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Thread: Web accessibility & MS Word

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From: Moana Jarvis
Date: Tue, Oct 01 2002 1:38PM
Subject: Web accessibility & MS Word
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Hello,

Since lots of HTML code is added when you save a Microsoft Word document
as a Web page, do screen readers have difficulties reading a Web page
created by MS Word?

BTW, I realize that Word is not a desired tool for Web developm

From: Timothy J. Luoma
Date: Tue, Oct 01 2002 3:51PM
Subject: Re: Web accessibility & MS Word
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Moana Jarvis wrote:

> Since lots of HTML code is added when you save a Microsoft Word
> document as a Web page, do screen readers have difficulties reading a
> Web page created by MS Word?

Not sure about Word, but PowerPoint can create HTML that is entirely
invisible to other browsers.

You might checkout:

Office 2000 HTML Filter 2.0
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Msohtmf2.aspx

TjL

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From: Paul Bohman
Date: Tue, Oct 01 2002 4:33PM
Subject: RE: Web accessibility & MS Word
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Moana Jarvis wrote:
>Since lots of HTML code is added when you save a Microsoft Word
document as a Web page, do screen readers have difficulties reading a
Web page created by MS Word?

My response:

Although it's true that MS Word creates a lot of extra XML-style markup
when you save Word documents as Web pages, most of this markup does not
interfere with accessibility. If you create a simple text-only Word
document, chances are very good that it will be accessible when saved as
HTML. The fancier you get, the more careful you have to be.

* When inserting images into your Word documents, make sure that you
provide alt text. To do this, those who use a mouse can right click on
the image, go to "image properties", then the "Web" tab, then add alt
text. Those who use the keyboard can go to "format", "image", "Web",
then add alt text.
* Make sure that you use real formatting (e.g. for headings, it is not
sufficient to make the text large and bold--you must use the Word
heading styles, which are in the menu system next to the font selector
in the default configuration of Word XP)
* If you insert Excel spreadsheets, charts, graphs, or anything like
that, you will need to add your own alt text, table headings, or
whatever is required for the particular object that you insert. You will
need to go into the HTML and do this after saving the document as HTML.
* You must edit all data tables in the HTML so that there are true table
headers with data cells appropriately associated with them.
* If you use the drawing tools, none of the drawings will be accessible,
because they use a proprietary format that screen readers don't support.

Paul Bohm

From: Jared Smith
Date: Tue, Oct 01 2002 5:07PM
Subject: Re: Web accessibility & MS Word
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Dreamweaver also has a function to get rid of most of the 'bloat' from
Office documents. Just go to Commands... Clean Up Word HTML. Although
it will not add accessibility features to the Web page, it does make
the document much easier to edit and could remove screen reader and
non-Internet Explorer incompatibilities. It also makes the file about
a third of the original size without losing any (or much) formatting.

You're right, I would never recommend Word as a Web development tool,
but it is actually quite powerful in it's ability to take existing
documents and get them into HTML quickly. Unfortunately, the end
result is quite messy.

Jared Smith
WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
www.webaim.org
Center for Persons with Disabilities
www.cpd.usu.edu
Utah State University
www.usu.edu

***************
On Tuesday, October 01, 2002 you sent:
MJ> Hello,

MJ> Since lots of HTML code is added when you save a Microsoft Word document
MJ> as a Web page, do screen readers have difficulties reading a Web page
MJ> created by MS Word?

MJ> BTW, I realize that Word is not a desired tool for Web development but I
MJ> need to answer this question for faculty & staff who use Word for quick
MJ> and easy conversion of documents.

MJ> Thanks,
MJ> Moana Jarvis
MJ> Technical Trainer

***************

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From: Cheryl Kirkpatrick
Date: Wed, Oct 02 2002 6:19AM
Subject: Re: Web accessibility & MS Word
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I have also found that running a Word HTML document through HTML Tidy cleans up
the code fairly well.

Cheryl Kirkpatrick
Web Administrator/
Information Technology Librarian
South Carolina State Library
http://www.state.sc.us/scsl/
Telephone: 803.734.5831

Jared Smith wrote:

> Dreamweaver also has a function to get rid of most of the 'bloat' from
> Office documents. Just go to Commands... Clean Up Word HTML. Although
> it will not add accessibility features to the Web page, it does make
> the document much easier to edit and could remove screen reader and
> non-Internet Explorer incompatibilities. It also makes the file about
> a third of the original size without losing any (or much) formatting.
>
> You're right, I would never recommend Word as a Web development tool,
> but it is actually quite powerful in it's ability to take existing
> documents and get them into HTML quickly. Unfortunately, the end
> result is quite messy.
>
> Jared Smith
> WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
> www.webaim.org
> Center for Persons with Disabilities
> www.cpd.usu.edu
> Utah State University
> www.usu.edu
>
> ***************
> On Tuesday, October 01, 2002 you sent:
> MJ> Hello,
>
> MJ> Since lots of HTML code is added when you save a Microsoft Word document
> MJ> as a Web page, do screen readers have difficulties reading a Web page
> MJ> created by MS Word?
>
> MJ> BTW, I realize that Word is not a desired tool for Web development but I
> MJ> need to answer this question for faculty & staff who use Word for quick
> MJ> and easy conversion of documents.
>
> MJ> Thanks,
> MJ> Moana Jarvis
> MJ> Technical Trainer
>
> ***************
>
> ----
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
> visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/

--
Cheryl Kirkpatrick
Web Administrator/
Information Technology Librarian
South Carolina State Library
http://www.state.sc.us/scsl/
Telephone: 803.734.5831

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