Re Word 2003: How do I define a cell as a header cell?

[John Kwasnik]

Since there is an option for repeating headers after page breaks, there must
be some way to define which rows and columns are headers. But I can't find
it anywhere. Help!

Where I'm going is to develop a structured document, which when converted to
PDF, makes the header cells Adobe TH elements, and all else TD elements, in
the PDF tagged document structure. The goal is accessibility. I want the
table cells to be correctly defined for assistive technology. (This is
actually required by law for the State of California.)

We want the structured document to be easy to use for unsophisticated staff,
so the resulting PDF is accessible without much thinking on their part ... or
much fixing on our part after they are done.

Thanks,

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Since there is an option for repeating headers after page breaks, there must
be some way to define which rows and columns are headers. But I can't find
it anywhere. Help!

You can define the entire first row(s) as headers, but not just some of the
cells in those first rows.

You cannot assign a "Column header" status to the first column(s) like you
can with the first row(s).

<snip>

 

[John Kwasnik]

Jean-Guy --

Thank you for the prompt reply.

You can define the entire first row(s) as headers, but not just some of the
cells in those first rows.

How do I do that? I've looked everywhere.

You cannot assign a "Column header" status to the first column(s) like you
can with the first row(s).

Bummer. We are State government, and must comply with the federal §508
standards. Part 1194.22(g) wants the top row and left column defined as
headers. The reason is that assistive tech (screen readers) will be able to
read the column and row header for each table cell. (JAWS simply assumes
this, but we must do it anyway.) I was hoping to avoid re-tagging everything
in Acrobat after conversion.

Thanks,

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can define the entire first row(s) as headers, but not just some of

How do I do that? I've looked everywhere.

Table | Heading Rows Repeat (with row(s) selected) or select the row and
mark it on the Row tab of Table Properties.

 

[John Kwasnik]

Suzanne --

Table | Heading Rows Repeat (with row(s) selected) or select the row and
mark it on the Row tab of Table Properties.

Thanks. That does work ... Acrobat converts the entire row as a THEAD, so
I've got what I want.

Still, it wasn't exactly intuitive. The definition of a header row is
inexorably tied to its repetition ... which would seem to imply that one
could not have non-repeating headers. Since this is ridiculous, I expected
separate header declaration and repetition options.

I was also expecting to find the analogs for HTML <th> and <td> elements in
the styles list ... but alas, not so.

Thanks,