2. Document

Content: Title of the document, main language.

2.1 Title of the document

The title is included in the metadata; it should be meaningful and easy to understand.

Further information

What does this mean?

It is important to ensure that a document’s title is easy to understand and meaningful. This means that the title should be formulated in concise and clear terms that accurately reflect the document’s content. The title should enable readers to quickly recognise what the document is about and what purpose it serves. This title must be stored in the metadata to make it easier for users to identify and organise the document.

Metadata is information that describes or identifies a document and is usually invisible to viewers. It includes various properties, such as the title, the author, the creation date, the file format and the file size. Keywords or tags can also be used as metadata to describe the document’s content and make it easier to find for future searches or archiving.

Why is this important? 

A meaningful and easily understandable title, stored in the metadata, makes it easier for users who rely on text-to-speech and screen readers to navigate and access a document. Users with visual impairments or learning difficulties are often unable to scan the document visually to determine whether it is relevant to them. Instead, they rely on text-to-speech and screen readers to understand the content. A meaningful and easy-to-understand title can help them quickly grasp the document’s content and decide whether the text is relevant to them or not.

An example of a meaningful and easily understandable title would be ‘Guide to Document Accessibility’. This title gives readers a clear idea of what the document is about. A poor title, on the other hand, would be, for example, ‘Accessibility’. This title is too general and does not tell readers specifically enough what the document is about. This title can cause confusion and result in a significant time investment for readers using screen readers and text-to-speech software.

How can you implement/check this? 

Depending on your operating system, there are different procedures for entering a document’s title in the metadata:

Mac

1. Click ‘File’.
2. Click ‘Properties’ in the ‘Summary’ tab to access the metadata.
3. Enter the title in the field provided.

Windows

1. Click on the ‘File’ tab.
2. Click on ‘Properties’.
3. Enter the title in the field provided.

To check whether the title has been correctly stored in the metadata, you can click on the ‘Info’ tab and review the information. You can also go through the document to ensure that the document’s title matches the title in the metadata.

It is up to you to decide whether a title is ultimately meaningful or not. But bear in mind that the title should make it easier for readers to decide whether to read the document.

2.2 Main language

The main language of the document corresponds to the language set for the spell checker.

Further information

What does this mean? 

It is important that the language set for spell-checking in Excel matches the language primarily used in the document. If a document contains multiple languages, the language can be changed manually for specific sections or words to ensure that the spell check works correctly (see 3.1).

Why is this important? 

It is important that the main language of the document matches the spell-check language to ensure that the document is read aloud correctly by text-to-speech programmes. Otherwise, a document may be difficult to understand for users with reading difficulties, learning difficulties or visual impairments who rely on support from a screen reader to have documents read aloud to them. If the actual language does not match the spell-check settings, this can lead to incorrect pronunciation by screen readers and text-to-speech software, meaning that the content of the document may be misunderstood or its meaning distorted.

How can you implement/check this? 

There are different procedures for Mac and Windows operating systems to adjust the primary language in an Excel document:

Mac

The primary language on a Mac cannot be adjusted. The primary language set during installation applies.

Windows

1. Open the Excel file and click on ‘File’ in the menu bar.
2. Click on ‘Options’ at the bottom of the menu.
3. Click on ‘Language’ on the left-hand side of the window.
4. Select the desired language from the ‘Primary language for documents’ drop-down menu.
5. Click ‘OK’ to save the settings.

Once the file’s main language has been changed, Excel’s proofing and spell-checking features will automatically be set to that language.