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A client of ours recently came to us with a problem. They wanted to add a watermark to their document that indicated the document was a DRAFT copy. Since this particular client needed to make sure their documents met the Section 508 requirements it was important that screen readers such as JAWS or Window Eyes would read the watermark.

“Simple!” we said.  “Just add alt text to the watermark.” Then our client asked, “How?”

That is when we discovered that there is no clear way to add alt text to a watermark in Microsoft Word.

I spent a great deal of effort and time searching the Word help topics, Microsoft’s KB articles and Googling every phrase combination I could think for watermarks and accessibility. I could not find anything that would tell me how to add alt text to a watermark in a Word document.

Even our contacts at Microsoft didn’t have an answer for us. Then just as I was about to give up I discovered the secret of the watermark alt text. The secret is revealed below. But before you head off to happily add alt text to the watermarks in your documents you should know that screen readers will not read them. At least the two major contenders in this market do not read them…JAWS and Window Eyes. I didn’t try any of the other screen readers yet and I figure it is a safe bet that other screen readers will not read the watermark’s alt text either.

Now you may ask, “Why bother telling me how to configure the alt text for a watermark if the screen readers don’t read them in the first place?” Well if you have to deal with Section 508 requirements or any other accessibility guidelines then you need to make the effort now to ensure that your documents are compliant in the future. Otherwise you may find yourself going back and retrofitting your documents and you don’t want to have to do that!

I also have it from a very good source that while JAWS v9.0 will not read these watermarks when released the ability to read the alt text for watermarks in Word will be addressed in the next update after v9.0. So it appears that JAWS will have this ability in the very near future. I also know that GW Micro has been informed of this issue and that they will be working on fixing that issue in their next major release.

One more thing I should mention before I let you in on the details of how to add alt text to your watermarks. The process is not totally keyboard accessible. At some point you will have to use your mouse to complete the process. Microsoft has been informed of this and will be apparently be addressing this issue in a future release of Office. With all these ‘future release promises’ you can be sure that we’ll be watching to see if they follow through! ?

So on with the show! The steps outlined below are for adding alt text to a watermark in Word 2003. If you have a need to add alt text to a watermark in Word 2007 the steps are a bit more convoluted and I just didn’t care to confuse the matter by trying to explain that process. If you have a need to add alt text to a watermark in Word 2007 and just can’t figure it out on your own, just post a comment here asking for it and I’ll be happy to guide you along the way.

How to add ALT TEXT to a Watermark in Office 2003 Word

1. Select ‘Format’ from the menu bar. (Alt + O)
2. Select ‘Background’ from the Format menu that appears. (K)
3. Select ‘Printed Watermark…’ from the Background menu that appears. (W)
4. When the ‘Printed Watermark’ dialog appears select the type of watermark you wish to use, a text or picture watermark.
5. Once you have added the watermark of your choice and closed out of the ‘Printed Watermark’ dialog you will need to add the ALT TEXT. Select ‘View’ from the menu bar. (Alt + V)
6. Select ‘Header and Footer’ from the View menu when it appears. (H)
7. If you added a picture watermark then:
   • Select the Watermark object on the page, right click on it and select ‘Format Picture…’. This will open the Format Picture dialog.
   • Select the ‘Web’ tab on the Format Picture dialog and add the Alternative Text you wish to be associated with your Watermark.
   • Close the Format Picture dialog and save your document.
8. If you added a text watermark then:
   • Select the Watermark object on the page, right click on it and select ‘Format WordArt…’. This will open the Format WordArt dialog.
   • Select the ‘Web’ tab on this dialog and add the Alternative Text you wish to be associated with your Watermark.
   • Close the Format WordArt dialog and save your document.

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