How to Make PDFs Accessible

 

Software/Hardware

  • Microsoft Office 2010, 2013 Pro, Office 2016

How to make it Accessible

  1. Start with a well-structured Word document or presentation.
  2. Click the File tab and select Save as. In the Save as type field, select PDF (*.pdf).
  3. Enter a file name in the File name field.
  4. Click on the Options button and make sure the Document structure tags for accessibility and Create bookmarks using Headings checkboxes are checked.
  5. Click OK and Save. This will tag all the text formatting so page headings and lists are correctly interpreted by a screen reader.

Software/Hardware

  • Ms Office 2011 (for Mac)

How to make it Accessible

  1. Microsoft Word & PowerPoint 2011 for the Mac cannot produce a fully accessible PDF.

Software/Hardware

  • Adobe Acrobat Professional (Acrobat DC)

How to make it Accessible

  1. Open a scanned PDF file.
  2. Open the Tools panel (click Tools in the top right) and click Enhance Scans.
  3. On the Enhance Scans tool bar select Recognize Text > In This File.
  4. Below the Recognize Text button, set the language to English. Open the settings, set output to Editable Text and Images and Downsample to 600 dpi.
  5. Click OK, then click Recognize Text button.

Software/Hardware

  • Adobe Acrobat Professional (Acrobat DC)

    All versions. No matter what you are converting to PDF, it's important to save your original files in case a student needs an alternate format.

How to make it Accessible

  1. Click the Tools tab to open the Accessibility panel on the right hand side.
    1. If you don't see it, Click the View menu and select Tools > Accessibility.
  2. Under Accessibility,  select the Full Check button.
  3. The Accessibility Checker window will open.
    1. Under the Report Options, check on the Create Accessibility Report.
    2. Under the Checking Options section:
      1. Category: Document and check all the items.
  4. Click the Start Checking button.
  5. The Accessibility Checker Report will display on the left pane.