Using the ‘Accessibility Checker’ in word

Check accessibility within Word.

1. Click ‘Review’.
2. Click, ‘Check Accessibility’.

• The ‘Accessibility checker’ will show on the right-hand side of the document. It will provide you with a list of errors that need to be corrected.
• It will also sometimes give you a warning which will allow you to increase accessibility. This isn’t as high a priority as an error but is good practice to fix.
• You can click into each of these errors and the accessibility checker will suggest a ‘recommended action’ and you will be able to fix each error.
• In this example, the first error is indicating there is a “Missing Alt Text”. Under this, it provides a list of pictures that require action.
• The second error highlights that the logo is not inline. It then gives you possible actions within this.

Common errors found by the Accessibility Checker include:

• Images with Alt text (description)
• Text with poor colour contrast
• No use of ‘heading styles’
• No use of headings within table’s
• Image formatting issues i.e. not inline

The Accessibility Checker in older versions of Word, may not check for poor colour contrast or inappropriate use of colour.
The Accessibility Checker may not call out lists that are not formatted as lists.
The Accessibility Checker does not flag text that may be too small and/or difficult to read.