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Introduction
It is estimated that up to 4% of the population relies on some sort of
Assistive Technology to access electronic documents and Web pages.
Assistive Technology includes; Screen Reading software, Refreshable
Braille displays, and Screen Magnifiers. In the United States alone that
equals 12.5 million people. If electronic documents are not created with
accessibility issues in mind, they become very difficult if not impossible to
read or navigate for this large number of people.
Accessibility to electronic documents is a right that is protected by both
Federal and State law. Creating accessible electronic documents is
important to ensure access to persons with disabilities and the company or
agency is protected against legal action. Additionally, it is just good
business, when a very large segment of the population can equally
participate and take advantage of the products or services that the
company or agency provides.
Disability Access Services of California Department of Rehabilitation has
put together this list of seven easy steps to follow when creating Word
documents. Take just a few moments to be acquainted with these seven
simple steps to ensure that Word documents are fully accessible to
everyone.
These steps are explained utilizing Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. The
Menu map of other versions of Microsoft Word or other word processors
may be different.