how to make documents 508 compliant

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How to make PDF Section 508 Compliant

How to make PDFs 508 Compliant

A portable document format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe to create standard consistency when a document is physically printed from a standard printer. It is also used to freeze or lock content that should remain intact or in context with other information.

Often, we will post PDF files to our website, which could be a challenge for assistive technology to interpret in such a way that people with impairments or disabilities could perceive and understand. For example, a photo or graph may be embedded within a PDF but without a file name or alt tag then the screen reader may not know how to describe this image.

There are a number of ways that we can work to ensure that our PDFs are both web accessible and Section 508 compliant:

* Note: this is one of the rare occasions when SEO and web accessibility may inherently conflict. Google discourages duplicate content across the Internet and works hard to not index duplicate content. An HTML version of a PDF represents potentially duplicate content. Google will have to decide which version is the original. In some rare cases, Google will de-index and/or penalize a site for displaying duplicate content.

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Section 508 Compliance: Creating Accessible Documents

Creating Accessible PDFs and MS Word Documents

The NOAA Central Library has created and compiled the following checklists and resources for authors and editorial staff to use when creating documents that are Section 508 accessible.

Tip: One way to ensure you are creating accessible, and standardized, documents is to create templates. This would be especially beneficial for series documents and annual reports. Once the accessible template has been created, it is a matter of dropping in the new text.

Additional Accessibility Resources by Attribute

Using LaTex for Document Creation

If you are using LaTeX to create your document please see our program specific resources. If you have any questions or are having difficulties with the remediation work, please contact the NOAA IR Account ( [email protected] )

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Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities

This topic gives you step-by-step instructions and best practices on how to make your Word documents accessible and unlock your content to everyone, including people with disabilities.

You learn, for example, how to work with the Accessibility Checker to tackle accessibility issues while you're writing your document. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to images so that people using screen readers are able to listen to what the image is all about. You can also learn about how to use fonts, colors, and styles to maximize the inclusiveness of your Word documents before sharing them with others.

In this topic

Best practices for making Word documents accessible

Check accessibility while you work in Word

Avoid using tables, use built-in title, subtitle, and heading styles, create paragraph banners, add alt text to visuals, add accessible hyperlink text and screentips, use accessible font format and color.

Create accessible lists

Adjust space between sentences and paragraphs

Test accessibility with immersive reader.

The following table includes key best practices for creating Word documents that are accessible to people with disabilities.

Top of Page

Check accessibility while you work in Word

The Accessibility Checker is a tool that reviews your content and flags accessibility issues it comes across. It explains why each issue might be a potential problem for someone with a disability. The Accessibility Checker also suggests how you can resolve the issues that appear.

In Word, the Accessibility Checker runs automatically in the background when you're creating a document. If the Accessibility Checker detects accessibility issues, you will get a reminder in the status bar.

To manually launch the Accessibility Checker, select Review > Check Accessibility . The Accessibility pane opens, and you can now review and fix accessibility issues. For more info, go to Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker and Check document accessibility .

Tip: Use the Accessibility Reminder add-in for Microsoft 365 to notify authors and contributors of accessibility issues in their documents. With the add-in, you can quickly add reminder comments that spread awareness of accessibility issues and encourage the use of the Accessibility Checker. For more info, go to Use the Accessibility Reminder to notify authors of accessibility issues .

In general, avoid tables if possible and present the data another way, like paragraphs with headings and banners. Tables with fixed width might prove difficult to read for people who use Magnifier, because such tables force the content to a specific size. This makes the font very small, which forces Magnifier users to scroll horizontally, especially on mobile devices.

If you have to use tables, use the following guidelines to make sure your table is as accessible as possible:

Avoid fixed width tables.

Make sure the tables render properly on all devices, including phones and tablets.

If you have hyperlinks in your table, edit the link texts, so they make sense and don't break mid-sentence.

Make sure the document is easily read with Magnifier. Send the document draft to yourself and view it on a mobile device to make sure people won’t need to horizontally scroll the document on a phone, for example.

Use table headers .

Test accessibility with Immersive Reader .

Use table headers

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table. Use a simple table structure for data only and specify column header information. Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

For step-by-step instructions on how to add a header row to a table, go to Create accessible tables in Word .

To ensure that tables don't contain split cells, merged cells, or nested tables, use the Accessibility Checker .

Title , Subtitle , and headings are meant to be scanned, both visually and with assistive technology.

Use the built-in Title and Subtitle styles specifically for the title and subtitle of the document.

Ideally, headings explain what a document section is about. Use the built-in heading styles and create descriptive heading texts to make it easier for screen reader users to determine the structure of the document and navigate the headings.

Organize headings in the prescribed logical order and do not skip heading levels. For example, use Heading 1 , Heading 2 , and then Heading 3 , rather than Heading 3 , Heading 1 , and then Heading 2 . Organize the information in your document into small chunks. Ideally, each heading would include only a few paragraphs.

For the step-by-step instructions on how to use the headings and styles, go to Improve accessibility with heading styles .

In addition to using headings to organize the content in your document, you can also create paragraph banners. In a paragraph banner, the background color block extends across the width of the document and highlights the text within the banner. This is a great alternative to tables to organize and separate content.

For instructions on how to create paragraph banners, go to Apply shading to words or paragraphs .

Alt text helps people who can’t see the screen to understand what’s important in visual content. Visual content includes pictures, SmartArt graphics, shapes, groups, charts, embedded objects, ink, and videos. In alt text, briefly describe the image and mention its intent. Screen readers read the text to describe the image to users who can’t see the image.

Avoid using text in images as the sole method of conveying important information. If you must use an image with text in it, repeat that text in the document. In alt text, briefly describe the image and mention the existence of the text and its intent.

Tip: To write a good alt text, make sure to convey the content and the purpose of the image in a concise and unambiguous manner. The alt text shouldn’t be longer than a short sentence or two—most of the time a few thoughtfully selected words will do. Do not repeat the surrounding textual content as alt text or use phrases referring to images, such as, "a graphic of" or "an image of." For more info on how to write alt text, go to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to add alt text, go to Add alternative text to a shape, picture, chart, SmartArt graphic, or other object .

To find missing alt text, use the Accessibility Checker .

For audio and video content, in addition to alt text, include closed captioning for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Instead of grouping objects in a diagram, flatten the diagram into a picture and add alt text to the picture. If you group the objects, the child objects are still in the tab order with groups.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, avoid using link texts such as "Click here," "See this page," "Go here," or "Learn more." Instead include the full title of the destination page. You can also add ScreenTips that appear when your cursor hovers over text or images that include a hyperlink.

Tip: If the title on the hyperlink's destination page gives an accurate summary of what’s on the page, use it for the hyperlink text. For example, this hyperlink text matches the title on the destination page: Create more with Microsoft templates .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create accessible hyperlinks and ScreenTips, go to Create accessible links in Word and Create or edit a hyperlink .

An accessible font doesn't exclude or slow down the reading speed of anyone reading a document, including people with low vision or reading disability or people who are blind. The right font improves the legibility and readability of the document.

For instructions on how to change the default font, go to Change the default font in Word .

Use accessible font format

Here are some ideas to consider:

To reduce the reading load, select familiar sans serif fonts such as Arial or Calibri. Avoid using all capital letters and excessive italics or underlines.

A person with a vision disability might miss out on the meaning conveyed by particular colors. For example, add an underline to color-coded hyperlink text so that people who are colorblind know that the text is linked even if they can’t see the color.

For headings, consider adding bold or using a larger font.

Use accessible font color

The text in your document should be readable in a high contrast mode. For example, use bright colors or high-contrast color schemes on opposite ends of the color spectrum. White and black schemes make it easier for people who are colorblind to distinguish text and shapes.

To ensure that text displays well in a high contrast mode, use the Automatic setting for font colors. For instructions on how to change the font color in Word, go to Change the font color .

Use the Accessibility Checker to analyze the document and find insufficient color contrast. The tool now checks the documents for text color against page color, table cell backgrounds, highlight, textbox fill color, paragraph shading, shape and SmartArt fills, headers and footers, and links.

Use the Colour Contrast Analyser , a free app that analyzes colors and contrast, and displays results almost immediately.

To make it easier for screen readers to read your document, organize the information in your document into small chunks such as bulleted or numbered lists.

Design lists so that you do not need to add a plain paragraph without a bullet or number to the middle of a list. If your list is broken up by a plain paragraph, some screen readers might announce the number of list items wrong. Also, the user might hear in the middle of the list that they are leaving the list.

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create lists, go to Create a bulleted or numbered list .

People who have dyslexia describe seeing text “swim together” on a page (the compressing of one line of text into the line below). They often see text merge or distort. To reduce the reading load, you can increase white space between sentences and paragraphs.

For the step-by-step instructions on how to adjust the spacing, go to Adjust indents and spacing in Word .

Try reading the document with Immersive Reader to check how it sounds like.

In your document, select View > Immersive Reader .

On the Immersive Reader tab, select Read Aloud .

To exit Immersive Reader , select Close Immersive Reader .

Rules for the Accessibility Checker

Use the Accessibility Reminder to notify authors of accessibility issues

Everything you need to know to write effective alt text

Make your Excel documents accessible to people with disabilities

Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities

Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities

In general, avoid tables if possible and present the data another way, like paragraphs with headings and banners. If you have to use tables, use the following guidelines to make sure your table is as accessible as possible:

Test accessibility with Immersive Reader.

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create paragraph banners, go to Apply shading to words or paragraphs .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create accessible hyperlinks and ScreenTips, go to Create accessible links in Word and Create or edit a hyperlink .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to change the default font, go to Change the default font in Word .

Use accessible font color

To ensure that text displays well in a high contrast mode, use the Automatic setting for font colors. For the step-by-step instructions on how to change the font color in Word, go to Change the font color .

Use the Accessibility Checker , to analyze the document and find insufficient color contrast. The tool now checks the documents for text color against page color, table cell backgrounds, highlight, textbox fill color, paragraph shading, shape and SmartArt fills, headers and footers, and links.

Top of Page

Add accessible hyperlink text

Test the accessibility of your documents, best practices for making word documents accessible.

In general, avoid tables if possible and present the data another way, like paragraphs with headings. Tables with fixed width might prove difficult to read for people who use Magnifier, because such tables force the content to a specific size. This makes the font very small, which forces Magnifier users to scroll horizontally, especially on mobile devices.

Avoid fixed width tables.

Use table headers .

Place the cursor anywhere in a table.

Select Style Options , and then select Header Row .

Style Options command expanded, with Header Row selected

In your table, type the column headings.

Select the text you want to format.

Open the tab menu and select the Home tab.

Select Styles , and then select the style you want.

For audio and video content, in addition to alt text, include closed captioning for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Instead of grouping objects in a diagram, flatten the diagram into a picture and add alt text to the picture. If you group the objects, the child objects are still in the tab order with groups.

Select the visual, for example, an image.

Select Alt Text , and then type the alt text for the visual.

The Alt Text dialog box in Word for iOS.

Select Done .

Select the text to which you want to add the hyperlink.

Open the tab menu and select the Insert tab.

Select Link .

In the ADDRESS field, type the destination URL.

The text you selected is shown in the DISPLAY field. This is the hyperlink text. If necessary, change it.

Link command, showing URL (address) and text to display

Use accessible font format

On the Home tab, select the current font type to open the font menu, and then select the font type you want or adjust the font size to your liking.

Font formatting options in Word for iOS.

On the Home tab, select Font Color , and then pick the font color you want.

In your document, place the cursor where you want to create the list.

Select Bullets or Numbering , and then select the bullet or numbering style you want.

Type each list item in the list.

Select your text.

On the Home tab, select Paragraph Formatting .

Select Line spacing , and then select the spacing option you want.

When your document is ready, you can try a few things to make sure it is accessible:

Switch to the full desktop or web version of Word, and then run the Accessibility Checker. The Accessibility Checker is a tool that reviews your content and flags accessibility issues it comes across. It explains why each issue might be a potential problem for someone with a disability. The Accessibility Checker also suggests how you can resolve the issues that appear. For instructions, go to Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker .

In the Word for iOS app, you can try navigating the pages using the built-in screen reader, VoiceOver.

To turn on VoiceOver, select Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver , and then turn on the VoiceOver switch.

To navigate the content on the document, swipe left or right.

Fix any accessibility issues you spotted when navigating with a screen reader.

Tip: When an option is selected, it’s gray.

Word for Android table style options menu

Type the column headings.

On the Home tab, select Styles , and then select the style you want.

Alt text helps people who can’t see the screen to understand what’s important in visual content. Visual content includes pictures, SmartArt graphics, shapes, tables, groups, charts, embedded objects, ink, and videos. In alt text, briefly describe the image and mention its intent. Screen readers read the text to describe the image to users who can’t see the image.

Alt Text dialog box in Word for Android.

Open the tab menu and select the Insert tab.

Select Link , and then select Insert Link .

In the Address field, type the destination URL.

The text you selected is shown in the Text to display field. This is the hyperlink text. If necessary, change it.

Select Insert .

Link command, showing text to display and address

Tip: To ensure that text displays well, select the Automatic setting.

On the Home tab, select Bullets or Numbering , and then select the bullet or numbering style you want.

Word for Android paragraph formatting menu

Select the spacing option you want.

In the Word for Android app, you can try navigating the pages using the built-in screen reader, TalkBack.

To turn on TalkBack, select Settings > Accessibility > TalkBack , and then turn on the Use service switch.

Best practices for making Word for the web documents accessible

The following table includes key best practices for creating Word for the web documents that are accessible to people with disabilities.

To ensure that tables don't contain split cells, merged cells, or nested tables, use the Accessibility Checker .

Title , Subtitle , and headings are meant to be scanned, both visually and with assistive technology.

Use the built-in Title and Subtitle styles specifically for the title and subtitle of the document.

For the step-by-step instructions on how to use the headings and styles, go to Improve accessibility with heading styles .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create paragraph banners, go to Apply shading to words or paragraphs .

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create accessible hyperlinks and ScreenTips, go to Create accessible links in Word and Create or edit a hyperlink .

To ensure that text displays well in a high contrast mode, use the Automatic setting for font colors. For instructions on how to change the font color in Word, go to Change the font color .

Use the Colour Contrast Analyser , a free app that analyzes colors and contrast, and displays results almost immediately.

Create accessible lists

For the step-by-step instructions on how to create lists, go to Create a bulleted or numbered list .

In your document, select View > Immersive Reader .

On the Immersive Reader tab, select Read Aloud .

To exit Immersive Reader , select Close Immersive Reader .

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk .

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COMMENTS

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Avoid common accessibility issues such as missing alternative text (alt text) and low contrast colors. · In general, avoid tables if possible and present the
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This section details best practices to follow in addition to the checklist to ensure accessibility. Document Formatting. The file must be in .docx format