Where Should I Start?
Pick the guide for whatever you make most often — you do not need to read them in order.
- Create PDFs? → PDF guide
- Canvas course materials? → Canvas guide
- Mass emails? → Email guide
- Web pages? → Web Content guide
- Posters or social graphics? → Canva guide
- Photos and images? → Images guide
Guides by Content Type
Making PDFs Accessible
The most common accessibility challenge. Create tagged PDFs from Word or remediate existing PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Read guide →Microsoft Word
Heading styles, alt text, real lists, descriptive links, and the built-in Accessibility Checker.
Read guide →PowerPoint
Slide titles, reading order, alt text for images, font minimums.
Read guide →Excel
Table headers, chart alt text, sheet names, no merged cells.
Read guide →Google Workspace
Accessible Docs, Slides, and Forms at g.cmc.edu.
Read guide →Email & Mass Comms
Font, contrast, alt text, descriptive links, and the Informs workflow.
Read guide →Canvas LMS
Using the Canvas Accessibility Checker. Pre-publish checklists.
Read guide →Video & Captions
Why auto-captions aren't enough. Zoom, YouTube, Box guidance.
Read guide →Images & Alt Text
Alt text decision tree. Every platform, consistent principles.
Read guide →Social Media
CamelCase hashtags, emoji discipline, platform-specific alt text.
Read guide →Canva
Design Accessibility checker, and which exports keep your alt text.
Read guide →Web Content (Drupal)
Siteimprove results, common errors, pre-publish checks.
Read guide →Quick Reference Guides
Need Help Getting Started?
Our Help Desk team can walk you through any accessibility task — one-on-one, remotely or in person.
Contact Help Desk →