MICROSOFT WORD 2010
508 ACCESSIBILITY CHECKLIST

Identify column and row header cells programmatically.

Watch video (1:33 mins)

Data in Columns:

Are data column header cells identified in the first row?

To check the identification on the first row:

• To look for the presence of a marked Header Row, Run the accessibility checker: "No Header Row Specified" will show if it is not set correctly.

Note: The data tables must be formatted with Table Grid style for this check to work. To inspect a table to determine its' style, select the table, then open the Reveal Formatting Pane: CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + F.

Note: The data tables must be formatted with Table Grid style for this check to work. To inspect a table to determine its' style, select the table, then open the Reveal Formatting Pane: SHIFT + F1.

Data in Rows:

Are data row header cells used in the first column? If used, convert to a an accessible format.

To check row headers in data tables:

• Inspect the table headers and data to determine if row headers have been employed in the first column.

• If the first column must contain row headers, convert the document to an accessible format for distribution.

Watch video (1:22 mins)

Data in Columns:

To identify the first row as column data headers:

• Select the first row of the table

  
  

• On the Layout Sub-Tab (of the Table Tools Tab), in the Data Group, select Repeat Header Rows.

  
  

• The Repeat Header Rows button remains highlighted when set (and the cursor is placed in the header row).

  
  

Note: In addition to identifying the header row, this function also makes header appear on each new page (where a table spans more than one page).

Data in Rows:

To identify the first column as row data headers:

This cannot be done in MS Word. If the first column must contain row headers:

• Fix any other accessibility issues with this MS Word document.

• Convert the document to an accessible format for distribution.

Identify column and row header cells programmatically.

Correct:

(Select the image to download example file in MS Word format)

Incorrect:

(Select the image to download example file in MS Word format)

Identify column and row header cells programmatically.

Sighted users can visually scan up and across a data table to find row and column headers. Correctly labeling rows and columns headers allows non-sighted users can make this association.

Legal References

508 references:

1194.22(g); 1194.22(h); 1194.31(a); 1194.31(b).

WCAG references:

1.3.1-H51.

All Microsoft Word Requirements