Document accessibility - Tables, textboxes, and headers and footers

Tables

Use tables to present tabular data only, not to format a document. 

Certain table designs are difficult for screen readers to navigate. Give each item its own cell and avoid splitting or merging cells. Doing so might make sense visually but confuses the reader.

Table considerations

Mark table header rows as header rows, so the assistive technology can recognize them. If marked properly, a screen reader will read the header row first before the corresponding cell. This makes it easier to navigate through a table without getting lost.

Tables require alt text. Alt text for a table should include a very brief description of the table.

Never use an image of a table instead of a table. Build tables using the table creator in Word.

How to repeat the header row

1. Highlight the content in the top row of the table (the header row) and right click.
2. Select ‘Table Properties’ from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the ‘Row’ tab and check ‘Repeat as header row at the top of each page.’

How to apply alt text to a table

1. Select and right-click the table.
2. Select ‘Table Properties.’
3. Select the ‘Alt Text’ tab.
4. Add the alt text to the ‘Description’ box. The alt text will be automatically saved.

To check the reading order of a table, tab through the table to make sure that data is in the proper order. This will be the same order that a screen reader will read the table.

For more details, see Microsoft Support: Creating Accessible Tables.

Text boxes, headers and footers

Text boxes are not accessible in a Word document. Screen readers will often miss the text box entirely, so even adding alt-text is not helpful. Avoid using text boxes in documents.

Screen reading technologies do not read headers and footers. If you have important information in your headers and footers, repeat that information elsewhere in your document.

For example, if a document title is only in the header or footer of a document, someone using a screen reader will not be able to identify read the title.

Text box considerations 

If you are using text boxes to highlight text or for aesthetic reasons, consider adding borders and shading around the text instead. If using shading, make sure there is sufficient colour contrast.

Page numbers

Do not manually type page numbers into the headers and footers. Use the Insert tab then ‘Page Number.’ Format the page numbers from there.