For Faculty

Creating Headings in Various Document Types

By Luis Anaya, eLearning Accessibility Services Specialist

Whether producing content on a website (or in Blackboard), in a Microsoft Word (Word) document, or a Portable Document File (PDF), applying appropriate headings allows for greater accessibility when using screen reader software such as Job Access with Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), Fusion, or VoiceOver for Mac. The built-in features of these screen reader programs allow the user to navigate the document by heading if the document contains appropriately tagged headings. Furthermore, navigation by sub-heading is also possible when the document has headings at levels two, three, four, etc. Similarly, students with other learning disabilities can benefit from headings being visually distinct. While the importance of headings cannot be emphasized enough, it is equally important to know how to create headings and sub-headings in different document types. This article will briefly discuss how each document type (web pages, Word documents, and PDF files) can be properly tagged to make them more accessible and easier to navigate.

Headings and Sub-headings for Web Pages

Any web page has headings incorporated into its Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) code. To identify a certain block of text as heading one, two, etc., change the parent tag to <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, or <h6>. Once the web page has content specifically labeled with appropriate headings, the screen reader programs have their individual means to navigate by heading and even by heading number. Additionally, each heading tag possesses a visually discrete, pre-established appearance. Other document types, such as Word files, have comparable methods to distinguish among headings and sub-headings to meet accessibility guidelines.

Headings and Sub-headings for Word Documents

Word files use styles to transform text into headings and sub-headings. To convert any group of words to a particular style, highlight them, click “Home,” and then click “Styles.” Alternatively, use ALT + H, followed by L to open the “Styles” panel. Once the “Styles” section is accessed, choose among the many choices including: “Heading 1,” “Heading 2,” and “Heading 3.” There is also a way to create more sub-headings if necessary. All PC-based screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, and Fusion) interact well with Word documents with headings and sub-headings when they are created by utilizing styles. As Microsoft Word and the Mac operating system become more compatible, VoiceOver (Mac's screen reader program) will increasingly be able to work with these documents as well. While Word documents employ styles, a PDF file uses an internal tag structure to differentiate among headings, paragraphs, lists, and cells in tables.

Headings and Sub-headings for PDF Files

To develop appropriate heading composition, the tags panel in a PDF file must be opened. To perform this operation, open the PDF using Acrobat Pro DC. Click on “View,” followed by “Show/Hide,” then “Navigation Panes,” and “Tags.” Alternatively, enter ALT + V, S, N, and G to open the tags tree. The file's tag tree will show how portions of the document are classified and categorized by tag. To change a specific tag, right-click the corresponding tag and then click on “Properties.” When the “Properties” box opens, select among the various tag types. There are six different heading tags, along with other types from which to choose. Once an appropriate tag is chosen, click “Close” to make the change permanent. With this tagging system, the PDF can be tagged with appropriate headings and subsequent sub-headings. This works well with all screen readers as PDF files are universally available for all operating systems.

Conclusion

One important part of making documents accessible and navigable for screen readers is to ensure that each document type uses headings and sub-headings. While Word files implement styles, and web pages and PDF files take advantage of predetermined tagging and tag organization, it is still up to the content creator to take advantage of these presets to make documents more visually and digitally accessible for professors and students at Texas Tech University. For more information on creating documents and content using appropriate heading structures, please contact eLearning Accessibility Services at eLearning.oa@ttu.edu.