ATI - Accessible Technology Initiative

Priority Two: Instructional Materials

Making Tables accessible in PDF's

The difficulty of tables

Tables make a convenient way to present related information in a very compact space. The difficulty is that it relies entirely upon the ability of the reader to correlate the information at the edges of the table to the data in the middle. Improperly constructed tables are impossible to follow using assistive technology. The good news is that repairing tables is not that difficult.

Headers

Table headers are used to identify the edge elements that are necessary to make sense of the data in the middle of the table. By identifying a row and column header you are explaining that the data in that particular row and column is associated with the elements at the edge. This allows the user who may be visually impaired to make the same association a fully sighted user will make automatically.

Select the table

In our example image below we have the text of a table created in MS Word. There is a leading sentence located close to the edge of the table, of which it is not a part of. Take care to only select the elements of the table and not other text elements that may be near.

After you have selected the table identify it as a table in the Touch Up Reading order control panel

Inspecting the table

Before you can inspect the table you must select the table element. Click on the white box in the upper left hand corner of the table element. It will change colors alerting you that you have selected this element. In the Touch Up Reading Order control panel select "Table Inspector". If your table has no headers all of the cells will look the same. If the cells at the edges of your map are highlighted they are designated as headers, but you will still need to ensure that they have the correct scope.

Adding table headers

Right click on one of the cells that should be a header and click "Table cell properties..."

Select the appropriate type of cell, Header cell if this is indeed a header cell. Scope determines which direction the header operates. Header elements at the top (or bottom) of a table will most likely have a scope of column. Header cells at the left edge of a table will have a scope of row.

Once you have made the adjustment the cell will appear in a highlighted color, indicating that it is a header cell.

Once all of the header cells have been identified and given the appropriate scope the table should have highlighting in all of the correct data cells. Users of assistive technology should now be able to understand the information you have presented.