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Directorate of Communications, Marketing and Student Recruitment

Creating accessible documents

We need to ensure that all documents published online by the University are accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. The following guide covers the most important aspects you need to be aware of when creating accessible documents. 

Documents in MS Word

Making your MS Word documents accessible is very simple. There are three key topics to keep in mind:

  • alternative text for images (alt text)
  • headings and paragraph styles
  • using the Accessibility Checker

The following section looks at these topics in more detail:

  • Accessibility Checker. MS Word has a built-in Accessibility Checker. Use this to identify any accessibility issues in your document. If you can’t find the Accessibility Checker in the Review tab, use the Search or Help facility to locate it. See also the support page for the Accessibility Checker.
  • Headings. Use the built-in heading levels (Styles) in MS Word to organise your document into sections: Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on. Don’t use manual changes (font size, bold) to create headings. If you use less common styles such as Title, you may need to check they are mapped to an appropriate Outline Level.
  • Images and visuals. Add alternative text (alt text) for any images and visuals. The alternative text should be descriptive and informative. If the image is purely decorative, mark it as such. Make sure any photos and images are anchored in the text so they are tied to the relevant text. 
  • Hyperlinks. Avoid writing out website and email addresses in full in your document. Instead, use the Insert Hyperlink feature in MS Word and provide meaningful display text for your hyperlink (‘Text to Display’). This link text should be descriptive and informative. If you do have to write out an email or web address in full, put the alternative text in the Screen Tip.
  • Lists. Use the built-in features for creating bulleted lists and numbered lists. Don’t use your own formatting (hyphens, tabs, spaces) to create a list of items.
  • Page Header and Footer. Set up the page header and footer using the built-in feature in MS Word. That way, they won’t be read out on every page by a screen reader. Remember that a suitable title in the page header - and page numbers in the footer - will make it easier for users to find their way in the document.
  • Table of Contents and Bookmarks. For longer documents, add a Table of Contents and bookmarks in your Word document. Again, this will make it easier to navigate the document.
  • Tables. Use simple tables. Break up composite tables into smaller tables. Tag the header row in each table. Provide alternative text for the table. 
  • Footnotes. Use the built-in features in MS Word to add footnotes to your document, if you need them.

Converting your MS Word document to PDF

Microsoft provide their own guidance on creating accessible PDFs. Here are some key points to think about:

  • Start with an accessible source document. If you want to create an accessible PDF document, you need to start with an accessible source document, such as an accessible MS Word document.
  • When to use PDF. Does your content really need to be in PDF format? Before you convert your MS Word document to PDF format, you need to be sure that this is the best way to publish this content. Remember that a web page will normally be more accessible than a PDF. A web page will also be mobile-friendly, which benefits all users.
  • Update the Document Properties. You should fill in the fields: Title, Author, Subject, Tags (keywords). See the Microsoft support article on document properties for help with this.
  • Conversion Options/Settings. Make sure that you select the option ‘Document structure tags for accessibility’. Optimize the PDF for online publishing. This will normally result in a file with a smaller file size. You can also choose to 0use your headings to create bookmarks.
  • Use Save As PDF or Export As PDF. If you decide to go ahead with creating a PDF, convert your MS Word document by using ‘Save As PDF’ or ‘Export to PDF’. This will preserve the accessibility features that you have built into your document. If you use ‘Print to PDF’, your final PDF document will not be fully accessible.