Making Email, Documents & PDFs Accessible

Email, Word documents, and PDFs are the three formats nearly everyone at SRJC touches daily, and each has its own accessibility challenges. For that reason, we have Accessibility Guides for the most common software applications (Zoom will be added soon!)

Remember, HTML first when possible. If your content can live on a web site, start there. HTML is the most accessible format for screen readers and mobile devices, and easier for a user to resize or otherwise customize.

If it needs to be a printable document, Word is your best bet. Most other word processing apps, such as Google Docs and LibreOffice, are able to open and export files in the .docx format. 

PDFs are the trickiest format to remediate, so the fewer PDFs we create, the less liability and work to fix it down the line. For fillable forms, there are better alternatives, including Formstack and Microsoft Forms. 

Email Quick Wins

1. Write descriptive subject lines — “Reminder: Faculty Senate Meeting Thursday 3pm” is better than “Reminder”
2. Use heading styles for longer emails/newsletters
   • Desktop app: Message → Format Text → Styles
   • Cloud app: Message → Format Text → Paragraph → Styles
3. Ditch “click here” — link text should describe the destination:
   • ✅Yes: Apply for Financial Aid
   • ❌No: Click here to apply for Financial Aid
4. Never send text-as-an-image (like a flyer) without also including that text in the email body, or if just a sentence or two, as alt text.
5. Run Outlook’s built-in accessibility checker before hitting send
   • Desktop app: Review → Check Accessibility
   • Cloud app: Options → Check Accessibility

See the full Email and Outlook Guide

Documents (Word) Quick Wins

1. Use built-in heading styles — NOT bold text in a bigger font
   • Screen readers use structural tags to convey a document’s organization of sections and headings. Those tags are created using the Styles tool.  
2. Avoid overuse of italics and highly decorative fonts, especially script styles. They are often difficult to read. Use a minimum 12 pt font or larger.
3. Add alt text to every meaningful image (conveys information); mark decorative images as decorative. Review current alt text guidelines.
4. Use the built-in list/table tools, not typed bullets or tab-spaced columns
5. Run Review → Check Accessibility before sharing

The Hard One: PDFs

PDFs require extra attention because the effort to fix them varies wildly depending on how they were created:

💡Rule #1: Build your source document accessibly in Word first

💡Rule #2: Never use “Print to PDF.” Print to PDF erases digital tagging and produces a file that appears entirely blank to assistive technology. It essentially converts your document into a graphic, as if you took a photo of your document.

Instead, use Save As PDF or Export as PDF. Trying to fix a badly-structured PDF directly in Acrobat is far more painful than fixing the Word file it came from. If you find an issue in the PDF, it’s easier to go back and fix it in the original Word file, and re-export to PDF.

See the full PDFs Guide

📍Take the Next Step: Build Your Document Skills

• Sign up for free, self-paced online Accessible Document Training (Word, PowerPoint and Acrobat). A new cohort begins each month. You will receive a certificate upon successful completion.

Go Deeper

1. Developing fillable forms? Contact the Accessibility Coordinator to discuss whether Formstack (for FERPA-protected information) or Microsoft Forms is appropriate for your needs and to get any training you need.
2. Visit the Accessibility Concepts hub to learn about headings, alt text, contrast, tables, reading order, and more.
3. Choose an Accessibility Guide for step-by-step guidance on your next Outlook, Word, PowerPoint or other project.

Need Help?

For non-instructional materials:

Dana Throckmorton, Online Accessibility Coordinator dthrockmorton@santarosa.edu | 707-527-4518

For instructional materials, contact the Distance Education team.