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Accessibility Checklist

This guide contains major best practices for creating accessible online content. This guide used to be part of the LibGuides Editor training but has become a standalone guide.

Using Tables

Using Tables

Charts and tables can create clarity for users and replace complex images with text. If you are using tables and charts, ensure you have headers and labels. These headers will allow screen readers to differentiate between data, labels, and understand the relationship between the data. 

Textbook Price and Course Enrollment (example table)

Percentage  Outcomes
66.6%  Not purchase the required textbook 
47.6%  Take fewer courses 
45.5% Not register for a specific course
37.6%  Earn a poor grade because I could not afford to buy the textbook 
26.1%  Drop a course
19.8%  Fail a course because I could not afford to buy the textbook 

This table is accessible because:

  • The First row is designated as a header.
  • The Table class is set to "table table-bordered tabled-striped" to make it easier to differentiate between rows. 

Pasting a table into LibGuides

Creating and Formatting Tables for Accessibility 

Follow these steps to ensure your table utilizes headings and fits within the page. If you are building a table in LibGuides, skip step 1.

Step 1. Paste Table from Word (Optional)

To paste a table into LibGuides, use the "Paste from Word" option in the Rich Text/HML box editor. The "Paste from Word" is located next to the Undo button and is highlighted below.

Rich Text Editor with highlight over "paste from Word"

Step 2: Opening the table properties editor

Once you've pasted your table into the editor, you can specify your table headers using the "Table Properties" drop down menu. This is found by right clicking anywhere within the table. 

Right click within the table to open the "table properties" editor

Step 3: Give your table headers

In Table Properties, you can specify headers for your table as First Row, First Column, or Both.

Table properties menu highlighting where to change the headers

Step 4: Preview your table

Check your table formatting in "Preview" mode and your mobile device to ensure the table is readable and does not exceed the size of the LibGuide box. If it does not look how you expected, go back into the table properties or try pasting it in again.