PRACTICAL GUIDE
Accessible document workflow
Create a structured Word source, preserve accessibility during PDF export, and check the file people receive.
BEGIN WITH THE SOURCE
Build structure before exporting.
Choose the format that suits the task. For an information page, HTML may be more useful than a download. Where a document is needed, keep its editable source so improvements can be maintained.
For a Word document, use built-in heading styles in a logical hierarchy, real lists, meaningful link text, and appropriate image alternatives. Use simple data tables with identified headers rather than tables for arranging a page.
In Word’s accessibility guidance, review the instructions for your application version. Menu locations and export options vary.
A source-document sequence
- Write a clear title and arrange sections in the order someone needs them.
- Apply heading styles instead of using font size alone.
- Explain meaningful images; mark purely decorative images appropriately.
- Review links, lists, and tables in context.
- Run the authoring tool’s accessibility checker, resolve findings, and manually inspect the result.
CHECK THE DELIVERABLE
Review the PDF people will receive.
Use an export workflow that preserves accessibility structure and tags. Check the options in the authoring application; do not assume a visually identical PDF preserves the same structure.
In Acrobat Pro, use the PDF accessibility check and inspect the tags and reading order. Review the document title and language, headings, image alternatives, links, tables, and form fields where present. Automated results include checks that need human judgement.
Read and navigate the output
- Open the exported file in the intended reader. Confirm the text is available as text.
- Navigate its headings and read through a representative section with a screen reader.
- Check whether a table or multi-column section is read in a meaningful sequence.
- Use the keyboard to reach and operate any links or form fields.
- Correct recurring issues in the source, export again, and verify the final file.
COMPLETE THE WORKFLOW
Verify the information, not just the appearance.
Example: a two-column delivery guide looks correct, but reading moves from the left-column heading into unrelated right-column text. Record the affected page, reading sequence, software used, and the sequence needed to understand the instructions.
A scanned page may need text recognition as well as structure and manual correction. Selectable text alone does not establish accessibility. Keep the final checked file, its source, and the review notes together so the next update can repeat the workflow.
This is a starting workflow for Word and PDF. Presentations, spreadsheets, and complex PDF forms need additional checks for their own structures and interactions.
Official guidance
KEEP LEARNING
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