In this lesson you
- Saw why screen-reader users move through a document by its headings
- Repaired a heading outline that skipped a level, in one click
- Checked the new outline in the reading order
Transcript
Why headings matter
Tags and headings. How does someone who can't see the page find the section they need? Many screen-reader users don't read a document top to bottom. They jump from heading to heading, the way you skim. That only works if the headings form a clean outline. One title, then sections, then subsections. Headings are one kind of tag. A tag is a hidden label that tells a screen reader what each piece of content is, such as a heading, a paragraph, or a picture. A heading tag also carries a level, from one to six. Level one is the title. Level two is a section, and level three is a section inside that. On screen, the levels are written H1, H2 and H3.
A skipped level
The Order tab lists every tagged piece on the page, with its tag beside it. This guide's title is a level one heading, H1. Its three sections are tagged level three, H3. Level two is missing, so the outline has a gap. A screen reader announces the sections one level too deep, as if a level were lost.
Repairing the hierarchy
Headings are fixed in the Reading step. It has two tabs. Tags says what each piece is. Order says the sequence a screen reader reads them in. Proof finds this problem on the Tags tab. A card called Heading levels names it. The heading levels skip one, so the document's outline is wrong. You could fix it by hand, in the tag editor below the card. Each row there is one tagged piece, with a menu to change its tag. Here, Proof can repair the whole hierarchy for you instead. Repair the heading hierarchy moves each section up to level two, writes a new version, and checks it again. It sets each level by where the heading sits in the document. If a heading was meant to sit lower, check it in the tag editor afterwards. Choose Repair the heading hierarchy.
The new outline
To see the result the way a listener will, go back to the Order tab. The title comes first, then three sections, now at level two. And the order still matches the page, so this step is done.
Other heading questions
A wrong level isn't the only heading problem. Proof asks about two more, as cards on the Tags tab. Some text is set large and bold like a heading, but tagged as plain text. A listener can't jump to it. The card offers Make it a heading, with the level Proof suggests. Other text is tagged as a heading, but reads like a sentence. That clutters the outline. Choose Keep if it really is a heading, or Make it a paragraph. Answers like these are staged first, and nothing changes until you choose Apply at the bottom of the tab. Now you can read a document's heading outline, repair a skipped level in one step, and answer Proof's heading questions.
Recap
That's the end of this lesson.
Maple Ridge Community Health, its documents and its people are fictional, made for these lessons.