Welcome!

Need an accessible Microsoft Word document?

You've come to the right place: this self-paced micro-course can help get you started in learning Microsoft Word accessibility basics, apply what you've learned, and help you create accessible Microsoft Word Docs that will help your students or users gather the information they need.

Inclusive learning environment benefiting all learners If the Microsoft Word document is in Canvas, consider this - can the Word document content be placed into a Canvas page? It is much simpler to create an accessible Canvas page, and in doing so eases student navigation. By creating an accessible Canvas page, students can quickly focus on your content and easily navigate via "Next"ing to progress through your course. Find out if your Word Doc needs to stay as a Word Doc, or if it would be best suited in a different format in the New Around Here? Let's Start! Module.

Please see the Syllabus for course information, time commitment, and a list of FAQs.

Course Activity:

Practice What You Learn!

Course Activity - Apply It!

This micro-course will build on the accessibility techniques you learn. There will be various documents needing remediation. When you see the Microsoft Word Doc Course Activity icon to the left, you will be prompted to remediate a Word Doc.

At the end of each course activity, you will be provided with a key to help you check your work.

Do You Use Microsoft Windows or an Apple Mac?

The tutorials are based on Windows Microsoft Word.

The "Got Apple?" icon will appear if the tutorial varies between Windows and the Apple version of Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, the Windows and Apple Microsoft Word workspace look different but don't worry - no matter what system you're using, you will still have the same Microsoft Word functions to make an accessible document. However, the button or option may be placed in different places than the tutorials that are presented.

Older Versions of Word

Older versions of Word have features that behave differently when you use the Word 97-2003 document format:

In Windows, exporting to an accessible PDF in Office 2007 and 2003 requires a plug-in. The Adobe PDFMaker Plugin ships with Adobe Acrobat Pro, and the plugin is installed into Office and appears as an Adobe toolbar and menu item. With this plug-in installed, use the Adobe toolbar or the Adobe menu item to Save As PDF. By default, this produces a PDF that preserves the document’s accessibility features.
On a Mac, Word did not include accessibility features at all until Office 2011 and did not support saving to tagged PDF until Office 2016. In Office 2011, you can create an accessible Word document, but to export to tagged PDF, you must take that final step in Word for Windows or LibreOffice for Mac.

Ready to Begin?

2 Ways to Navigate

This course is designed for both beginner and intermediate levels. There are several ways to navigate based on your needs:

If you are brand new to Microsoft Word Accessibility, please use Table of Contents in the box at the upper right-hand side of this page. Select "New Around Here? Let's Start!"
If you have some Microsoft Word Accessibility experience, and there are specific sections you need to review, please use the same Table of Contents box to select the topic needed.

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