Tree diagrams, such as the one below are a way to show the structure of a hieratchical system. They are commonly used for org charts, but can also be used for concept maps, geneology charts or any content divided into multiple levels of categories such as levels of the U.S. Court System.

Diagram showing the three federal court districts of Pennsylvania within the U.S. Third Circuit. See details below.
The diagram shows the three Federal Court districts of Pennsylvania.

There are several ways to make this kind of information accessible depending on

Image Long Description

A long description should probably be formatted as an outline, either with headings or a nested numbered list with each level using a distinct numbering or lettering style. See an example a an ordered list description below:

Federal Court Districts in Pennsylvania

View District List

Pennsylvania Federal Courts in 3rd Circuit (U.S. Court of Appeals)

Located in Philadelphia splits into six districts.

  1. District of Delaware
  2. District of New Jersey
  3. *Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  4. *Middle District of Pennsylvania
  5. *Western District of Pennsylvania
  6. District of the Virgin Islands

Pennsylvania Districts

  1. *Eastern District of Pennsylvania

    (E.D. Courts)

    1. Allentown
    2. Philadelphia
    3. Reading
    4. E.D. Counties (8):
      1. Berks
      2. Bucks
      3. Chester
      4. Delaware
      5. Lancaster
      6. Lehigh
      7. Montgomery
      8. Northampton
  2. Middle District of Pennsylvania
    (M.D. Courts)

    1. Harrisburg
    2. Scranton
    3. Wilkes-Barre
    4. Williamsburg
    5. M.D. Counties (33):
      1. Adams
      2. Bradford
      3. Cameron
      4. Carbon
      5. Centre
      6. Clinton
      7. Columbia
      8. Cumberland
      9. Dauphin
      10. Franklin
      11. Fulton
      12. Huntingdon
      13. Juniata
      14. Lackawanna
      15. Lebanon
      16. Luzerne
      17. Lycoming
      18. Mifflin
      19. Monroe
      20. Montour
      21. Northumberland
      22. Perry
      23. Pike
      24. Potter
      25. Schuylkill
      26. Snyder
      27. Susquehanna
      28. Sullivan
      29. Tioga
      30. Union
      31. Wayne
      32. Wyoming
      33. York.
  3. Western District of Pennsylvania
    1. Erie
    2. Johnstown
    3. Pittsburgh
    4. W.D. Counties (25 Counties):
      1. Allegheny
      2. Armstrong
      3. Beaver
      4. Bedford
      5. Blair
      6. Butler
      7. Cambria
      8. Clarion
      9. Clearfield
      10. Crawford
      11. Elk
      12. Erie
      13. Fayette
      14. Forest
      15. Greene
      16. Indiana
      17. Jefferson
      18. Lawrence
      19. McKean
      20. Mercer
      21. Somerset
      22. Venango
      23. Warren
      24. Washington
      25. Westmoreland

Accessible Outlines with Headings

Using outlines with headings is a good way to provide information in org charts and other tree diagrams in an accessible format anyone can use.

Below are some examples in different formats.

Word (with Headings)

This example uses Word Heading styles and accessible Word tables to convey information about the different levels of the federal court system in Pennsylvania. The headings and table styles have been adjusted to be similar to the formatting of U.S. Courts.gov

Word Outline Example

PowerPoint (Master Slide)

The PowerPoint file below uses different master slide layouts to convey the information. The master slides are designed so that the reading order is automatically set for a screen reader and that contrast is compliant with WCAG 2.2 guidelines.

Power Point Slide Example

Note: The lines and arrows connecting boxes have been set to have Decorative image ALT text.

HTML (with Headings)

See the Org Chart Example page to see how tables, headings and floating DIVs can be used to simulate a traditional org chart or table diagram.

InDesign (with Headings)

Using InDesign tools such as Paragraph Styles, threading and the Articles panel, it is possible to create a traditional org chart tree diagram and export it as a tagged PDF with headings, image ALT text and an appropriate reading order.

InDesign/PDF Zip file

PDF as "Print Format"

A final option for a tree diagram is to make the image file or PDF with the branching nodes a "Print Format" file and provide another accessible format such as the ones from above as the main format.

It is likely that some members of a mainstream audience would also find an accessible format useful.

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Last Update: December 13, 2023