Hand off an accessible document with structure intact

Accessibility has to survive the delivered format

A well-structured source document can become a flattened or confusing PDF, and a clean-looking PDF can hide broken reading order. Define the handoff format and destination before the final check: editable document, tagged PDF, web page, or more than one. Preserve the editable source unless the receiver explicitly needs only a fixed record.

Use real structure, not visual imitation. The W3C’s page-structure tutorial explains that meaningful regions and logically nested headings support navigation and orientation for screen-reader, keyboard, cognitive, low-vision, and mobile users. In a word processor, use built-in title, heading, list, and table styles. Bold text enlarged to look like a heading does not provide the same navigable structure.

Check headings, links, and visuals as separate systems

For links, the W3C’s guidance on link purpose says readers should be able to determine what a link does from its text or programmatically associated context. Replace repeated “click here” labels with the destination or action. If the same link text leads to different places, make each purpose explicit.

For images, do not fill every alt field with a filename or generic description. The W3C alt decision tree distinguishes informative, functional, complex, redundant, and decorative images. A decorative divider can have an empty alternative. A chart needs its conclusion or underlying information available in text, not a list of colors and shapes. Alt text depends on what the image contributes in this document.

Run the checker, then perform tasks

Microsoft recommends running the Accessibility Checker before sharing Office content and reviewing its errors and warnings. Use it, but do not call a clean report proof of accessibility. Automated checks cannot decide whether a heading is informative, alt text is useful, a link label is honest, or the reading sequence makes sense.

Perform a short human task pass in the final file: navigate using only the heading list; tab through links; open two destinations; read a table by row and column; inspect at high zoom or a narrow window; and verify that no instruction depends only on color. If possible, have someone other than the author perform the check with the tools they normally use.

Package the handoff

Include the final file, editable source, format/version note, accessibility-check date, known limitations, and a contact or owner for corrections. If conversion changes structure, name that limitation rather than implying conformance. A hypothetical example: a report’s chart has a concise alt description plus a nearby data table; the handoff note says the PDF reading order was checked and identifies one complex appendix table that may be easier to use in the spreadsheet source. This is illustrative, not a test result.

1. Apply built-in structure in the editable source.
2. Write descriptive link text and purpose-based image alternatives.
3. Run the platform checker and resolve material findings.
4. Test navigation, links, zoom, tables, and reading sequence manually.
5. Deliver the source, final format, check note, and known limitations.

The revision-diff review should happen before this final pass so a late factual edit does not silently undo heading, link, or alternative-text work.