{"id":1426,"date":"2021-11-15T22:08:04","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T22:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/?page_id=1426"},"modified":"2025-05-22T18:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T18:53:01","slug":"accessible-word-documents","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible Word Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Creating Accessible Word Documents<\/h1>\n<p>We all have an obligation to ensure that the information can be accessed by people of all abilities. Simple changes in how you create Word documents can make a big difference!<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;background:none;line-height:18px;padding:15px;margin-bottom:22px;border:2px solid #e9916e;\">\n<p><strong>Important:<\/strong> Documents need to be checked for accessibility\u00a0<em><strong>every time<\/strong><\/em> you make a change. Whether you add an image or remove some text, you will need to run the <a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessibility-checking-in-word\/\">Accessibility Checker in Word<\/a> followed by running the Accessibility Report in Adobe Acrobat. Checking for accessibility is an ongoing process!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n\t<li>Use MCC templates with accessible styles and colors (M:\\MCC\\Information\\PDF Remediation\\Web Team\\Word Templates).\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Refer to our <a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/word-templates\/\">instructions on how to install and use custom templates<\/a> for additional information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li>Give your Word document a title in the document properties. It should succinctly describe the purpose of the document and will be the first thing assistive technology will recognize and read after opening a document.\n\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:lower-alpha;\">\n\t<li>Click on <strong>File &gt; Info<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\t<li>Locate the <strong>Properties<\/strong> section.\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>If Properties is not visible, click on the arrows to expand the pull-down menu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li>Add a <strong>Title.<\/strong><br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/files\/2022\/07\/accessible-word-document-title.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1663\" title=\"Opens image in new window\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/files\/2022\/07\/accessible-word-document-title-300x97.jpg\" alt=\"Document Info window in Microsoft Word with a green rectangle around the Title field.\" width=\"600\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/files\/2022\/07\/accessible-word-document-title-300x97.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/files\/2022\/07\/accessible-word-document-title-768x247.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/files\/2022\/07\/accessible-word-document-title.jpg 1019w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\t<li><a id=\"color\"><\/a>For proper contrast and readability, use black text on a white background. Refer to our page on <a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"http:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/text-color\/\">text color<\/a> for additional information.\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Stick with the brand colors provided in the templates (<span style=\"font-weight:bold;color:#000000;\">black<\/span> and <span style=\"font-weight:bold;color:#996600;\">gold<\/span>).<\/li>\n\t<li>Many colors, such as <span style=\"font-weight:bold;color:#ff0000;\">red<\/span>, are difficult to read for those with color blindness or low vision.<\/li>\n\t<li><strong>Note:<\/strong> Tools such as screen readers ignore changes in color. Therefore, color alone can&#8217;t be used to let a person know that something is important or how the color relates to other content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li>Use basic, simple fonts. We recommend <span style=\"font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:18px;\">Times New Roman<\/span> or <span style=\"font-family:Arial;\">Arial<\/span>.\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Fancy fonts that are curly or slanted can be difficult to read, especially for those with dyslexia.<\/li>\n\t<li>Also, avoid cursive fonts because many students can\u2019t read cursive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li>Do not use ALL CAPS. Many people find all capital letters difficult to read. Use <strong>strong<\/strong>, <em>emphasis<\/em>, or <strong><em>strong emphasis<\/em><\/strong> to draw attention.\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Limit the use of <strong>strong<\/strong>, <em>emphasis<\/em>, or <strong><em>strong emphasis<\/em><\/strong> to a few words or a brief sentence. Too much is difficult to read and loses its importance.<\/li>\n\t<li><strong><em>If everything is important<\/em><\/strong>, then nothing is important.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li><u>Underlined text<\/u> is reserved for hyperlinks. Again, use <strong>strong<\/strong>, <em>emphasis<\/em>, or <strong><em>strong emphasis<\/em><\/strong> to draw attention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are just a few of the simple changes you can make that will greatly improve the accessibility of your documents. The pages below include details on how to incorporate additional improvements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n\t<li><a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/headings-lists-and-spacing\/\">Proper heading structure<\/a> (This opens up additional benefits with Microsoft tools!)<\/li>\n\t<li><a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/headings-lists-and-spacing\/#lists\">Bulleted and ordered lists<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/headings-lists-and-spacing\/#spacing\">Spacing, Tabbing, and Page Breaks<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessible-word-documents\/meaningful-hyperlink-and-alt-text\/\">Hyperlink and alternate image text<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional tips can be found in Microsoft&#8217;s guidelines, &#8220;<a title=\"Opens external link in new window\" href=\"https:\/\/support.office.com\/en-ie\/article\/make-your-word-documents-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-d9bf3683-87ac-47ea-b91a-78dcacb3c66d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Important:<\/strong> When done editing your document, don&#8217;t forget to run <a title=\"Opens internal link in current window\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/accessibility\/create-accessible-content\/create-accessible-content-documents\/accessibility-checking-in-word\/\">Microsoft&#8217;s Accessibility Checker<\/a>! While this won&#8217;t catch everything, it will make fixing the resulting PDF a lot faster and easier.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creating Accessible Word Documents We all have an obligation to ensure that the information can be accessed by people of all abilities. Simple changes in how you create Word documents can make a big difference! Important: Documents need to be checked for accessibility\u00a0every time you make a change. Whether you add an image or remove [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":665,"featured_media":0,"parent":414,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1426","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1426"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2165,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1426\/revisions\/2165"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/web-standards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}