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Category: Headings

Resolving Content Navigation Issues in Microsoft Word: A Practical Guide

Understanding Navigation Issues in Microsoft Word

One might come across an unusual scenario where the navigation pane in Microsoft Word displays extra content that’s not supposed to be there. Instead of showing just the headings for efficient document navigation, other content elements creep in, making navigation a bit confusing.

But don’t worry, there’s a workaround to ensure only headings appear in the navigation pane. It requires a few tweaks in the font settings within Microsoft Word, and your document will be back to its navigational best.

Fixing Navigation Issues in Microsoft Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

To begin with, you need to identify the text that is wrongly identified as a heading in the navigation pane. After selecting this text, right-click and choose the ‘Heading and Content’ option. Following this, navigate to the ‘Home’ tab and click on the ‘Normal Styles’ section.

Inside the ‘Normal Styles’ panel, right-click and select ‘Modify.’ This will present you with the ‘Format’ button. Select this and then choose the ‘Paragraph’ option.

At this juncture, you’ll need to adjust the ‘Indents and Spacing.’ The issue arises when the outline level is set to ‘Level 1.’ Change this setting to ‘Body Text’ and then click ‘OK.’ Doing this will fix the default styles in Microsoft Word, resolving the issue of non-heading content appearing in the navigation pane.

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How do I apply headings to my Microsoft Word doc?

Headings help with general navigation and are a key component in creating accessible documents. Those who use screen readers commonly search and navigate a document based on its heading structure.

Headings that are created by simply enlarging words and making them a different color do not actually make them structurally a heading. So make sure you are using styles that are built into Microsoft word.

There are of course some quick rules for using headings:

  • Use at least one H1 – used as the title (The title style is not recognized by a screen reader!)
  • All H2’s should be subtopics to the main H1
  • Headings should not skip order. There should not be an H4 without an H3 first
  • Think of headings like using and building an outline.

Dont love the way the default headings look? You change em’

Video Overview of how to apply headings to a Microsoft word document

Need more Video walkthroughs? Check out The Accessibility Guy YouTube channel

Headings Navigation

When I start to apply headings to a document I always like to start by opening the navigation pane and then selecting the headings tab. On windows, this can be opened by pressing CNTRL + F on the keyboard.

Open up the navigation pane

The image above is a great example of how to use headings to build an outline for all of your content.

Text Overview on how to apply headings to a Microsoft word document

  1. Select some text
  2. Choose a style from the quick styles menu from the home tab
Select some text Choose a style from the quick styles menu from the home tab

Go through the rest of the document and apply the styles throughout!

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How do I change the way my headings look in Microsoft Word?

Did you know you can change the way that your headings look in Microsoft word? The default heading colors might not be ideal for your project. Typically, when you apply a heading, it will format the text to the default template within Microsoft Word.

default heading styles in ms word

So if you want to change the default blue font – check out the content below!

Video overview of how to change the way headings look in Microsoft word

Text overview of how to change the way headings look in Microsoft word

Step 1

Format some text the way you want it to look with a font, color, and font size.

Format some text the way you want it to look with a font, color, and font size.

Step 2

Right-click the quick styles menu and select Update to Match Selection

This will change every Heading 2 throughout your document to match the same formatting.

Make sure the color you pick passes color contrast requirements!

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How do I apply headings in Canvas?

Headings are often used as the sole method for navigation for those using a screen reader or other assistive technology. It allows technology to navigate more effectively and serves as a method for jumping around text to get to the exact spot needed.

The screen reader allows you to drill down from higher heading to lower heading. This means you can list all heading level 3s under a specific heading level 2 for more precision. One suggestion is if you provide an action item in the text page, provide a heading over that, so the student can skim directly to the homework, additional reading, etc. A well-aligned page should have headings with an appropriate level of complexity:

  1. Heading Level 1 is the title of the page, placed by Canvas, you will always have this. If the page is noticeably short, less than 100 words, it can be left with no additional headings.
  2. Heading Level 2 is the highest-level separations within the canvas shell and should be used to chunk major topics in material. 
  3. Heading Level 3 and lower should be used for text-heavy pages and should be used to give additional structure to the document. 
  4. The Heading levels should form a tree, where each heading is preceded by the level one above it.

What do headings look like using JAWS?

The heading structure in the image below is clear and easy to navigate. Each heading is descriptive and is in the proper order. For those who use JAWS, they are able to navigate this content with ease.

Sample of heading structure when using JAWS

Example Canvas page with and without headings

The following image represents a canvas page that has both headings applied and not applied. Option 2 shows the correct version and clearly shows the benefits of applying headings to a page.

Sample heading structure

Things to consider with headings

  • Avoid using all capital letters, underlining, or bolding as the only means of emphasis.
  • Using a larger font or different color does not automatically indicate to a user that a page has headings. You must still mark headers using the rich content editor.
  • Headings must be in order.

Video overview on how to apply headings in Canvas

Instructional Guide – How to apply headings to a Canvas page

Step 1: Ensure you are in edit mode

Ensure you are in edit mode

Step 2: Select the text you would like to make a heading

Click and drag your mouse or click into the line

Selecting text before applying a aheading

Step 3: Choose the heading level from the drop-down menu or the format tab. Option 1 as indicated below is the easiest.

Step 3: Choose the heading level from the drop-down menu or the format tab. Option 1 as indicated below is the easiest.

Need to learn about other accessibility elements within Canvas?

What are headings and why do I need them?

A heading is a style element that affects the structure of the content. Organizing a page by headings assists users with the orientation of the content and design. Typically, headings visually appear larger and more distinct than other text. Using headings and ensuring they are visually apparent is helpful for persons with all disabilities.

A heading is a style element that affects the structure of the content. Organizing a page by headings assists users with the orientation of the content and design. Typically, headings visually appear larger and more distinct than other text. Using headings and ensuring they are visually apparent is helpful for persons with all disabilities.  

If the underlying code for the headings of a page is correct, screen reader users can also benefit from headings. Screen reader users can navigate a page according to its headings, listen to a list of all headings, and skip to the desired heading to begin reading at that point. For example, screen reader users can use headings to ignore the repeated blocks of content like headers, menus, and sidebars. 

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Code example

The image below shares a few examples of formatting text differently. There is plain text on the left, and then the HTML is shown on the right. One example of text has no formatting, while the other is formatted as a heading and a list.

sample heading structure
<p> Here's a paragraph. </p>

Why should I care about headings?

WebAIM asked how screen reader users preferred to find information on lengthy web pages(Web). Almost 70% of respondents said they preferred to use headings on a page.

The Heading 1 is the most important idea on the page.

Skipping heading levels can be confusing

This heading is a heading level 2. The next heading that we should create would either be a heading 3 or an additional heading 2.

If we were to create a heading 3 it would need to relate to our Heading 2 of Do not skip heading levels.

Why should I not skip heading levels?

This is a heading level 3. We do not want to skip heading levels because it can be confusing for people who use technology to read the content. Additionally, it can make the content feel out of order if I would have jumped to a heading level 4 instead.

Visual formatting like using bold or color does not work for a person using a screen reader

This is a heading level 2. I am not using a heading level 1 because I have already used one, and it does not make sense to add another one. Bolding, underlining, and using color for emphasis can be difficult for people who are color blind or visually impaired. Additionally, this reliance on visual aspects does NOT translate to assistive technology.

Only use Heading 1 through Heading 6

Most of the Assistive Technologies will pull only the first 6 headings. Ensure your content fits within this structure. Do not overuse headings. In most cases, content editors will not need more than <h2> rank headings and the occasional <h3> rank. Only for exceptionally long or complex pages would <h5> and <h6> be necessary.

To summarize, here is a shortlist of the requirements for headings:

  • <H1> is the most important idea on the page. Subsections should begin with <H2>
  • Documents and pages should have at least one <H1>
  • Do not skip heading levels
  • Do not select heading levels based on appearance
  • Do not use bold or another visual formatting instead of a heading
  • Only use <H1> through <H6>

Ok, so How do I apply headings?

Applying headings completely depends on what environment you are in. For this example, we are going to use Microsoft Word. Built-in styles are combinations of formatting characteristics that you can apply to text to quickly change its appearance.

Benefits of using styles:

  • Accessible
  • Create a Table of Contents automatically
  • Reduce time for document wide updates and changes
  • Ability to use Outline View

How to apply heading styles from quick styles

  1. Select some text you would like to apply a style to
  2. On the Home ribbon under the Styles tab
  3. Select a style from the Quick Styles (the ones in the box)

How do I apply headings in a google document?

This video will introduce users how to apply headings in a google document.

How do I apply headings in a Microsoft Word Document?

This video will walk users through how to apply the heading style to a document in Microsoft word.