Styles and Formatting
What do I need to do?
Use the styles and formatting toolbar; do not manually format documents.
How do I do this?
Open the styles and formatting task pane. Using the style box, select the appropriate formatting for your headings, titles, and emphasized words.
Do not use the "enter," "tab," "bold," etc. buttons to visually change the layout or appearance of your text or document. Instead modify a style or use formatting to reflect your preferences. For example, modify your style so that your headings are bolded, centered and 16 point font followed by two line spaces, rather than changing the appearance of the text and hitting the "enter" button twice.
Why does it matter?
Although manual formatting is obvious to sighted users, it is not recognized by screenreaders and can present barriers to mobile device users. PDA or cell phone users will view only the headings of a document or website to obtain an overview of the content, since the small screen size can make it impossible to view all the content at once. A structured document is more easy to navigate for a mobile device user, and will enable them to reflow a document for easier viewing.
Using the styles and formatting toolbar is also extremely valuable when editing and revising a document. With a few mouse clicks, the Microsoft Outline View allows you to easily manipulate, restructure and navigate through pages of data, or to convert your outline into a hyperlinked Table of Contents or Powerpoint presentation. For example, you could update the look of 16 different headings by editing the style only once rather than individually updating each inaccessible heading, or you could jump to the 14th chapter in a book rather than scrolling through pages of text. A structured document can also be easily converted into accessible html or PDFs.
Another advantage of using styles is that it helps prevent frustrating formatting problems when working on shared documents. For example, if someone used the "enter" button to create space between a paragraph and heading, but then another person adds to the document and pushes the text into the page break, you will end up with a seemingly random blank spot in the document. Someone will have to go through the entire document to remove the extra line spaces that were created when you used the enter buttom to create visual space. You will not have to manually edit the visual layout of your document when you use the styles and formatting functions correctly.
What is the source of this standard?
- WCAG 2.0, Guideline 2.4.10 Section Headings: Section headings are used to organize the content.
- WCAG 2.0, Guideline 1.4.1 Use of Color: Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element
Where can I find more information?
- Understanding Styles in Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Training: Styles, the essential stuff
- Basic Concepts of Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Quick Reference Chart for Styles
