Digital documents should have titles that describe their function or purpose. This is used in a variety of ways, and is helpful for all users.
For an overview of this issue, see Titles in our IT Accessibility Checklist.
Titles are typically defined in a Document Properties or similar dialog, separate from the document itself. This should not be confused with the main heading of the document, which appears within the document (for more about headings, see Headings in documents).
Techniques for Microsoft Office
To add a title to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, scroll down from the File drop-down menu and select “Properties…,” this will display the properties window. Clicking on the summary tab will reveal the title field, enter a title that is meaningful and communicates the overall topic of the document.
Techniques for Google Docs
Google Docs provides the ability to add a unique title to a document. Located in the upper left corner of the window is a clickable field, if creating a new document, this field will display ‘Untitled document.’ Adding a cursor to this file will automatically add the first few lines of text from the body of the document, assigning it as the document title. To add a new title, delete the text and enter a unique title that communicates the topic of the document.
Techniques for InDesign
InDesign requires a document title for accessibility. To add a document title in InDesign, from the File drop down menu select File Info…, this will open up the file information dialogue box. At the top, enter the document title.When exported as an accessible PDF, this information willautomatically be transferred to the PDF as required metadata and saved.
Techniques for PDF using Acrobat Pro
Specifying the document title of a PDF allows for better searching and easier identification for users of assistive technology. To change the document title, you must use Acrobat Pro in order to access and edit the metadata. After opening the PDF, scroll down from the File drop-down menu and select “Properties…,” this will display the properties window. The description tab reveals the title field. If a document authored from a native format included a title using the techniques listed above, it would appear here. Otherwise, it will be left blank and the default title will be the file name and will also be reflected in the title bar. To add or change the title, enter a new title in the filed and click OK.
FAQs
Titles are phrases that introduce the topic of the entire document. They should be easy to understand and address the subject of the entire document. Titles are placed at the top of the first page on short documents or on a separate title page in longer documents.
How do you properly title a document? ›
Write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters. Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number.
Are titles in quotes or italicized? ›
Explanation. Generally and grammatically speaking, put titles of shorter works in quotation marks but italicize titles of longer works. For example, put a “song title” in quotation marks but italicize the title of the album it appears on.
How should I title a document? ›
Your title should be short and specific, ideally no more than 10 words, and summarize the main topic or argument of your document. Your summary should be one or two sentences, ideally no more than 150 words, and provide an overview of the main points, methods, or implications of your document.
How do you label titles in papers? ›
A general rule of thumb is that within the text of a paper, italicize the title of complete works but put quotation marks around titles of parts within a complete work.
What is an example of a document of title? ›
Documents of title play an important role in facilitating commercial transactions for the sale of goods, especially during the transport and storage stages of the transaction and in relation to obtaining finance for the transaction. Typical examples include bills of lading, warehouse receipts and sea or air waybills.
What is the best format for titles? ›
In general, use sentence-style casing (that is, only capitalize the first word of a title, like at the beginning of a sentence), as this makes content more readable and ensures better localizability.
What titles should be italicized? ›
Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks. Sometimes titles will contain other titles.
What quotations to use for titles? ›
Double quotation marks are used for direct quotations and titles of compositions such as books, plays, movies, songs, lectures and TV shows.
How do you format a title in an essay? ›
The title of a complete work is usually centred near the top of the first page; if possible, it should be printed either in large letters or in boldface, or even in both. It should not be italicized or placed in quotation marks, and it should not have a full stop at the end.
A person's formal title should be used on first reference. Use lower case for titles unless they are directly before a name and function as part of the name. As a general rule, titles containing more than four words should be placed after the name.
What is an example of italics? ›
Italics are typically used to show emphasis (For example: “I don't care what he thinks. I do what I want!”) or to indicate titles of stand-alone works (Black Panther, Lost in Translation).
How do you format a name and title? ›
When the title is placed after the person's name, offset the title with commas and each word is lowercase. If the title is not a formal title, each word is lowercase. If the title is long, offset it with commas after the name or place it in front of the name with a comma.
Do you quote titles in titles? ›
A couple of generations ago, it was the custom to enclose all titles in quotation marks: titles of books, titles of poems, titles of films, titles of newspapers, and so on. This usage, however, has now largely disappeared, and the modern custom is to write most titles in italics.
Are titles italicized or quoted in MLA? ›
Titles that are independent and self-contained (e.g., books) and titles of containers (e.g., anthologies) should be italicized. Titles that are contained in larger works (e.g., short stories) should be in quotations.
Should article titles be italicized? ›
No, typically you don't italicize article titles. Instead, you may enclose article titles in double quotation marks (MLA 9: “Article Title”) or simply use regular font without quotation marks (APA 7: Article title).
