8 Word – Check Accessibility

Overview

Word has a built-in Accessibility Checker that scans for common issues. While a helpful starting point, a manual accessibility check is always best practice for comprehensive review.

Key areas to consider are:

1. Running the Accessibility Checker and fixing identified issues.
2. Manually checking for accessibility.

Important Notes

Word’s Accessibility Checker identifies common issues like missing alt text, headings, table header rows, and unformatted lists. It shows you where problems are and suggests fixes.

However, the checker won’t verify quality. It doesn’t check:

• The accuracy or clarity of your alt text.
• The logical order of your headings (e.g., it won’t flag if you skip from Heading 1 to Heading 3).
• Whether images are “In line with text.”
• The clarity of your link descriptions.

Essentially, the checker is a good first step, but a thorough manual review of your document is essential for true accessibility.

Run Accessibility Checker & Fix Issues

1. Navigate to the Review tab on the Ribbon.
2. Click Check Accessibility.
3. The Accessibility Assistant (or “Accessibility Checker” pane, depending on your Word version) will appear on the right, listing issues by category.
4. To address issues, click on each item to see the problem, its location, and “How to fix” instructions. Follow these instructions (e.g., add alt text, fix header rows).
5. After fixing issues, click Check Accessibility again to confirm they’re resolved (some versions update automatically).
6. Once all identified issues are fixed, the checker will read “No Issues found.”

Manual Accessibility Check

After using the checker, always manually verify your document’s accessibility, focusing on headings, tables, images, links, and lists.

Manual Check – Headings

1. Open the Navigation Pane to verify your heading structure.
2. Ensure there’s a logical, hierarchical order to your headings (e.g., don’t skip from Heading 1 directly to Heading 3). For example, if all headings are set to Heading 1, you’ll need to adjust levels for proper structure.

Manual Check – Tables

1. Check the table header row: Highlight the first row in the table, right-click, select Table Properties, click the Row tab, and verify that both “Allow row to break across pages” and “Repeat header row across pages” are checked.

Manual Check – Images

Check each image for proper inline settings and accurate alt text.

1. To check if the image is inline:
   • Click on the image.
   • Navigate to the Picture Format tab in the Ribbon.
   • Click the Wrap Text button and verify that the In Line with Text option is selected. (If not, change it.)
2. To check the alt text:
   • Click on the image.
   • Navigate to the Picture Format tab of the Ribbon.
   • Click Alt Text and verify if your description is accurate for the context, or if you need to mark/unmark the image as decorative.

Manual Check – Links

1. Check your link descriptions for clarity and the accuracy of your URL.
2. Highlight the text of your link, right-click, click Hyperlink, then Edit Hyperlink. You can now edit the descriptive text and the URL as needed.

Manual Check – Lists

1. Check your lists to see if they are properly formatted: Click on a list item. If a grey box appears around the list, and the list button (Numbered or Bulleted) in the Home tab of the Ribbon is selected, the list is formatted correctly.
2. For bulleted lists, ensure you only use the default bullet types (circle, open circle, and square).