Accessibility: Title and Language

Why is this important?
  • Helps screen readers interpret and announce content correctly.
  • Improves navigation and comprehension.
  • Supports multilingual accessibility.
When to use It

When saving or sharing documents, especially those intended for broad audiences or assistive technology users.

How to use It

Set the document title and language in the file properties (e.g., Word > File > Info > Properties).

Example

A document titled 鈥淐reating Accessible Document鈥 with English set as the language will be correctly announced by screen readers, unlike a file named 鈥淒ocument1鈥 with no language specified.

Add a document title to a Microsoft Word document

  1. Go to the File tab of the ribbon.
  2. Then select the Properties subsection, located in the Info menu.
Microsoft Word screen indicating where to find the Title information.
  1. Edit the document title in the Info menu.

Set the language in Microsoft Word document

  1. Go to the File tab of the ribbon.
  2. Then select the Options subsection, located at the bottom of the menu.
  3. Select the Language subsection and select English.
Navigation of screen of a word document indicating where to set language.
Tip for Checking Accessibility

Check document properties manually to confirm metadata is complete.