Most of us scan a document or page quickly and look for big, bold text (headings) to get an idea of its structure and content. read or navigate a document by using headings.choose top-level headings or other heading levels and.view a list of all of the headings on the page to navigate.Microsoft Word provides pre-built heading styles to assist you.ĭocuments with a proper heading structure allow screen reader and other assistive technology users to: Headings aren’t just a good idea – they’re required for accessibility. Accessible documents also make it easier for browsers to display them and are much easier to convert to various platforms or formats. Fill in the description for the table and, if necessary, add a title for the table.One of the key ways to make Microsoft Word documents accessible is to use Word's built-in heading styles to format the document.Īccessible documents benefit everyone - not just those with disabilities! For example, accessible documents benefit cell phone and tablet users, as well as students with low bandwidth access.In the "Table Properties" dialog box, click the Alt Text tab.To add alternative text for tables, use the Alt Text tab of the "Table Properties" dialog box: Uncheck the box next to Allow row to break across pages.In the "Options" group, make sure Repeat as header row at the top of each page is checked.In the "Table Properties" dialog box, click the Row tab.Right-click the table, and then click Table Properties.Repeat step 2 for the remaining columns.Ĭolumn headings should be repeated at the top of a table if the table spans multiple pages.Type the name for the first column, and press Tab to move to the next column.Place your cursor in the first cell of the top row of the table.To add column headings to a table in Word:
On the ribbon, in the "Table Tools" group, click Design.Choose how many rows and columns you want for your table.On the ribbon, click Insert, and then click Table.To add a table with a header row to a Word document: The "Table Style Options" section of the ribbon on the Table Tools contextual tab lets you indicate that your data has a header row. The first involves making sure the table has a header row designated. There are multiple parts to the process of making a table accessible. You should also ensure the table has alternative text, to describe the contents of the table for those using screen readers. Be sure to designate a header row and use column headings to help describe the data in the table, as well as repeat the column headings on each page the table appears on. If necessary, split complex tables into multiple smaller tables. When using tables in a Word document, keep them as simple as possible. You should only use a table when it's necessary to convey relationships between pieces of data, and not for layout purposes. This helps those using screen readers to make sense of the data contained in a table. In Microsoft Word, it is important to make sure all tables are accessible to those using screen readers.