This Knowledge Base article provides guidance on creating accessible headings in Microsoft Word files. Applying heading styles creates a hierarchy in the digital format of your file’s content.

Heading styles improve navigation and searchability for users. They ensure the file is accessible to a wider audience. 

What are heading styles?

A heading style in Word applies both visual formatting and a hidden tag that identifies the heading’s position in the file’s content hierarchy. Styles are designed to create consistent formatting across a file and to give the file a digitally recognisable structure. 

Print content often uses changes in font size or bold text to create a sense of visual hierarchy that provide cues when a new chapter, or section, is starting. However, this hierarchy is meaningless to computers and assistive technology. Digital content needs hidden tags to identify the position of the heading in the hierarchical structure of the file. 

Microsoft Word provides a set of built-in styles such as Normal, Heading 1 and Heading 2. 

Use of Normal style for paragraphs marks them as standard text, without any headings.  

Applying Heading 1 to all section titles ensures that each receives: 

• a tag that marks it as a level 1 heading. 
• all the visual formatting associated with that style.  

Use of Heading 2 tags the heading as a sub-section within the content that started with Heading 1.  

Figure 1 shows how tagged headings provide a structured hierarchy to navigate around a document.  

Figure 1 : The Heading tab of the Elements list in the NVDA screen-reader. On request, NVDA will read out this list of headings. Those who use screen readers can quickly navigate between sections.

The presentation of Words styles can be changed to suit your preference.

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What difference do styles make to you as the author?

In Word, the same tags appear within the Navigation Pane. This provides you with a good overview of your file’s structure. 

Figure 2 - An example of Word's navigation pane.

Heading styles also help you to: 

• Create an updateable Table of Contents. 
• Automatically number your headings. 
• Create updateable cross-references to headings. 

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Logical order

Since heading styles use numerical tags, it is important that you apply them in a logical order. For example: 

After starting a section with a Heading 1, the next heading style must be either: 

• A Heading 2, for a subsection. 
• Another Heading 1 for a new section. 

After using a Heading 3 you might: 

• Use a Heading 4 to start a subsection within the section started by the Heading 3. 
• Use another Heading 3 as you start another point of the same importance. 
• Use a Heading 2 as you conclude both the section started with the Heading 3 and the section above that started with a Heading 2. 
• Use a Heading 1 if you are concluding the previous section and starting a new section. 

The first heading in a file must be a Heading 1. 

You must not miss out a heading level. For example, skipping Heading 2 by adding a Heading 3 after a Heading 1. 

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How to apply Heading styles

Using the Style gallery

Windows or Mac

1. Highlight the required text 
2. From the Home tab select the Style from the Style Gallery
   
3. Word applies the Style’s formatting to the highlighted text 

Using the Style Pane

Windows

1. Highlight the required text 
2. From the Home tab select the Styles’ dialog box expander
   
3. The Style Pane will appear 
4. Select the Style name 
5. Word applies the Style’s formatting to the highlighted text 

Mac

1. Highlight the required text 
2. From the Home tab select the Style Pane button 
   
3. The Style Pane will appear 
4. Select the Style name 
5. Word applies the Style’s formatting to the highlighted text 

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Modify Styles

1. Right click over the Style name, either in the Style gallery or the Style Pane 
2. Select Modify 
3. In the Modify Style dialog box, edit the style’s attributes as you need 
4. Select the OK button 
5. The changes will apply to the paragraphs using that Style (unless you applied manual formatting previously) 

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Keyboard shortcuts for using Styles

To open the style pane

• On Windows: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S 
• On Mac: ⌘ CMD + Alt + Shift + S 

To apply a style to highlighted text

On Windows

• CTRL + Alt+ 1 = Heading 1 
• CTRL + Alt+ 2 = Heading 2 
• CTRL + Alt+ 3 = Heading 3 
• CTRL + Shift + N = Normal style 

On Mac

• ⌘ CMD + ⌥ Alt + 1 = Heading 1 
• ⌘ CMD + ⌥ Alt + 2 = Heading 2 
• ⌘ CMD + ⌥ Alt + 3 = Heading 3 
• ⌘ CMD + Shift + N = Normal style 

Promote or demote heading style level

On Windows

• Alt + Shift + left arrow  = Promote heading one level up 
• Alt + Shift + right arrow = Demote heading one level down 

On Mac

• CTRL + Shift + left arrow  = Promote heading one level up 
• CTRL + Shift + right arrow = Demote heading one level down 

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