Accessible PDF Documents in Microsoft Word
- Laurie Fox
- Craig Moscicki
- Susan Palmer
- Sebastian Whyte (Deactivated)
Below you can find detailed instructions on how to create accessible PDF documents in Microsoft Word for assistive technologies such as Screen Readers and Braille devices. However, to create a fully accessible document, authors must incorporate the following principles into their documents:
If you have not done so, please update Microsoft Word to the latest Edition of Microsoft Office 365. Please see this link for detailed information on how to update Microsoft Office 365. If you are having trouble successfully updating Microsoft Office 365, you may want to delete it entirely and install a new version of Microsoft Office 365. See this Wiki article on How To Install Microsoft Office 365.
MacOS: Creating Accessible PDF Documents In Microsoft Word
1. Launch Microsoft Word 2016 and Open the Document you wish to convert.
2. To scan your document for current Accessibility Issues, select the Review tab located at top of the documents.
3. From here, select Check Accessibility to scan the document for current accessibility issues.
4. After the Accessibility Check button has been pressed, an inspection window will appear on the right of the screen addressing the Issue and How to Fix it.
Please refer to this Guide for detailed information on how to resolve Accessibility Warnings and Errors in Microsoft Word.
5. To add a title to your document, select the File tab located in the left hand corner of the screen and select the Properties tab from the drop down menu.
6. Then select the Summary tab. Add the name of the document Title in the text field and then press OK to continue.
7. Once all accessibility issues have been resolved, select File in the right hand corner of the screen. Then select Save As and choose File Format: PDF.
8. Ensure the "Best For Electronic Distribution and Accessibility" option is checked and select Export to save as a accessible PDF file.
Windows: Creating Accessible PDF Documents In Microsoft Word
1. Launch Microsoft Word 2016 and Open Document.
2. Select info from the menu. See the Inspect Document section. Select Check for Issues to scan document for accessibility issues.
3. Under the Check For Issues menu. Select Check Accessibility to scan document for current issues.
4. The Accessibility Checker will appear to the right of the document. See the How to Fix section for detailed information on how to correct the issues.
Please refer to this Guide for detailed information on how to resolve Accessibility Warnings and Errors in Microsoft Word.
5. Once the errors are resolved. Select File and chose Save As. Select the type of file from the drop down menu and select PDF.
6. Then Add a Title, a Tag, and ensure the optimization is set to Standard. Finally Save the document to desired location.