GAAD Week Blog Day 2 – Document Design Fundamentals

Text Headings

Use a structured hierarchy of headings to enhance navigation and accessibility, for example:

• Title
• Heading 1
• Heading 2
• Heading 3

Headers are vital for accessibility because they:

1. Organise content: They structure information, making it easier to follow.
2. Aid navigation: Screen readers use headers to help users move through a document.
3. Enhance visibility: Larger, distinct headers guide users with cognitive disabilities.
4. Ensure consistency: Properly ranked headers provide a clear reading experience.

How To Guides

How to Add Text Headers in Microsoft Word

1. Select the text you want to use as a heading.
2. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon.
3. In the Styles group, you’ll see various heading styles like Heading 1, Heading 2, etc (see the graphic below illustrating this).
4. Hover over each style to see a preview of how your text will look.
5. Click on the desired heading style to apply it to your selected text.
6. If you want to customize the heading style:
7. Select the heading text you want to modify.
8. Change the font, size, color, etc. as desired.
9. Right-click the heading style in the Styles group and select Update Heading to Match Selection.

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How to Add the Text Headers in Microsoft Outlook

1. Open Microsoft Outlook and start composing a new email or open an existing draft.
2. Highlight the text you want to format as a header.
3. Go to the “Format Text” tab on the Ribbon (shown in 1, in the image below).
4. Select HTML from the Format options (shown in 2, in the image below).

Click on the desired heading style (e.g., Heading 1 for H1, Heading 2 for H2) to apply it to your selected text.

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How to Add the Text Headers in Canvas Rich Content Editor

1. Highlight the text you want to format as a header.
2. Click the Paragraph drop-down menu in the toolbar.
3. Select the appropriate heading level (e.g., Heading 2, Heading 3) from the options.

Further Resources

Canvas Guide – What is the Rich Content Editor?

Microsoft Guide – Add a heading in a Word document (Microsoft Windows)

Microsoft Guide – Add a heading in a Word document (Apple Mac)