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Accessibility for PDF Files

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro for PDF Accessibility

To be accessible, a PDF file needs 

  1. Structural tags in a logical reading order
  2. A proper heading structure
  3. Descriptive links
  4. Alt text for images
  5. Proper table and list formatting
  6. Human verification that Acrobat has tagged a file correctly

For a PDF file that is a scan of pages as images

Open up the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro version. (Avoid using the free Adobe Reader version. It has no accessibility functionality).

  1. Go to All Tools > Scan & OCR.
  2. Recognize Text > In this file.
  3. Save the file.

Accessibility for a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Step 1. Create the tag tree structure. (Following the tag tree is how a screen reader navigates through the document).

  1. In the All Tools menu, click View more, then click Prepare for accessibility.
  2. Click on Automatically tag PDF.
  3. When this is done, leave the tags panel open.
  4. Save the file.

Step 2. In the tags menu, do some spot checks to make sure that Adobe created the tags correctly. Automated tagging can sometimes get complex page structure wrong.

  1. Headings: Ensure there is only one <H1> per page and that levels (<H2>, <H3>) follow a logical hierarchy without skipping levels.
  2. Lists: Ensure lists are nested correctly: <L> (List) → <LI> (List Item) → <LBody> (Content).
  3. Save the file.

Step 3. In the Prepare for Accessibility menu choose Add Alternate text.

  1. Go through each image on each page and if the image conveys meaning then it needs to have alternate text.
  2. If the image is a graph or chart or figure, it will need a couple of sentences to describe the information that the chart, graph, or figure conveys.
  3. If the image is decorative only, check the decorative figure checkbox.
  4. Save the file.

Step 4. Verify Reading Order - do spot checks to see if the tags are in the correct order per page.

  1. Open All Tools > Prepare for Accessibility > Fix Reading Order.
  2. Acrobat will overlay numbered boxes on your page. These numbers represent the sequence a screen reader will follow.
  3. If the numbers are jumping around, open the Order Panel and drag the elements into the correct chronological order.
  4. Save the file.

Step 5. Upload the PDF file into D2L and Panorama will score the file.

  1. When the file is scored: next to the content item, click on the Panorama icon.
  2. The alternative formats menu will open.
  3. View the score, and click on the accessibility report at the top of the screen.
  4. Go into the accessibility menu and fix any issues that you can there.

General Information About PDF Accessibility

Aims recommends avoiding creating new PDF files because: ​

  1. PDF is the hardest file type to make accessible. ​
  2. Can be created from any number of sources – often scanned materials.​
  3. Screen reader and keyboard users can't access PDF files when they have no structural tags or a tag structure that has been done incorrectly.

If you can use an alternative file format instead of a PDF​

  1. Create HTML pages within D2L in the Creator+ tool.​
  2. Create a Microsoft Word or Google Docs .docx file.​
  3. Obtain third-party and OER materials in these formats.​

If you need to use a PDF file

  1. Option 1. Do accessibility fixes in the source file if you have it. ​
  2. Option 2. To fix an existing PDF file, it needs to be tagged. Use Adobe Acrobat Pro or DC
    (not Adobe Reader) or the PDF OCR formats in Panorama alternative formats menu.​
  3. A PDF file must be tagged so screen reader and keyboard users can access documents. ​
  4. Tags serve as the underlying structural code that defines the document. 

When working with third-party PDF files

Both Aims and the third-party content provider are responsible for accessibility of the content

  1. Can ask the content provider if they have made their PDF file accessible and can send that to you.
  2. If not, can ask the content provider to make the document accessible.
  3. Can do the work yourself. Accessibility work is fair use - you are not modifying the content. Tagging is done behind the scenes in the PDF document.