Guidance has been produced to help make sure all of your Word documents are accessible:

How to create accessible Word content

How to make Word documents accessible

Creating accessible Word documents means the content can be unlocked by everyone including people with disabilities. Word is a commonly used application and can be read by assistive technologies such as screen readers and Braille devices.

Microsoft have created guidance to help you create fully accessible Word documents.

Check your information- as well as following the guidance for creating accessible content, Microsoft's built-in accessibility checker should be also used when creating documents.

The checker verifies the file against sets of rules that possible issues for people who have disabilities. Depending on the severity it classes each error as an error, warning or tip. It also gives recommendations on how to fix the issues. 

Here is how to run and access the accessibility checker in Word.

Helpful accessibility tools in Word

Microsoft has inbuilt features that can help support people with disabilities or anyone who wants to make the learning experience on their device easier.

Immersive Reader is a reading enhancement tool that works in Office 365 with Word. It will speak text in a choice of voices and allows you to view the text in a variety of fonts, sizes and backgrounds and colours. It is a useful option for those with dyslexia or dysgraphia or for whom English is their second language. But this tool is also actually ideal for anyone who wants to improve their reading experience. Find out more about Immersive Reader.

Another helpful feature on Office that is available on Word is 'Tell Me' navigation. This is a text field where you can enter words and phrases about what you want to do next and quickly get to features you want to use or actions you want to perform. Find out more about Tell Me.

Please note if you experience any issues accessing these tools then you should contact the CGI Service Desk on 0141 287 4000 or email GCCServiceDesk@cgi.com