CommonLook Office plugins enhances native accessibility
capabilities and features of Microsoft Office

CommonLook Office is an add-in to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
that enables organizations to ensure the creation of accessible PDF
documents and forms without prior knowledge of accessibility.

With CommonLook Office, content authors can immediately begin
making high-quality accessible PDF files that conform to ISO PDF/UA,
WCAG 2.0AA, U.S. Section 508, and/or U.S. HHS specifications.

In the near future,
CommonLook Office will be supporting WCAG 2.1 for document authors.

CommonLook Office plugin enhances native capabilities and accessible PDF
functionality of Microsoft Word (.doc & .docx) and PowerPoint (.ppt & .pptx),
or Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (.pdf).

The Proactive Approach - Build Accessibility into Documents Early

CommonLook Office enables authors to design documents with
accessibility in mind, saving time and effort later in the process.
A user simply inputs vital accessibility information,
prior to producing the Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

• An add-in for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint that is
  accessed in the toolbar of Microsoft Office and is intended
  to be used as part of the verification and creation of any
  document that will be saved as an accessible PDF.
  
  Word and PowerPoint source documents are also saved in a
  more accessible format by using CommonLook Office in
  the authoring process and following best practice for authoring.


• Fast and intuitive
  - does not require prior knowledge of
  accessibility software or standards


• Test and fix accessibility issues in the source file
  (Microsoft Word or PowerPoint)


• Ensures maximum accessibility in new PDFs,
  at the lowest possible cost

Create Accessible Documents Easily

CommonLook Office is the most effective way to create
accessible document standards-compliant PDF files directly
out of Microsoft® Office (doc, docx, ppt & pptx) source files.

Users are guided through the process of making accessible PDF documents
that accurately comply with current standards for accessible documents:
the ISO PDF/UA, WCAG 2.0AA, U.S. Section 508, and/or U.S. HHS.

In the near future,
CommonLook Office will be supporting WCAG 2.1 for document authors.

• Easy-to-use for new staff, yet powerful enough for advanced users


• Exceeds the native accessible PDF functionality of
  Microsoft Word (doc & docx) and PowerPoint (.ppt & .pptx), or
  Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (.pdf)


• Quickly identifies and helps fix accessibility compliance issues,
  automating most tasks


• Achieve compliance at reduced costs by lowering
  the expense of accessibility repairs to existing documents

How it Works?

When CommonLook Office is launched and the user
chooses the appropriate accessibility standard,
the wizard then tests the document against that standard.

Any issues, or potential issues, are brought to the user’s attention
so that they can be addressed prior to PDF generation.
After all of the concerns have been addressed and corrected,
a tagged, accessible, compliant PDF is created.

In addition, a report may be generated to certify that
the PDF document has indeed passed all of the checkpoints
relevant to the selected accessibility standard.

Step-by-step-guide:

1. Launch CommonLook Office from within Microsoft Word or PowerPoint


2. Select the appropriate accessibility standard for compliance
   (e.g. PDF/UA, WCAG 2.0, HHS, or Section 508)


3. Test and fix identified accessibility issue(s) a listed on the checkpoint


4. Once all applicable checkpoints are complete,
   CommonLook Office converts from Microsoft Word or Powerpoint
   (.doc, .docx, .ppt or .pptx) to accessible PDF

Key Features:

Conversion of Microsoft Office Document to Accessible PDF

• Support for Microsoft Word (.doc & .docx) and PowerPoint (.ppt & .pptx)


• Easy to learn and use,
  with step-by-step guidance through the checkpoints


• Create documents that conform to leading standards:
  PDF U/A, WCAG 2.0 AA, Section 508 or HHS


• Content preparation checkpoints for most situations


• Complete verification
  - detailed coverage of all conformance criteria
  for the chosen standard


• Style mapping
  - manage style usage and mapping to PDF tags


• Table formatting
  - manage simple, complex, and presentation tables


• Upgraded user interface with improved checkpoints
  and all-new documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

• Will CommonLook Office change my files
  (.doc/.docx or .ppt/.pptx) in any way?

CommonLook Office modifies the document under
the following circumstances in order to achieve more
accessible MS Word and MS PowerPoint files:

• Any Alternative text added to images is set to
  the corresponding Word or PowerPoint object.


• The grouping (or ungrouping) of objects in
  CommonLook Office is committed to
  the Word or PowerPoint file.

Note!:
CommonLook Office does NOT automatically save the document
to disk but performs the above modifications in memory.
When the document is closed, Word or PowerPoint offers
to save the document.



• Will CommonLook Office make my
  MS Word or MS PowerPoint source file compliant?

CommonLook Office will make some accessibility changes
to the source file, improving its accessibility.
However, because there are inbuilt limitations in
MS Word and MS PowerPoint, these files can not always
be made 100% compliant.
This is, in fact, one more reason to create a PDF
- because PDFs can be made compliant!



• If I check the No Textual Description Required checkbox for an image,
  what (if anything) does CommonLook Office do to my
  MS Word or MS PowerPoint file to record that choice?

CommonLook Office stores this information
in a custom data section of the file



• Does CommonLook Office work with PowerPoint slide notes?

No. CommonLook Office produces PDF documents
from the MS PowerPoint slides alone

Workstation System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP


• Microsoft Office


• Adobe Acrobat 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 (Acrobat X),
  11.0 (Acrobat XI), or Acrobat DC - Standard or Professional

CommonLook Software Tools

We also offer CommonLook industry-leading software tools
to help automate the accessibility testing and remediation.