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Tagged PDF files make it easier for screen readers and other assistive technologies to determine a logical reading order and navigation for the file, as well as allowing for content reflow when using large type displays, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and mobile phones. This tagging can be done automatically when you save a file as PDF format starting in Microsoft Office versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, or Word.

Double-check in your Microsoft Office program that your properties are set to “create a tagged PDF for accessibility” before the PDF document is actually generated.

How does PDF tagging work?

Tagging adds a layer of information called “semantics” to a PDF document, which indicates what types of objects are included in a file, for example: headings, paragraphs, images and tables. When you save your file as PDF, these semantics are identified and labelled by the Office application you are using and added to the file. Assistive technologies, such as screen readers and magnifiers are then able to access the tagging and use it to present the information to disabled users. If you do not tag your file, assistive technologies may not be able to understand what certain parts of your file are, in context, and present the user with a confusing interpretation of the file. In some cases, some items may not be presented at all.

Just remember, tagging a PDF document does not guarantee compliance to the AODA standard, it is only the first and most important step. All other accessibility practices and procedures should be followed prior to the PDF creation process as well.

Users with low vision must be able to see the document content when displayed in “High Contrast” mode. Below are some simple ways to test if your documents are visible in High Contrast Mode:

To ensure that text displays well in High Contrast Mode:

• When choosing font colours, use the Automatic setting. Text that is set to Automatic will render properly in High Contrast mode.

To ensure that non-text elements (e.g. images and graphs) display well in High Contrast Mode:

• Print out a copy of the document for comparison with the screen display

• Turn on High Contrast Mode: Left Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen

• Check that items are still easily visible, e.g.:

  • Text

  • Bullet characters

  • Graphics

  • Table borders

  • Information conveyed through colour

• Adjust colour settings accordingly

Note: It may be necessary to switch between High Contrast and regular viewing modes a number of times during this process.

It is important that you have identified all the headings or sections in your document with appropriate heading styles before you create the table of contents. After you mark the entries for your table of contents, you are ready to build it.

Use this procedure if you created a document by using heading styles.

1. Click where you want to insert the table of contents, (usually at the beginning of a document).
2. On the References tab, in the Table of Contents group, click Table of Contents, and then click the table of contents style that you want.

Note: If you want to specify more options — for example, how many heading levels to show — click Insert Table of Contents to open the Table of Contents dialog box.

To enable the Alternative Text Quick button, navigate to the fly-out menu (known as the Quick Access Toolbar) at the top of the ribbon and choose “More Commands”.

Select “Customize” on the left (Word 2010 users will see “Quick Access Toolbar”). Use the drop-down menu, “Choose commands from” and select “Commands Not in the Ribbon”.

Select “Alt Text” and the “Add” button to add the option to your Quick Access Toolbar.

You will now have easy access to alternative text for images, charts and graphs from the Quick Access Toolbar.

Highlight the image, chart or graph and click the alternative text button that you just set up in the Quick Access Toolbar. Select the “Alt Text” tab and insert an alternative text description. Word 2010 users will type the description in the “Description” box.

In order for a person who is using a screen reader to understand your table content, you must specify the column headings in Microsoft Word.

If you are using Microsoft Word 2007 or higher:

• Click anywhere in the table.
• Go to the Table Tools Design tab at the top of the page. Check the Header Row check box.
• Type (or retype) your column headings.
• Press the Enter key.

Setting the text at a good default font size of around 10 – 14 pts will help whether your information is on a screen or in print. This also allows assistive technologies to easily resize the text for visually impaired users.

Blocks of text in CAPITALS or italics should be restricted to headings or very short sentences. Large blocks of text in CAPS can impact on the legibility of a document as it can make the letters hard to distinguish as all of the letters are of the same height.

Underlined text and text in italics can also impact on readability as it can often make it hard to recognise the text.

Remember, text using a decorative typeface that is noticeable may not necessarily be readable.

Hyperlinks are often scanned or searched for by screen reader users. It is important to make sure that these links make sense without their surrounding content. For example, a link should say “Tuesday ToolTip for the week of March 10th.” rather than “Tuesday ToolTip for the week of March 10th. Click here.” The phrase “click here” will not make any sense when read out of context.

When copying and pasting a link into Word, it is automatically recognized as a link to an outside source. To edit the way in which a link is displayed, and read by a screen reader, follow these steps:

1. Right-click (control-click if on Mac) the url and select “Hyperlink”
2. Select “Edit Hyperlink”
3. The new dialog box that appears will allow you to give a more descriptive name for the provided link.

Make sure to group items in numbered (if they are sequential) or bulleted (if they are related) lists so they will be announced and read as lists by assistive technologies such as screen readers.

1. Highlight the text you want in the list.
2. Using the “Home” tab on the top ribbon, under the “Paragraph” section, select either the bulleted or numbered option.

Remember, if you are not using the list options available to you in Microsoft Word, you are essentially denying someone, using an assistive technology, the fact that a list exists.

1. Go to menu item: File
2. Select Info in the left window pane
3. Under Prepare for Sharing, an alert will appear if a potential accessibility issue has been detected
4. To view and Repair the issues, select Check for Issues and then Check Accessibility

• Error – content that makes a file very difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to understand
• Warning – content that in most, but not all, cases makes a file difficult for people with disabilities to understand
• Tip – content that people with disabilities can understand, but that might be better organized or presented in a way that would maximize their experience

Keep in mind that these checkers do not check all accessibility guidelines and criteria. You cannot replace responsible usage and best practices with the click of a button.

Benefit of proper heading structure

One of the benefits of a proper and consistent heading structure in a document is that they can be used to improve access to the content. For example, the heading structure could be extracted into a Table of Contents or an outline, providing in-document navigation or overview.

Screen reader users have header navigation, which allows them to go through the document on a header by header basis. It’s not perfect, but its very useful to find a piece of information quickly. The screen reader allows a means of navigation to next or previous headers of a particular level, so a visitor can, for example, jump quickly through headings or “chapters” in the document.

Barriers in skipping headings

If heading levels are skipped they may not be found by a screen reader user. For example, if you skip from a heading level two directly to a heading level four, the user will be informed that there are no third level headings. Without third level headings, the expectation is that there will be no fourth, fifth or sixth level headings there either. So those headings will typically not be found by a screen reader user.

Skipping a header level makes navigating by headings less usable for screen reader users.