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K_steinmann
New Participant
February 1, 2022
Question

How to define table summary (for accessibility purposes) in Word?

  • February 1, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 11466 views

Hi -I need to have table summaries for all my PDFs with tables to meet accessibility requirements. I automate the creation of Word docs with tables, then batch them into PDFs manually. I dont see anyway to create the table summary in Word though - alt text for the table does not seem to transfer to the PDF. Is there any part of a Microsoft Word document that will transfer over as the table summary when i create the PDF? It would save me a LOT of time, as i can only automate the Word doc, not the PDF file

 

thanks if anyone has ideas or if i missing something

 

-Kimberly

2 replies

K
K_steinmannAuthor
New Participant
February 1, 2022

Thanks Bevi - I will pass on your response to our department, but i work for a branch of the CA state government, and our IT branch has said the table summaries are required.

 

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    February 1, 2022

    Hi @K_steinmann, not the first time I've heard that from our California clients.

     

    I think their information and internal guidelines for the state's materials are out of date.

     

    I'm a US delegate to the ISO's committees for PDF/UA standards, and I'm a former contributor to the WCAG standards for websites. I read standards for "fun" in my free time, and I will confess, we don't make it easy for anyone to figure out what's the current way to do things!

     

    WCAG defines summaries well in section H:73 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/html/H73   Note the first green note lower down on the page:

    quote

    In HTML5 the summary attribute is obsolete. Assistive technologies may or may not continue to support the attribute. Authors should consider alternatives and only use with caution.

     

    The PDF/UA Syntax Guide also doesn't recommend table summaries. In section 5.4.2 Summary Attributes:

    quote

    It is recommended that use of this attribute be restricted to cases where visual information about the table would not be characteristically available to assistive technology.
    Where auxiliary information or guidance would be useful to any user it is recommended that such be provided in text, and not hidden in a Summary attribute which would only be available to those using certain AT.
    Providing a Summary is not precluded for specific target audiences, but it is recommended that the practice be limited to such cases.

     

    Generally, follow PDF/UA for PDF documents, but when you get to something that either isn't addressed by PDF/UA or you'd like more details, then consult WCAG, too. We try to make both standards mesh with each other, but remember that the technologies are very different from each other. A PDF file is not the same as an HTML webpage so the 2 standards are not going to be identical.

     

    I hope you can pass this along to your IT department that's enforcing their internal accessibility standards.

     

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
      Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
      Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
      Legend
      February 1, 2022

      One more comment: you can't add table summaries in Word, only in the PDF.

      That's a lot of work for such little accessibility!

       

      |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
      Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
      Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
      Legend
      February 1, 2022
      quote

      Hi -I need to have table summaries for all my PDFs with tables to meet accessibility requirements.

      By @K_steinmann

       

      Table summaries are not needed to meet accessibility standards. The use of summaries was developed eons ago when screen readers didn't have as many user features as today's do.

      If you're using Acrobat's built-in accessibility checker, UNcheck the option for Table/Summaries.

      Reference: 5.4.2 Summary Attribute in the PDF/UA Syntax Guide available for free from the PDF Association (which manages and creates the PDF/UA accessibility standard under the ISO). Download a free copy from https://www.pdfa.org/resource/tagged-pdf-best-practice-guide-syntax/

       

      I dont see anyway to create the table summary in Word though - alt text for the table does not seem to transfer to the PDF. Is there any part of a Microsoft Word document that will transfer over as the table summary when i create the PDF?

      Nope!

      Don't confuse Alt Text with Summary. Although both are attributes on <Tags>, they are for different purposes on different tags. Alt Text should be used only on graphics, its original intent, or complex hyperlinks. If it's used on a table, I don't know of any assistive technology that will voice it because that's a non-standard use of Alt Text.

       

      If you'd like to make tables accessible, then follow the guidelines:

      • Keep them simple, that is with a "regular" and uniform series of rows and columns (don't merge cells in the body of the table).
      • Make sure you have <TH> tags on column and row headers (row headers are optional at this time).
      • Put a caption <Caption> on the table. Best to have it appear before the <Table> tag so that it can prepare a user before they actually start to navigate it.

       

       

      |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bevi Chagnon &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Designer, Trainer, &amp; Technologist for Accessible Documents ||&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PubCom |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Classes &amp; Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs &amp; MS Office |
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