Accessible Documents 

PDF or Web Page?

Just like web pages, documents on websites need to be accessible. Generally, it’s easier to make a web page accessible than a document. Also, web pages respond well to mobile viewing, while documents do not. (Have you ever tried to read a PDF on your phone?) So, before putting in the extra work to make a document accessible, consider whether it’s necessary to distribute it electronically. Is this information already on the website and this is a flyer for mail? Would a webpage that has built-in accessible styles be sufficient? If your answer was yes to either of these questions, stop, open your browser, and log into TYPO3 or WordPress. Need to add a page or would like some help formatting it? Please submit a Technology Services Support Request Ticket for the MCC Web Team.

When you must post a document, create it with accessibility in mind: make your documents accessible before you convert them to PDFs. If you plan to remediate current documents, we recommend you review all of them first, to cut down on your remediation work.  

Starting with the Source Document

With a little work, you can make your documents accessible to all of your readers. Whether revising an existing document or creating a new one, the best place to start is at the beginning – with the source document. Here are a few things to know:

• The easiest source document to work with is Microsoft Word. You can identify a heading structure using the Styles, and use Microsoft’s “Check Accessibility” tool to fix most issues before creating the PDF.
  • Note: Microsoft’s default template uses shades of blue that fail contrast requirements. (There isn’t enough color variation between the white background and the blue text.) We recommend using one of MCC’s templates which can be found on the M Drive (M:\Offices\Shared\TYPO3 Training Materials\word-templates-and-instructions).
• When using Microsoft PowerPoint, we recommend using the MCC templates and following the formatting. The designated headings will transfer to Acrobat. Creating your own headings might not be tagged correctly in Acrobat. This will cause problems for those with screen readers. PowerPoint also has a “Check Accessibility” tool.
  • Most PowerPoint presentations contain little text. They “announce” or summarize the topic that the speaker is about to cover/discuss. It might make more sense to write the content of the presentation in Word, using any charts or images from PowerPoint.
• Adobe InDesign can be difficult to make accessible. An InDesign file needs the same characteristics as a Word document: a heading structure, lists that are tagged as such (not a bullet symbol, number, or letter followed by text), and a proper reading order. There is no built-in tool to check your InDesign file for accessibility.
• Microsoft Publisher designs documents for print only. It also does not have Microsoft’s “Check Accessibility” tool. If you would like a Publisher document distributed electronically, we recommend that you create a web-friendly version in Microsoft Word. It might not look the same, but all viewers will be able to access the content.
• Microsoft Visio also does not have the “Check Accessibility” tool. In order to make process flow and organizational charts accessible, you will need to create a text outline version.
  • Example: The MCC Organizational Chart (PDF) begins with graphical Visio charts and follows with a text version.
  • Additional information can be found on the Accessible Organizational and Process Flow Charts page.
• Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Unfortunately, we do not support this tool. It produces hit-or-miss results with regard to accessibility. The Web Team often cannot make the resulting PDF accessible.

Now that you’ve determined the best program in which to create or edit your source document, let’s make it accessible!

• Making Accessible Word Documents
• Checking PDF Accessibility