Digital Accessibility Challenge Week 5

Creating Accessible PDF's

Overview:

Manhattan College ITS is encouraging employees to begin to take some simple steps that will structure your documents so that they are more accessible. When creating documents, spreadsheets or presentations it is important to provide an organized structure to all your documents in a way that allows them to be accessible. Fortunately many word processing tools such as MS Word or Google Docs are advanced in the accessibility area and allows you to use features generally available within each tool.

Objective:

Last week’s focus was on creating accessible Google Docs. This week’s challenge we will focus on best practices, for creating accessible PDF's. The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) provides a convenient way to transport, view and print electronic documents. PDF files are typically created in other applications like MS Word and PowerPoint. They can also be produced by scanning the pages of a book or journal article.

This week will focus on examining some of the features that make PDF documents more usable by a diverse audience. The information will also provide techniques for improving the accessibility of existing and new PDF documents.

Note: This section refers to two Adobe software applications. Reader and Acrobat. Adobe Reader is a free application that is limited to viewing, searching and printing PDF files. Adobe Acrobat, by contrast, is a full-featured application that allows for the creation and editing of PDF documents.

How Does Digital Accessibility Impact Manhattan College Faculty, Staff and Students?

Faculty creating instructional materials and presenting lessons.
Employees creating documents, forms, newsletters and correspondence for distribution.
Students writing reports and preparing presentations.

Other ways to make a document more accessible so it ready to be converted to PDF include:

 Create Clear Titles:

Straightforward PDF titles are key for achieving clarity in your content. The people are going to first need to find the document on your website. Align the title of the document with the type of information that is included in the PDF file. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this file? What type of information would a customer need from this document? For example, if the document is a business loan application, then a good file title is quite simply Business Loan Application. 

Defining PDF Accessibility

Before discussing accessibility of PDF files, it is important to distinguish between Adobe, Acrobat and PDF.  These items are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
Adobe is company, they are the creators of Acrobat.
Acrobat is a tool for creating, editing and viewing PDF files.
PDF is a format or type of document. It stands for Portable Document Format. The PDF format was created by Adobe.
The terms Adobe, Acrobat and PDF are related in the same way as Microsoft, Word and doc.
Some Manhattan College departments pay for Adobe Acrobat licenses, they would follow instructions on how to  Create PDFs from Microsoft Office

Overview

PDF files are not typically created in Acrobat. They are usually created in another program and converted to PDF. There are dozens or probably hundreds of programs that can create PDF files, but very few of them produce tagged PDF files. If you are using Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, you can often create accessible, tagged PDF files without opening Acrobat. Of course, the accessibility of the PDF depends on the accessibility of the original document.

What are PDF tags?

The technical answer is this: Tags define the function and order of content in a document. Many PDF tags resemble their counterparts in HTML. For example, there is a <p> tag for paragraphs, <table> and <td> for tables and table cells, <h1> for level 1 headings, etc. Although they are normally invisible, tags provide valuable interpretive cues to assistive technology like screen reader software, and are therefore an essential part of PDF accessibility.

Fortunately, tags are generated automatically during conversion from Microsoft Office applications using the “Adobe PDF” menu. The Adobe PDF menu is a part of Acrobat PDFMaker, an application added to Office applications when Acrobat is installed.

Tags can also be added manually in Acrobat by choosing Advanced > Accessibility > Add Tags to Document. Once applied, tags can be edited to improve or customize document organization.

Bookmarks

Each PDF document contains a navigation pane called "Bookmarks." A bookmark is a type of link with representative text in the Bookmarks panel in the navigation pane. Each bookmark goes to a different view or page in the document. Bookmarks are generated automatically during PDF creation from the table-of-contents entries of documents created by most desktop publishing programs. These bookmarks are often tagged and can be used to make edits in the PDF. Bookmarks can be easily added and edited in Adobe Acrobat.

Scanning to PDF

It is best to create a PDF from an original electronic document. However, if scanning is the only method available, take care with the scanning process. Use a clean copy of the article and place it squarely on the scanner process. Use a clean copy of the article and place it squarely on the scanner Avoid pages that have been photocopied multiple times. Obtaining a clear image of the text is essential to the next step in the creation of an accessible PDF document: optical character recognition.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

To create a more versatile version of your scanned document, use OCR to convert the image of text to real, editable text. Many scanners offer a “copy as text” feature, which is useful for small blocks of text. Multipage documents can also be scanned and converted to text using OCR, with all of the text stored in a single file.

Adobe Acrobat should bring up a prompt to run OCR when scanning a document, or the option can be chosen from the menu: Document > Recognize Text Using OCR > Start. Note that character recognition is not foolproof, and proofreading is always recommended after using OCR.

The accuracy of OCR is affected by several factors:

• The quality of the source image (i.e., whether the text is crisp and legible) 

• The typeface (font) of the original text 

• Whether the page was squarely positioned on the scanner 

• The resolution of the scanned image, often measured in dots per inch (DPI) 

• The quality of the OCR software

OCR tools vary in quality and accuracy. The OCR engine built into Adobe Acrobat is adequate for most jobs. Also, the resolution of your scan may help determine the success of OCR. Setting the scanner to 300 dpi (dots per inch) usually yields good results, although occasionally a setting of 600 dpi may be required, especially when working with small type. Resolutions higher than 600 dpi produce larger files with no increase in OCR accuracy.

Converting Electronic Documents to PDF

Start with a MS Word document, you will be able to export the document to PDF using the following:

Converting to PDF in Microsoft Office 

Converting from Microsoft Office is the best way to convert from Office files to PDF since it maintains the accessibility of the document the best. Follow these instructions on converting your documents to PDF in Office on Windows or Mac:

Windows: Converting to PDF in Microsoft Office

To convert a Word Doc to PDF using Microsoft Word on Windows, select: 
File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document 
select the Create PDF/XPS Document button.

To convert a Powerpoint to PDF using Microsoft Powerpoint on Windows, select: 
File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document  
select the Create PDF/XPS Document button.

To convert an Excel spreadsheet to PDF using Microsoft Excel on Windows, select: 
File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document 
 More information on converting to Office files to PDF on Windows, is available:   Converting Microsoft Office files to PDF on Windows

Make sure that you select the option for Tagged PDFs:

MacOS: Converting to PDF in Microsoft Office

To convert a Word, Powerpoint, and Excel file as a PDF in Office for Mac select File > Save As and beside File Format you will specify PDF as the File Format that you would like to export to. When  finished, select Export.

For more information on converting to Office files to PDF on MacOS, refer to: Converting Microsoft Office files to PDF on MacOS







Sometimes when creating a PDF, especially by scanning a document, it does not allow for an accessible document. Create a PDF using a quality scanner app as long as it is not an image. Make sure that the scanner you are using makes use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) so that it can scan the words on the document so that a screen reader can read what is scanned. (i.e. phone app)

Other ways to make a document more accessible so it ready to be converted to PDF include:

Create Clear Titles:

Straightforward PDF titles are key for achieving clarity in your content. The people are going to first need to find the document on your website. Align the title of the document with the type of information that is included in the PDF file. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this file? What type of information would a customer need from this document? For example, if the document is a business loan application, then a good file title is quite simply Business Loan Application.

Optimize Content for Screen Readers: 

Many people who have visual disabilities will use a screen reader to access the information in a PDF document. Therefore, it’s important to use readable language and steer away from acronyms, symbols or shortcuts. While a screen reader can read those, it may not be clear to the individual listening. After the document is found, the people will need to find the appropriate section within the document to fulfill their needs. Look beyond the title of the document and into the headings.

Summary:

Once you complete reviewing the materials from the fifth week of the Digital Accessibility Challenge take a few minutes to answer these questions: 
 Week 5 Digital Accessibility Questionnaire

Participants who complete all 5 weeks of the Digital Accessibility Challenge will be awarded a Credly Digital Badge in recognition of their effort, for more information review:  ITS to Launch 5 Week Digital Accessibility Challenge.

Other Resources:

 Adobe Acrobat User Guide: Editing PDFs

 Adobe Acrobat User Guide: Create PDFs from Microsoft Office

 Converting Microsoft Office files to PDF on Windows 

 Converting Microsoft Office files to PDF on MacOS

Partially reposted from: Converting Microsoft Office files to PDF on Windows Converting and Microsoft Office files to PDF on Windows 

Digital Accessibility Challenge Week 4

Creating Accessible Google Docs

Objective:  

Manhattan College ITS is encouraging employees to begin to take some simple steps that will
structure your documents so that your documents are more accessible. When creating documents,
spreadsheets or presentations it is important to provide an organized structure to all your documents

in a way that allows them to be accessible. Fortunately many word processing tools such as Google
Docs are advanced in the accessibility area and allows you to use features generally available
within each tool.

Last week’s focus was on creating accessible MS Word Docs. This week’s challenge we will dive
deeper and focus on best practices, incorporating clear layout and design in creating accessible
Google Docs. Instructions, video tutorials and links are also included.

Please note these tips will focus on making documents created with Google Docs more accessible.

How Does Digital Accessibility Impact Manhattan College Faculty, Staff and Students?

Faculty creating instructional materials and presenting lessons.

Employees creating documents, forms, newsletters and correspondence for distribution.

Students writing reports and preparing presentations.

The following tools are important to include when making Google Docs accessible:

1. Outline feature

Outline features headers for each section of your document, making it simple to quickly jump from section to section. The outline tool collates headers from whatever you are working on, and allows you to jump quickly from introduction to index very easily.

To turn on Outline view, navigate to View in task bar and select Show document outline from the dropdown menu.

2. Headings

Paragraph headings provide context and a way to navigate quickly for users of assistive technologies like screen readers.

Such technologies ignore text size and emphasis (bold, italic, underline) unless certain paragraph styles such as Headings, are used. As an added benefit, Headings can be used to automatically generate a Table of Contents or bookmarks in a document. Additionally, styles modify the formatting of all occurrences in a document, so you can quickly change the format of all Headings of a particular level (you can still override global settings by changing the format of an individual piece of text, regardless of style assignment).

Headings should be selected based on their hierarchy in the document. Start the page with a heading that describes overall document content (Heading 1). Follow it with sub-headings (Heading 2) and sub-headings (Heading 3), etc.. Items of equal importance should be equal level headings, and heading levels should not be skipped (i.e., a Heading 3 can't be the first heading after Heading 1; Heading 2 can't be skipped).

To make an item a heading in Google Docs, select the Styles drop-down menu, located to the left of the font drop-down menu. The Headings can also be called with keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+Alt+1 (Heading 1), Ctrl+Alt+2 (Heading 2), etc.

Change from Normal Text to Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3, using the appropriate heading levels depending on your content structure (as described above).

Any of the three heading styles can be used to help a screen reader navigate through the Google Docs page. Heading 1 should be used as the page title, and Headings 2 and 3 should be used as subsections and sub-subsections respectively.

3.  Images

Make sure all images have text representation or alternative text with all images

Include alternative text for images, drawings, and other graphics. Otherwise, screen reader users just hear "image."

• Upload and embed the image
• Click the image file
• Format > Alt Text
• In the Alt Text window, enter your alternative text in the Description field of the Image Properties window that appears

The Alt text for this image would be "Image of Manhattan College Campus Map with Alt text highlighted"

4. Color Contrast

To find instances of color-coding, visually scan your document. You can also look for text in your document that’s hard to read or to distinguish from the background.

People who are blind, have low vision, or are colorblind might miss out on the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

If your document has a high level of contrast between text and background, more people can see and use the content.

5. Lists

Like headings, using the list tools to create bulleted and numbered lists ensures that screen readers can effectively read list items. Manually inserting any of the list items will not help.

Any numbered list that has multiply layers should use a different numbering scheme for each level.

Use the Insert List icons on the formatting toolbar to create a list.

1. Example A 
2. Example B
3. Example C

When you highlight these items, you can see the numbered list icon is selected in the toolbar.

This lets you know the list is properly structured:

6. Legibility

Make sure to make your document is easy to read, not only for those with assistive technologies, but also those that don’t use them.

Sans-serif fonts are considered more legible fonts for monitors than serif fonts.

Color plays an important role in any document. The color scheme itself should have contrast between light and dark without going to the extreme. Too little or too much contrast can make the document difficult to read for those who are colorblind or with low vision. Certain color combinations, such as bright colors, can cause headaches and make it uncomfortable to read what has been laid out.

7. Table of Contents

To improve quality of navigation for assistive technologies, it is recommended to add a table of contents. Throughout the document you must designate headings, because these are what used to generate the table of contents section. Using headings is also an accessibility best practice within documents. Doing so also provides other advantages for the author including the ability to rapidly modify the overall document style without having to change each individual header.

Select Insert > Table of Contents

Summary

Google Docs is the widely used word processing application through Google Drive. The methods in this blog post will increase the accessibility of documents produced through Google Docs. As the program can be used in a collaborative basis, the importance of making it accessible is necessary.

In this blog post, the accessibility of Google Docs was covered through:

• Outline Feature 
• Headings 
• Images 
• Color Contrast 
• Lists 
• Legibility 
• Table of Contents 
• Creating an Accessible Template

Once you complete reviewing the materials from the fourth week of the Digital Accessibility Challenge take a few minutes to answer these questions: 
Week 4 Accessibility Questionnaire  

Participants who complete all 5 weeks of the Digital Accessibility Challenge will be awarded a Credly Digital Badge in recognition of their effort, for more information review ITS to Launch 5 Week Digital Accessibility Challenge.

Other Resources:

Accessible Google Documents (NC State IT Accessibility)

Google Docs: Table of Contents, Headers, & Outline Tool

Creating Accessible Google Drive Documents  

Partially reposted from Creating Accessible Google Drive Documents  

Digital Accessibility Challenge Week 3

Creating Accessible Word Docs

Objective:  

Manhattan College ITS is encouraging employees to begin to take some simple steps that will structure your documents so that your documents are more accessible. When creating documents, spreadsheets or presentations it is important to provide structure to all your documents in a way that allows them to be accessible by people with different abilities. . Fortunately many word processing tools such as MS Word are very advanced in the accessibility area and allows you to use features generally available within each tool.

In this week’s challenge we will dive deeper and focus on best practices, incorporating clear layout and design in creating accessible Word Docs. Instructions, video tutorials and links are also included.

How Does Digital Accessibility Impact Manhattan College Faculty, Staff and Students?

• Faculty creating instructional materials and presenting lessons.
• Employees creating documents, forms, newsletters and correspondence for distribution.
• Students writing reports and preparing presentations.

The "Outline" view features headers for each section of your document, making it simple to quickly jump from section to section. This only works when you apply headings in the Outline view.

See below for more details on how to use the built in headings in MS Word:

To turn on Outline view, navigate to View in task bar and select Show document outline from the dropdown menu.

1. Include alternative text with all visuals

Visual content

Includes pictures, clip art, SmartArt graphics, shapes, groups, charts, embedded objects, ink, and videos.

Alt text helps people who can’t see the screen to understand what’s important in images and other visuals.

Many text editor environments, including programs such as Word, allow you to include ALT text for images.

Avoid using text in images as the sole method of conveying important information.

If you must use an image with text in it, repeat that text in the document. In alt text, briefly describe the image and mention the existence of the text and its intent.

2. Add meaningful hyperlink text and ScreenTips

To determine whether hyperlink text makes sense as standalone information and whether it gives readers accurate information about the destination target, visually scan your document.

People who use screen readers sometimes scan a list of links. Links should convey clear and accurate information about the destination. For example, instead of linking to the text Click here, include the full title of the destination page.

• Example: Avoid writing: "Click here to view our course offerings..”
• Instead write: “Explore our courses.."

3. Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information

To find instances of color-coding, visually scan your document.
You can also look for text in your document that’s hard to read or to distinguish from the background.

People who are blind, have low vision, or are colorblind might miss out on the meaning conveyed by particular colors.

If your document has a high level of contrast between text and background, more people can see and use the content.

4. Use built-in headings and styles

How to apply headings in MS Word

To preserve tab order and make it easier for screen readers to read your documents:
For example, organize headings in the prescribed logical order.

use a logical heading order and the built-in formatting tools in Word.

Use Heading 1, Heading 2, and then Heading 3, rather than Heading 3, Heading 1, and then Heading 2. And, organize the information in your documents into small chunks. Ideally, each heading would include only a few paragraphs.

5. Use a simple table structure, and specify column header information

Screen readers keep track of their location in a table by counting table cells. If a table is nested within another table or if a cell is merged or split, the screen reader loses count and can’t provide helpful information about the table after that point. Blank cells in a table could also mislead someone using a screen reader into thinking that there is nothing more in the table. Screen readers also use header information to identify rows and columns.

Follow the same format for Excel, PowerPoint & Outlook

Watch this video to gain an understanding about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations.

Web Accessibility Perspectives: Clear Layout and Design

Summary:

Improve page readability by using using the Outline view in MS Word to help you set up a clear, easy to read document.  

Use links that are easily noticeable and understandable.

• First, don’t make users hunt around the page in search for clickable elements. 
• Second, don’t force users to read the text surrounding a link to determine where it leads. 
• Use color, built in headings, styles and simple table structure when creating documents.

Once you complete reviewing the materials from the third week of the Digital Accessibility Challenge take a few minutes to answer these questions:

Week 3 Accessibility Questionnaire  

Participants who complete all 5 weeks of the Digital Accessibility Challenge will be awarded a Credly Digital Badge in recognition of their effort, for more information review ITS to Launch Five Week Digital Accessibility Challenge  

Other Resources:

• Making your Word Documents Accessible
• Use Accessibility Checker rules to help ensure your Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations are accessible
• Make your Excel spreadsheets accessible
• Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible
• Make your Outlook email accessible

Partially re posted from: Making your Word Documents Accessible

Digital Accessibility Challenge Week #2

Simple Steps to Make Documents and Digital Content More Usable by Everyone

Objective:

This weeks challenge will provide simple steps to follow to make documents digitally accessible, it does  include hyperlinks and resources for a variety of document creation needs.

Manhattan College ITS is encouraging employees to begin to take some simple steps that will structure your documents so that they are more accessible. When creating documents, spreadsheets or presentations it is important to provide structure to all your documents. Fortunately many word processing tools such as Google Docs and MS Word are very advanced in the accessibility area and allow you to use features generally available within each tool.

How Does Digital Accessibility Impact Manhattan College Faculty, Staff and Students?

• Faculty creating instructional materials and presenting lessons.
• Employees creating documents, forms, newsletters and correspondence for distribution.
• Students writing reports and preparing presentations.

Page Structure and Formatting

The following guidelines can be applied to Microsoft Word, GoogleDocs, HTML, or other source document files.

Title

All documents should have a title that represents the content of the document. The title is typically added to the Properties of a document.

Headings

Organizing web pages by headings helps users get a sense of the page’s organization and structure. Visually, headings are presented as larger and more distinct than surrounding text. Making texts larger helps guide the eye around the page. Using headings and making them visually apparent is especially helpful for users with cognitive disabilities.

It is best to plan out a heading structure before composing a page. Doing so will help you both select appropriate heading levels and keep your thoughts organized overall.

Use headings hierarchically, with Heading 1 representing the most important idea on the page, and sub-sections organized with Heading 2 level headings, etc.

Do not use bold instead of a heading. One of the most common accessibility mistakes is making text bold when a heading is needed. Though the text may look like a heading, the underlying code is not set correctly, and screen reader users will not benefit.

Use (built-in) Headings

• In Google Docs you can apply heading to words or sentences. To do this, navigate to the Format menu and select Paragraph styles to add headings to sections of your document.

Example in Google Docs
• In Microsoft Word you can apply headings to words or sentences. To do so, highlight a word or sentence in Word, and navigate to the Home tab towards the top of the screen. There are many different styles to choose from, making your document clearly organized and easier to read.

Example in MS Word

Hyperlinks

Links are important for helping direct people where to go through or from your document. Often displayed as text, links should be functional and usable.

Use Descriptive Text for Links

• When linking to another website, do not just paste the link into the field. Most text editors have a button that allows you to insert a link. Inserting a link this way allows you to add a descriptive link title. This makes it easier for screen readers to read a link. Make link text is clear and self explanatory to support quick and effective navigation.
• Example: Avoid writing: "Click here to view our academic programs.”
• Instead write: “Explore our academic programs."
• Example: “Click here to view today’s weather.” can be shortened to    “Today’s weather.”

Linking email addresses

• Linking email addresses offers quick access to communication tools. If the link activates an email program to open, use the person's email address (e.g. reggie@email.edu) as the linked text. For links to contact forms or pages of information, use text such as “Contact Reggie” or "Send Reggie an email."

Use Lists

When creating lists, rather than just listing items in a single paragraph with no format, your options include:

1. Numbered List

• Bulleted List

Example in Google Docs

Example in MS Word

Columns

• Use the true column features in document editors to divide page content. Avoid using the tab key to separate content on one line. 
• Using the column tool allows assistive technology to detect and communicate the page structure to the user.

Images/Non-Text Content

Add Alternate Text for Images (Alt tags)

• When uploading a picture to a document or website, make sure to always add an Alt tag to the image. Alt tags are used to describe images to a screen reader, so utilizing alt tags that describe the image with detail is important. 

• To add an alt tag, you must view the properties of the image. 

• In most cases, all that is required is to simply right click the image within the editor, and select alt tags. 

• Sometimes you may have to right click and then select mage properties before having the option to add an alt tag.

Tables

Use Tables for Data

• Use tables for presenting data, not for changing the visual layout of the page. In the table, include a heading row (rather than starting with data in the first row) because screen readers automatically read the first row as a heading row. 

Choosing Color

Color alone should not convey meaning

• Avoid using color alone as the sole source of meaning or information. Some people may not be able to perceive color and will experience difficulties accessing your content. 
• For example, hyperlinks are typically underlined colored text. Both the color of the text and the underline is necessary to show the text as a hyperlink. This is not to say, never use color in your document, but where you are able to edit color be sure there are multiple ways to determine meaning or information.

Use sufficient color contrast

• If you must you color in your document, make sure the color contrast between the foreground (i.e. text or content) and the background color are sufficient.. 
• Some color combinations can be more difficult to read, be selective and conscious of the colors you choose. For example, avoid light gray text on a white background.

Summary

Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. This video gives an overview about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations.

Web Accessibility Perspectives: Customizable Text

Once you complete reviewing the materials from the second week of the Digital Accessibility Challenge take a few minutes to answer these questions:
Week 2 Accessibility QuestionnaireParticipants who complete all 5 weeks of the Digital Accessibility Challenge will be awarded a Credly Digital Badge in recognition of their effort, for more information review ITS to Launch 5 Week Digital Accessibility Challenge.

Other Resources:

General Accessibility Resources for Specific Programs and Apps:

Google

• Google Documents and Presentations

Microsoft

• Making your Word Documents Accessible
• Exporting Accessible PDFs from Microsoft Word
• Word Document Support
• Excel Spreadsheets

Partially reposted from: Making your Word Documents Accessible