1. Creating well structured documents – easy for authors and accessible for users
Andrew Downie
Project Officer, Adaptive Technologies
TAFE eHub

2. Introduction Correct structure and accessibility need not be hard
Will begin with Microsoft Word
Relevant to other formats
Will address the sometimes vexed issue of alternate text
Will touch on a look at easily avoided website barriers if time
Please clarify as we go
My role
.Available to share info and ideas
.Correct document structure fundamental to accessibility.
Ask about backgrouns.

3. Benefits of structured documents
Consistent appearance throughout document
And between documents
Saves much time and effort:
When creating the document
When editing later
Allows easy creation of:
Accessible PDF files
DAISY and epub books
Hardcopy Braille material
XML files
Show sample_structured (ctrl-1) and sample_unstructured (ctrl-2) first
Some people hard to convince of ease

4. Hierarchical headings
A level 2 heading follows a level 1
A level 3 heading follows a level 2 etc
Do not follow a level 1 with a level 3 etc
MS Word Keyboard shortcuts:
Ctrl-alt-1 for level 1 heading
Ctrl-alt-2 for level 2 heading
Ctrl-alt-3 for level 3 heading
Shift-ctrl-n for normal style

5. Making paragraphs look just so
Can use right click or Application Key
Paragraph
adjust space before and after and indent
Do not use multiple Enter key presses
Font
adjust font size, style and colour
Demo with sample-structured (ctrl-1)

6. Modifying and creating styles
Right click the paragraph or use Application Key
Select Styles
Select Update [style name] to match selection to revise a style
That will update all instances of the style (magic)
Save selection as a new quick style
Easy way to create a new style
Demonstrate updating styles with sample-structured (ctrl-1)

7. More about styles Open Styles pane (press ctrl-shift-s or use Ribbon)
Select a style
Modify a style for this or all documents
Open Styles Task Pane (alt-ctrl-shift-s)
Choose which styles are offered and the order
Select from the list of available styles

8. Creating tables Use tables for displaying tabular data
Create table from Insert tab of Ribbon
Try not to create non-uniform tables
Under Properties in Layout tab of Ribbon
Uncheck ‘Allow Rows to Break Across Pages’
Check ‘Repeat as Header Row at Top of Each Page’
Autofit to content is very helpful
Add table to sample-structured (ctrl-1)

9. Inserting images
Select the image from Illustration Group in the Insert tab of the Ribbon
Provide meaningful alternative text:
Right click the image
Arrow down to ‘Size’ or ‘Format Picture’ in Word 2007 or 2010 respectively
Under alternative text, replace filename with meaningful text
Alternative text should be meaningful in the context of surrounding text
Press Enter and Add shed to sample-structured (ctrl-1)

10. Adding a caption to an image
To add a caption:
Right click image
Arrow down to Insert caption and press Enter
Write the caption, select placement etc

11. Converting to a PDF If Acrobat is installed:
Select Acrobat from Word Ribbon
Select create PDF
From the Word Save As dialog, can save as PDF
Be sure to go into Options the first time to create tagged PDF
Docx files with images will put the image tag at the top of the PDF
To avoid correcting the PDF, save as doc
Convert myffy.doc (ctrl-3)
(ctrl-3)

12. Creating DAISY books What is DAISY?
Text, audio and graphics can be synchronised
Offers powerful and flexible navigation
Commercial and free creation tools available
Now available to the masses
Commercial and free reading options
Free Save as DAISY - Microsoft Word Add-in
Show AMIS (ctrl-6) and Stream if time

13. Writing meaningful alternative text
Ideally, alt text conveys the same meaning as the image
That can sometimes be a challenge
Wording depends on the context in which the image is used
Describe the scene, rather than the image
If the image is a metaphor, explain it
What is an appropriate length for alt text?
While succinct, as long as necessary
When should an image not include alt text?
Myffy.docx (ctrl-4) and Pompei (ctrl-5) The reconstruction drawing shows

14. A brief look at website issues
Making websites accessible need not be onerous
Use a standards-based approach
Use tools that produce accessible material
Plan for universal access
Separate appearance from content
Ask yourself: Who is my audience?

15. The angst of accessibility
James Edwards
“Catering for accessibility means spending extra time and effort on the needs of a minority...”
Highly dependent on the approach taken
Deathshadow suggested five don’ts:
Fixed font sizes;
Images for text...;
Non-semantic markup;
Colour contrasts below norms;
Flash for text and navigation

16. Now for some ‘do’s’ HTML forms to have either:
Explicitly associated labels or
Title attributes
Data tables to be:
No more complex than necessary; and
Include sufficient markup
Images to have meaningful alt text
Especially important for image links
Ajay’s form (ctrl-7)
Tables_sample (ctrl-8)

17. Some website accessibility resources
OptionKeys
Based on WCAG version 1
Gives rationale and coding examples
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Ajay’s form (ctrl-7)
Tables_sample (ctrl-8)

18. Some website accessibility resources (cont)
WebAIM
WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tool and much more
Color Contrast Checker
Web Accessibility Checker for IE

19. Contacting Andrew
Phone: (02)