Site Map



Non-HTML Documents (Word, PDF, PowerPoint)

In general, for accessibility, it is best to have your content formatted as HTML. However, we fully understand this is not a realistic expectation for online educational content. Instructors leverage a range of desktop publishing tools to create content and often do not have the time to convert these formats into accessible HTML. In addition, for common tools, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat, the built-in "wizards" for converting to HTML should be avoided, as they produce poor HTML.

Instructors will upload all sorts of document formats to courses and link to them in a variety of ways. In this section we give some advice for how best to minimize access problems for non-HTML documents.

Before discussing specific technologies, we need to re-address the question of how to link to non-HTML documents. The section entitled "Single-Page Text Content Markup and Organization" recommends including the document type as part of the link text. To reiterate, if we are linking to a Word document entitled "Study Guide for Bio-Chemistry 101," our link text might read "Bio-Chemistry 101 Study Guide (Word)." See the Best Practice for further discussion.

Microsoft Word

Discussion

It probably goes without saying that Word is the preferred document format for content designers and instructors. Even for online courses, we still see content delivered in Word, though HTML is the more appropriate format.

For screen reader or keyboard-dependent students, Word has adequate accessibility, so long as documents are properly formatted. Organize your Word documents much as you would structure a web page—sections should have headings, lists should be implemented as lists (not as numbers or bullet symbols), images and charts should get alternative text and have a caption associating them with a "Figure" number, etc. And for long documents, take advantage of the ability in Word to automatically generate tables of figures and contents. All of this will help navigation, readability, and comprehension for students with disabilities.

Here are some basic guidelines and tips for authoring Word that will help ensure accessibility:

  • Uses "styles" for all text formatting
    • It is important to understand that large, bold text is not the same as text that looks the same but has a Heading style applied. When you modify the appearance of the document using the Styles, you are effecting the semantics of the document—you are indicating that a heading is a Heading, etc.
    • Unlike HTML pages, which generally should have no more than two H1 level headings, use Heading 1 in Word for all major document sections. And be sure to nest headings properly.
    • When writing in normal layout, the enter key creates a new paragraph. If you are not seeing proper spacing between paragraphs, don't hit enter twice, instead use the Styles menu to edit the normal style to achieve the spacing you want between paragraphs.
    • The same holds true for all styling: select the style and then "Modify" it to suit your needs
    • It is okay to use the shortcut buttons in the toolbar to create lists and tables, but other text styling should be accomplished via Styles.
  • As in HTML, add "Alt Text" to images, but also add captions to images, as appropriate
    • For Word 2007: Right-click image > Format > Alt Text
    • For charts and other complex graphics, add a caption: Right-click chart/image > Insert Caption
  • Use the References menu items to add a Table of Contents and, for graphic-rich documents, a Table of Figures.
  • Word has no provision for effectively indicating a data cell is a header cell
    • You have more control over table markup in PDF than in Word. But HTML tables provide the best control and browsing experience for screen reader users.
  • Avoid exporting to HTML from Word
    • Even in the latest versions of Word, HTML exported from Word is bloated, does not validate, and is very difficult to edit after the fact.
    • Consider using Virtual508's Accessible Web Publishing Wizard, which exports cleaner HTML than Word's built in exporter.

Following the above tips adds some semantics to Word documents, though it should be clear that Word does not come close to HTML in terms of semantics. Perhaps the most significant benefit of taking care in "marking up" Word is that its semantics export to PDF. If you use headings and provide good alternative text for images, the PDFs you create from Word will have decent semantics, which you can improve on using Acrobat.

Resources

Adobe PDF

Discussion

PDF can be an accessible format, though it is not as navigable with a screen reader as HTML is. In HTML, for instance, screen readers easily jump from paragraph to paragraph to allow for effective skimming of text. This facility is not available in the major screen readers browsing PDF. Also the navigability of tables is less sophisticated in PDF. Still, PDF documents can be well structured. There are tables, lists, paragraphs, and headings. The fact that screen readers do not browse PDF as effectively as HTML is likely the result of that fact that, historically, PDF was thought of primarily as a display format. PDF's identity has evolved somewhat, and it is now widely considered as a universal type for exchange of richly formatted documents.

By and large, HTML is a better format for online education. However, there are a number of reasons why an instructor or course designer might decide to include PDF content:

  • The document is very long and contains complex footnotes or other apparatus.
  • There is a need to preserve visual layout of the original document or to achieve complex formatting, such as multiple columns.
  • The document is designed for print publication.
  • There is a legal reason. For example, a tax form must have an approved formatting.
  • The original article/document is in PDF and time prevents good conversion to HTML.

To be accessible, PDF must be "tagged." Like HTML, the elements of PDF documents can be marked up with tags for headings, lists, paragraphs, links, and tables. In addition, bookmarks greatly help PDF navigability. They can be created manually in Acrobat or generated from the heading structure when exporting from Word. Here are some very basic guidelines and tips for authoring PDF that will help ensure accessibility:

  • When creating PDF from Word, use the Acrobat "Create PDF" option.
    • Make sure your original Word document is properly marked up using Styles (see section on Microsoft Word for more on Styles). Especially, ensure that your original Word document uses properly nested headings for structure.
    • On the Acrobat "Preferences" dialog, "Enabled Accessibility and Reflow with tagged PDF" option is checked.
    • Check the "Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks" option is checked on the "Bookmarks" tab.
    • Once created, in Acrobat set the bookmarks panel to display by default and set pages to display single-page continuous.
      • File > Properties > Initial View: Navigation tab: Bookmarks Panel and Page and Page Layout: Single Page Continuous
    • IMPORTANT: Do not use the Print menu to generate PDF. Printing to PDF creates untagged PDF with low accessibility.
  • For PDF forms, ensure a proper tab order to form elements and give a descriptive "ToolTip" to all form elements.
    • PDF has no direct equivalent to the HTML form label. Screen readers will read ToolTips, instead.
  • Editing PDFs that you did not create yourself can be a long and frustrating process. If you can get the original Word document and reconvert it, do that. It will save you time. Here are some things you can do to get a sense of the document's accesssility:
    • Check to see if the document is tagged.
      • File > Properties: "Tagged PDF"
    • Check to see if the document contains text that preserves read order when it reflows.
      • View > Zoom > Reflow
    • If the PDF is just an image of text, attempt optical character recognition (OCR).
      • Document > OCR Text Recognition > Recognize Text Using OCR...
      • After OCR, check content by copying and pasting into plain text
      • Add tags to OCR'ed document
        • Advanced > Accessibility > Add tags to document…
      • Mark-up OCR'ed document with headings and other appropriate tags
        • View > Navigation Panels > Tags
        • Options menu: "Highlight Content" to more easily  identify elements
        • Change element type as appropriate via the Content tab on the TouchUp Properties dialog
        • Once marked up properly, use the Bookmarks panel Options drop down menu to create "New Bookmarks from Structure…."
  • When securing PDF via password protection, make sure the "Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired" option is checked.

PDF accessibility is virtually a domain of knowledge unto itself. Our list of tips covers the basics, only. See the Resources for more in-depth coverage.

Resources

Microsoft PowerPoint

Discussion

PowerPoint is undoubtedly the most widely used presentation format. And instructors will often upload PowerPoint to their courses for students to use as study aids after lectures or online presentations. If the content creator takes the time to carefully produce his/her PowerPoint, it can be fully keyboard and screen reader navigable.

Again, like Word and PDF, HTML should be used in preference to PowerPoint. However, PowerPoint is such a commonly used format in educational contexts that there is very little chance that instructors will opt always for HTML. There are some basic guidelines and tips for authoring PowerPoint that will help ensure accessibility:

  • Use the Slide Layout pane for creating new slides and chose layouts that are standard and simple.
  • Use clear, descriptive titles for every slide.
  • Keep to a minimum the length and number of bullet points on any given slide.
    • No more than six points per slide at default font size.
    • One line of text, ideally, and no more than two per point.
  • Use the Speaker's Notes pane for elaborations of graphics (diagrams, charts, complex tables).
    • When listening to a presentation using a screen reader, a student can hit a special set of keystrokes to listen to the contents of the Speaker's Notes pane.
  • Pages should appear clean and uncluttered.
  • Use standard, non-decorative fonts.
    • For readability, sans-serif fonts, such as Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Lucida Sans, Helvetica, and Arial, are preferable.
  • Keep font foreground-background contrast high.
  • Use concise, non-figurative, and accurate language.
  • Provide "alternative text" for non-decorative, informational images and graphics.
    • In PowerPoint 2007:
      • Right-click the image
      • Choose "Size and Position"
      • Describe the image in the "Alternative text" box in the "Alt Text" tab
    • For a good discussion of alternative text for images see: http://www.webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
  • For decorative images, make sure there is no "Alternative text".
    • Note that by default, PowerPoint will put the name of the source file in the "Alternative text" field. This field should be empty if the image is purely decorative
  • Embedded movies/animations with verbal audio content must be captioned and have audio descriptions. 
    • Only QuickTime and Flash can embed captioning that will play back in PowerPoint. 
    • If there is no feasible alternative, the Speaker's Notes pane can be used to include a transcription of verbal content of movies. However, synchronized captions are always preferable.
    • For animations and movies that visually demonstrate procedures or have other complex sets of actions, the action should be described in the Speaker's Notes pane to provide alternative content for blind students.
  • You can use slide transitions .
    • Transitions are ignored by screen reader programs, but they may add unnecessary cognitive load for students with certain cognitive disabilities, such as ADHD.
  • You can use text effects, such as fly-in bullet points.
    • Screen reader users will hear each new bullet point as they press the space bar. Because of this, make sure your slides are properly titled: The bullets animate in by hitting the space bar. You do not want the blind student to advance to the next slide and not know what has happened because the slide is untitled or the title does not clearly indicate a topic change or topical progression
  • Avoid using Shapes with Text Boxes in them. 
    • Though modern screen reading programs will read the text in Text Boxes, the screen reading program will not read the Text Box in the same visual order as it appears on your slide. Screen readers will read Text Boxes last.
  • Use the Outline pane to visually check screen reader accessibility of text.
    • Text is missing from the Outline? Then the content may not be visible to screen reader users. For example, graphical text in images is not readable for screen reader/blind users

There are also tools that convert PowerPoint to more accessible formats. We list a couple in the Resources.

Resources