Review and Finalize Documents for Accessibility

Finalizing your document is an essential step in creating accessible content. This article walks through the key checks to complete before sharing, including metadata, spelling, accessibility tools, and formatting considerations across Microsoft Office applications.

Before sharing your document, take time to review key settings and run final checks. These small steps can make a big difference in how clearly your content is understood—especially for users relying on assistive technologies.

The following sections walk you through how to review and finalize your document to ensure it is accessible and ready to share.

• Add Metadata
• Perform a Spell Check
• Run the Accessibility Checker
• Give the File a Clear Name
• Software Specific Guidance 

Add Metadata

A document’s metadata is the descriptive information embedded within a file that helps users identify, organize, and interpret content—especially those using assistive technologies. This information is not typically visible within the document itself; instead, it exists within the file’s properties.

Important metadata fields include the title, language, author, organization, subject description, and keywords. This metadata will help users locate documents more easily in libraries, databases, and search results by matching metadata fields to search query results.

Metadata Identifiers

• Title: Use a descriptive and concise title that clearly reflects the content of the document. The document title is not always the same as the file name. In most cases, it should match the visual title used within the document.
• Language: Set the document language to indicate the primary language of the content. This allows assistive technology users to accurately interpret the content, ensuring the document is read with proper pronunciation and accent.
• Author: Identify the individual who created the document.
• Organization: Identifies the organization associated with the document. This helps group related documents together and makes the search process easier.
• Subject Description: Provide a brief, one-line summary that describes the overall content of the document.
• Keywords: Include relevant terms that users may search for. There is no limit to the number of keywords entered; they just need to be separated by either a comma or semi-colon. Keywords are also case sensitive, so it is best to type keywords out using lowercase.

Set Metadata

Metadata is set in a similar location across Microsoft Office applications; however, the exact steps may vary depending on your device and operating system.

• View or Change the Properties for an Office File (Standard Properties)
• Change the Language Office Uses in Its Menus and Proofing Tools
• Set Up or Change the Languages Used to Check Spelling and Grammar
• Set Language in Microsoft Office (7:03)

Add Metadata (Except Language)

In Windows

1. Navigate to the File tab. 
2. Select the Info tab.
3. Locate the Title field on the right-hand side. 
4. Enter or edit the document title.

To add additional metadata:

1. Select the Properties drop-down menu.
2. Choose Advanced Properties.
3. Enter details in the Summary tab (e.g., subject, author, keywords). 

On Mac

1. Navigate to the File tab.
2. Select Properties at the bottom of the context menu.
3. In the Properties dialogue box, select the Summary tab.
4. Enter the document title in the Title field. 

Set Language

In Windows

1. Navigate to the File tab. 
2. Select the Options tab at the bottom.
3. In the Options pane, select the Language tab. Choose which language you prefer for both display purposes and reading and proofing purposes. You may have to download a language extension for less common languages.

On Mac

1. Navigate to the File tab.
2. Select Properties at the bottom of the context menu.
3. In the Properties Dialog box, select the Custom tab.
4. In the Name field, scroll down to select language.
5. Once language is selected, type the preferred language in the Value field. Then, click add.
6. The language property should populate in the Properties field box. Click OK to apply the changes.

 

Perform a Spell Check

Use the Spell Check feature to ensure your document is free of spelling errors. Misspelled words can create confusion for all users and may be pronounced incorrectly by assistive technologies, making content difficult to understand.

• Check Spelling and Grammar in Office (Microsoft Office Suite)
• Check Grammar, Spelling, and More in Word (Word)
• Check Spelling in Your Presentation (PowerPoint)
• Microsoft Editor Checks Grammar and More in Documents, Mail, and the Web (Microsoft Office Suite)
• How to Spell Check Before Sending Emails in Outlook (Outlook Email)

Figure 1: Launch the Editor and Spelling tools from the Review tab to identify and correct errors.

 

Run the Accessibility Checker

Run the Accessibility Checker to identify potential accessibility issues in your document. This checker scans your document for potential issues that might prevent people with disabilities from accessing the content properly. It will highlight the issues, provide suggestions on how to fix them, and then prompt you to fix these issues. 

• Improve Accessibility with the Accessibility Checker
• Check Accessibility in Microsoft Office (4:52)
• Microsoft Support: Check the Accessibility of Your Document (1:10)
• Microsoft Support: Inspect Files for Accessibility (1:25)
• Check Accessibility While You Work in Outlook

 

Give the File a Clear Name

The file name is separate from the document’s title in the metadata. While the title describes the content within the document, the file name determines how the document is stored, located, and referenced on your computer. When saving a document, choose a clear and concise file name. Avoid using extraneous special characters, as assistive technologies may read each character aloud, which can be distracting and slow down navigation for users relying on these tools.

 

Software Specific Guidance

Microsoft Word

Delete Blank Lines

Avoid adding blank lines using the Enter/Return key. These hard returns are read by screen readers as blank, which can interrupt the flow of content and create a confusing experience for users. Instead of adding empty lines for visual spacing, use built-in spacing and formatting tools to control layout.

• Adjust line spacing or paragraph spacing.
• Use Styles to maintain consistent spacing.
• Insert a page break to start a new page intentionally.

Use Show/Hide to Find Blank Lines

The Show/Hide feature displays hidden formatting marks, including paragraph breaks created by pressing Enter. This helps you identify and remove unnecessary blank lines.

Turn On Show/Hide

1. Navigate to the Home tab.
2. Select the Show/Hide (¶) button in the Paragraph section.

Use Show/Hide to Clean Up Your Document

1. Look for multiple ¶ symbols stacked together (these indicate extra blank lines).
2. Delete unnecessary paragraph marks to remove blank space.
3. Confirm spacing is controlled through formatting—not empty lines.

Figure 2: Multiple paragraph symbols (¶) without accompanying text indicate extra blank lines that should be removed.

 

Export Word Documents to PDFs with Caution

There are several ways to convert a Microsoft Word document to a PDF, but not all methods preserve accessibility. To maintain features such as headings, links, and metadata, use the appropriate export option.

• Avoid using Print to PDF. This method creates a visual-only version of the document and removes important structural elements, such as headings, bookmarks, links, and metadata.
• Use Save as PDF to preserve accessibility features.
• The Export to PDF option (Windows) also maintains accessibility, but it may result in a larger file size.

For most cases, using Save as PDF is recommended.

• Introduction to Exporting Word Documents to PDFs

 

Microsoft PowerPoint

Never Convert your PowerPoint to PDF

When you export a PowerPoint to a PDF, many accessibility features may not carry over. This can include elements such as metadata, links, bookmarks, and heading structure. To preserve accessibility, share PowerPoint presentations in their original file format whenever possible.

• Introduction to PowerPoints as PDFs

 

Microsoft Excel

Remove Blank Cells, Rows, and Columns

Avoid blank cells, rows, and columns in a sheet. Blank spaces in an Excel worksheet can be confusing and frustrating for screen reader users. When encountering empty cells, users may think they've reached the end of the content or be unsure how far they need to navigate to find the next relevant item. This can lead to frustration and missed information.

• Insert or Delete Rows and Columns in Excel
• Clean Up Your Spreadsheet (Remove Blank Cells, Rows, Columns, and Sheets) (7:55)

Exceptions

There are a few instances in which a limited use of blank spaces is acceptable:

• You may leave one blank row between multiple tables on the same sheet.
• You may leave one blank column between tables or images for visual separation.

Intentionally Blank Data Cells

If a data cell is left blank intentionally (e.g., due to unavailable data), it should still include a text alternative to indicate why it’s empty. This ensures that screen reader users receive the same information as sighted users.

Acceptable alternatives may include:

• Using plain text like "No Data" or "Not Available".
• Using abbreviations such as "ND" (for No Data) or "NA" (for Not Available).

When using abbreviations, you must define the abbreviation somewhere on the sheet, such as in Cell A1 or in a worksheet summary.

Figure 3: A blank row is intentionally used in Excel to separate multiple tables within a single worksheet.

 

Delete Blank Worksheets

Ensure that you delete all blank worksheets. Excel does not automatically delete unused sheet tabs, which can create unnecessary clutter and confusion—especially for screen reader users. Manually deleting blank or unused sheets helps keep a focused workbook.

• Insert or Delete a Worksheet
• Clean Up Your Spreadsheet (Remove Blank Cells, Rows, Columns, and Sheets) (7:55)

 

Never Convert your Excel Workbook to a PDF

When you export an Excel document to a PDF, it will be stripped of all accessibility features. To preserve accessibility, share Excel workbooks in their original file format.