Accessibility Requirements and Best Practices for Outlook

Introduction

What is a requirement?

Requirements are a list of rules that must be followed. Failing to meet the requirement will create barriers for users. The requirements are based on the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549: 2024 Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services - 10. Non-web documents - Accessibility Standards Canada.

What is a best practice?

Following the best practices will create an even better user experience. In many situations following the best practices will ensure the requirements are being met.

Please note, some of the best practices listed here are requirements for public facing web content. When creating material to be published on the Government of Canada website the rules outlined in the Canada.ca Content Style Guide - Canada.ca take precedent.

Structure

Requirements

• Use the built-in Microsoft styles for lists and tables.

Best Practices

• The subject line of an email should clearly indicate the purpose of the email.
• Avoid WordArt as section headers.
• Avoid complex SmartArt.
• Use the built-in Microsoft options for line spacing, paragraph spacing, and more.
• Avoid using shading or images for backgrounds.

Text formatting

Requirements

• Users can customize text spacing, size, and style to make it easier to read with no loss of content or functionality.

Best Practices

• Use font size between 11 and 14 points
• Choose sans-serif font styles such as Aptos, Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica.
• Modify paragraph and line spacing using the built-in styles to add space rather than adding blank (invisible) spaces.
• Limit large amounts of italic, bold, and all caps text.
• Avoid underlined text as it simulates a hyperlink.
• Avoid large amounts of WordArt.
• Avoid runs of blank spaces, tabs, or carriage returns for formatting.
• Avoid using fully justified text.

Readable

Requirements

• Use proper proofing language to correctly identify all text languages used in the document.

Best Practices

• Have an all English email and a separate all French email, or write all in one language followed by the other. (Example: “English follows French”)
• Use plain language and avoid using complex sentences and words.
• Divide your text into main points and secondary points.
• Avoid using the passive voice.
• Keep sentences short at around 20 words.
• Write in an inclusive manner (Refer to: A way with words).
• Use language that is easily understood by your target audience.
• Create content easily understood by the greatest number of people when the audience is unknown.
• Spell out acronyms the first time you use them.
• Write acronyms in uppercase.
• Do not add a period or an apostrophe to acronyms.

Hyperlinks

Requirements

• Have descriptive hyperlinks (indicating where they lead). Ensure that hyperlink text is clear when read “out of context”.

Best Practices

• Change the colour of the hyperlink text to be different from surrounding text, and underline the hyperlink text to appear different from surrounding text.
• Use the same hyperlink text if multiple links lead to the same place.
• Avoid hyperlink text such as “click here” and “link to”.
• Use the title of the destination page for the hyperlink text.
• Keep hyperlink text concise and easy to understand.
• Identify the language in the hyperlink text example: Hyperlink text (English only) if the destination page is only available in one language.

Use of Colour

Requirements

• Do not convey information by using colour alone.
• Ensure sufficient colour contrast between text and background.
  • Minimum colour contrast of 4.5:1 or greater for all text and its background colour for regular sized text (font smaller than 18 point or smaller than 14 point bold).
  • Minimum colour contrast of 3:1 or greater for all text and its background colour for large sized text (font 18 point or larger or 14 point bold or larger).
  • Minimum colour contrast of 3:1 or greater for all non-text content and all adjacent colours.

Best Practices

• Aim to exceed the minimum colour contrast requirements.
• Add texture and pattern in addition to colour for objects such as bar graphs and pie charts.
• Include legends, data labels and data callouts to inform readers about data in graphs and charts.
• Use a colour contrast testing tool to ensure colours are meeting requirements (Refer to: Colour Contrast Analyser - Application Catalogue).
• Improve colour contrast by adding contrasting borders around visuals like pie charts and stacked bar charts.
• Increase white space between pie chart segments to help improve colour contrast.

Images

Requirements

• Keep all informational images “in line with text”.
• All images, non-text content such as screen captures, charts, infographics and more, must have a text alternative that provide the same understanding.
  • Include short text alternatives (alt text) for simple images.
  • Include both a short text alternative and long text alternative (long descriptions) for more complex images that require more than a few short sentences to fully describe all required visual information.

Best Practices

• Add long descriptions close to the image.
• Have unilingual Alt text.
• Aim to have English alt text of a maximum of around 140 characters in length.
• Aim to have French alt text of a maximum of around 170 characters in length.
• Avoid images of text.
• Label images with a figure number or a name and refer to them appropriately in the text alternatives.
• Add the data table below the image for complex images such as graphs and charts.
• Add alt text to charts and graphs.
• Describe in the alt text features of the image if they are essential to understanding the information.
• Avoid using words such as “image of” or “graphic of” in the alt text.
• Identify purely decorative images as decorative in the alt text.

Tables

Requirements

• Define a meaningful header row for every table.
• Use the built-in Microsoft table styles.

Best Practices

• Use a simple table structure.
• Avoid using tables for layout.
• Avoid adding blank cells in a table.
• Avoid merging table cells.
• Avoid splitting table cells.
• Avoid nested tables (tables inside tables).
• Split complex tables into multiple simple tables.
• Modify the built-in table styles as needed to add colour or borders.
• Use a list if the table contains simple data.
• Label tables with a figure number or a name and refer to them appropriately.
• Add a table description to provide context before the table.

Videos and/or Audio

Requirements

• All pre-recorded video and audio must:
  • Include captions that provides equivalent understanding and information.
  • Include transcripts that provides equivalent understanding and information.
  • Not include content that flashes more than 3 times in any one second.
  • Include player controls – start, pause and stop – that are accessible using the keyboard.

Best Practices

• Avoid embedding videos and provide a link to the video location instead.
• Avoid adding lengthy videos to prevent pauses due to buffering.
• Avoid adding video and audio that plays automatically.

References and Resources

Government of Canada

• How to create accessible documents in Microsoft 365 - Digital Accessibility Toolkit (canada.ca)
• Annex: Making documents more accessible - Canada.ca
• Infographics (iService.prv) Internal link
• Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Internal Internal link
• Saba - Accessibility – Creating accessible content using Microsoft 365
• EN 301 549 Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services - 10. Non-web documents - Accessibility Standards Canada

Outlook Specific

• Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities - Microsoft Support
• Tip sheet for Microsoft Outlook - Digital Accessibility Toolkit

Documents (General)

• Format elements of a chart - Microsoft Support
• Set up or change the languages used to check spelling and grammar - Microsoft Support
• Everything you need to know to write effective alt text - Microsoft Support

Other

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
• Making Audio and Video Media Accessible | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C
• Colors with Good Contrast | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C
• Complex Images | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C