This document provides guidance on creating accessible content in Microsoft Office 2010. It discusses best practices for templates, page layout, visual elements, preparing native documents, and converting to PDF to ensure accessibility. Specific tips are provided for headings, color contrast, lists, alternative text, and using the accessibility checker. The goal is to make content navigable, readable, and understandable for all users, including those using assistive technologies.

1. Creating Accessible
Content in Microsoft
Office 2010
Thomas Logan
Chetan Bakhru

2. 2
About SSB BART Group
• Unmatched Experience
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Auditing Methodology
• Fourteen hundred organizations
(1445)
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accessibility best practices (1595)
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platforms (22)
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• One hundred fifty million
accessibility violations
(152,351,725)
• Three hundred sixty-six thousand
human validated accessibility
violations (366,096)

3. 3
Overview
Agenda
We will be looking at best practices necessary to create
accessible content in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in the
following core areas:
• Templates
• Page Layout
• Visual Elements
• Preparing the Native Document
• Conversion to PDF
Note: The best practices in this course address the core
accessibility areas in Section 508 and WCAG 2 Level A & AA

4. 4
Overview
User Impact
Potential challenges for users with disabilities with content
created in MS Office 2010
• Improper text formatting and structure
– Color, headings, lists, tables
• Navigating and locating content
– Links
• Reading order of content
• Access to and understanding of non–text elements
– Use of color alone to convey meaning
– Access to, and understanding of, non-text elements

5. 5
Templates
• Master templates are used to define the layout and content of
a document/presentation
• Templates are often approved for use in multiple
presentations and used by people who may not have
accessibility training
• The impact of creating an accessible template is significant
– Colors and contrast
– Header and Footer text
– Size, font, and spacing of content
– Consistent styles for headings, lists, etc.
– Set correct reading order for slides

6. 6
Page Layout
Requirements
Navigating and locating content can be a major challenge for
users who are blind or have low vision, as well as users with
cognitive disabilities. Content authors must consider:
• Headings
– Ensure headings are denoted through structure and not implicitly
– Ensure headings and labels are descriptive and unique
• Headers and Footers
– Ensure headers and footers are properly formatted
• Reading Order
– Ensure content is rendered in the proper order
• Lists
– Ensure lists and sub-lists are structured properly

7. 7
Page Layout
Headings (Word)
Ensure headings are denoted
through structure and not
implicitly
• Implicit headings means text
that appears differently from the
paragraph text by using
different fonts, font sizes,
bolding, italics, etc.
• Headings created using font
attributes or user–created
styles will not be treated
structurally as headings.
•The navigation panel shows the
heading structure of the document.

8. 8
Page Layout
Headings (Word)
To style headings:
1. Find the Home tab
2. Select the desired heading level from the Styles section of the
ribbon
3. To see more heading levels expand the Styles section of the
ribbon, choose Options, and from the Select Styles to Show
dropdown list select All Styles
To Evaluate Headings:
1. Select the text that appears to be a heading
2. Open the Home menu and ensure the Styles toolbar on the ribbon
is visible
3. Place the cursor in each heading, and verify that it is linked to the
appropriate heading style in the Styles toolbar

9. 9
Page Layout
Headings and Labels (PowerPoint)
Ensure headings and labels are descriptive and unique
• Section headings facilitate navigation and comprehension of
the organization of presentations
To Evaluate Headings
1. Determine if headings and labels are provided
2. Are the headings and labels descriptive?
3. Are the headings and labels unique?
4. Are the headings provided through titles and sub–title
placeholders?
– Activate the Home ribbon > Slides > Slide layout
– Verify that a slide layout is selected that matches the layout on
the current slide

10. 10
Page Layout
Headers and Footers (Word)
Ensure headers and footers are properly formatted
• Do not create headers and footers that can be accessed in the
editable area of the document
• When headers and footers are typed in as text on each page,
users of AT often mistake them as part of the page content
To use headers and footers in Word:
• Select the Insert tab
• From the Headers and Footers section of the ribbon, select either
“Header” or “Footer”
• Activate "Edit Header" or "Edit Footer"
• After creating the Header or Footer, press the “Esc” key to return
to the main body of the document

11. 11
Page Layout
Reading Order (Excel)
Ensure worksheet
content is rendered in
the proper order
• Identify sections and
worksheets to organize
content
• Separate unrelated
data into different
regions or worksheets
to facilitate navigation.
• Provide worksheet
labels

12. 12
Page Layout
Reading Order (PowerPoint)
Ensure that slide content is rendered in the proper order
Use the Selection Pane option under the Format ribbon to order
the "Selection and Visibility" of text boxes, images and other
elements to match the reading order of the slide with the tab
order of the slide
1. Activate the Format tab
2. From Arrange panel, select Selection Pane
3. Use the up and down arrows to move items
Note: Current reading order can be determined by clicking on the
gray area outside the slide content and then pressing tab. The tab
order of objects indicates the reading order of slide content.

13. 13
Page Layout
Columns (Word)
Ensure multi-column content will be rendered in the proper
order by screen readers
• Use the built in Columns feature to create structural columns
– Select the Page Layout tab
– Choose "Columns" menu button under the "Page Setup" group
– Select the desired number of columns from the grid
– As you type, the current column will fill and spill into the next
• To evaluate columns, do the following:
– Activate the "Page Layout" tab on the ribbon
– Choose "Columns" menu button under the "Page Setup" group
– Verify desired number of columns from the page is displayed

14. 14
Page Layout
Lists (Word/PowerPoint)
Ensure lists and sub-lists are structured properly
• Lists are used to group and organize related items
• Lists can be ordered (numbered) or unordered (bulleted)
based on their content.
• Utilizing the built-in list formatting allows users who are
visually impaired to rapidly browse and access list content
and have access to the same visual structure and
relationship of list items
• Use Unicode for all bullets

15. 15
Page Layout
Fonts
Choose fonts and styles that are
easy to read
• Use “sans serif” fonts with sufficient
spacing between letters
– Arial
– Verdana
• Use fonts 12-18 points in size
– Too large – may not be readable by
some users
– Too small – may not be readable by
users of assistive technology

16. 16
Visual Elements
Requirements
Interpreting visual content, meaning can present a challenge for
users who are blind, have low vision or those with color
deficiencies. Content authors should consider:
Color
• Ensure color is not the sole means of communicating information
• Ensure text and images of text provide sufficient color contrast
Links
• Ensure link text is meaningful within context
Non-text Elements
• Provide alternative text for images
• Ensure complex images and charts provide long descriptions

17. 17
Visual Elements
Color
Ensure color is not the sole means of communicating
information
• All information communicated via color should also be
available through other methods of identification (visually and
textually), such as text labels or symbols

18. 18
Visual Elements
Color
Ensure text and images of text
provide sufficient color contrast
• Text foreground and background
colors must have sufficient contrast
• Do not place complex background
images behind text
• When complex background images or colors must be used,
provide a halo of sufficient size around the text that provides
sufficient contrast between the text foreground color

19. 19
Visual Elements
Color
The WCAG 2.0 level AA and proposed Section 508 refresh
compliance levels require a contrast ratio of:
• 3:1 or more for text of 18 points (14 points if bolded) or larger
• 4.5:1 or more for text of less than 18 points
Evaluate use of proper color contrast for each use of color:
• Use an eye dropper tool to obtain the foreground and
background colors
• Enter the foreground and background colors into the color
contrast checker
• Verify that the contrast ratio meets the requirements for
luminosity contrast ratio for the level of compliance required

20. 20
Visual Elements
Links
Ensure link text is meaningful within context
• Link text should accurately reflect the target and purpose of
the link
– Otherwise users will need to follow the link to determine its
purpose, and returning to the previous location can be more
difficult for users with disabilities
• When link text is a URL, the URL itself must clearly identify the
purpose

21. 21
Visual Elements
Non-Text Elements
Provide alternative text for images
• Alternative text must be present to communicate the meaning
of images to users of assistive technology
• When alternative text is not provided, screen reader users
cannot access the information conveyed by the image

22. 22
Visual Elements
Non-Text Elements
To assign alternative text to images:
• Right click the image or press the applications key
• Choose Size and Position
• Activate the Alt Text tab
• Enter alt text
– If the image is meaningful, clearly convey in words the meaning,
function, or purpose communicated by the image
– If an image conveys no information (i.e., it is decorative or redundant
to the text), enter a SPACE and then a carriage return (ENTER) as the
Alt text
– Proper alternative text should be terse yet informative
– Alt text must describe the image when taken out of context
• Activate the Close button

23. 23
Visual Elements
Non-Text elements
Ensure complex images and charts provide long descriptions
• Complex images include schematics, plans, diagrams or any other image
that conveys a large amount of information
• Users who cannot see the complex image will not be able to sufficiently
determine its value/purpose
• Diagrams - describe the name, role, and relationship of elements in the
correct order
• Charts - describe elements and provide a summary of the chart
Non-Compliant Example
“Bar chart”
Compliant Example
“Chart showing the downward trend of home prices in the Mid–Atlantic
region during 2007. Y axis contains median home price, X axis contains
values for Q1–$220,000, Q2–$217,000, Q3–$209,000, Q4–$203,400”

24. 24
Native Document
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
When a document is to be used in a different format, such as
being converted to Adobe PDF, it is best to ensure that the
native file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is as accessible as
possible before the conversion process. This will:
• Save time when implementing accessibility in the other
format
• Still likely require some work to be done in the other format to
achieve accessibility and compliance
• Allow the content to be provided in multiple accessible
formats

25. 25
Conversion to PDF
Implementation Techniques – Accessibility Check
Perform an Accessibility Check
• Microsoft Office 2010 contains an accessibility check feature
that is a good starting point to check the accessibility of a
presentation
1. Activate File > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility
2. Review the results in the accessibility checker pane
3. Address the listed issues
4. Rerun the check
Note – The checker looks for things such as missing alternative text,
duplicate slide titles and potential reading order issues

26. 26
Conversion to PDF
Implementation Techniques – Conversion Options
Choose Conversion Options
• There are several options for conversion (The results may
differ from other Office application's and Acrobat’s Save As
PDF option)
• Adobe Acrobat Professional Plug–in "Save As Adobe PDF"
– Requires Adobe Acrobat Professional to be installed
– Provides tags, heading levels, alternative text
• Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint Save as PDF
– Provides tags, heading levels, alternative text, reading order
• Print to PDF (Acrobat Distiller)
– Does NOT provide tags, heading, alternative text, reading order

27. 27
Conversion to PDF
Implementation Techniques – Accessibility/Tagging
Enable tagged documents
1. Acrobat Ribbon > Preferences > Settings tab
2. Ensure accessibility and reflow of tagged document is
checked (default)
3. Ensure Add Links is checked (default)
4. Ensure Create Bookmarks is checked (default)
5. Activate OK

28. 28
Questions?

29. 29
Thank You
Contact Us
Thomas Logan
Senior Accessibility Analyst
thomas.logan@ssbbartgroup.com
Chetan Bakhru
Assistive Technology Tester
chetan.bakhru@ssbbartgroup.com
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info@ssbbartgroup.com
(800) 889-9659
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