Microsoft Word

Where to Start with Microsoft Word

Headings and Styles

Styles Ribbon

Select the appropriate heading level using the Styles toolbar on the Home Ribbon.

Styles Pane

If you prefer, you can also open the Styles options in a pane at the side of your screen. Select the Styles Pane at the right-hand side of the Styles Ribbon. The pane will open on the right-hand side of your document.

Navigation Pane

Using the Navigation Pane allows you to easily check your document structure and reorder your headings.

Go to View and check the box beside the Navigation Pane. The Navigation Pane will open on the left.

• Click on any of the headings in the Navigation Pane to go to that section.
• To re-order your content, drag the headings up and down in the navigation pane

Modifying Styles

Word Headings are preformatted, but you can easily customize the visual appearance of your headings across an entire document. Take Heading 1 as an example:

• Set the font, color, spacing, etc., to what you would like Heading 1 to be.
• Highlight the correctly formatted text.
• Right-click on Heading 1 in the Ribbon (or the Styles Pane), and click Update Heading 1 to Match Selection.
• Now each Heading 1 will use your preferred formatting. You should see that all Heading 1 text has changed throughout your document. (You can also
  click Modify for more formatting options.)

Descriptive Links

Inserting Descriptive Links: Adding Hyperlinks to Descriptive Text
To add a hyperlink to descriptive link text in Microsoft Office, first select the descriptive text you wish to link. Right-click on the link and select Edit Hyperlink.

In the Address field, enter your URL.

Inserting Descriptive Links: Adding Descriptive Text to Hyperlinks
To add descriptive link text in Microsoft Office, first select the link. Right-click on the link and select Edit Hyperlink.

Insert the Descriptive Text you want to display in place of the URL in the Text to Display field at the top of the dialogue box.

Table Header Row

Table Header Rows help users understand information presented in tables.

 

You are probably used to bolding or italicizing information in table header rows, but this
alone does not enable screen readers to recognize and read aloud header information. To set the Table Header Rows, you’ll need to configure settings in two places: Table Properties and Table Design Tools.

Table Properties

To define the header row on a table in Word in a way that helps visual users as well as screen reader users, right-click on the top row of the table and select Table Properties.

In the Table Properties dialogue box, select the Row tab. Check the box beside Repeat as header row at the top of each page.

Table Design Tools

In addition to Table Properties, you also need to make sure that the header row and/or column is set in the Table Design Tools. Setting the table headers here does not allow the header row to repeat on multiple pages. It will help maintain the accessibility of your document when saving it to another format such as a PDF.

Select the Design tab in the ribbon under Table Tools.

Check the checkbox titled Header Row at the top left of the Design ribbon. If the table also has a header column, check the box titled First Column.

Alternative Text

Alternative Text (Alt Text) provides a brief written description of an image that screen readers can read aloud to readers using assistive technology.

To create Alt Text Right-click on the image, then select Edit Alt Text from the menu.

An Alt Text pane will open up on the right-hand side of the screen. Type your alt text in the text field.

Important note: Microsoft Word usually attempts to generate automatic alt text. These auto alt texts are generally inaccurate. It is always best to edit the alt text yourself.

Color Contrast

Choose a theme that uses accessible color contrast. You can also go to our Color Contrast page for more help.