General directions for creating accessible PDFs
The accessibility level of a document can depend on a variety of factors.Two majors questions to ask yourself when evaluating a document for accessibility are:
- What was the original format of the document?
- How was the document converted to a PDF?
Important aspects to consider during your check
Language
Document title
Tagging text
Images
Tables
Reading order
Bookmarks
Conversion (exporting)
Security settings
Tools
Most software providers have detailed guides to ensure accessibility while using their programs.
- Attend the content formatting training »
- Create accessible PDFs using Microsoft Word »
- Create accessible PDFs using Microsoft Excel »
- Create accessible PDFs using Adobe InDesign »
Have you created an accessible document in Word, Excel or InDesign?
Congratulations - but you are not done yet! Always open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and perform the Make Accessible feature. This is the final check needed to ensure that your document is in compliance. In most cases, this is where you will add/confirm the title of the document.
To run the Make Accessible feature in Adobe Acrobat:
- Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat
- Select Tools in the upper right hand corner
- Expand the Action Wizard and select Make Accessible
- Select Start and follow the prompts