Used properly, pdf is a very considerably more accessible format than word for most people and most content types. Why pdf is a superior format over ms word for accessibility. Text wrapping is a useful feature in word, but to be accessible, text wrap must be set to in line with text instead of wrapping the text around the image. If these files are converted to html or tagged pdf, the alt text is generally preserved. In line with text sets the imageobject reading order in relation to the text. Making documents accessible disability support resources. Microsoft word is used for making and editing doc files while adobe acrobat is for creation of pdf files. Creating accessible pdfs from microsoft word accessible.
Pcc instructional support creating accessible content pdf document accessibility. We create and correct documents to increase access for people with a disability, especially for people who are blind or have low vision. Its like asking whether taking a train journey is better than owning a yacht. Another big variance between the two file formats is each platforms ability to edit content. During the past 20 years, criterion has provided government and corporate clients with the most comprehensive manual pdf accessibility testing available. Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Microsoft word to pdf accessibility for online course. Guide to the essentials of creating accessible pdfs with. The good news is that if you create pdfs this way, simply make your word and doc documents accessible and the accessibility traits will carryover into the pdf format. Here are some highlights of the november 2016 update of word for pcs and word for windows 10. Pdf tags provide a hidden structured, textual representation of the pdf content that is presented to screen readers.
Starting with an accessible word document, a goal when exporting to pdf is do so in a way that preserves the accessibility features of the word document, including heading structure, alternate text for images, and markup that explicitly identifies lists, tables, document language, and other content that is important for accessibility. Using office 365proplus with autosaves to onedrive. Documents created using word and saved in pdf can be edited using word while pdfs made using acrobat can be edited through thirdparty developers. Accessibility checker now provides steps to fix instructions that match ribbon commands, such as how to create a header row in a table. Small pdfs are good pdfs just because a pdf can be made of any word document doesnt mean that it shouldnt follow the same rules of any other web page or downloadable file. That course is one of four in our accessibility for content creators curriculum, along with accessible powerpoint techniques and pdf accessibility. The automated tool pdf accessibility checker pac is widely used by organizations around the globe. If the pdf document contains 9 or more pages, bookmarks should be added. Accessible documents are useful to those in the private sector even when theyre not required to be compliant by law. Consider increasing the accessibility of your pdf using acrobat professional. My experience especially in an he library context is that readers are more likely to come across a badly made pdf than a badly made word document.
In order for an adobe pdf document to be accessible, it must be a tagged. Pdf document accessibility portland community college. For example, documents that have visual lists can be tagged with list tags, documents that have visual data tables can be tagged with table tags, etc. If youre creating a pdf for your customers to read online you should make it small. Word has the advantages of user familiarity and more flexiblereliable inbuilt texttospeech from office 2010 onwards. Doc files can be created using microsoft word, and it can be saved in pdf format.
Unlike word, accessibility information in pdf is added in a separate layer from the content. Optimally document accessibility should begin in the native document format. Pdfua conforming pdf files may be readily exported to highly structured, consistent html, ideally suited for restyling. Training on pdf accessibility is available through the digital communications site.
On the other hand, adobe created acrobat to make pdf files but limits its. Bookmarks allow the reader to quickly navigate to points of interest within a pdf by linking to a specific page and view of that page. Facts and opinions about pdf accessibility a list apart. In an era of inclusion, its imperative that companies consider accessibility to boost their brand perception. To learn how to use these features with a screen reader and keyboard, choose the word icon on office accessibility center. For example, many documents are created in a word processing or desktop. Pdf accessibility california state university, northridge. In 2018, there were 2,258 lawsuits in the usa related to digital accessibility. In general, you should use tables to display data rather than as a way to make your document or webpage look the way you want it to.
As with previous webinars in the series weve captured all audience questions from the presentation and have answered them in this post. Pdf about commonlook commonlook is a worldleading provider of software products and professional services enabling government agencies and corporations to meet their obligations for electronic document accessibility to achieve compliance accessibility standards. When authoring documents using microsoft word, adobe indesign, or other tools. Accessible document practices in microsoft word todd m. If you plan on viewing the file through a mobile phone app, pdf is better at preserving the layout whereas word documents have a higher chance of getting jumbled. To save accessible features made in a word document to a pdf document, you must save a word document properly. There is more to an accessible pdf file than tags, but an untagged pdf. To run the checker, select full check from the accessibility tab. Guide to the essentials of creating accessible pdfs with microsoft word and acrobat. Pdf file format accessibility features combined with adobe acrobat and adobe. Pdf accessibility converting documents to pdfs webaim. Options for microsoft publisher documents options for publishing.
Pdf tags provide a hidden, structured representation of the pdf content that is presented to screen readers. The gap in accessibility between word and acrobat pro is going to depend on how complex the document youre creating is e. But assuming you were talking about pdf vs the word document. There are three ways to create a pdf, either converting a source file, like a powerpoint or a word document to a pdf, scanning a hard copy of a document to pdf, or creating the document in adobe acrobat pro. In pdf, the reading order is simply decided by the placement of the image tag in relationship to the tag that describes the text. You create a document in either word or docs then saveas or export to a pdf file. Request document accessibility remediation from us.
Headings in word accessibility for online course content. Jisc accessibility and inclusion post author september 15, 2016 at 8. Overview of accessible documents accessible technology. Then click an item to select it in the document, so you can correct it. An accessible pdf can be as good or better than an accessible word document depending on needs. This article compares several popular electronic document file formats in regards to accessibility. Note that either save as pdf option will require a manual check of the pdf tags to ensure accessibility, as automated tools sometimes produce tagging errors. First, lets discuss the difference between how pdf addresses accessibility and how it is handled in word.
The accessibility of any individual pdf file depends upon how well the author prepared the file for accessibility, and the accessibility of the experience for the end user depends on how well the pdf viewer application supports the accessibility features in the specification. We can apply accessibility techniques to your word, pdf and html documents. Pdf files on the web are sometimes annoying and very often unnecessary. Once youve addressed any issues found by the accessibility checker, office will use that information to create accessibility tags in the pdf. Before generating your pdf, run the accessibility checker to make sure your document is easy for people of all abilities to access and edit. Differences between pdf and doc difference between. Modern versions of microsoft office allow you add image alt text to inserted images. The fastest and easiest way to make sure your pdf is accessible is to run the accessibility checker first. Section 508 guide tagging pdfs in adobe acrobat pro. When people talk about accessible pdf files, they are usually referring to tagged pdf files. Make your word documents accessible with ms word accessibility techniques.
Microsoft word is a commonlyused application among individuals with a variety of disabilities, and is reasonably accessible. This is a quick guide to the essentials of creating accessible pdfs for. Creating accessible pdfs pdf accessibility testing. You should still make sure the pdf content is available in another format such as. What are my options for making documents accessible.
While the accessibility of these pdfs also depends on the programs used, the person who creates and converts the file has great control over the outcome. This page is an overview of creating accessible pdf documents using adobe acrobat pro dc. Pdf accessibility defining pdf accessibility webaim. Learn microsoft word accessibility techniques at deque. Accessible pdf documents allow information to be readily available for assistive technology. An accessible word document does not allow for anchored images or objects. Listed below are alt text guidelines followed by the howto steps for office 365 alt text style. For example, many documents are created in a word processing or desktop publishing application, and then exported as pdf documents.
For more information see our pdf creation best practices and facts vs. Unable to run the accessiblity checker for current file. You can edit pdfs, but its not as easy as a word document. To see the specific items causing the issues in the document, click any collapsible and expandable issue. Screen readers can easily navigate the content when accessibility is considered during the design process. Accessibility at penn state image alt text in microsoft. Pdf files are typically created in some other application. And pdfua iso 14289, which is a pdf standard specifically intended to make the content within a pdf available for accessibility. If there is a strong user need to provide a pdf for example for printing the document must still be accessible. Learn more about the document accessibility course. The results of any automated tool must be checked manually to determine if warnings or failures are accurate or if they are false. Save microsoft word file as accessible pdf teaching. Pdf accessibility is the creation of a fully accessible pdf that can be accessed by people with disabilities.
Pdfa iso 9005, which is a pdf standard specifically for long term pdf preservation for archiving. Webaim offers a fourweek online course on word, powerpoint, and pdf accessibility. Create and verify pdf accessibility adobe acrobat pro dc adobe acrobat pdf accessibility tutorial. For steps, see creating accessible documents in microsoft word starting with an accessible word document, a goal when exporting to pdf is do so in a way that preserves the accessibility features of the word document, including heading structure, alternate text for. You can use words navigation side panel to see a list of headings and jump to any part of the document by clicking its heading in the list. Pdf files were not originally designed to be read using computers, but to be.
Color contrast for word documents meets accessibility guidelines for text, styles, and objects by default. The builtin accessibility checker full check is a good tool to use with a new pdf to identify what issues need to be addressed, and can also be used after repairing a pdf to ensure no obvious issues were overlooked. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you provide more accessible microsoft word documents for your. Pdf vs word pdf accessibility and compliance commonlook. A picture of the accessibility checker task pane in word. Although there are many ways to convert a word document to a pdf, it is important to perform this action in a specific way each time to ensure that the. With the need for accessible web sites, web content accessibility guidelines wcag were also developed. Last week, we wrapped up the microsoft word accessibility basics webinar series with our final session on converting word docs to pdf. Running the word accessibility checker on my document returns an alert. When you save a word file as pdf, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your pdf file retains the accessibility features you included in your word document headings, alt text for graphics, etc. Pdf accessibility html should be the default format for all government information. In office 2011, you can create an accessible word document, but in order to export to tagged pdf you must take that final step in word for windows or. Accessible pdfs are tested using a combination of automated testing tools and manual procedures. Cannot check the current file type for accessibility issues.
Did you know pdf accessibility testing software can only capture 30% to 35% of pdf accessibility failures. The accessibility of these pdfs typically depends on the program or code creating the file. Accessible word, pdfs, powerpoint and excel documents. But when they arent either of those things, we need to make them accessible for the same reasons we make other web content accessible. In outline view, its easy to rearrange your document just by dragging headings.
Is microsoft word a superior format for accessibly. When to use microsoft word vs pdf files msu web accessibility. These include microsoft office word, powerpoint, or excel, adobe indesign, libreoffice, and. Check accessibility in word instructions teachucomp, inc.
Best for electronic distribution and accessibility. Pdf is best if you want to preserve the document exactly as it is right now, making it good for archiving. Similarly, any content requiring mathematical symbols or formulae will be more accessible to screen readers in word if the inbuilt equation editor is used. Make sure that you have the right version of acrobat for your version of word. The pdf specification provides robust support for accessibility. In the save as dialog box, click the arrow in the save as type list, and then click pdf. Creation of accessible documents we implement the web content accessibility guidelines wcag 2.
Weissenberger, university of iowa microsoft word is one of the most popular applications in the world, widely used to create worksheets, articles, syllabi, and other documents. In last weeks post, we talked about how to make your indesign creations accessible with our course on accessible indesign at deque university. However, in order for word documents to be fully accessible, authors must follow the core principles. Doc was created by microsoft while pdf was made by adobe systems. Save a pdf straight from word and you may be good to go, if the original word document was made well. The first step in creating an accessible pdf from microsoft word is to ensure that the original word document is accessible. When a user wants to edit this file, he can go back to word and do some adjustments there.
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