About

Documents that are designed using accessibility standards and guidelines are beneficial for all users. Accessibility considerations include: appropriate document structure, navigation, alternative text descriptions, and adequate labels.

Digital content accessibility guidelines are very similar to the guidelines and standards for ensuring web content is accessible, however the techniques to achieve accessibility will vary depending on the format of the document.

The most common file formats posted on websites and used for sharing and disseminating information are:

Microsoft Word .docx
Adobe .pdf
Mircosoft PowerPoint .pptx
Microsoft Excel .xls

Principles

Ensure that document files posted on websites contain text and are not scanned images. (Copying a document on a photocopier to create a pdf attachment creates a scanned image.)
Word Documents - Provide document structure by using appropriate headings (<H1>, <H2>, <H3>). Screen readers rely on document structure for navigation.
Create Accessible pdf documents from accessible word documents.
Add bookmarks to pdf files to create document structure.
Provide logical reading order.
Add appropriate alt text to all meaningful images.
Add appropriate alt text to charts and graphs.
Consider adding long description alt text when a longer description is required.
Add appropriate labels to tables.
Verify the table reading order.
Add appropriate labels to forms.
Use meaningful hyperlink text.
Provide accurate metadata in document properties.