Building Accessible Tables in the Course Outline Portal 

1. Important note: tables are often not friendly with assistive technology. Before making a table, ask yourself if there is a better way to convey this information to your readers. 
2. If you are planning to include a table in your outline, there are a couple of things you should do to make it accessible.
3. To be accessible, a table needs a header row (or column) so that screen readers can navigate and communicate your table to students.
4. This guide will show you how to build accessible tables in the Course Outline Portal. 

Option One: Copying from Microsoft Word 

1. You have the option to make your table in Word and then copy it over to your course outline. This can be a good option because you are likely already familiar with how the table tool works in Word.  
2. First, build your table. Include the columns and rows necessary to record all your information. Leave out the title row/column. We will add that in the portal.  
   

   John	Smith	12345678	Political Science
   Susan	Jones	87654321	Chemistry

3. The above table includes columns for first name, last name, student number, and major. We will copy this over to the portal.
4. Your next step is to add a header row. This is where you give the title of each column in your table. If each column in your table has a different category of information, you’ll use a header row. If each row is different, you’ll use a header column. The above table will need a header row.
5. Highlight the table. A customization menu will pop up. You want to select “Table Header,” which is the top left option. This will create a header row for you.
6. The header row will have a tint for a background colour and the words within it will be bolded. You can then label each of your columns.
7. Depending on the nature of your table, a header row may not be right for you. If each of your rows has different types of information, you will want a header column.  
8. Make your table, again leaving out the labels that will go in your header column. Copy it over to the portal. Select a cell in the first column to bring up the customization menu. Navigate to “Insert column” and then click “before.”
9. Highlight the new column to bring up the customization menu. Select “Cell Background.” Choose a colour for the background. McMaster’s neutral tint is #dbdbdd.
10. Type in your labels. Make them bold. You have now finished your table. 

Option Two: Building the table within the Course Outline Portal 

1. You can build your table entirely within the component editor. In the menu at the top of the editor, select “Insert Table.”
2. Choose how many rows and columns you want. Subtract one that will be your header row/column. 
3. Enter the information you want in your table.
4. Once you have your information ready to go, highlight the table. A customization menu will pop up. You want to select “Table Header,” which is the top left option. This will create a header row for you.
5. The header row will have a tint for a background colour and the words within it will be bolded. You can then label each of your columns. 
6. If you need a header column, select a cell in the first column to bring up the customization menu. Navigate to “Insert column” and then click “before.”
7. Highlight the new column to bring up the customization menu. Select “Cell Background.” Choose a colour for the background. McMaster’s neutral tint is #dbdbdd.
8. Type in your labels. Make them bold. You are now finished your table.