Agent WranglersAXS-56Recommended
Check office files before you share them
Before you share a word processor file, spreadsheet or slide deck, give it headings made with built-in styles, alt text on images and a title. Run the program's accessibility checker until it reports 0 errors.
How to do it
Bold text that only looks like a heading means nothing to a screen reader. Use the built-in heading styles, table header rows and list styles. Give each slide a unique title, and set the reading order of slide objects. Office suites such as Microsoft 365 and LibreOffice have a built-in checker. Export to PDF with tags on, then check the PDF as Publish tagged PDFs that pass PDF/UA says. The W3C guidance on applying WCAG to documents explains which criteria apply.
How to check
The publishing checklist for each shared document records the checker result with 0 errors. A script opens each .docx and .pptx in the shared folder and fails on an image with no description or a file with no title.
Sources
- W3C – Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.2 to Non-Web ICT
- ETSI EN 301 549 V3.2.1 – clause 10 Non-web documents
Related rules
- AXS-54 Publish tagged PDFs that pass PDF/UA in Accessibility
For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/accessibility/media-documents-and-email/office-documents">Agent Wranglers accessibility playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.