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Re: How to make project progress table in Word document accessible?

for

From: Laura Roberts
Date: Sep 15, 2022 3:07PM

It sounds like the table creator basically merged a bar chart plus multiple
tables into one table. You can try to convince them to create a separate
bar chart and simple tables, but I've often found that clients can be
stubborn about this. (Again, it's very hard to give advice without seeing
it.)

As a last resort, you can write alt text for the entire table. Although
that's a FAR from ideal user experience, it's better than nothing.

If the document was a pdf, it would be easier to solve, but you would need
someone experienced in pdf remediation.


On Thu, Sep 15, 2022, 8:36 AM Jim Homme < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> Hi,
> Without understanding what the tables convey, if you are forced into
> keeping MS Word format, simple tables are the best way to make this content
> accessible. Screen readers and Word play together badly in Word with
> complex tables. If you are able to make HTML documents, I feel this is the
> best way to go, because you can have control over how screen readers handle
> complex tables. PDF is another way to go, but you will spend a lot of time
> manually tagging table relationships.
>
> As for the graphical indications, you will need alt text to convey what
> the visuals mean.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jim H
>
> =========> Jim Homme
> Senior Digital Accessibility Consultant
> Bender Consulting Services
> 412-787-8567
> https://www.benderconsult.com/
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