Do not use text boxes for simple graphics unless the final format of your document will be PDF or HTML.
• Note: Even though the newest HHS 508-compliance requirements allow text boxes if you plan to convert the final version of your Word document to PDF or HMTL, PDF files that contain text
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 36 boxes are often problematic, causing assistive technology to read the text boxes and
surrounding content in an incorrect reading order. Fixing this problem in PDF is extremely difficult. If you have Adobe Acrobat Professional, it requires going into the PDF file’s tag tree (i.e., the PDF’s embedded markup language structure) and manually moving text boxes and surrounding content into the correct reading order. This process is extremely risky and tedious. There is no “undo” feature in Adobe Acrobat Professional if you accidentally damage the PDF file’s tag tree. You must “save” the PDF file each time you successfully move an item in the tag tree, so that if you do make a mistake, you can go back to the last file you saved and try again. • Therefore, as a general rule, avoid using text boxes altogether.
o If you must use text boxes, use them sparingly and only in small-sized documents (1 to 9 pages).
o If you must use text boxes in a large document (10 pages or more), break the document into small-sized documents (e.g., chapters or sections). Then after you convert each document into a PDF file and make each PDF file 508-compliant, combine them into one large PDF file.
Instead of using text boxes, a better option is to type text as a separate paragraph and use Word’s “Borders and Shading” feature to create a border around the paragraph.
1) For example, suppose we want to type the following message so that it stands out from the surrounding text: “Warning! Whenever you change a style using the Modify Styles dialog box, make sure that the radio button ‘Only in this document’ (in the lower left-hand corner) is kept in the ‘on’ position. Otherwise, any style changes that you make to this document will permanently change the default styles for documents that you create in the future.”
2) Type the entire message as a separate paragraph. 3) Select and highlight the entire paragraph.
4) Select the “Home” tab on your Word toolbar, then click on the “Border” drop-down arrow in the Paragraph group.
Figure 67. Home tab, Border drop-down menu
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 37 Figure 68. Home tab, Border drop-down menu showing “Borders and Shading” selected
6) A “Borders and Shading” dialog box will appear. Figure 69. Borders and Shading dialog box
7) Select the Borders tab in the Borders and Shading dialog box.
8) Select a “Style,” “Color,” and “Width” for your border. Note: For this demonstration, we will choose a solid line style, “Automatic” color (i.e., black), and a line width of 1½ points.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 38 Figure 70. Borders and Shading dialog box with Style, Color, and 1½ pt. Width selected
9) In the “Apply to” drop-down menu, select “Paragraph.” A paragraph diagram will appear in the “Preview” block.
Figure 71. Borders and Shading dialog box with “Paragraph” selected from the “Apply to” drop-down menu
10) In the “Preview” block, click on the paragraph diagram or use the buttons adjacent to the diagram to create a border around the paragraph.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 39 Figure 72. Borders and Shading dialog box with paragraph borders applied around the Preview block
11) Click on “OK.” The message will appear surrounded by a border as follows:
Warning! Whenever you change a style using the Modify Styles window, make sure that the radio button “Only in this document” (in the lower left-hand corner) is kept in the “on” position. Otherwise, any style changes that you make to this document will permanently change the default styles for documents that you create in the future.
12) To customize the position of the bordered message inside your document, use the Left and Right Indent tools in Word’s “Page Layout” tab. For example, you may want to increase both the Left and Right indentation.
Warning! Whenever you change a style using the Modify Styles window, make sure that the radio button “Only in this document” (in the lower left- hand corner) is kept in the “on” position. Otherwise, any style changes that you make to this document will permanently change the default styles for documents that you create in the future.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 40
Tables
Creating Tables in Microsoft Word
Do not use tabs or spaces to create a table-like structure. Instead, use Word’s Table feature to create tables.
There are two ways to insert a new table into your document.
Method #1:
1) Select the “Insert” tab on the Word Toolbar, then select “Table.” Figure 73. Insert tab, Table tool
2) An Insert Table drop-down menu will appear. Figure 74. Insert Table drop-down menu
3) Select and drag to highlight an area corresponding to the number of rows and columns that your table needs. Then click in the bottom right-hand cell of the highlighted area.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 41 Figure 75. Insert Table drop-down menu showing 6 x 4 table
4) An empty table will appear, as follows: Figure 76. Empty table
Method #2:
1) Select the “Insert” tab on the Word Toolbar, then select “Table.” 2) An Insert Table drop-down menu will appear.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 42 Figure 77. Insert Table drop-down menu
3) Select “Insert Table” from the Insert Table drop-down menu.
4) An “Insert Table” dialog box will appear. (Note: The default settings in the dialog box are 5 columns and 2 rows.)
Figure 78. Insert Table dialog box
5) In the “Insert Table” dialog box, select the number of columns and rows for your table. Then click on “OK.”
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Page 43 For this demonstration, we have selected 6 columns and 4 rows.
Figure 79. Insert Table dialog box with 6 columns and 4 rows selected
6) An empty table will appear, as follows: Figure 80. Empty table
Note: Do not use the “Draw Table” feature in the “Insert Table” dialog box. Tables created using “Draw Table” are not accessible, i.e., they are not 508-compliant.