Introduction: What Does an Accessible PDF Look Like?

An “accessible” PDF for starters is a Portable Document File that possesses the following essential attributes, at a minimum:

1. The document can be read by a screen reader.*

2. The document’s graphic elements are tagged with alternate text.

3. The document can be read in the intended order.

4. The document passes Adobe’s built-in 508 verification process.

*Software that has “read out loud” capabilities is sometimes referred to as text-to-speech software or a screen reader. In addition to the non-native English speaker, people with learning disabilities or visual impairments all benefit from documents that can be read out loud.

Testing for Accessibility

(Requires Adobe Reader or Acrobat 7.0 or greater)

1. Readable (to a screen reader)

q  Can a word be individually selected by double-clicking on it?

Yes: This is a good sign that a screen reader can read the material. It means the page is defined as text instead of an image or scan.

No: If a block of text or the entire page is selected when clicking on a word, then the document is probably an image and needs optical character recognition performed.

Solution: Go to Document>OCR Text Recognition>Recognize Text. This step may require proofreading and further corrections.

2. Accurate and Meaningful

q  Does the Read Out Loud feature read every word and explanations (alt text) of images?

How: Go to View>Read Out Loud>Activate Read Out Loud> Then click on an area of text and listen. Try clicking on a few different areas of the document, including an image or graphic element, such as a logo or picture.

Yes: The author has ensured the proper treatment of text and has intentionally included alternate text for images and graphics.

No: You need to correct the text or add alternate text.

How: Go to Tools>Advanced Editing>Touch Up Text Tool for text OR

Go to Tools>Advanced Editing>Touch Up Object Tool. Right click on object and choose Properties. In Tag tab, choose appropriate type such as figure, then enter alternate text.

3. Ordered

q  Does the text read in the intended order?

How: Go to File>Save As>Text Accessible (in “save as type” dropdown menu)

Open the text file. This is essentially what the screen reader reads and in the order. If the document contains columns or tables, you may want to pay attention to how they appear.

Yes: The conversion accurately captured the order.

No/How: Go to Tools>Advanced Editing>Touch Up Reading Order

4. Verified

q  Are the results Section 508-verified?

(Even this built-in tool does not provide 100% accurate results every time, but short of performing user-testing with assistive technology, this is the best available tool to date.)

How: 1. Go to Advanced>Accessibility>Add Tags to Document; 2. Go to Advanced>Accessibility>Full Check

Yes: Adobe’s accessibility full check found no problems.

No: Follow the instructions for remediation in the accessibility report. Then call or email the support team for further assistance.

Further Assistance

1.  Refer to: PDF Accessibility Guide using Acrobat at SF State’s Access web site.

2.  Refer to the Course Accessibility Checklist on SF State’s Access web site: www.sfsu.edu/access

3.  Submit a Support Request Form on SF State’s Access web site. Go to www.sfsu.edu/access and select the form on the right side under the contact information.

4.  Look out for trainings on how to create and modify PDFs

(Check the News section of the Access website for future trainings, starting in July 2009)

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