\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/alttext-office365.png\" alt=\"MS Word Alt Text Editing window.\" class=\"wp-image-207\"\/><figcaption>MS Word Alt Text Editing window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Provide a valid description of your image that will help someone understand what the image is communicating if they are unable to see the image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MS Word Accessibility Checker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>MS Word now includes an accessibility checker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can run an accessibility test on your document and have MS Word help you fix issues that might cause problems for some readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"710\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen-1024x710.png\" alt=\"MS word Info screen with menu options highlighted to correspond with instruction steps for starting an accessibility check.\n\" class=\"wp-image-208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen-1024x710.png 1024w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen-768x532.png 768w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen-1536x1064.png 1536w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AccessCheckerInfoScreen.png 1599w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word Info Screen with Accessibility Check  initiating path highlighted.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To start an accessibility check:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Go to the \u201cFile\u201d menu and click on \u201cInfo\u201d.<\/li><li>From the Info screen, click on \u201cInspect Document\u201d.<\/li><li>Next, click \u201cCheck Accessibility\u201d.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>MS Word will process your document and alert you to any content that requires additional attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"304\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/accessibility-checker-results.png\" alt=\"MS Word accessibility checker errors.\" class=\"wp-image-209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/accessibility-checker-results.png 304w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/accessibility-checker-results-130x300.png 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><figcaption>MS Word accessibility checker errors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After you address any accessibility issues that were found, run the Accessibility Checker again. When you have addressed all the accessibility issues the Accessibility Checker is capable of finding, your results will tell you there were no accessibility issues discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"248\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a11ycheckerGOODRESULTS.png\" alt=\"MS Word Accessibility Checker reporting No Accessibility issues were found.\" class=\"wp-image-210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a11ycheckerGOODRESULTS.png 248w, https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a11ycheckerGOODRESULTS-129x300.png 129w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><figcaption>Accessibility Checker with good results.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NOTE: While this is comforting, and a good start, you can not trust the Accessibility Checker to find all the accessibility issues in your document!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Automated accessibility testing can only find less than 40% of the issues that cause accessibility issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you will have to continue to be aware and practice good authoring practices to make sure you are creating documents that are as accessible as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But wait, there&#8217;s more!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We will be spending more time in MS Word in the coming weeks and looking more closely at some of the accessibility capabilities it has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, consider your own style and how you might like to make your Heading styles appear, and take comfort that there is an accessibility checker in MS Word that has your back and will help keep you on the right track for creating accessible documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incorporate these simple things into your MS Word workflow, and you will be creating more accessible documents as a normal part of your day to day routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words you will be adding value and increasing the effectiveness of your learning materials by ensuring they can be accessed and used by ALL your students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks for being that person, and thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the most popular word processing program out there, it seems like a huge misstep to not address the basic best practices for creating accessible documents in MS Word. Recognizing how much power is in MS Word, I am only going to address some of the big items with most impact on accessibility. There is &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/31-days-to-a11y\/ms-word-accessibility\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MS Word Accessibility&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[9,37,18],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-31-days-to-a11y","tag-a11y","tag-ms-word","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idwerkz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}