3. House style
It is important that all ACME publications are produced in the ACME house-style so they are consistent with the ACME brand and attributable to the Department.
Using the template
Once opened, the template will ask for the document titles and section or chapter headings.
You can use the toolbar to insert new chapter headings. To view the publications template toolbar, select the Add-Ins tab on the ribbon at the top of the page.
When not using the template
There will be instances where you don’t need to use the ACME template (i.e. for very short document such as agendas), but it is still important to follow the basic formatting rules below.
If your document is published online these formatting rules will ensure it is accessible to all and complies with the Disability & Discrimination Act.
- Use accessible fonts like Arial, Verdana, Helvetica (not Bliss) and do not vary them
- Use a minimum font size of 12 point for normal body text.
- Avoid using italics for emphasis as this is difficult to read on the web; where possible use bold but do not over use as it will lose impact.
- Do not use underlines as they will be confused with hyperlinks.
- To update the main contents table of your publication as you add new chapters and sections (right mouse click on the contents) and select Update Field
- Use the Style drop down menu in the left hand corner of your screen to label your headings according to their order and significance i.e. Heading1, Heading 2, and/or Heading 3. (Titles/headings must be labeled if the document is to appear on the web).
- Add the departments name in the header of the document (by selecting headers and footers from the Format menu) and provide the ACME website address as the footer.
- If your document includes images, tag these with alternative text so that can be read by a screen-reader for visually impaired users. You can set the style of the headings so that they are consistent and appropriate in their appearance i.e. you can set Heading 1 to be Arial, point size 16, or Heading 2 as point size 14 etc.
- To add alternative text (Alt Text), click on the image using your right mouse button and select Size. Select the Alt Text tab and then enter a short description.
