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Make Your Adobe Acrobat PDFs Accessible

Evaluate your Adobe Acrobat PDFs with the built-in Accessibility Checker

Overview

Portable Document Files (PDFs) are popular in education to share content with students.  Whether a syllabus, lesson content, or other materials, Adobe makes it easier to verify that the information is available to all learners with the built-in Accessibility Checker. 

All full-time Pepperdine University faculty members have access to Adobe Acrobat on their University-owned laptops.

Tips for Success with PDFs

There are two common ways to access the built-in accessibility checker in Microsoft Office applications:

  1. Check for accessibility before generating the PDF: Did you create the original document in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or another word processing application? If you did, be sure to check for accessibility within that application before you produce the PDF. This will reduce the number of issues you may encounter and save you valuable time. Use the Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker or GrackleDocs for Google Workspace, for example.
  2. Set title property in Microsoft Word before generating the PDF: If you created your original document in Microsoft Word, be sure to set the title property before generating the PDF. In your Microsoft Word document, click the File tab, select Info, and then under the Properties heading, enter a title for the document in the Title field.
  3. How to produce your PDF:
    • Windows: If using Microsoft Word (or any Office application), do NOT use the Acrobat add-in to generate the PDF. Only use the formal "Save As" feature in Microsoft Word and choose the file type "PDF" (go to File, select "Save As" (do not choose "Save as Adobe PDF" if listed), and on the Save As window give the document a title and select the "Save as type" as "PDF (.pdf).")
    • Windows or Mac: With a modern version of Microsoft Office Word (e.g. Office 2016 or later), you may also use the "Save As" option and select the file type "PDF". While in the "Save As" dialog, be sure to set the appropriate options for accessibility. On Mac, choose the option "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service)." On Windows, click the "Options" button after selecting the "PDF" file format and then enable the option "Document structure tags for accessibility" and then save the file.
    • Google Docs: Never use the File > Download > PDF Document. This does not produce an accessible PDF. Instead, use GrackleDocs for Google Workspace, scan and fix any issues, then use the GrackleDocs Export PDF option.
  4. The common syllabus elements apply: Whether a syllabus, handout, or other materials, the common elements listed on our syllabus page (e.g. proper use of Heading levels, good color contrast, ALT tags on images, etc.) all apply.

Adobe Acrobat: Accessibility Checker

Adobe has included the Accessibility Checker in Acrobat Pro.

  1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Click Tools.
  3. Scroll down. Click Accessibility under the "Protect & Standardize" heading.
  4. Select Full Check (Accessibility Check in other versions of Adobe Acrobat) in the right-hand pane.
  5. In the left-hand pane, review the results. Click the headings, e.g. "Document (x issues)", to view the results.
    • A green checkmark indicates that the document passed the basic test.
    • A blue question mark indicates that you should verify these items personally (e.g. logical reading order, aka headings).
    • A red "X" indicates that the document did not pass the basic test and needs to be addressed.
  6. For topics that failed, right-click the item.
    • Select "Explain" to open the Adobe website and learn what the issue is and the instructions to address it.
    • Select "Fix" and Adobe will attempt to fix the issue. You may need to enter information or use the steps outlined in the "Explain" documentation referenced above.
  7. After implementing all fixes, right-click each item and select "Check Again" or re-run the Full Check.
  8. Save the final version of your accessible PDF.

Fixing Common Issues

The following items assume that you have run the Adobe Accessibility Checker mentioned above. Select a topic to expand it for additional information.

  Fixing the "Document: Title - Failed" error

The metadata field in the PDF file properties called "Title" cannot be empty.  To fix this issue:

  1. Open the impacted PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. Go to the File menu.
  3. Select Properties.
  4. In the Document Properties window, enter a meaningful title for the document in the "Title" field of the "Description" tab.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Save your PDF.
  7. Run the accessibility checker again to confirm that the issue has been resolved.
  Addressing the "Document: Logical Reading Order - Needs manual check" notice

The Accessibility Checker in Adobe Acrobat Pro can only do so much. Some items require human review, such as confirming that the document is structured with a logical reading order. For the most part, this means that the document uses appropriate headings to indicate the level or hierarchy of information on a page (e.g. headings, subheadings, sub-subheadings, etc.).

Per Adobe's documentation, "Make sure that the reading order displayed in the Tags panel coincides with the logical reading order of the document."  Both the "Tags" panel and the "Order" panel can be helpful for manually reviewing the logical flow of the content within the document. Make sure that the order matches the order that you want a screen reader to read or present the content to someone using assistive technologies.

  Addressing the "Document: Color Contrast - Needs manual check" notice

The Accessibility Checker in Adobe Acrobat Pro can only do so much. Some items require human review, such as verifying that the color contrast meets accessibility guidelines.

Rules of Thumb for Color and Color Contrast

  • Do not place dark text on a dark background.
  • Do not place light text on a light background.
  • Test your color contrast in a tool like WebAIM's Color Contrast Checker and Link Contrast Checker.
  • Be mindful of learners that may be color blind. Do not use color alone to convey meaning (e.g. good or bad).

Learn more about contrast and color accessibility.

  Fixing the "Document: Primary Language - Failed" error

You must set the primary language for the PDF document. To fix this issue:

  1. Open the impacted PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. Go to the File menu.
  3. Select Properties.
  4. In the Document Properties window, select the Advanced tab.
  5. In the Reading Options section, use the drop-down menu to set the Langage for the file.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Save your PDF.
  8. Run the accessibility checker again to confirm that the issue has been resolved.
  Fixing the "Alternative Text: Figures alternate text - Failed" error

All images in the PDF must have alternative (ALT) text descriptions.

  1. Open the impacted PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. From the Accessibility Checker panel, locate the "Alternative Text" heading.
  3. Select the expand icon (arrow or plus sign) to display the item or items that need to be reviewed in this category.
  4. Right-click or open the contextual menu for the first figure.
  5. Select Fix.
  6. In the "Set Alternative Text" dialog box, enter a meaningful description to describe the image or object's purpose and/or context within the document. Enter complete sentences with punctuation.
  7. If there are multiple items, you may use the next arrow icon to navigate to each item and enter additional descriptions.
  8. Select "Save & Close" when finished.
  9. Save your PDF.
  10. Run the accessibility checker again after making all modifications to confirm that the issues have been resolved.
  Fixing the "Tables: Headers - Failed" error

Tables should only be used for actual data tables, not for document layout. Each data table must have a clear structure, including headers for columns, rows, or both (depending on the data). For example, a grading scale table should have a column heading for "Letter Grade" and "Point/Percent Value" so that each letter grade can align with either the points or percentages to earn a given grade.

  1. Open the impacted PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. From the Accessibility Checker panel, locate the "Tables" heading.
  3. Select the expand icon (arrow or plus sign) to display the item or items that need to be reviewed in this category.
  4. Locate the "Headers - Failed" heading and select the expand icon for this subheading.
  5. Right-click or open the contextual menu for the first item to review.
  6. Select "Show in Tags Panel."
  7. Locate the "<Table>" object and select the expand icon next to the table to fix.
  8. Expand each item to identify the cells that contain the content that should be changed from a data cell to a header cell.
  9. Right-click or open the contextual menu for the "<TD>" cell that should be changed to a header.
  10. Select "Properties."
  11. In the Properties dialog box on the "Tag" tab, select the "Type" drop-down menu and change from "Table Data Cell" to "Table Header Cell."
  12. Click "Close."
  13. Repeat for each cell that should be a header cell ("<TH>" instead of "<TD>").
  14. Right-click the appropriate "Element" option under the "Headers - Failed" warning and select "Check Again" to verify that the issue has been resolved.
  15. Repeat for all tables in the document.
  16. Save your PDF.
  17. Run the accessibility checker again after making all modifications to confirm that the issues have been resolved.

 

Additional Resources

 

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