SAIF: Creating Accessible Documents
Meta information or properties for documents
Meta information is information about the document
For example, meta information contains information about waht the document is called, when it was created, who created it and in which department. Information such as the title, and author can be made visible to other users, but does not have to be. Even if you can't read the information in the document it still exists and can be interpreted and displayed by other computers and assistive technology.
Carrying out searches
Meta information can include a description of your document and keywords you would use to identify it. This information is used by search engines to categorise documents. Page ranking for a search will depend on how the Meta information (title, content, alternative text to images) you have entered correlates with search information. Therefore, adding good clear Meta information about your document increases its chances of being found (accessed) by all users.
- Some search engines show the Meta title and description of the document as the post for the seach result.
- A well chosen Meta title and description will make it easier for users to decide if your document is the right one or not in a search result.
Inserting Meta Tags
In most software programs you will find a Document Properties box where you can enter Meta information.
In Microsoft Word 2007, use the Office button a the very top left, then click on Prepare, then Properties.
Inserting Meta information - Good Practice
It is good practice to include Meta information in all documents published on the internet. This will increase the accessibility and usability of the document. During searches the document description will allow users to decide quickly and easily if it is the document they need.
Basic Meta informatin to provide should include:
- The Title (this can be the same as the title in the document itself). A Meta title shoudl not be more than 65 characters long, otherwise it can throw up an error in accessibility checks.
- The Author
- Keywords (no more than 25 keywords and relevant to the document)
- A Description (a well written description can make the difference between someone opening the document or not. Usually no moe than 25 words are displayed when a search has been carried out).