Creating Accessible PDF Documents in Microsoft Word
- Laurie Fox
- Craig Moscicki
- Anjali Shiyamsaran
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. 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.
Creating Accessible PDF Documents In Microsoft Word
1. Launch Microsoft Word and Open the document you wish to convert.
2. Scan your document for current accessibility issues by selecting the Review tab at the top of the document.
3. Select Check Accessibility to scan the document for current accessibility issues.
4. An Accessibility Assistant window will appear on the right of the screen addressing each issue and how to fix it. Fix all issues.
Please refer to this Guide for detailed information on how to resolve Accessibility Warnings and Errors in Microsoft Word.
5. Add a Title to your document in the File tab located in the left hand corner of the screen. Select Info (on Windows) or Properties (on Mac) from the drop down menu.
6. Add the title of the document in the Title text field.
7. Once you have resolved all of your document’s accessibility issues, select File in the left hand corner of the screen. Then select Save as Adobe PDF.
Note: Do not create a PDF from the Print window in Word, as this will decrease your document’s accessibility.