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Restructuring Charges (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended			60 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2017	Apr. 30, 2016	Apr. 30, 2015	Apr. 30, 2017
Restructuring Charges [Abstract]
Restructuring charge (in dollars per share)	$ 0.15	$ 0.32	$ 0.34
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	$ 13,355	$ 28,611	$ 28,804
Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	13,355	28,611	28,804	$ 137,944
Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member] | Severance [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	8,386	16,443	17,093	87,590
Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member] | Process Reengineering Consulting [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	148	7,191	301	18,814
Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member] | Other Activities [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	4,821	4,977	11,410	31,540
Research [Member] | Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	1,949	2,982	4,555	20,156
Publishing [Member] | Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	1,596	4,507	5,956	32,488
Solutions [Member] | Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	1,787	1,042	0	2,552
Shared Services [Member] | Restructuring and Reinvestment Program [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges (credits)	$ 8,023	$ 20,080	$ 18,293	$ 82,748

X

- Definition

The per share amount of pre-tax restructuring charge recorded during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Amount of expenses associated with exit or disposal activities pursuant to an authorized plan. Excludes expenses related to a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 420
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 5.P.3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27011515&loc=d3e140864-122747

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 420
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6394359&loc=d3e17939-110869

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 420
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 5.P.4(b))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27011515&loc=d3e140904-122747

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- References

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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