Slide 1
Creating Accessible Office Documents
The Accessible Technology Webinar Series is sponsored by the Great Lakes ADA Center and the Pacific ADA Center, both members of the ADA National Network.
The Session is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm CST
We will be testing audio quality periodically

Slide 2 
Webinar Features
Closed captioning – click CC icon (located in the Audio/Video Panel) or control-F8 (command-F8) and adjust your screen.
Questions -  Type your message into the chat area that appears.  The question will be viewed by all moderators. (Keyboard - F6, Arrow up or down to locate “Great Lakes” and select to send a message )
Customize your view – You can change the size and location of any of the panels (Chat, etc.) by hovering your mouse over the         icon at the right of each panel and select “Detach Panel”.  Each panel can be repositioned and resized.
Please do not use emoticons or hand-raising features during this session
Slide 3 
Creating accessible office Documents

Slide 4 
Accessible Technology Webinar Series 2013 Pacific ADA Center © 2013.
All rights reserved.
Usage and/or reproduction of all or part of this material without the express permission of the Pacific ADA Center is prohibited.
Any information, materials and technical assistance, including all content, graphics and text in this document, is intended solely as information guidance and is neither a determination of your legal rights or responsibilities, nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibility under the ADA.

Slide 5
To Be Covered:
•	Overview of Accessibility
•	Most Common Forms of Electronic Documents
•	Creating an Accessible Word Document
•	Accessibility in Emails, PowerPoint and Excel
•	Accessibility Checklists
•	Best Practices
•	Questions
Slide 6
Overview of Accessibility to Information
Situational Accessibility
Functional Accessibility
Universal Accessibility
Slide 7
Situational Accessibility
Always-on availability of information has become main stream and expected.
Location
Mobile
Fixed
Platform
Multiple Operating Systems
Multiple Devices
Slide 8
Situational Accessibility
Expectation of seamless integration
Environment – blurring of the lines
Retail and commerce
Social interaction
Information mining
Work
Education

Slide 9
Functional Accessibility
Accessible Information Technology (AIT) allows
Independent access to information
One to One communication and privacy
Simultaneous access to information 

Slide 10
Functional Accessibility
Functional Accessibility
Vision
Hearing
Mobility
Cognitive
Neurological
Slide 11
Universal Accessibility
Universal design
All information is distributed in a manner that the majority of people can access and comprehend
Independent of platform, hardware or software
No expectation of ultimate destination
Accessible in multiple ways (Redundancy)
Multiple forms of communication
Multiple assistive devices
Multiple platforms

Slide 12
Forms of Electronic Communication
Documents
Word
Scans
PDFs
Excel Spreadsheets
E-mails
PowerPoint
Non-written formats
Pictures, videos, voice messages etc
Slide 13
How are Documents Read?
Reading Order
Scanned - not usually linear
Headings
Structure
Indications of Content in large documents
Tables of Content or Index
Chapter headings
Paragraphs
Lists
Slide 14
Structured Markup
What is Structured Markup?
Navigational aid or Road Map for a document
Contains standardized elements
Why Use Structured Markup ?
Allows ease of movement of data to different formats
Retains most integrity in multiple formats
Is interpretable by assistive technology

Slide 15
Structured Markup Elements
Styles
Headers
Lists
Images
Charts or tables
Table of Contents

Slide 16

Structuring a Word Document
Use structured markup
One Title element
Usually one Header 1
Multiple Header 2 and Header 3
Indent sub headings
Insert Bookmarks in tables
Set Acrobat preferences
Alt text for graphics
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Word Documents – 1 of 2
Add alternative text to images and objects
Specify column header rows in tables
Use styles in long documents
Include Table of Contents
Use short titles in headings
Ensure all heading styles are in the correct order
Use hyperlink text that is meaningful
Use columns, not tables for formatting text
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Word Documents – 2 of 2
Use simple table structure
Avoid using blank cells for formatting
Structure layout tables for easy navigation
Avoid using repeated blank characters
Avoid using floating objects – insert object rather than cut and paste
Avoid image watermarks
Include closed captions for any audio
Slide 19
Word Documents Example
Audit report – unstructured
Audit report - structured
Slide 20
Configure the PDFMaker in MS Office
Adobe Acrobat 9
Select Acrobat Tab
Select Create Adobe PDF group
Preferences
Settings
Create Bookmarks
Add Links
Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF

Slide 21
Email – 1of 3
Font – sans serif, minimum10, best 12
No backgrounds or water marks
Format – Plain text, Rich text, HTML
Plain – easy to read by any one, no structure, full URLs
RTF – format included, but no structure, display may change in other mail programs
HTML – set as default.  Structure is supported
Avoid using formatting for meaning 

Slide 22
Email – 2 of 3
Good color contrast
Signature – alt text if necessary
Images – insert rather than copy and paste
Avoid 
Emoticons
Copyright signs
Stationery
Vcards not readable

Slide 23
Email – 3 of 3
Subject
Meaningful
Up to date – change as relevant
CC or BCC
Reply All only if necessary and relevant
Attachments or embedded
Size
Description
Slide 24
Excel Spreadsheets – 1 of 2
Text in Cell A1
Add alternative text to images and objects
Specify column header information in tables
Use hyperlink text that is meaningful
Avoid using blank cells for formatting
Give all sheet tabs unique names
Include closed captions for any audio or video
Keep tables simple, in preference to charts
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Excel Spreadsheets – 2 of 2
Charts graphs – add descriptions and labels
Easy to read
To the side of the graph
Use appropriate chart or graph type
Avoid visual distractions
3-D graphs
Too many axis labels (gridlines)
Graphic backgrounds or images
Redundant labels
Slide 26
Excel Spreadsheet Example
Excel spreadsheet example
Slide 27
PowerPoint
Add alternative text to images and objects
Specify column header information in tables
Ensure that all slides have unique titles
Use hyperlink text that is meaningful
Use simple table structure
Include closed captions for any audio or video
Ensure reading order of each slide is logical
Increase visibility for colorblindness
Slide 28
PowerPoint Embedded Object Example
Alt Text for Image: Known Species within Insect order
lepidoptera - 180 known species, 200 predicted in 20 years
Coleoptera - 350 known species, 450 in 20 years
Hymenoptera - 15 known species, 16 in 20 years
Hemiptera - 80 known species, 95 in 20 years.
Slide 29
Accessibility Checklist - Text
Text
Structure
Tab order
Reading order
Abbreviations
Links
Slide 30
Accessibility Checklist - Graphics
Graphics
Alt-text
Long description
Alternate version
Color
Null-alt
Slide 31
Accessibility Checklist - Tables
Tables
Table Description
Column Headers
Row Headers
Alternate Version
Slide 32
Accessibility Checklist - Usability
Usability
Table of Contents
Page Numbers and Headings
Bookmarks
Self-Explanatory
Ease of Navigation
Audience – General or Specialist
Searchable
Slide 33
Good Practice
Use source accessibility features wherever possible
Avoid complex tables
Avoid tabs for layout – insert tables or columns
Linear layout is better than side-by-side
Split into smaller documents where practical
Slide 34
Points To Ponder
Documents received from outside sources
When is enough enough?
Alternatives
Other formats
Contact information for help

Slide 35
Questions
Judith Stark
------------------------
Pacific ADA Center
1-800-949-4232  Phone and TTY
www.adapacific.org
www.accessibletech.org
Thank you for participating!

Slide 36

Next Session is November 21, 2013
Advanced Accessible PDF Techniques: Tables, Forms, and More!

The session today was recorded and will be 
archived at 
http://www.ada-audio.org/Webinar/AccessibleTechnology/