Grackle Docs - Step by Step Guide

Document title is required 

Your document title typically defaults to the Google Doc name, but you can confirm and edit your document title if needed. 

1. Open Grackle Docs. 
2. Select Document title is required.
3. Select Edit or check Use the Google Doc name.

Document language should be specified 

Your document’s language will most likely be predetermined. If you need to change your document’s language: 

1. Select File in the top menu. 
2. Select Language.
3. Choose your desired language from the list.

Learn more about alt text and accessible images. 

Images should have alternative text or mark as artifact 

1. Select the image that is being flagged. 
2. Select Image Options. 
3. Select Alt Text.
4. Enter your alt text into the Description text field. 

Drawings should have alternative text or mark as artifacts 

1. Select the image that is being flagged. 
2. Select Image Options. 
3. Select Alt Text.
4. Enter your alt text into the Description text field. 

Equations should be described 

Mathematical equations in Google Docs are not fully accessible and need alt text added. 

1. Open Grackle Docs.
2. Select Equations should be described.
3. Select TAG. 
4. Add accurate alt text in the description box. 

Learn more about headings. 

Headings should be used 

If text is visually a heading, it must also have a programmatic heading. 

To add a heading: 

1. Select the text you want to make a heading.
2. Select the Styles dropdown in the toolbar.
3. Select a heading level. 

A single “Heading 1” should be used 

Each document should have at least one “Heading 1”. 

1. Select the text you want to make the Heading 1. 
2. Select the Styles dropdown in the toolbar. 
3. Select Heading 1. 

Headings must be properly nested 

Use heading levels in order and do not skip heading levels. 

Example of a correct heading structure: 

Heading 1: Main title 

      Heading 2: Subheading 

             Heading 3: Sub subheading

             Heading 3: Sub subheading 

      Heading 2: Subheading

To change a heading tag: 

1. Select the text you want to make a heading.
2. Select the Styles dropdown in the toolbar.
3. Select your desired heading level. 

Learn more about tables.

Tables must be tagged or marked as layout tables 

It is best practice to only use tables for tabular data, not for page layout. 

To tag a table: 

1. Open Grackle Docs.
2. Select Tables must be tagged or marked as layout tables.
3. Select TAG. 
4. In the pop-up window, mark header and column rows appropriately, or mark the table as a layout table. 
5. Select Update.

The use of merged cells is not recommended 

Make sure that you don’t have any merged cells in your table. Merged cells make it more difficult to interpret information.

The use of empty cells is not recommended 

Make sure that all of your table cells have content. Empty cells can make tables more difficult to navigate and interpret data. 

Headers and footers should be used 

You can add your document’s title to the header and additional content (like page numbers or update dates) to the footer of your document. Headers and footers are not required to make a document fully accessible but you may see a “Pass with warning” in the Grackle interface. 

Lists should be used where appropriate

Learn more about accessible lists 

Unordered lists (typically seen as bullet-point lists) should have an “unordered list” tag applied.

Order lists (typically seen as numbered lists) should have an “ordered list” tag applied. 

Tag lists by: 

1. Select the text you want in your list. 
2. In the toolbar, select Bulleted list or Numbered list.

Documents should not contain unsupported contents 

"Unsupported contents" are things that Google Docs doesn’t understand or can’t show properly. If you import a document with these elements, they might not appear correctly or could be removed. 

Some examples of unsupported content are custom fonts or specialized styling from Microsoft products.

These will need to be removed or edited in your Google Doc. 

High color contrast should be used 

Learn more about color and color contrast 

To meet WCAG 2.0 AA requirements:

• Large text must have 3:1 contrast (text to background)

• Small text must meet 4.5:1 contrast (text to background) 

Fine print should be avoided 

Use easy to read sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Verdana etc. Make sure your font size is at least 12 points.

All-caps styling should be avoided 

Content written in all-capitalized letters can be hard for some people to read and interpret. Re-write your content to use both uppercase and lowercase letters. 

Adjusted alignment not suggested for non-heading text 

It's best practice to keep body text left-aligned. Left alignment makes text easier to read and keeps the document looking neat, while other alignments can make it harder to follow and less professional. Save center or right alignment for headings or special sections.

1. Select the text you want to realign.
2. Select Align & indent in the toolbar and select Left align. 

Lengthy paragraphs should be avoided 

Learn more about Plain Language

Long paragraphs may look like a “wall of text” for users. This type of content is harder to read and harder to understand. Consider adding breaks in your paragraph and making sure you are writing in plain language. 

Links should be informative

Learn more about writing accessible link text

Informative links make it very clear to users what will happen if they select a link. 

URL’s or unclear language like “More” or “Click Here” makes it difficult and confusing for some users to navigate your content.