10. Accessible Documents (Word & PDF)

Reports, flyers, forms, and newsletters are often shared as Word or PDF files. The same principles apply — and they start in the source document.

Fix it in the source (Word, Google Docs)

• Use the built-in heading styles (Heading 1, 2, 3) for structure.
• Use the real list and table tools — not spaces, tabs, or text boxes faking a layout.
• Add alt text to every image (right-click → Edit Alt Text in Word).
• Set the document language.
• Give the file a clear, descriptive name (e.g. “Annual-Report-2025.pdf”, not “final_v3.pdf”).
• Use a clean sans-serif font at a comfortable size — at least 12pt for English, 14pt for Arabic — and reserve underline for links only.

Watch out for these Word traps

Some Word features look fine on screen but quietly break for a screen reader or fail contrast. Watch for these:

• Text boxes, multi-column layouts, drop caps, and SmartArt sit outside the normal flow — a screen reader may skip them or read them out of order. Keep content in the main body, and if you must use them, confirm the reading order in the accessibility checker.
• Word’s default table styles can fail AA contrast — the built-in header colours are often too light. Choose or build a table style with a strong, high-contrast header (for example a dark header row with white text).
• Marking the “Header Row” changes the meaning, not the look. Ticking Header Row (in Table Design) is what tells a screen reader “these are headers” — but it doesn’t restyle the cells, so do both: mark it and make it visibly distinct.
• Avoid merged or split cells and nested tables — they scramble the order a screen reader announces. Keep each table simple and rectangular, and use a table only for real data, never for page layout.

Don’t share scanned images of text

A photo or scan of a page is just an image — a screen reader reads nothing. If you only have a scan, run OCR (text recognition) so the words become real, selectable text, or rebuild the document with real text.

Contrast and color

• Keep text contrast at AA (4.5:1), just like on screen.
• Don’t signal meaning with color alone in charts or tables — add labels or patterns.

Export a tagged (accessible) PDF

Tags are the hidden structure that lets a screen reader read a PDF in the right order. Export correctly so they are included:

• In Word: File → Save As → PDF, then open Options and tick “Document structure tags for accessibility.”
• In Google Docs: File → Download → PDF (headings are preserved).
• Avoid “Print to PDF” — it usually strips out the tags.

Use the built-in checker

Word and Adobe Acrobat include an accessibility checker that finds missing alt text, bad reading order, and contrast problems:

• Word: Review → Check Accessibility.
• Acrobat Pro: All tools → Prepare for accessibility → Check for accessibility.

Documents checklist

• Headings use real heading styles, in order.
• Images have alt text; tables and lists use real tools.
• No important content is trapped in text boxes or SmartArt; reading order is correct.
• Tables are simple, with a marked and visibly distinct header row, and no merged cells.
• No scanned images of text without OCR.
• Exported as a tagged PDF (not “Print to PDF”).
• The built-in accessibility checker reports no errors.
• The file has a clear, descriptive name and a set language.