One of the easiest but most important thing you can add to your documents to improve accessibility is to add a document title. This document title is stored in the metadata of the file and many screenreader users will use this title to understand what the document is before downloading it. It is very simple to add this to any Microsoft document, and if you convert your documents to a PDF, then the document title will also be added to the metadata of that PDF document.

How to add a document title

The process for this is the same in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The screenshots were created using Microsoft Word on an Apple Mac, so the appearance of the interface may differ slightly if you are using a Windows PC.

1. With the document open, go to the File menu and click Properties, you will see a screen like the one below:

2. Select the Summary tab and enter a descriptive title for the document in the Title field. In this example Imperial College London Strategy 2020-2025.

3. Click Ok and save the changes.