Creating Accessible Google Docs

Courtesy of Lisa Dickson, Hutchinson Community College

Fonts & Typeface

• Use Sans Serif typeface (eg Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, Trebuchet)
• Use size 12 point or larger typeface
• Left-justify text
• Don't use bold or italics (many screen readers won't announce them). Instead, add the word "Important" or "note"

Color

• Use sufficient color contrast
• We recommend the Colour Contrast Analyzer - a free download
• The color of the page can be changed using the File menu > page Setup > Page Color. Choose a typeface with sufficient color contrast
•  Don't use color alone to convey meaning

Links

• Use descriptive links (eg visit the PBS website) 
•  Don't spell out URLs (eg http://www.pbs.org) or use the words "click here"
• Highlight the text that needs to be linked > right-click and select Link or select the link icon from the toolbar
• If a URL needs to be included for printing, include it in parentheses following the descriptive link, but don't hyperlink (to avoid duplicate links)
• eg, Please visit the PBS website (www.pbs.org)
• Shorten long URLs using TinyURL or Bitly

Headings

• Use Styles to format text as headings
• Don't use large, bold font as a heading
• Highlight the text that should be a heading, then use the Styles menu or the Format menu to select the appropriate heading level

• To change the appearance of a Heading Style, make the formatting changes to the text, highlight that text, and then use the Styles or the Format menu to select "Update heading 'some text' to match"
•  Use Headings in the correct order. Don't skip Heading levels. (eg Heading 1 to Heading 3)
• You can check levels using the View menu > Show Document Outline 

• The Title and Subtitle should only be used for a document with a title page. Normally only one Title and Subtitle per document
• Use Heading Level 1 only once in a document
• Headings go as far as Heading 6

Lists

• Use numbered or bulleted lists from the Format menu. Don't manually type numbers, asterisks, hyphens

 Columns

• Use the Columns option in the Format menu
• Do not use tabs or tables to format text

 
Images & Graphics

•  Always use alternative (alt) text to describe images
• Alt text should be short and descriptive. Don't be overly wordy. 1-2 brief sentences is recommended
• Avoid using the word "image" or "picture" in the alt text because the screen reader will already announce that it's a picture or image
• Select the image > right-click > select Alt text. Enter the alternative text in the Description box
• If an image contains text, that text should be included in the Alt text
• For complex images that cannot be easily described, link to a separate document that descries the image or describe the image using text that appears above or below the image
• Not all screen readers can read Google Docs Alt text, so consider adding a caption in the page as well.
• Image positioning should be set to In-Line
• Color alone should not be used to convey meaning
• If you print the image in B&W, will it be understandable? If not, it is not accessible
• Text within an image should have sufficient color contrast against the image background

Tables

• Tables should be used for data relationships only, not for layout and formatting
• Insert menu > Table > select the table size
• Keep tables small and basic so that they are understandable without Header Rows
• Google Docs does not allow you designate Column and Header Rows which are used to announce table elements
• Still include a Header Row (don't start with data in the first row). Screen readers automatically read the first row as a Header Row
• Table cells should not be empty, including the top-left cell
• Avoid split, merged, or nested cells as they can change the reading order of the table
• Test the reading order of the table
• Click your cursor in the top-left cell and repeatedly press the Tab key. The cursor should move from left to right and top to bottom through the table

Navigation Landmarks

• Landmarks such as headers, footers, and page numbers help readers navigate a document, which is especially helpful for long documents
• Insert menu > Header and Page Number

Table of Contents

• A Table of Contents is recommended for longer documents to improve navigation for assistive technologies.
• If you do this after creating the document and if Heading Styles have been applied, a ToC with clickable links will automatically generate
• Place your cursor where you want to insert the ToC. From the Insert menu > select Table of Contents and select the format

Comments & Suggestions

• Use the Comments & Suggestions tools. Screen readers can jump to them
• Don't write comments or notes within the document itself.
• Comments
• Highlight the text or object on which you want to comment > click the Comment button on the toolbar. Or Insert > Comment
• Suggestions
• From the top-right corner, use the drop-down to select Suggesting. If you don't see that option, ask the file owner to enable the permission

• When you edit document text using Suggestions, you will see your changes in a new color. Anything you delete will appear as a strike-through. Notes of your edits are made in the right margin

Downloading a Google Doc

• Google Docs can be downloaded in multiple other formats
• File menu  > Download as...
• Don't save as PDF or Print to PDF as the tagging will be stripped
• Instead, download as Word and then convert to PDF
• Check the downloaded document for accessibility
• Even if the Google Doc is accessible, the converted file might not be

Math & Science

• Use EquatIO or Mathtype to create accessible math equations.
• Equations cannot be written in an accessible format using the Google Docs Equation Editor

Forms

• Use Google Forms, not Google Docs

Checking your Google Doc Accessibility

•  Use Grackle Chrome Extension