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Most preparations for accessibility should be done in the source files. The following pages explain how to prepare documents for accessibility.
- Section 508 Compliance for Confluence Wiki Pages
- Section 508 Compliance Checklists for Various File Types
A few key actions can make content significantly more accessible.
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Refer also to Accessibility and 508 Compliance (overview).
This page gathers documents that the Documentation Team has found or developed regarding Section 508 compliance. These documents will be posted in the appropriate place after consultation with other members of the Training and Development Team.
Adobe(R) Accessibility Quick Reference Card http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/2008/03/reference_card_for_accessible.html
WordToPDFReferenceCard_v1.pdf (presented by the blog page listed above) http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/assets/WordToPDFReferenceCard_v1.pdf
caBIG_PPT_508_Quick_Guide_FINAL_July_2009.ppt https://wiki.nci.nih.gov/download/attachments/7474647/caBIG_PPT_508_Quick_Guide_FINAL_July_2009.ppt
The quick guide is used with the PowerPoint templates posted on this page: https://wiki.nci.nih.gov/pages/viewpageattachments.action?pageId=10852174
caBIG_508_QuickGuide_Word_April_2009_Final.ppt https://wiki.nci.nih.gov/download/attachments/7474647/caBIG_508_QuickGuide_Word_April_2009_Final.ppt
Creating Accessible Documents at CBIIT (attached to this page) https://wiki.nci.nih.gov/download/attachments/21693549/DevelopingAccessibleDocs.pdf
Developing Accessible Technical Documents at NCI CBIIT
The following tables list steps technical writers at CBIIT must take to create Section 508-compliant documents. These steps may overlap with but do not replace the HHS checklists for achieving Section 508 compliance.
Table 1.1 explains how to prepare a FrameMaker document for accessibility.
Step | Steps for creating accessible documents in FrameMaker | For more information, see | ||
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<ac:structured-macro ac:name="unmigrated-wiki-markup" ac:schema-version="1" ac:macro-id="4c6c1056-65ec-4d06-8b47-5168c637664b"><ac:plain-text-body><![CDATA[ | 1 | Design with accessibility in mind. Only use our template styles, including character styles for common formatting such as bold and italic. Resist overriding template styles. | [[http://www.webaim.org/]|http://www.webaim.org/|WebAIM website] | ]]></ac:plain-text-body></ac:structured-macro> |
2 | Use our latest FrameMaker template that consolidates all paragraph styles into each file in the book. | L:\Technical Writing\Templates\FrameMaker Templates\Current FM Templates | ||
3 | Add alternate text to images.
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4 | Use row and column headings and captions for all tables. Do not merge table rows or columns. Do not allow rows to break across pages. |
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5 | Use meaningful link anchors rather than URLs when possible. Use the Go to URL hypertext marker for all URLs in FrameMaker. |
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6 | In the PDF Setup dialog box, select Generate PDF Bookmarks, Generate Tagged PDF (click Default to tag all styles), and Create Named Destinations for All Paragraphs. |
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Creating Accessible Word Documents
Table 1.2 explains how you can prepare your Word documents for accessibility. Note that Word documents lose some of the accessibility options you introduce once they reach Acrobat. It is likely that you will need to post-process the file in Acrobat.
Note: Refer to wordCheckList-HHS.pdf and adobeCheatSheatWordToPDFa.pdf for helpful tips.
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Step
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Steps for creating accessible documents in Word
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For more information, see
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1
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2
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- Right-click the image, then select Format Picture. The Format Picture dialog box appears. Note: If the Format Picture menu option is not available, view the Picture toolbar and click the Format Picture button.
- Select the Web tab and then add the appropriate alternative text.
Word 2007 - Right-click the picture and select Size. The Size dialog box appears.
- Select the Alt Text tab. The image filename is entered into the field by default.
- Delete that and enter appropriate alternate text.
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3
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Use row and column headings and captions for all tables. Do not merge table rows or columns. Do not allow rows to break across pages.
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4
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Use meaningful link anchors rather than URLs when possible.
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5
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Configure PDFMaker to tag the document properly.
In Word 2003, select Adobe PDF > Change Conversion Settings.
- On the Settings tab, select Bookmarks, Links, and Enable Accessibility and reflow.
- On the Word tab, select Convert cross references, Convert footnote and endnote links, and Enable advanced tagging.
- On the Bookmarks tab, select Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks and set the proper indent levels.
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Creating Accessible PDFs
Although the HHS says that PDFs do not need to be 508 compliant if a compliant HTML version of the document exists, it is a good idea to get in the practice of taking as many steps as you can to improve your PDF document's accessibility.
Table 1.3 explains how to create an accessible PDF once your document is in Acrobat.Table 1.3 explains how to create an accessible PDF once your source file is in Acrobat.
Note: Refer to the HHS checklist for accessible PDFs for helpful tips.
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Step
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Steps for creating accessible PDFs
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For more information, see
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1
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In the document properties, enter NCI CBIIT as the Author. In the Keywords field, enter 508 Compliant as one of your keywords.
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Specify document language.
- Select File > Document Properties.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- In the Language list, select English.
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3
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Use the document structure to prevent errors in the accessibility report.
- Select all pages in the document.
- Right-click and then select Page Properties.
- Select Use Document Structure.
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4
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Run an accessibility full check using the Adobe PDF option.
- Select Advanced > Accessibility > Full Check. The Accessibility Full Check dialog box appears.
- Keep the defaults, which includes the checking option of Adobe PDF.
- Click Start Checking.
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5
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- Confirm that each numbered box in the document is properly tagged.
- Add alternate text as needed to figures as needed.
- Remove nonessential content, such as ornamental page borders, from the logical structure tree as needed (files from Word tend to create a lot of nonessential tags that can be deleted in the PDF).
- Note that when you remove the tags (such as by using the Delete Item Structure or Clear Page Structure commands), you cannot undo that action. Save your file often.
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6
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Once the steps above result in a PDF with no accessibility errors according to Adobe, set the scope of your tables. Adobe does not require you to set the scope but it is one more thing that you can do quickly to prepare your PDFs better for assistive technology.
- Select Accessibility > TouchUp Reading Order.
- Scroll to your first table and click the number in its upper-left corner.
- On the TouchUp Reading Order panel, click Table Editor to select the table.
- Select the cells that serve as column headers. You can also repeat these steps for cells that serve as row headers, if your table has that type of structure.
- Right-click and select Table Cell Properties.
- Keep the Type as Header Cell and from the Scope list, select Column. This tells a screen reader that it is to associate column headers with the cells in that column.
- Click OK.
Accessibility Testing
Table 1.4 suggests ways you can test your ePublisher, Flare, and PDF output for accessibility.
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Ways to Test Your Output
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For more information, see
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Refer to the HHS accessibility checklists.
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Download the WAVE Firefox toolbar and view the help in Text-only view.
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Download an evaluation copy of JAWS and read the document out loud.
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Use the Adobe Read Out Loud feature to simulate what it would be like for other assistive technology (such as JAWS) to read your PDFs out loud.
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Turn off your monitor when you use either JAWS or Adobe Read Out Loud (this takes some practice with each tool) to simulate what it is like not to see what you are doing.
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Tab through the output to make sure that the reading order is logical.
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