Hello accessibility friends and colleagues:

Feel free to pass on this message.

I am compiling sets of techniques for people who prepare accessible
documents in four different applications:

Word
WordPerfect
Excel
PowerPoint

I would like to hear from anyone who has opinions and experiences on what it
takes to make documents produced in these programs accessible to a range of
people with disabilities. In other words, what should content providers do
(and not do) to make Word, WordPerfect, Excel and PowerPoint documents
usable by individuals with sensory, mobility, ambulatory, learning,
psychiatric, etc. disabilities?

When I posed a similar question a few years ago about accessible Word
documents, I received many responses. Here are the principles that emerged.
I do not think much has changed since, but if you have other ideas, let me
know:

* Use styles to structure Word documents.
* Avoid nested tables.
* Use one language per document.
* Do not use tabs and spaces to align columns.
* Avoid very small or very large fonts.
* Type a space after a punctuation mark that ends a phrase or sentence.
* Do not insert extra blank lines to start a new page.
* Choose contrasting colour combinations.
* Do not use animated text.
* Prepare Word forms with care.
* Label WordArt, ClipArt, and images.

I will share my findings with everyone who responds. I look forward to
hearing from you.

Alan

Alan Cantor
Cantor Access Inc.
[log in to unmask]
www.cantoraccess.com