📌 Requirements: Pressbooks Enterprise network with the Accessibility Assist Author Tool. This tool is not available on Pressbooks Self-Publisher (pressbooks.pub).

This chapter describes how to resolve various issues commonly flagged by the Accessibility Assist Author Tool.

Table has no header cells

These steps in the Visual Editor will resolve the alert:

1. 1. In your table, select all the cells in the first row.
   2. Click  > Cell > Table cell properties.
   3. In the Cell type dropdown, click Header Cell.
   4. In the Scope dropdown, click Column.
   5. Click OK.

This creates column headers in your table, giving screen readers meaningful context.

⚠️ If your table has row headers running vertically down the left side, follow these additional steps for making your table accessible.

Empty header cells

As the alert tooltip says, make sure each header cell in your table contains text.

However, if one of your header cells is intentionally empty (while your other header cells contain text), you can provide meaningful context for your empty header cell with these steps:

1. Click the deliberately empty header cell.
2. Navigate from the Visual editor tab to the Code editor tab.
3. Locate the empty header cell in the code.
4. Change the <th> and </th> for the empty header cell to <td> and </td>.

Manual check: was a heading level skipped?

You will see this alert if you have skipped a heading level (for example, if you use a Heading 3 after a Heading 1, without an expected Heading 2 in between). To resolve:

1. In the accessibility widget on the bottom-right of the page, click the Check headings & alt text button to the left of the flag icon.
   
2. This will show you the heading outline of your page, flagging where the skipped level occurs.
3. In the Visual editor, select the flagged subheading.
4. Click the Heading dropdown menu in the toolbar.
5. Change your selection to the correct heading level (e.g. Heading 1’s are followed by Heading 2’s, rather than skipping straight to Heading 3’s).

Manual check: should this have list formatting?

You will see this alert if you have a list in your text that does not use correct HTML list formatting. HTML list formatting is necessary for screen readers, which orient users by announcing each item within a list. Numbered lists are automatically formatted correctly when written in our Visual editor, although it is possible to inadvertently circumvent this with the backspace key.

To resolve this alert:

1. Select the entire flagged list in the Visual editor.
2. Click in the toolbar.
3. Your list will now have redundant numbers: 1. 1., 2. 2., etc.
4. Using backspace, remove the second, redundant number for each list item.