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DIFFERENT ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS IN MS WORD

Microsoft Word Accessibility Introduction Microsoft Word has a number of tools that you can use to make documents more accessible. The goal of this tutorial is to explain how to use the accessibility features in the latest Microsoft Office 365 application which is the desktop version of the Microsoft Word 2016 program. For additional support with other versions of Microsoft Word, check out the support page on the Microsoft website. Things to Consider:  No automated accessibility checker will ensure that a document is accessible.  Automated checkers are a good starting point, not the end-all, to check your documents for accessibility.  We recommend using the local, installed desktop version of Office when checking documents for accessibility. Some features and functionality are missing or not working properly in the online versions, including the Accessibility Checker tool.  Accessibility checking requires manual inspection and some human judgement (e.g. “What is meaningful alternative text for an image?” WCAG 1.1.1).  Microsoft is quick to point out the limitations of their Accessibility Checker, and they have provided a guide on the support site to clarify what their Accessibility Checker checks, the distinctions it makes between Errors, Warnings, and Tips, and what recommendations they are for the document creator in terms of manual inspection.  All MSU faculty, staff, and students can download Office for their local devices at no cost by logging into their MSU email account (spartanmail.msu.edu). Once logged in, in the top left corner of the screen there is Office 365 text located between the menu and the Outlook text. Once you select the Office 365 text, on the next screen in the right middle corner there will be an option to \"Install Office

apps\" and from there you can download Office 2016. You can install on up to five devices. Microsoft Office Accessibility features Microsoft Office has been designed to include many accessibility features. Windows 10 users will also find many accessibility features which can be used system wide. Microsoft has a range of online services and information  Microsoft Champions Accessibility Tips  Microsoft also provides a Disability Answer Desk where customers with disabilities can seek support with Microsoft Office and Windows. This includes product issues, accessibility questions and use of assistive technology.  Microsoft Accessibility checking has been built in to allow people to check how accessible their documents and emails are. Setup Office Accessibility Features on your device Office apps work with the accessibility settings and features of most devices. These settings can help to make them easier to use. For example, you can invert or change the colour contrast to make the screen easier to see. Or, you can control the device with the keyboard instead of a mouse, and so on. See Microsoft Set up your device to Work with Accessibility in Office 365 for full information. Office offers the dictate (speech to text) and either immersive reader or Read Aloud (text to speech) for most apps although functionality varies between the online and installed desktop versions. (Screen reader and keyboard shortcuts information). There are also features such as PowerPoint design ideas and Tell Me that make it faster and easier to access commands.

Windows 10 users should also visit the Windows 10 Accessibility Features page Sussex Technology Enhanced Learning site has information on created accessible teaching resources. How do we make Microsoft Word documents accessible? They key to providing an accessible Microsoft Word document is to ensure that the content is formatted correctly and to ensure that the accessibility options are implemented. An assistive technology or a screen reader user might be able to read a normal Word Document. But ensuring that we meet the accessibility techniques in Microsoft Word ensures that the document is easily usable and accessible to people with disabilities. What are the techniques to make a Microsoft document accessible? A Microsoft Word document needs to be formatted to meet the accessibility standards. In addition, we may have to ensure that certain information is provided in addition to make the document

accessible to assistive technology & screen readers. Some of the techniques that would be followed would be to:  Set the relevant Headings  Mark the language of the document & the content  Set the correct reading order  Mark the lists  Set the column and row headers for tables  Set the bookmarks A large number of documents created today are developed using Microsoft Word. Accessibility options and best practices are available to ensure that documents created with Microsoft Word are accessible to people with disabilities using screen readers and assistive technology. It’s often not knowing about these features. Microsoft Word is probably the go to format for so many people to create documents.

Figures suggest that around 1 in 8 people worldwide are currently living with a disability; that’s about 1 BILLION of us. Taking steps to create a more accessible workplace, then, is key to ensuring that every person can participate and contribute no matter their abilities. By making everything accessible as standard, it creates a more inclusive culture and improves things for everybody, whether they have a disability or not. Every business has a responsibility to be inclusive and accessible. Luckily, packages like Microsoft 365 make this easy – not only because the programmes are designed to make work flow more seamless, but also because many of these programmes have some fantastic accessibility features. Microsoft as an organisation have a huge commitment to accessibility, and as part of this, are working to make their own products and software as accessible as possible too. Check Accessibility in Word To check accessibility in Word, click the “Review” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the “Check Accessibility” button in the “Accessibility” button group to open the “Accessibility” task pane. Alternatively, to open it if you are running an older version of Word, click the “File” tab in the Ribbon to open the Backstage view. Then click the “Info” command at the left side of the Backstage view. Then click the “Check for Issues” drop-down button in the “Inspect Document” area to the right. Then choose the “Check Accessibility” command from the drop-down to open the “Accessibility” task pane. In the “Accessibility” task pane, a list of “Errors” and/or “Warnings” may appear. If these appear, these indicate serious issues that will most likely cause problems for people with disabilities. Below the list of “Errors” and “Warnings,” you may also

see a list of “Tips.” These are issues that could cause problems but aren’t as serious as the issues in the “Errors” or “Warnings” list. You can click any collapsible and expandable issue to see the specific document content causing the issue below it. You can then click an issue to select it in the document, so you can fix it. For each item selected, you can see what to fix and how to fix it in the “Why Fix:” and “Steps To Fix” sections of the “Additional Information” list at the bottom of the task pane. You can also click the drop-down arrow that appears at the right end of the selected issue within the “Accessibility Checker” pane to show a drop-down menu of commands that you can select to help you quickly fix the issue with the selected content. The choices vary, based on the issue and the content. However, you can select a choice from this drop-down menu to open the related fix for the content and make your corrections, as needed. As you make the corrections, the selected items are removed from that section of the task pane. To close the “Accessibility Checker” task pane when you finish correcting these issues, click the “X” button in the upper-right corner of the “Accessibility Checker” task pane.

How to Automatically Check Accessibility in Word Word 2019 and Word for Office 365 also let you run the accessibility checker as a background tool so you can constantly check document content as you create it. When enabled, a new “Accessibility” status appears within the Status Bar, so you can see if you have any accessibility issues that arise as you create the document. You can click this status at any time to easily open the “Accessibility” pane. An easy way to enable the accessibility checker as you work is to check the “Keep accessibility checker running while I work” checkbox within the “Accessibility” task pane. Alternatively, to enable running the accessibility checker as you work in the “Word Options” dialog box, click the “File” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the “Options” command at the left side of the Backstage view to open the “Word Options” dialog box. Then select the “Ease of Access” category at the left side of the “Word Options” dialog box. Under the “Make your document accessible to others” category to the right, check the “Keep accessibility checker running while I work” checkbox. Then click the “OK” button in the “Word Options” dialog box to apply the change.