C04j Attachment 8 Section 508 Creating Accessible Documents 1284LM26Q0117.pdf

Creating Accessible Documents Using Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is the law that requires that when we create or use electronic documents and websites, we must make them accessible to sight impaired and disabled individuals that use assistive computer devices such as screen readers. When a screen reader "reads" a document, it follows the order of text and graphics on each page that have been labeled or “tagged.”

What types of disabilities are we talking about?

• Blindness or sight impairment

• Colorblindness

• Physical disabilities that prevent use of a mouse or require special computer tools for operation

How do we create accessible documents?

• Using styles with structured levels.

• Having names of styles to help reader understand structure of document.

• Providing alternative text for visual elements that provide a verbal description to a sight- impaired person.

• Reducing unneeded format characters.

• Reducing the use of acronyms, which may be interpreted as whole words, and improving readability.

• Providing information in document properties (title, subject, author, keywords, etc.)

• Using the Accessibility Checker

If we create our documents properly in Word at the start, we can create accessible Adobe files that can be posted on websites and in electronic project records with little to no adjustment.

This document is a step-by-step guide to help you create documents that are accessible to sight-impaired and disabled computer users. This document explains what you should do in Microsoft Word as you create the document, and what you should do with Adobe Acrobat when you convert your Word document to a pdf file.

Note: This has been prepared for use with the style template prepared by the Enterprise Program Technical Editing Group. Templates and tools for writing, editing, and creating documents is available at the Enterprise Program Writer-Editor Resources SharePoint site (https://ems-team.usda.gov/sites/fs-teams-editing/SitePages/Home.aspx).

Create a Structured Microsoft Word Document Step 1: Paste your content into a new document template.

a. We suggest that when you are creating a new document, you always start from a fresh version of a document template that has predetermined styles. If you must work from an existing document, open your document and the document template. Select all of your text and copy it (Ctrl +C or right-click, copy). Put your cursor into the document template and make sure the style where you are putting your cursor is Body Text.

Choose the Paste dropdown arrow and keep text only. Tables and graphics will need to be brought over separately.

Step 2: Remove any Extra Formatting

a. Show paragraph marks and other hidden characters by clicking on the show/hide button (Home tab, Paragraph group).

Showing these hidden marks will allow you to see spaces and formatting characters so you can more easily control your formatting and layout. Remove extra paragraph marks and spaces because these extra characters will be “read” by a disabled assistive device. If you need spacing before or after text, use the spacing tool on the Page Layout tab, Paragraph group. Use page breaks to start text on a new page.

Step 3: Apply Styles to All Paragraphs.

a. Open the Styles window (Home tab, style gallery, corner arrow). NOTE: To view styles in your list as they will appear in the document, check the “show Preview” box.

To display only the styles that exist in the template, select the “Options…” link in the lower right corner of the style window and under “Select Styles to Show” choose “In current document.”

Uncheck all the boxes under “Select formatting to show as styles.”

• Apply a style to every heading and every paragraph. Highlight the text and click on the desired style in the styles list. Note how style names help identify the document structure.

○ Use Heading 1 for the document’s main sections (such as chapters). Use lower level headings for subtopics. Use Body Text for regular paragraph text.

○ Use the List Bullet and List Number styles for bullets and lists.

○ Use Caption Table and Caption Figure for respective caption styles. Note: captions for tables go above tables, captions for figures go below figures.

Step 4: Insert graphics and provide alternative text.

a. Place your cursor in front of an empty format character (no text) and apply the Normal style. (Note:

you cannot see a picture when it is inserted in front of a Body Text style.)

b. Insert your graphic (Insert tab, Picture in Illustrations group). Your default method of insertion will be “in line with text.” Avoid text wrapping.

c. Insert a caption below your graphic on a separate line (References tab, Insert Caption). Do not insert captions into text boxes as they will not be accessible. Apply the Caption Figure style, which has spacing built in after it.

c. Right-click on your image and choose Format Picture. Click on Alt Text and fill in the title and a description.

Step 5: Insert tables and provide alternative text.

a. To create a table, put your cursor in front of the Normal style format character and on the Insert tab, choose Table and click the dropdown arrow. Choose the number of rows and columns you want.

b. After you have filled in column and row headings and data, go to your Styles window and apply the Table Heading style to the table heading, and the Table Cell style to the data. If you want a ready-made grid style, click inside your table to get the Table Tools tab to show. Click on the Design tab and choose a style from the Table Styles gallery.

c. If you are copying a table from another document, you will want to strip the formatting off the table before bringing it into your template.

• Select the entire table.

• Click on the right side dropdown arrow of the table styles gallery.

• At the bottom of the expanded menu, choose “Clear.”

• With the table still selected, go to your paragraph Styles window and select “Clear All.”

• Paste your table into your template. Apply the Table Heading and Table Cell styles and select a grid style.

d. Insert a caption. Follow the same steps as for the figure caption except choose “Table” for your label and place the caption above your table. Apply the Caption Table style, which has spacing built in before it.

NOTE: Microsoft Word does not provide an easy method for creating accessible tables.

Complex tables should be accompanied by a description or explanation of the table in the text of the document. If possible, construct the table so it will read logically from left to right, top to bottom. Avoid merged and split cells.

e. Provide alternative text and identify the heading row.

• Put your cursor in the table and right click. Choose Table Properties, Alt Text tab. Fill in a title and description of your table.

• Select the heading row of the table

• Choose the Layout tab from the Table Tools menu click on Repeat Header Rows. Even if your table is not overlapping pages, this tags the row as the heading row of the table.

Step 6. Update document properties.

a. On the File tab, click on Info. Click on the Properties button on the fire right side of the window.

b. Select Advanced Properties.

c. Fill out the document information in the Summary tab. Key words are those that someone might use in a search for this document. Note: If your document is an EIS going to the EPA for e-filing in the Federal Register, fill the subject line in exactly the same as the title.

Step 7: Finalize your document.

On the Review tab, turn off Track Changes. In the Changes group, click the Next and Previous buttons to find track changes still left in document. Accept or reject changes. Look for remaining comments and delete them.

Step 8: Check document accessibility in Word.

• Click the File tab, Info.

• Click on Prepare for Sharing. An alert will appear if Accessibility Checker has detected any potential accessibility issues.

• If you want to view and repair the issues in your file, click Check for Issues, and then click Check Accessibility.

• You are returned to your file where the Accessibility Checker task pane is open, showing the inspection results.

• Click on a specific issue to see Additional Information and steps you can take to fix or revise the content.

• If final document to be published will be in Word format, make sure to click on Protect Document to restrict editing.

Step 9: Create your Adobe pdf file.

If you have Adobe Acrobat, click on the Acrobat tab. (If you don’t have Acrobat, go to step 9c)

a. Set your Acrobat preferences. Click on Preferences and make sure the following boxes are checked:

• View Adobe PDF Result

• Prompt for Adobe PDF File Name

• Convert Document Information

• Create Bookmarks

• Add Links

• Enable Accessibility and Reflow with Tagged Adobe PDF

b. Click on Create PDF

c. If you don’t have Acrobat:

• Go to File, Save as Adobe PDF (If you don’t have that option, go to Save As and choose pdf as the file type).

• At the dialog box where you save your file with a name and file type, click on Options.

• In the Options dialog box, make sure you check all boxes that indicate creating a tagged structure and bookmarks using headings (left box shown is from Save As, right box is from Save as Adobe PDF)

Step 10: Verify accessibility of your Adobe Acrobat document

a. Check bookmarks to see that the outline structure is correct. If it isn’t, you can drag and drop bookmarks into a different hierarchical order without affecting the actual document text.

b. Run Acrobat’s Full Accessibility Checker (Tools, Accessibility, Full Check). If there are errors it will tell you how to fix them.

c. Check the document properties (File Properties) to ensure all your document summary info transferred properly from your Word document conversion.

The following pages show what a tagged pdf page looks like to a disabled assistive device. Numbers represent the order in which sections will be read. See last page for instructions on how to check and adjust reading order.

This shows a cover to a document where the reading order is all messed up.

Here it has been fixed to delete the “blank” items and to rearrange the order of text and logos.

How to Check Reading Order

1. In Acrobat, click on the icon on the left side of the window that looks like a Z.

2. Click on each page to view the reading order. Separate elements will show up in an expanded list of numbered items.

3. Right-click on an item to see menu options of what to do with it. Items that are not tagged properly can be tagged here. If the reading order is not correct, you can drag and drop the numbered items to change their order, or delete things like blank format characters.

4. If you have any tables or graphics with wrapping text, check those pages to make sure the item will be read in the proper order and it is not obscuring any text.

Although there is more than can be done with reading order, this is as far as I am going to lead you on this topic.

For more information on any of this, please contact Judy York, Editor, Enterprise Program (jyork@fs.fed.us, or 208-265-6665)