PDF accessibility checklist
Overview
Fixing an inaccessible PDF can be time consuming. Before you start, please consider whether it might be easier to move the information on to a web page. Web pages are typically more accessible and are usually preferred by the University.
Checklist
Please follow this checklist to see what might be the best route to make your PDF accessible. If your PDF contains substantial mathematical content, have a look at the guidance on how to make maths accessible.
If the answer is 'yes' to a question, please read the advice for that section and consider that solution first. You must follow the advice in the fourth step if the answer to the previous three steps is 'no'.
- Is it possible to copy this content into a web page? If you don't have the resources to do this, or the format isn't pedagogically suitable, move onto the next step.
- Can the source document be edited? You will need access to the original version of the document or file from before it was converted into a PDF.
- Do you have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro or other PDF remediation software? You will need to be confident working in these programs and have good accessibility knowledge.
- Can you create a simple, accessible alternative? For example, transferring the information into a plain Word document.
1. Is it possible to copy this content into a web page?
If you decide to copy over your content into a web page you will need to apply accessibility standards once it is in the Content Management System (CMS) you are using, such as Jadu or WordPress.
The sorts of things you may need to think about are:
Make sure your new web page meets all the accessibility fundamentals, covered on our web page content accessibility checklist.
Key points to consider
Copy text 'safely'
If you are copying and pasting text from any document into a web page you must paste the text into a plain text editor first, such as 'Notepad' on Windows devices, then copy it again in 'Notepad' before pasting it into the page editor. Otherwise there can be hidden issues in the page code.
Structure your content using headers
The title of your document will most likely become the title of the web page. This should show on the web page as a 'Heading 1'.
Structure your content using headers. For instance, if you're copying over information from a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation, think about how slide titles might become headers.
Keep to a logical reading order
For example, if you're copying over information from a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation that has a slide with text both on the left and the right, you will need to restructure the text so it reads like a normal linear page of text.
Add extra context if necessary, so things are easier to understand.
For example, PowerPoint slides can provide very little context because the presenter may talk through the slides and has extra information in the notes section underneath the slide. Read through what you've copied over and add missing information if it doesn't make sense.
'Scanned' and 'flattened' PDFs
If you'd like to copy and paste the content from an inaccessible 'scanned' or 'flattened' PDF then you will need to have access to optical character recognition (OCR) software.
Adobe has its own version of OCR software and guidance on how to use OCR in Acrobat.
You will then need to re-check the content for accessibility using our web content page checklist.
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2. Can the source document be edited?
Only follow this advice if the document cannot be turned into an accessible web page.
If the original document was produced in Word or PowerPoint it is usually better to go back to the original document to fix the errors first, and then convert it into a PDF again.
First address the issues by working through our guidance on creating accessible Word documents or our guidance on creating accessible PowerPoint documents.
You will then need to carry out an automated check of the document in the authoring program, if available. See the following steps for how to do this in Word and PowerPoint. Bear in mind that you shouldn't just rely on Microsoft's automated tools as they can't catch all errors. Make sure you've used our Word checklist or PowerPoint checklist.
If you're ultimately putting the PDF in Minerva, then you should also carry out a Blackboard Ally check after you've uploaded it.
Word automated checks
Open the document in Word and run the programme’s inbuilt accessibility checker.
- Go to File > Info> Inspect Document> Check Accessibility to identify the issues in the document
- Click on an error warning to see where it appears in the document.
- To get more information about a specific error, see the additional information below the inspection results. For more information see Microsoft’s guide to Word’s accessibility checker.
- Use Microsoft's recommendations to make any necessary changes, and check our accessibility guidance if you have queries.
- Repeat this process until the checker indicates there are no problems left.
- Make sure to save the document as tagged. Go to File > Save As then choose 'PDF' from the file type drop-down menu.
- Select 'More options' and then 'Options'. Check the box 'Document structure tags for accessibility’.
- Select ‘OK’ and then ‘Save’.
PowerPoint automated checks
- Go to File > Info > Check for issues > Check accessibility to identify the issues in the document.
- Click on an error warning to see where it appears in the document.
- To get more information about a specific error, see the additional information below the inspection results. For more information see Microsoft’s PowerPoint accessibility guide.
- Use the recommendations to make any necessary changes, and check our accessibility guidance if you have queries.
- Repeat this process until the checker indicates there are no problems left.
- Save the document as a tagged. Go to File > Save As then choose PDF from the file type drop-down menu.
- Select 'More options' then 'Options'. Then check the box ‘Document structure tags for accessibility’.
- Select ‘OK’ and then ‘Save’.
Limitations of automated checkers
Please note, the automated checkers in Microsoft programs cannot completely ensure good digital accessibility. For example, it won’t tell you if your font choice or point size are hard to read, or if your alt text is appropriate. Our Word checklist and PowerPoint checklist can make up for those shortcomings.
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3. Do you have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro or other PDF remediation software?
If you don’t have the original Word document, or the PDF was created using InDesign, then you may need to work directly with the PDF in software like Adobe Acrobat Pro. You will need expertise in accessibility and knowledge of the software to do this.
PDFs created by a third party
If the PDF was created by a contractor, then you should go back to them and ask them to make the changes.
In order to reach a high level of accessibility you or the contractor will need to carry out:
- A manual check of the document using general accessibility principles, which are covered on our accessibility guidance pages.
- An automated check of the page using the Adobe Acrobat Pro automated checker. If you are using other PDF software, use that program's in-built accessibility checker instead.
'Flattened' or 'scanned' PDFs
If you have a 'flattened' or 'scanned' PDF you will need to use optical character recognition (OCR) software to allow you to edit it and make it accessible.
Adobe has its own version of OCR software and guidance on how to use OCR in Acrobat. You may decide that doing this is too difficult or will take too long. If so, and none of the previous steps on this page are possible, move on to step 4.
Adobe Acrobat Pro automated checks
Open the document in Adobe Acrobat Pro and run the program’s in-built accessibility checker. If you don’t have access to the right program, you may need to go back to the content creator to make the checks and fix them for you.
- Select the 'Tools' tab and then 'Open' under ‘Accessibility’. This will open the 'Tools pane' where you can select 'Accessibility Check' then 'Start checking'.
- Click on an error warning to see where it appears in the document.
- To get more information about a specific error, right click the error message and select ‘Explain’. For more in-depth information see Adobe’s accessibility checker user guide.
- Use the recommendations to make any necessary changes. You can also check our accessibility guidance if you have queries.
- Repeat this process until the checker indicates there are no problems found in the document.
- Make sure your PDF is tagged by selecting 'Autotag Document' in the 'Tools pane' you opened earlier.
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4. Can you create a simple, accessible alternative?
If your PDF is not accessible you could create a plain, linear Word document or web page where decisions are based on what's most accessible, not appearance or convenience. This can be provided as an accessible alternative shared wherever and however the original PDF is. The PDF then can be left unchanged.
Make sure your new Word document covers all the accessibility points covered in our accessible Word document checklist. If you opt for a simple web page then use our web page accessibility checklist before you set it live.
Key points to consider
Copy text 'safely'
If you are copying and pasting text from any document into a web page you must paste the text into a plain text editor first, such as 'Notepad' on Windows devices, then copy it again in 'Notepad' before pasting it into the page editor. Otherwise there can be hidden issues in the page code.
Structure your content using headers
The title of your document will most likely become the title of the web page. This should show on the web page as a 'Heading 1'.
Structure your content using headers. For instance, if you're copying over information from a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation, think about how slide titles might become headers.
Keep to a logical reading order
For example, if you're copying over information from a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation that has a slide with text both on the left and the right, you will need to restructure the text so it reads like a normal linear page of text.
Add extra context if necessary, so things are easier to understand.
For example, PowerPoint slides can provide very little context because the presenter may talk through the slides and has extra information in the notes section underneath the slide. Read through what you've copied over and add missing information if it doesn't make sense.
'Scanned' and 'flattened' PDFs
If you'd like to copy and paste the content from an inaccessible 'scanned' or 'flattened' PDF then you will need to have access to optical character recognition (OCR) software.
Adobe has its own version of OCR software and guidance on how to use OCR in Acrobat.
You will then need to re-check the content for accessibility using our web content page checklist.
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Useful points to note
- Blackboard Ally automated checks
- Inaccessible PDFs produced by a third party
- Using examples of previous students' work as a learning aid
Blackboard Ally automated checks
If you're using Minerva, each file on Minerva will be accompanied by a Blackboard Ally accessibility indicator, which looks like a red, orange, or green gauge.
The colour of the accessibility indicator signifies the scale of issues with the file – red indicates significant issues, while green indicates minor or no issues. You can access guidance on how to address these issues by selecting the indicator.
Note that there may be differences between the capabilities of Microsoft and Adobe checkers and Blackboard Ally. The latter might identify an issue with colour contrast, whereas the others may not.
There are also limitations. For example, Ally can’t assess quality of image descriptions. Leaving alt text blank, to indicate the image is decorative, may also mean Ally flags it as an issue.
Also, Ally is currently unable to recognise where materials meet accessibility requirements by supplementing each other. For example, where visual content is made accessible by supplementing it with a written description in a separate document, Ally’s score for the visual content will not be updated.
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Inaccessible PDFs produced by a third party
PDFs produced by a third party (eg journal articles, scanned chapters from the library, etc) may be inaccessible.
Journals and eBooks
Please consider, where possible, replacing these PDFs with a link to the journal website or eBook provided by the library. If there are PDFs that have low accessibility scores but are an important part of the module, please ensure that this is stated in the module accessibility statement.
PDFs from contractors
If the PDF was produced by third party contractors on behalf of the University consider going back to the contractor and asking them to make the PDF accessible.
External contracts should have accessibility requirements built in, where relevant. Check your contract to see if that's the case for you.
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Using examples of previous students' work as a learning aid
If you’re using a PDF example of previous students’ work as a learning aid it needs to be made accessible. However, there may be good reasons to leave the original work untouched to illustrate exactly what the previous students produced.
In this case, the original work should be supplemented with an alternative resource which addresses any accessibility issues. This could be an updated version of the original work that meets accessibility requirements or a different document which addresses any missing content (e.g. alt text descriptions of images/diagrams).
Please note: If you edit a student’s work this may impact on its copyright status, which may be relevant in a small number of cases.
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