WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

Word 2016 for Mac
Creating Accessible Documents

Creating and Editing Headings

  1. Select the Home tab from the ribbon.
  2. In your document, select the text to convert to a heading.
  3. Click on the appropriate heading level in the Styles in-ribbon gallery; e.g., Heading 1.
  4. Headings 1, 2, or 3 can also be assigned using Command + Option + 1, 2, or 3, respectively.
    Screenshot of the 'Heading 2' option highlighted in the 'Styles' toolbar.
Notes

Word documents with a true heading structure provide at least two benefits:

  • The document retains this structure when correctly exported to HTML or PDF.
  • The document's readability is increased for all users.

Adding Alternative Text

  1. Right-click on the image and select Format Picture. A dialog box will appear.
  2. Select the Alt Text option in the sidebar. Enter the appropriate alternative text in the Description field, NOT the Title field.
    Screenshot emphasizing inserting alt text in the 'Description' field of the 'Format Picture' dialog.

Creating Tables

  1. Use the Insert Table command to create tables.
    Screenshot of the 'Insert Table' option selected on the 'Insert' ribbon.
  2. Right click on the first row in the table and select Table Properties > Row > Repeat as header row at the top of each page.
    Screenshot of the 'Repeat header rows' option highlighted on the 'Layout' ribbon.
Important

Do NOT create tables "by hand" with spaces or the Tab key.

Editing Hyperlinks

  1. Select a hyperlink, right-click, and select Edit Hyperlink or Cmd + K.
  2. Change the text in the Text to display field to a more meaningful description.
    Screenshot of the 'Text to display' field highlighted in the 'Insert Hyperlink' dialog.

Creating Lists

  1. Select the Page Layout tab on the ribbon.
  2. Select the Bullets or Numbering menu from the Paragraph group
    Screenshot of the 'Numbering' option highlighted on the 'Home' ribbon.

Creating Columns

  1. Select the Page Layout tab on the ribbon.
  2. Select Columns in the Page Setup group.
    Screenshot of the 'One' option selected on the 'Columns' menu.

Saving as HTML

  1. Select File > Save As.
  2. Choose one of two options for exporting to HTML from the Save as type drop-down menu:
    • Save as Web Page
    • Save as Web Page, Filtered
      Screenshot of the 'Web Page' option selected from the 'File format' menu.

Saving to PDF with Word

  1. Select File > Save As.
    Screenshot of the 'Save As' option selected from the 'File' menu.
  2. In the Save As dialog, select PDF from the File Format drop-down menu.
    Screenshot of the 'PDF' option selected in the 'File Format' menu.