How to get accessibility feedback on Ally:

1. Go to the file you wish to check.
2. Select the meter icon.
3. A box will pop up with a percentage score for accessibility and the main accessibility issue for the file with the issues highlighted on a copy of the document itself eg. all images which do not have alternative text. You then have options to get more information or instructions on how to make changes.
4. On the panel, you also have the option to see ‘All Issues’. This is a helpful way to view and make all of your corrections at once.
5. Once you have followed the instructions to adjust your document, you can re-upload it directly through Ally.

Please see the drop-down boxes below for instructions on correcting common accessibility issues flagged by Ally.

You may also want to visit the following resources for more accessibility tips:

• UCD Disability Support Information for Staff.
• University for All Mini Masterclasses on Accessibility.

Untagged PDF:

1. Download the PDF.
2. Go to SensusAccess Page hosted on the UCD Access and Lifelong Learning Website.
3. Upload the file to the webform.
4. Select ‘accessibility conversion’.
5. Select ‘PDF - tagged PDF (text over image)’
6. Input your UCD email address.
7. Your tagged PDF should be emailed back to you.

Note:  If you do not receive this within an hour,  check your spam folder. SensusAccess cannot convert password protected files, you should save a new unprotected version of the file if you need to convert it.

All other PDF-related problems - Convert PDF to a Word document:

1. Download the PDF.
2. Go to SensusAccess Page.
3. Upload the file to the webform.
4. Select ‘accessibility conversion’.
5. Select ‘Doc - Microsoft Word’
6. Input your UCD email address.
7. Your Word document should be emailed back to you. 

Note: If you do not receive this within an hour, check your spam folder.

Setting a Document Language:

It is recommended that you should ‘tag’ languages for any document you produce. This allows screen-readers to easily switch language, if required, to read the document.

Note: If you have a bi-lingual document, you should mark if there are sections in a different language.

How to set a language in a Word document:

1. Open the document in Microsoft Word.
2. If the document is only one language hit Ctrl+A - this will highlight the entire text.
3. At the bottom of your document window you will see the text language.

By default, Word will auto-detect this. You should check that it is correct. If it is not, you should select the correct language from the drop-down menu and then hit ‘ok’.

Note: If you have multiple languages in your document, you will need to repeat this process for each language switch.

Adding Alt-text in Office 365:

This text helps screen-reading tools describe images to visually impaired readers. Even if an image is purely decorative, this should be marked.

How to add Alt-text:

1. Right click on the picture/image within your document.
2. Select ‘Format Autoshape / Picture’
3. The last tab in the ‘Format Picture’ options is ‘Alt text’. Select this.
4. Write a brief description of what the picture shows. If the picture itself has text, it is important to include this in the alt-text.
5. Hit ‘ok’

Adding Headings and Titles:

Headings make articles easier to navigate for Assistive Technology, such as screen-readers. If you are adding titles, subtitles, and headings to a piece of writing, it is important to use the correct tools to do this, rather than simply using font sizes This means that this element is flagged in the digital structure of the document itself, so that people who access information in different ways are aware of these elements, rather than only those who take in information visually.

How to add a Heading or Title to Text in Microsoft Word:

1. Titles, Subtitles and Headings can be found in Microsoft Word under ‘Home’ in a box marked ‘styles’.
2. To apply a Title or Heading, highlight the phrase you wish to apply the style to, and select the style required.
3. Headings should be sequential. This means that you should not have a Heading 1 after a Heading 3. If you have subjects of equal importance, it is fine to have multiple Heading 2’s one after the other.

How to add a Heading to a Table:

It is important that the headings of columns on tables are clearly marked as ‘headings’ in the formatting of your document. Even if the headings are written in bold, these visual cues may not be clear to people who are accessing your document in an alternative format - for instance, visually-impaired people who use screen-reader technology.

1. Highlight the column headings on your table.
2. Right-click and select ‘Table properties’.
3. Go to the ‘row’ tab.
4. Select ‘Repeat as header row at the top of each page’.
5. Unselect ‘Allow row to break across pages’

Tables and Accessibility

It is important that the headings of columns on tables are clearly marked as ‘headings’ in the formatting of your document. Even if the headings are written in bold, these visual cues may not be clear to people who are accessing your document in an alternative format - for instance, visually-impaired people who use screen-reader technology. It is also important that tables have alternative text that says explicitly what the table is displaying - this allows a screenreader user to decide whether they want to read the table.

To add headings to a table:

1. Highlight the column headings on your table.
2. Right-click and select ‘Table properties’
3. Go to the ‘row’ tab.
4. Select ‘Repeat as header row at the top of each page’.
5. Unselect ‘Allow row to break across pages’.

Adding alt-text to tables:

1. Right-click on your table and select ‘Table properties’.
2. The alt text tab is the last tab under properties.
3. Write a clear title for your table and a clear description of its contents.

Correcting Contrast Issues:

Some fonts and colours are easier to read than others. As a rule of thumb, black sans-serif text on a white background is the most accessible text option. Text should not be smaller than font size 12. Where possible it is best not to convey meaning using exclusively colour eg. red writing should not be the only way someone knows that a point is important. If you are using coloured writing and coloured backgrounds, it is important to ensure there is a distinct contrast, there are tools to help you test your colour combinations.

How to check colour contrast:

1. Go to a WCAG compliant colour checker such as (opens in a new window)WebAim.
2. Input your colour codes. 
3. You can find these by 
   i) Highlighting the text you wish to check
   ii) Go to font colour
   iii) Select ‘More colours’. 
   iv) You will be given a colour code for the colour you currently have selected eg. #4472C4