Microsoft Word Checklist

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File Setup

• Does the document file name not contain spaces and/or special characters?
• Is the document file name concise, generally limited to 20-30 characters, and does it make the contents of the file clear?
• Have the document properties for Title, Author, Subject (AKA Description), Keywords, Language, and Copyright Status been completed?
• Have you set your file’s language to English?
• Have track changes been accepted or rejected and turned off?
• Have comments been removed and formatting marks been turned off?
• If there are more than 10 pages, did you add a table of contents?

Text

• Does the document utilize recommended fonts (i.e., Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, or Calibri)?
• Are heading styles organized in a hierarchal and logical fashion, with consecutive headings (i.e., no missing heading levels)?
• Is the list style being used, as opposed to manually typed characters (e.g. Hyphens, numbers, or graphics)?
• Is content clear and concise?
• Is all text logical in the Outline View?
• Do all URLs contain descriptive hyperlinks (i.e., avoid generic phrases like “click here”; instead, use phrases that let users know about the content of the linked page prior to selecting it)?
• Is the color contrast ratio between foreground text and background color sufficient?

Images

• Do all images, grouped images, and non-text elements that convey information have meaningful alternative-text descriptions?
• Do complex images (i.e., charts and graphs) have descriptive text near the image (perhaps as a caption or long description)?
• Is the document free of scanned text-heavy images (i.e., avoid text content contained in images that disappear when images are not available)?
• If color is used to emphasize important text, is there is an alternate, compliant method used as well?
• Have you provided alternatives for or avoided use of sensory information (e.g., shape, size, color, visual location, orientation, sound, etc.)?

Tables

• Do all data tables in the document have designated row and/or column headers in table properties?
• Does the table header repeat at the top of the table as it goes from one page to another?
• Are data cells set so they do not split across pages?

Accessibility Check

• Has a separate accessible version of the document been provided when there is no other way to make the content accessible?
• Did you use the built-in MS Office Accessibility Checker, has that been run and does your document pass?