Accessibility: Office 365

Most of Word's accessibility features are also in Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, so they are featured on the Across App Features page. The main one left is Navigation Pane.

Navigation is by far my favourite feature that is specific to Word. It is a little complex to use at first, but so, so handy once you get used to it. For those of you used to structuring text on websites, this may be a little familiar. 

Part of the use of Navigation Pane (and of accessibility of your document) lies in the use of headings. Headings should be used in an escalating number order. The main heading of the document is Heading 1, subheading is Heading 2, and section headings are Heading 3. There should not be any Heading with a higher number than 3. 

To find headings on the web app:

• On the Home Tab, look for a little dropdown menu with "Normal" written on it.
• If you have already input your desired title, highlight it
• Click the dropdown menu and select Heading 1.
• Then go to the next line and enter your subtitle. Go back to the dropdown and select Heading 2 for that.
• If you have chapter or section titles, do the same for them, but with Heading 3.
• For the main body of the text, use Normal.

On the desktop app:

• The desktop app works quite similar to the above method, with the only difference being how the headings menu is displayed. It is still in the home tab, but some of the heading styles are visible. 
• Select your heading and follow the steps above. 

Once you have all this done, you can now use the Navigation Pane.

Using the Navigation Pane

The Navigation Pane allows you to quickly find and navigate between different sections on long documents. It also allows you to quickly turn your headings into full Table of Contents. The method is the same on both the desktop and web apps.

• Go to the View tab.
• Click Navigation or Navigation Pane. 
• Use the pane to navigate your document.