Checklist for Google Docs

Google Doc documents at the University of Michigan must meet the requirements in the table below to be considered accessible.

To test existing documents, see the Testing section below the checklist.

Checklist

Area Requirement Manual Testing

Media

Images have alternative text.

Right-click on the image. Select Alt Text. Ensure that both the title and description duplicate in text the meaning of the image

Contrast

Ensure appropriate color contrast so that content can be read by people with visual impairments. Contrast ratio is the same as required in web pages.

See Google's advice on how to check for high color contrast.

Tables

Tables are very simple in nature and first row has column heading text

Visually determine that the first row has text that would logically be headings. Visually determine that table is simple in nature - no column or row spans, no nested tables.

Structure

The document has a logical structure using headings (1 through 6 for Docs)

Make a copy of the Doc to test on: insert a table of contents (Insert > Table of Contents). If the TOC seems right and reflects the visual structure of the document, headings were probably implemented correctly.

Index

Long documents have a table of contents

If the document is longer than 4 pages, check to be sure that there is a table of contents present at the beginning of the document.

Testing

Testing is best done in two steps: one using an automated testing tool, and then doing manual tests to cover things that can't be tested by automated tools.

Run the Automated Test First

You will need to test on a copy of the document, as some of the tests are going to affect the content of the document itself, or are not possible unless you have editing rights. To do so, go to File > Make a copy.

Google Docs does not have an internal accessibility checker. A workaround is to save the document as a web page and then test it using a web-based accessibility checker.

Note: only do this if the document is not confidential!
  1. Menu: File > Publish to the Web, then click the Publish button.
  2. Copy the link provided to you.
  3. Go to: https://wave.webaim.org and paste the link.
  4. You will be provided with a report.

Then Do the Manual Testing

See the Manual Testing column of the Checklist table above for manual tests.