If you don’t like the standard style, it is easy to change the format, colour, size etc in Word documents or Outlook email by selecting the text to change or editing the styles in the style menu (in the Home tab at the top of Word or format text tab at the top of Outlook). Two easy options: To create your own style: Steps Images Right click on the heading level (e.g. heading level 1) Select “modify” Enter in the paragraph, colour, spacing preferences To add a style: If you have already formatted a document the way you want without having added the headings, e.g. with the text style that you want to apply, using a specific UNICEF font color, text size, justification and spacing. Steps Images Highlight the text e.g. your standard paragraph text Right-click on the relevant format category e.g. “normal” Select “update normal to match selection” Advanced note: Style set Sometimes the style set is by default based on “normal” so if you modify the “normal” default, it may modify other default headings. It is possible to save a style-set and use it as your default style so that it already configured every time you open a new word document. Ask IT for help. Accessibility basics for Word documents Layout and spacing In addition to using heading levels, consider adding the spacing elements e.g. paragraph spacing or line spacing after in the style set. Use page breaks rather than pressing ‘enter’ several times which may indicate to a screen reader that the end of a document has been reached. Use standard and bulleted or numbered lists Manually typing numbers or dashes before items in a list will not immediately group them as a list and make it easy for a person using a screen reader to skip to the next list. Instead, use (and modify, as per the same process of heading styles) the standard format as a numbered or bulleted list, so that they are clearly grouped together for users of screen readers. Avoid text-boxes Text boxes should be avoided because screen readers may skip or have difficulty reading “aloud” the text boxes. Instead, either a single-cell table can be used or, text can be highlighted, “filled”
If you don’t like the standard style, it is easy to change the format, colour, size etc in Word documents or Outlook email by selecting the text to change or editing the styles in the style menu (in the Home tab at the top of Word or format text tab at the top of Outlook). Two easy options: To create your own style: Steps Images Right click on the heading level (e.g. heading level 1) Select “modify” Enter in the paragraph, colour, spacing preferences To add a style: If you have already formatted a document the way you want without having added the headings, e.g. with the text style that you want to apply, using a specific UNICEF font color, text size, justification and spacing. Steps Images Highlight the text e.g. your standard paragraph text Right-click on the relevant format category e.g. “normal” Select “update normal to match selection” Advanced note: Style set Sometimes the style set is by default based on “normal” so if you modify the “normal” default, it may modify other default headings. It is possible to save a style-set and use it as your default style so that it already configured every time you open a new word document. Ask IT for help. Accessibility basics for Word documents Layout and spacing In addition to using heading levels, consider adding the spacing elements e.g. paragraph spacing or line spacing after in the style set. Use page breaks rather than pressing ‘enter’ several times which may indicate to a screen reader that the end of a document has been reached. Use standard and bulleted or numbered lists Manually typing numbers or dashes before items in a list will not immediately group them as a list and make it easy for a person using a screen reader to skip to the next list. Instead, use (and modify, as per the same process of heading styles) the standard format as a numbered or bulleted list, so that they are clearly grouped together for users of screen readers. Avoid text-boxes Text boxes should be avoided because screen readers may skip or have difficulty reading “aloud” the text boxes. Instead, either a single-cell table can be used or, text can be highlighted, “filled”