PDFs should be eliminated in favor of HTML generated web pages because they do not work well on mobile devices and are challenging for screen readers to access.
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What are accessible PDFs and why do we need them?
Whenever we publish online content, we need to make sure everyone can read it, including people using assistive technology such as screen readers.
Following are some basic steps to take in order to ensure your PDFs are accessible.
Make sure the PDF is in a text based format.
Create a logical reading order by providing a main heading and subheadings.
Tag your document in Microsoft Word
Build the document structure and apply headings <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, etc.
The <h1> heading should be reserved for the document title
Add paragraphs <p>Add ALT text (alternative text) for images in Microsoft Word or in Adobe Acrobat
Complex charts and graphics that are embedded in the PDF can’t be accessed by screen reader users. In these cases a summary or long description of what the chart/graphic conveys needs to be provided.
Make sure there is enough color contrast between text and background
Do not use color as the ONLY way to convey information
Provide a table of contents for long document
Save your Word or PDF document as a tagged PDF.
Test your document in Adobe Acrobat for accessibility compliance. (please see link below for reference)
Creating accessible Smart PDFs with forms
Following are links to various resources on making your PDF documents accessible.
Resources:This is also true for PDF documents. Similar to directly coding content into a website, there are special steps we must take to make sure that a PDF can be read by assistive technology.
How to create an accessible PDF using Microsoft Word
To create an accessible PDF, you should start with creating an accessible Microsoft Word doc.
Appropriate font and size
Choose an easy to read font like Arial or Verdana
The font size should 12 pt or larger
Using color appropriately
Make sure there is enough contrast between the words and the background. For example, do not put light gray text on a medium gray background.
Never use color alone to convey important information. Some people have color vision problems which prevents them from distinguishing between certain colors.
Add alternative texts and captions to images
Here are instructions on how you can add alternative text to images in a Word document.
Text wrapping style should be “In Line with Text”
Specify Column Header Rows in Tables
Use Meaningful Hyperlink Text
Make sure your link text is more descriptive than “Click here” or “View”.
Use Built-in Formatting Styles
When adding headers to the document, utilize the various items in the Styles pane instead of manually enlarging and/or bolding text.
Make sure that the headings are in chronological order. For example, any headers directly below the Heading 1 section must be Heading 2. It must not skip directly from Heading 1 to Heading 3.
Include a table of contents for long documents
Use the bulleted or number list buttons to format lists
Check accessibility
Save the Word document as a PDF
Additional resources
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Testing PDF documents using Adobe Acrobat Pro
How to create and verify accessible PDFs by Adobe:
How to create accessible forms inside Adobe:
How to create and repair tables inside Adobe:
How to use the accessibility checker by Adobe:
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View file name Seven Steps to Creating an Accessible Microsoft Word document.pdf View file name Three Steps to Creating an Accessible PDF file (without Adobe Acrobat).pdf