Document Accessibility

This page contains a series that will help you in ensuring that you create accessible documents. A shortcut to each one can be found below.

Guide Index

 

Adobe PDF Accessibility

Files of the Portable Document Format (PDF), developed by Adobe, can be made accessible but it very much depends on how the original source document is designed. If it is a poster created in a publishing application, scanned or saved from a Word document and locked for copyright reasons and then saved as PDF, it is liable to act in the same way as a picture. This means the text cannot be read by a screen reader or adapted for easier reading.

It is appreciated that the concept of the PDF is to ensure that printed or saved versions of a document remain as the author intends, but there are ways to help the reader who uses assistive technologies or requires different formats of the text and graphics.

Considerations

  • If you save as PDF from a Microsoft Office 2007/2010 document add ‘alt tags’ to pictures or diagrams (menu – format picture) and these will be carried over as will the use of style sheets with headings or templates, page numbers and tables that have headers with the main information e.g. in a calendar the days of the week would go along the top. These features may not work when you print to PDF – see WebAIM and TechDis links below for further instructions. Also be sure to select the accessibility options from the Options screen, in the Save as PDF dialog box.
  • If you use one of the many free converters when working with a previous version of Microsoft Word make sure you follow the instructions above and then check accessibility and offer alternative formats in HTML and RTF. Mac OSX users do not need these tools as it is possible to print to PDF, but accessibility may remain an issue.
  • If you save the PDF from a publishing application or it has been scanned and is in picture format make sure you offer an alternative in HTML or RTF. There is also the possibility of adding alternative text and helping the reader to follow the correct reading order in an original PDF by adding appropriate tags etc if you have Adobe Acrobat Professional – see TechDis link below for further instructions.
  • Adobe Acrobat Professional may not be available to staff but if you are using it, follow the advice in the ‘Accessibility Setup Assistant’ under the ‘Advanced’ menu. This contains guidelines for tags to describe pictures, structure, form fields and reading flow when magnified.  If you need to scan in a document, use the Optical Character Recognition offered in the latest versions – use the Accessibility Check with ‘Create Accessibility Report’ and ‘Include repair hints in the Accessibility Report’ boxes checked – see TechDis link below for further instructions.
  • Test your document by using the Accessibility Quick Check under the Document menu in Adobe Reader and the Read Out Loud feature under the View menu.  If you have made your document available on-line you can also use the URL with Adobe converter to HTML or text.
  • Offer alternative formats such as HTML and RTF or Office documents in their original format if they are available.

 

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Adobe PDF Easy Reading

Files of the Portable Document Format (PDF), developed by Adobe, can be easier to read if they have the correct tags for graphics and a structured layout as well as reading areas that flow in a way that makes sense when they are read with a screen reader or text to speech. Sadly there are times when PDFs are totally inaccessible so a work around is required.

Options (Free)

  • Download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Having loaded a document, use the Adobe Reader Accessibility Quick Check (Document menu) to make sure it can be read aloud or changed in appearance.
  • Use the Accessibility Setup Assistant (Document menu). This allows for some high contrast colour changes, preferences for reading order and zoom etc. Un-check the view in Browser box on the last section of the setup to make maximum use of these accessibility options.
  • More changes required – Preferences (Edit menu) offers more options especially for colour, speed of reading and a choice of voice for Read Out Loud – see below. However, fonts still cannot be changed so if the file menu allows, save the document as text and view in your chosen word processor.
  • The Read Out Loud feature (View menu) of Adobe Reader will read all accessible text. It does not highlight text read in the way TextHelp PDF Aloud helps, but the latest version allows for paragraph reading.
  • Try converting it before scanning if it is not accessible. Google may offer an HTML version if you have used their search engine. Adobe offers a free e-mail and web address conversion service. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html

 

Options (Not free)

  • TextHelp Read and Write Gold has Screenshot Reader for reading small sections of text displayed in picture format – You may need to magnify the text before capturing it.
  • Large areas of inaccessible text to speech – scanning and using Optical Character Recognition may be the only option but the layout tends to change unless you are using a specialist program such as Kurzweil 3000.  TextHelp Read and Write Gold and ClaroRead Plus also offer scanning  – once saved as text or HTML, the document can be read with a screen reader or text to speech program.  See Resources below.

 

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Making Your Presentations Accessible

There are many presentation tools available both on-line, such as Google Docs, and for the PC, such as Microsoft PowerPoint or the freely downloadable OpenOffice Impress. The points to consider mentioned below apply to most presentation applications.

For Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 users – remember to save as ‘PowerPoint 97 – 2003’ to ensure backward compatibility with previous versions of PowerPoint – not everyone will have downloaded the compatibility plug-in for earlier versions of the software.

If you are using an earlier version of Office, you can download the plugin at this address, to read the new file formats: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923505

Considerations

  • Use the slide layout schemes (Format menu > Slide Layout for Office 2003) offered by PowerPoint to ensure all titles and text components are seen in the outline view.
    If you are using PowerPoint 2007/2010, try the Layout dropdown menu in the Home section of the ribbon.
  • Add ‘alt-text’ descriptions to all images – right-click the image and choose Size and Position. For Office 2007/2010 choose the Alt Text tab. Otherwise, use the Web tab.
  • Ensure colour contrast levels between the background and text allow for easy reading. Avoid watermarks and busy patterns and maintain a minimal amount of information on each slide. Try to use sans-serif fonts, and font sizes greater than 30 points.
  • Ensure captioning is included with video and audio files before adding to the presentation, or at the very least add clear descriptions for each change in the video or a transcript of the audio file and descriptions for all Flash files added to the presentation (see below).
  • Ensure graphs and diagrams are described in the notes section, seen below the slide edit pane.
  • Add further textual descriptions to the notes section to enhance understanding and add links to references, where appropriate.
  • Use LecShare or Illinois Accessible Web Publishing Wizard (see below) to convert your PowerPoint file to a web page as an alternative format. If you wish to do this from PowerPoint itself make sure all graphics and other content is available in the outline view and/or the notes section then select File > Save as Web Page. Be sure to save the file as a Web Page and not Single File Web Page.
  • Provide the original PPT and Save as RTF or a text file once you have checked that your outline view contains all the relevant text.

 

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Microsoft Word Accessibility

Good use of Microsoft Word Styles, headings and specific formatting rather than frequent tab characters, spaces and carriage returns to present a document make it much easier for a screen reader user or someone requiring Braille to work with your learning materials.

Text-to-speech and careful use of colour can also help those with specific learning difficulties and colour deficiencies.

All this can also make it easier for you to convert documents into accessible PDFs or Web Pages. If you are using Office 2007 or 2010, ensure your files are backward-compatible with previous versions of Word by saving as Word 97-2003 Document.

Considerations

  • Use Styles.Create headings and subheadings (Heading 1, 2, 3 etc.) using styles, not just bolded, enlarged or centred text. Using headings in a document allows you to create a DAISY digital talking book that is divided into sections; these sections can be navigated by the reader.If you would like to change the appearance of a heading, select Format > Styles and Formatting (Format > Style in Mac). In Office 2007, right-click the Heading style in the ribbon and choose Modify. This will change the appearance of all instances of that heading in your document (e.g. every Heading 1). This can also save lots of time, as formatting needs to be done only once. Make sure your fonts are readable, preferably size 12 or 14.
  • Use picture descriptions known as ‘alternative (alt) text tags’ for all graphics including graphs and clip art. Insert the image – Right Click on the image, select Format Picture, click the Web tab and enter the description in the box labelled Alternative text. In Office 2007, this is on the Alt Text tab. Make sure the text is short but conveys meaning. “My tabby-cat Mittens” is suitable, while “Picture of my tabby-cat Mittens” contains un-necessary text.
  • Do not forget page numbers and create bulleted or numbered lists using the menu button and built in styles not just symbols and spaces.
  • Make sure all tables have headers across the top. If you have one row across the top, you can set this row as a header by right-clicking the four-directional arrow at its top-left > Table Properties > Row tab > Repeat as Header Row at the top of each page. Tables should have a uniform structure with no merged cells as these can upset the reading order for someone using a screen reader. Table row and column titles should be concise and if possible provide a summary of important elements.
  • Ensure good colour contrast within charts and images and for text, if this is important for explaining items. Check this by printing out in black and white.

 

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