Microsoft Word

Word is the most popularly used application for content creation. It acts as a most basic form of content. Authors using Word do not need to know complicated markup languages to present their content. Authors can use Word to present not only text, but non-textual content such as images, form elements etc. The authors publish the Web as a word document or can be converted into other web formats such as PDFs or HTML files. Different people access Word using different technologies. For example, people with disabilities use assistive technologies such as screen readers, Braille embossers etc to access web content.

There are different features in a Word application that can help create accessible contents:

• Styles and Formatting: Styles help authors to present content in a way that it is appealing to the readers. What most users do not know is that these very styles play an important role in making the content accessible. Word comes equipped with default styles to present textual content such as headings, bulleted lists, numbered lists, paragraphs, headers and footers etc.
  For example, heading styles such as Heading 1, Heading 2 etc are used for different heading levels. Authors can change the format of how these headings appear. The right way to change the format of these available styles is using the Customized option in the Word application.
  
  
• Text alternatives: Images are known to add beauty to any text content. They can be also used to present facts or ideas in one compact format such as a flowchart to complement huge chunks of text. However, authors need to take care that if images are used to present important information, which is not available in the surrounding text content; then text alternatives need to be provided to the users for these images. Use the Format Picture option to provide text alternatives.
  (Note: Text descriptions provided to the images are not read out by screen readers within a Word document. These are read out when Word documents are published in different format such as PDF or HTML)
  
  
• Use Default formats: Lists help authors present content in a more readable format. At times authors, use fancy bullet images to make the lists mores attractive, especially for unordered list formats. Users using assistive technologies are provided list information such as number of list items and level of nested lists. However, the incorrect method of using images for bulleted lists deprives users from getting this information.

In addition, Word documents can also provide data security to authors while data transfers. Authors can protect the document from being edited. On the whole, sticking to the basics authors can create accessible documents.