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Introduction to web accessibility
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Microsoft Word
Article Contents
Introduction
Microsoft Word is currently the most common word processor on the market. Because it is so common, the .doc format has become the de facto format for text documents. Word files can also be used to create other file formats, such as PDF and HTML. There are several things that can be done to make content created in Word more accessible.
Create Structured Documents
Many people do not use true styles in Word. For example, when creating a heading, they simply change the font, enlarge the font size, make it bold, etc. If this is done, the document has no real structure that can be discerned by a screen reader. In Word, the correct way to provide structure is to use Word styles.
Word 2000-2003
The drop-down styles list allows you to create true headings, as well as apply any previously-created custom style.
There are a couple of advantages of having true structure in Word documents. First, when the file is exported to HTML, it will retain the structure, making it accessible to screen readers. Second, the structure will also be retained when exported to PDF. In both cases, the added structure increases the readability of the document for people using screen readers.
Word 2007
Word 2007 does a good job of encouraging the use of proper styles. About half of the default toolbar is devoted to styles. This is undoubtedly the single greatest accessibility improvement in Word 2007.
Word 2004 for Mac
Styles on Word for Mac are available in the Formatting palette. The Styles dropdown list is similar to the list found in Word 2000-2003 for Windows.
Provide Alternative Text for Images
Before exporting to HTML or PDF, alternative text must be added for all images.
Note
Embedded charts, tables, or other complex elements should be given a text description within the context of the document itself.
Word 2000-2003
To provide alternative text, on the image, then select .
A dialog box will appear. Select the tab and then add the appropriate alternative text.
Word 2007
Adding alt text to images has become much less intuitive in Word 2007. To add alternative text, on the picture and select .
A dialog box will appear. Select the tab. You will notice that the image filename is entered into the field by default. The filename is never appropriate alternative text. This functionality will almost certainly result in misuse of the alt attribute.
Replace the filename with appropriate alternative text. For this image, it would be something like "WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind".
Word 2004 for Mac
Important
There is no way to add alt text to images in Word 2004 for Mac.
Data Tables and Accessibility Issues
There is no way to assign the table header or <th> element to a table cell within Word. While you can indicate that a row should "Repeat as header on the top of each page" in the Table Properties menu, this does not create the appropriate table headers. Instead, the cells will all be contained in a <thead> element. The <thead>, <tfoot>, and <tbody> are used to divide the tables into the three main parts of a data table. While the inclusion of the <thead> element poses no problems, it does not replace the need for the <th> element.
Convert Word to HTML
Save the File as (Filtered) HTML
When saving a Word document as HTML, the structure and alt text will be retained in the final document. To save as HTML, select . In Word 2007, select the Word logo in the upper right corner and then select .
In Office XP or later, there are two options for exporting to HTML:
- Save as Web Page
- Save as Web Page, Filtered
The advantage of the "Web Page" option is that the page will look almost exactly like the printed document. The advantage of the "Web Page, Filtered" option is that the underlying code will be much cleaner, the file size is significantly smaller, and most, if not all, of the look and feel of the original document is retained.
In terms of accessibility, both options are acceptable, as long as the source file was created with structure and with alternative text for images, the document does not contain any data tables, and other accessibility principles are applied. Because of the reduced amounts of Internet Explorer-specific markup, Filtered web pages are more likely to be supported and compatible in various web browsers.
"Paste Special" into Dreamweaver
If you are using Dreamweaver to author your web content, you can import Word content using the Paste Special option. Select all the content in your Word Document and Copy it to the clipboard. Then open and empty page in Dreamweaver and and select , or .
A dialog box will appear with four options:
- Text only
- Text with structure (paragraphs, lists, tables, etc.)
- Text with structure plus basic formatting (bold, italic)
- Text with structure plus full formatting (bold, italic, styles).
There are also options to Retain line breaks (if there are any) and Clean up Word paragraph spacing. Using any of the results will provide cleaner HTML than if you save as HTML in Word. Text with structure or Text with structure plus basic formatting is usually the best option.
Virtual508.com Accessible Web Publishing Wizard
A Word Document can also be converted to HTML with the Virtual508.com Accessible Web Publishing Wizard - external link for Microsoft Office. It is only available for the Windows operating system and requires the .NET framework. The Wizard is not a free tool, but there is a demonstration version available that allows conversion of a limited number of pages or slides. The Office conversion tool is probably better suited for PowerPoint presentations. There is a Best Practices for Microsoft Word - external link reference manual that will inform you how to mark up the document so that the Word to HTML conversion process will be smoother.
Alternatives to Word
Microsoft Word is a powerful word processing tool, but the majority of Word users use a small percentage of the available features. If you are using Word to create basic documents, there are several alternatives to Word, many of which will create cleaner HTML from the start.
OpenOffice.org Writer
OpenOffice.org - external link is a free suite of office tools similar to Microsoft Office. Writer is the equivalent of Word. Its interface is not as refined and it does not have all the options or macro support that Word has, but it is a viable alternative. For more information read our tutorial on OpenOffice.org Writer.
Google Docs
Google Docs - external link is quickly becoming a common alternative to Microsoft Word because it excels in several areas: collaboration between multiple authors, automatic backups and version tracking, and the ability to export to much cleaner HTML. It is lacking in many features , such as macro support, proofing tools, and a good Find and Replace feature. A free Google account is required to create documents using Google Docs.
A web authoring tool
Almost any authoring tool (Dreamweaver, Microsoft Frontpage or Expression Web, etc.) will create cleaner HTML than Word. If you are creating a simple document for the web, you may want to avoid Word altogether. This is clearly not a viable alternative for many documents, but it is something to keep in mind.
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