60 Program Specific Recommendations
Headings & Body – Word
- Use Styles in the toolbar. If you don’t like the Style listed, right click on it and modify.
- Use the Navigation Pane to view the structure of your document.
- Before you convert your document ensure you create a Table of contents so readers can navigate to the headings that you have inserted into your document.
Lists and Tables – Word
- For complex tables provide alt-text by right clicking on the table and selecting alt-text. Describe the table and its context in 1 or 2 sentences.
- Tables should be created with the Insert table function ensuring that the header row is identified and carries across the page break. Cells should not be split or merged.
- Lists are very helpful to organize information, but should be created using the Insert List option (bulleted, Numbered, or Multi-level) rather than dashes or other symbols.
Headings & Body – InDesign
- Use Paragraph Styles to create headings rather than just bolding and enlarging text.
- Export Tagging to set heading style, and associate your style with the HTML style, h1, h2, which will export these headings to the book.
- Create a Table of Contents using these headings by going to Layout and selecting Table of Contents. Ensure you select multilevel under Nav TOC to implement the table of contents as the form of navigation in the ePub.
Articles and Tags – InDesign
- Articles can be used to maintain reading order – drag each item into the articles box and place it in the order that it should be read.
- Tags can also be used – open the tags tab to create body, heading, image, and table tags.
Headings & Body – HTML
- order numbered headings in HTML, ie, <h1>, then <h2>, then <h3> and not jump from an h1 to an h3
- use the most specific tag available to the content
Lists and Tables – HTML
- For complex tables provide alt-text.
- use the summary attribute
- Tables should be created with the Insert table function ensuring that the header row is identified and carries across the page break.
- Cells should not be split or merged.
- Lists should be created using either bulleted lists or <ul>, <ol>, <li> rather than tabbing and <br>
- Use <th> for column and row headers and scope attribute to distinguish column and row headers