A publication of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group NWCG Guidelines for Creating Accessible Electronic Documents July 2020 Table of Contents Introduction to Accessibility .................................................................................................................... 1 NWCG Staff Support .............................................................................................................................. 1 Microsoft Word Document Creation ...................................................................................................... 1 New Document Setup .............................................................................................................................. 1 Formatting Documents ............................................................................................................................ 4 Tables .................................................................................................................................................... 20 Forms ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Saving as a Template and Create Editable Regions .............................................................................. 24 Is Your Document Accessible? ............................................................................................................. 25 Additional Information .......................................................................................................................... 26 MS Word Accessibility Checklist ......................................................................................................... 26 PDF File Creation in MS Word ............................................................................................................. 29 Converting Your Documents to Accessible PDF Files ......................................................................... 29 Excel Document Creation....................................................................................................................... 30 Preparation of Accessible Documents ................................................................................................... 30 Create Accessible Charts ....................................................................................................................... 32 Excel Accessibility Checklist ................................................................................................................ 35 Multimedia Creation .............................................................................................................................. 37 Creating Web Video Text Tracks (WebVTT) ....................................................................................... 37 Multimedia Accessibility Checklist ...................................................................................................... 38 PowerPoint Creation .............................................................................................................................. 39 Preparing Accessible Presentations ....................................................................................................... 39 Create Accessible Templates................................................................................................................. 41 Slide Design .......................................................................................................................................... 44 Logical Reading Order .......................................................................................................................... 47 Tables .................................................................................................................................................... 50 Convert PowerPoint to Other Formats .................................................................................................. 51 PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist ...................................................................................................... 53 PDF Checking and Problem Solving ..................................................................................................... 55 PDF Document Properties ..................................................................................................................... 55 Adding Tags to Your Document ........................................................................................................... 58 Forms ..................................................................................................................................................... 60 Tips and Tricks on Correcting Errors in a PDF File ............................................................................. 60 Using the Acrobat Pro Accessibility Checker ....................................................................................... 70 Submitting Documents for Web Posting............................................................................................... 70 Font Index ................................................................................................................................................ 71 Symbol Shortcuts .................................................................................................................................. 76 NWCG Guidelines for Creating Accessible Electronic Documents i Introduction to Accessibility The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) creates electronic publications, documents, presentations, and other materials that are readily available, cost effective, and environmentally responsible (https://www.nwcg.gov). NWCG is committed to ensuring the accessibility of all our products for everyone in our audience. One of the primary ways this is done is by meeting the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended [29 USC 794d]. Section 508 is a federal law that requires agencies to provide individuals with disabilities access to electronic and information technology and data comparable to those who do not have disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency (https://www.doi.gov/accessibility). Section 508 also defines the technical requirements and criteria used to measure compliance. Web-based standards ensure equal access to documents, PDFs, presentations, video, multimedia, and websites for all individuals with sensory impairments. Individuals with visual or hearing impairments can then use assistive technology software to interpret the content using screen captions or have content read out loud. Video that appears on government websites must be captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing. Documents and forms on government websites must be accessible to blind and low-vision individuals, both government employees, and the general public. For more information on Section 508 visit https://www.section508.gov/. Individual authors share responsibility for accessibility of NWCG products and documents. Follow the steps outlined here to create an accessible document. These guidelines will evolve with advances in technology and new methods for accessibility. They are targeted at users who are unfamiliar with making various products accessible but are not intended to limit advanced users. NWCG Staff Support NWCG has staff dedicated to editing, proofreading, formatting, and assisting with accessibility of NWCG publications and products. The process to finalize and make them available is faster and easier if the document is created correctly. For NWCG publications that are part of the Publication Management System (PMS), specific guidance, and an accessible template are available, https://www.nwcg.gov/publication-portal-management. Please contact the NWCG Publications Manager for questions regarding specific publications. Microsoft Word Document Creation New Document Setup Document Properties, also known as metadata, are details about a file that describe or identify it, including title, author name, subject, and keywords identifying the document’s topic or contents. This information can be viewed without opening the document and helps users decide whether to open it. Properties are also important for documents posted on websites. Search engines use this information to identify documents users might want to examine. 1. In MS Word 2016, open the document. 2. Click on File. Info screen will appear. 3. On the right side click on word Properties. 4. Click on Advanced Properties. Summary screen will appear. NWCG Guidelines for Creating Accessible Electronic Documents 1 of 76 Figure 1–Properties Dialog Box • File: Displays the name of the file. Use short descriptive names with a date. • Title: Actual title of the document. • Subject: Brief identification of the subject of the document. • Author: Committee name. • Keywords: The keywords are associated with the document during a search and will effectively rank the document for relevance. The closer the search words match your keywords, the higher the document will be ranked in the search. When using multiple keywords, separate them with a comma. Be sure to choose words relevant to the content. • Set a default language for the document. Select the File tab and then Options. Select Language in the navigation panel. Be sure U.S. English is chosen as the default language. If it isn’t, locate it in the drop-down menu and choose Add. Select OK when you’re