As a student with low vision who loves to write, I use Microsoft Word several times a day for both authoring and reading accessible documents. Since I first started documenting tips for designing accessible documents with Microsoft Word in 2017, I have learned about several strategies for making Word documents easier to read with low vision that I have used in my own accessibility workflows. Here are tips for designing accessible documents with Microsoft Word that I use when creating and reading Word documents with low vision.
Structure documents with headings
Headings are used in digital content to organize and structure information in a hierarchal way, indicating the importance and relationship of the content that follows. Heading levels are not only used for readability and making content easier to understand cognitively, but they also convey important accessibility information for assistive technologies like screen readers that rely on heading structures to navigate a page or locate content. Without headings, students with visual impairments will have much more difficulty navigating content.
Headings include short text phrases that are used to label sections or sub-sections of a webpage or document, and include six levels ranging from H1 to H6. Here is how headings are used in Microsoft Word:
- Title: Represents the main title of the page or content. There should only be one Title heading on a page.
- H1: Indicates main sections or chapters. Multiple H1 headings can be used, each introducing a new topic under the Title.
- H2: Sub-heading for H1 sections, providing further detail on a topic. H2 headings can introduce subsections or other key concepts.
- H3: Sub-heading for H2 sections, often used to highlight specific points of examples. Helpful for clarifying complex topics.
- H4: Sub-heading for H3 sections, used for even more specific details or dividing into sections
- H5 and H6: Sub-heading for H4 and H5 respectively, used to provide additional notes or supporting details. Not frequently used.
- Body text: Content that appears under headings.
The following keyboard shortcuts can be used to tag headings in Microsoft Word:
- Heading 1: Ctrl + Alt + 1
- Heading 2: Ctrl + Alt + 2
- Heading 3: Ctrl + Alt + 3
- Normal style (body text): Ctrl + Shift + N
- Styles task pane: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S, use arrow keys to select Manage Styles
Using headings is also helpful for navigating to sections of a document with the Navigation pane, or for hiding/collapsing sections when not in use. Headings can also be used to generate a hyperlinked Table of Contents at the beginning of the document.
Related links
- File Formats For Low Vision and Print Disabilities
- How I Optimize My Website For Cognitive Accessibility
Use ordered and unordered lists to format content
Ordered lists (numbered lists) and unordered lists (bulleted lists) are used by screen readers and other types of assistive technology to inform users about how information is organized and improve readability through the use of consistent formatting. This is especially important when numbering questions, as lists that are not correctly formatted can lead to users missing information.
How to use ordered lists
To add ordered lists in Microsoft Word, either select Home > Numbering or type a number followed by a period to auto-format an ordered list. Indented lines can be created by pressing tab. For example:
- Open this website: Veroniiiica | Veronica With Four Eyes
- Choose two post categories to explore and write their names below
- Category 1:
- Category 2:
- Read one post from each category.
- Answer the following questions
- What is an example of assistive technology that may be used by someone with low vision?
- What is something new you have learned from reading this post?
How to use unordered lists
For unordered lists, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 8, followed by a space. Indent one or more items with the tab key to create a nested list. I used the asterisk to create the following list of assignments that are due for a hypothetical module:
- Module 4 reading quiz
- Learning framework activity #3
- Discussion post
- Post your reply by 2/4
- Respond to another student by 2/11
- Literature review draft
I use unordered lists frequently to help with breaking up large amounts of text, and find them especially useful for writing manuals, blog posts, and taking notes for class.
Related links
Choosing an accessible font in Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word has several options for accessible fonts that are recommended for people with print disabilities, including their default sans-serif fonts and serif fonts. One of the benefits of using Microsoft Word is that users can change the font style of documents to match their own reading preferences, or change the default font for documents.
To change the default font used in Microsoft Word:
- Open a new or existing Word document
- Select the font call-out menu (Ctrl + D)
- Choose the default font style, size, color, and weight from the drop-down menus
- Select Set as Default to use this font by default when creating a new document
While bold fonts can be more readable for some people with print disabilities, bold fonts (or italic fonts) are not a substitution for adding heading levels to a document, as they do not provide semantic structure or information about how to navigate a document.
Font colors and highlight colors
Users should avoid using color alone to convey information in a document, and incorporate shapes or symbols to differentiate/label content. This can include:
- Underlining hyperlinks instead of just using blue font
- Including a check mark or X symbol instead of just highlighting text green or red
- Instead of using color-coding for categorizing information, place relevant content under headings
When highlighting text, Microsoft Word has a “high-contrast only” option that can be turned on to only show high contrast colors for highlighting text— this is helpful for preserving readability and making content accessible to users with low vision. I recommend minimizing or avoiding the use of colored text as this may not provide sufficient contrast against a white document background.
Sans serif fonts vs serif fonts: which is better for accessibility?
A serif is a line or stroke that is attached to the end of a letter. Serif typefaces like Times New Roman and Cambria incorporate serifs, while sans-serif typefaces do not. For people with low vision, serifs may appear fuzzy or blurry and have an impact on letter recognition, making text written in a serif typeface more challenging to read. Sans-serif fonts are generally recommended for digital content, however some people with visual impairments may prefer serif fonts for reading— this is where having options to customize fonts for reading applications can be helpful.
In general, sans-serif fonts are recommended for accessible text because they can be read easily across a variety of letter sizes. I personally find sans-serif fonts easier to read with double vision, because the double image of serif fonts tends to blend together and make it challenging to identify individual words or letters.
For people who use braille or screen readers to access text, font size and font styles generally do not matter as the text is read out loud/encoded in braille. However, it is important that text is structured with headings and proofread for errors.
Related links
- My Favorite Free Fonts For Print Disabilities
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Highlighting Information With Low Vision
Adjusting line spacing and other text formatting in Microsoft Word
For users with low vision, page and layout customizations like increased line spacing can make it easier to read Word documents and digital text. Since Word is a responsive file format, users can adjust the appearance of text to fit their accessibility needs and/or accessibility preferences. Some of my most-used adjustments include:
- Apply single-line spacing: Ctrl + 1
- Apply double-line spacing: Ctrl + 2
- Apply 1.5-line spacing: Ctrl + 5
- Increase the font size by 1 point: Ctrl + ] (right bracket)
- Decrease the font size by 1 point: Ctrl + [ (left bracket)
- Select all text: Ctrl + A (useful for changing font)
When reading documents, I will sometimes enable dark mode or use a colored page background so that I am not looking at a bright white screen when typing, as this helps reduce eye strain.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- My Most-Used Keyboard Shortcuts For Academic Writing
Minimize the use of multi-column layouts
Single-column layouts display information from top-to-bottom for straightforward scrolling or line tracking. In contrast, multi-column layouts display two or more columns of information side-by-side, requiring the reader to read the first column from top-to-bottom before reading text from the next column.
While there are some people with low vision who use multi-column layouts to read text, users should avoid or minimize the use of multi-column layouts when designing accessible documents with Microsoft Word, as this can be more challenging to access with assistive technology.
Users can change the number of columns visible on a page by opening Layout > Columns on the display ribbon.
Avoid using tables when possible
Fixed-width tables can be challenging to read for people with visual impairments, especially if they use assistive technologies like screen magnification or screen readers. When possible, Microsoft recommends using paragraphs with headings in lieu of tables to present data in a more accessible format.
If a table is essential, avoid using fixed-width tables and use table headers to provide structure for screen readers. Make sure that hyperlinks do not break mid-sentence as well, as this can be confusing or challenging to read.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Adapting Page Layouts: Math Problems and Low Vision
- Adapting Accessible Z-Tables: Math Problems and Low Vision
- Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities – Microsoft Support
Options for reading Word documents with large print
Microsoft Word offers several options for reading Word documents with large print/large font sizes without requiring users to adjust the font size of the entire document. This includes:
- For users that prefer to write with a responsive layout or zoom in on a page without changing the font size, web layout is useful for displaying Word documents in large print and fitting text to the width of the screen, with a maximum zoom level of 500%. To activate Web layout, use the keyboard shortcut Alt + W, and then press L + 1 together.
- For users that do not want to edit their document, another alternative for reading Word documents in large print is Read Mode. Read mode uses the keyboard shortcut Alt + W, F (press Alt + W followed by F), which can zoom in up to 300% and divides text into smaller sections without affecting the original document. I recommend enabling Column Layout for best results.
- For users that want to read their document with a simplified reading display that changes the appearance of the document (with the option to use text-to-speech/Read Aloud), Immersive Reader is available in the View tab and includes additional features such as a line tracker and increased text spacing.
I use all three options in varying contexts, but typically use web layout by default whenever I am writing a new document. Word remembers my zoom preferences, so I do not have to manually adjust them each time.
Enable text-to-speech (Read Aloud) in Microsoft Word
Another option for listening to a Word document with synthesized speech is to enable Read Aloud, which is located on the Review tab. Read Aloud can also be controlled with the following keyboard shortcuts:
- Ctrl + Alt + Space: Start Read Aloud
- Ctrl + Space: Play or pause Read Aloud
- Ctrl + Left Arrow: Skip to start of current paragraph
- Ctrl + Left Arrow + Left Arrow: Skip to start of previous paragraph
- Ctrl + Right Arrow: Skip forward to start of next paragraph
- Alt + Left Arrow: Decrease reading speed
- Alt + Right Arrow: Increase reading speed
Related links
- How I Use Microsoft Immersive Reader With Low Vision
- Secret Microsoft Office Accessibility Features I Use Every Day
Inserting accessible equations with Microsoft Word
One of my favorite features in Microsoft Word is the ability to insert accessible equations with MathML, along with the option to use LaTeX for writing math content. In Microsoft Word, users can insert equations with the math editor/equation editor on the Insert tab. For equations copied in linear formats with markup language, users can automatically convert equations to a visual format by using the Convert tool and selecting “All-Professional” from the drop-down menu. There is also an Ink Equation tool that can be used to convert handwritten equations to MathML or other markup language.
Increase scaling for equations in Microsoft Word for large print
Increasing spacing between characters or adjusting kerning for math fonts is challenging to do, but one strategy that has helped me a lot when accessing content inserted with the Word equation editor is to increase the scaling of equations. This “stretches out” the equation and provides some more spacing between characters and symbols while ensuring it is still easy to identify components of equations.
There is no keyboard shortcut for scaling equations in Word. To increase the scaling of equations in Word:
- Select all of the text in an equation (or multiple equations)
- Right-click on the selected text
- Select Font
- Select Advanced
- Under character spacing, select Scale and choose a value from the drop-down menu. Options for larger scaling include 150% and 200%
- Select OK to save changes
Related links
- Adapting Page Layouts: Math Problems and Low Vision
- How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
- How I Take Math Tests With Double Vision
Add alt text to images
Alternative text (alt text) and image descriptions are text-based descriptions of visual details in an image written primarily for people who are visually impaired (inclusive of blind, low vision, and neurological visual impairment). If an image fails to load on a website, alt text will be displayed in its place, and alt text is also used for search engine optimization and image search tools.
The primary goal of alt text and image descriptions should be to answer the following questions:
- What is in the image?
- Why is this relevant?
- What would someone need to know about this image in order to understand it?
To add alt text in Microsoft Word:
- Select any image and then select Format > Alt Text on the ribbon.
- Right-click or long-press an image and select Edit Alt Text. The alt text pane opens on the right side of the document body and includes a text box.
For images included in documents that are used for educational purposes, it is critical that users review alt text to ensure that it includes information that is relevant to the context in which it is being shared. AI-generated alt text may include irrelevant details that do not apply to the context in which the image is being shared, or not provide enough information for a reader to interpret the image effectively.
For images that are not relevant or that are purely for decorative purposes, select the Decorative checkbox when inserting alt text. A screen reader will ignore decorative images.
Making images easier to see with low vision
Another component of making images accessible in Microsoft Word is ensuring that users with low vision can access them as well. When possible, insert full size images that use top and bottom text wrapping to avoid any spacing or indentation issues, and avoid having images break up words or sentences.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- Purposes of Media Descriptions for Visual Impairment
Use descriptive hyperlinks
Instead of using generic phrases like “click here” or “source” that do not provide information about a website, use descriptive hyperlinks that include the title of the page, name of the website, or that give the user an idea of what they are opening. Some web browsers like Microsoft Edge can automatically insert descriptive hyperlinks for content, while others require users to manually enter link text.
Related links
Evaluate document accessibility with automated Accessibility Checker
The Accessibility Checker shows users exactly how they can improve the accessibility of their document for compatibility with assistive technology, detecting common issues such as missing alt text, low-contrast fonts, or generic hyperlinks. Accessibility Checker does not automatically fix accessibility issues, rather it guides users on how to make changes to their document.
To open Accessibility Checker, open Review > Check for Accessibility > Open Accessibility Pane
Some versions of Microsoft Word now use Accessibility Assistant instead of Accessibility Checker, which provides similar functionality. To open Accessibility Assistant:
- Press Alt+R to expand the Review tab on the Ribbon
- Use the keyboard shortcut A+1 to open the Check Accessibility dropdown menu in the Accessibility group.
- Press A to select the Check Accessibility option to open the Accessibility Assistant pane.
- Alternatively, press Shift+F6 to navigate to the status bar. Use the Right arrow key to go to the Accessibility: Investigate button.
- Press Enter to open the Accessibility Assistant pane.
More tips for designing accessible documents with Microsoft Word
- Want to learn more about how I read content in Microsoft Word? Check out Reading Bookshare Titles With Microsoft Word
- Interested in learning more about other Microsoft accessibility features? Read Secret Microsoft Office Accessibility Features I Use Every Day
- Several parts of this post are excerpts from my post on keyboard shortcuts that I use for writing papers. Check out the original post at My Most-Used Keyboard Shortcuts For Academic Writing
Published September 26, 2017. Updated January 2026