Documents
Documents published on the website as of 23 September 2018 are subject to the new Act and therefore need to be adapted for accessibility.
A webpage is preferable to a document
Before making your document accessible, consider whether the information can be presented as a webpage instead. A webpage is preferable to a document from the perspective of accessibility. If you need to publish the document anyway, PDF format is preferable.
Some forms (for example in PDF and Word formats) can be replaced with online forms.
Instances where documents should be used
- Documents that are either very long or principally intended to be read in printed format.
- Static documents such as legislative texts, public service agreement and instructions in which it is important for the document’s layout, graphics and content to always be presented in the same way.
- To present mathematical formulae.
- Documents that must look a specific way in accordance with legislation.
- Documents that contain tables with lots of columns.
Legislative requirements for documents
Documents published on the website as of 23 September 2018 are subject to the legislation and therefore need to be adapted for accessibility. Some older documents are also subject to the legislative requirements. Information on webbriktlinjer.se states:
Older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are exempted from the requirements, unless they “are needed to carry out active administrative procedures that follow from the relevant authority’s assignments” (for example forms that are still in use).
Tips for how to create and check accessible PDF files
- Workflow for creating accessible PDFs - adobe.com
- Check the Accessibility of a PDF Document - wtkollen.se
Remember that automatic tools can only test certain aspects!
Automatic checks do not cover everything. Manually check things such as alternative texts, that the tags are correct and that headings, images etc. are in the right reading order. If the order is incorrect, this can be adjusted in Acrobat via “Touch up reading order”.
The University’s accessible templates for digital documents
Lund University's image and media bank contains accessibility-adapted Word templates as well as a selection of layout templates for the InDesign software, with accompanying instructions.
The word templates are available in two versions – an accessibility-adapted version for digital documents and another version for printed documents. Both versions are included in the download. Also included in the download are instructions on how to work in the accessibility-adapted template, as well as instructions on how to check and adjust an exported PDF file in the Adobe Acrobat Pro software. The instructions are only available in Swedish at the moment, but instructions in English will be available soon.
You can download the templates and instructions in the University’s image and media bank, under the tab "Templates and graphics" (log in with your Lucat ID).
Download templates and instructions in the image and media bank
Accessibility-adapted document templates are not the same as accessibility-assured documents.
Remember that even if you use accessible document templates, this does not automatically mean that your document will be accessible. It will still be possible to make errors, for example forgetting to create alternative texts for images or creating the wrong heading structure. Ensure therefore that you always conduct an accessibility check of your document before publishing it on a website. Word documents can be checked using the in-built accessibility function. PDF files are best checked in Adobe Acrobat Pro, where you must conduct both an automatic and a manual accessibility check.
Help with accessible documents
The University’s internal printing house, Media-Tryck, can help you create accessible document. The initial fee is currently SEK 100 per page.
Please email your requests to media-tryck [at] service [dot] lu [dot] se.
Contact
Contact Lund University's accessibility expert via our
contact form.
You can also join the team "Nätverket för webbpublicister vid Lunds universitet" that has a channel for discussing web accessibility. Join the team and go directly to "Webbtillgänglighetskanalen" (in Swedish) on Microsoft Teams