PDF

If you do not see the tags icon (looks like a price tag) in your left side menu, you may not have the tags panel activated.

From the top menu, Select:

View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags

You should now see the tags icon in your left side menu. 

opening the tags panel

 

After running the Accessibility Checker you will be given a report. Two items will always show up on the report as manual checks:

  • Logical Reading Order
  • Color Contrast

Use the chevrons to the left of an item to expand it for additional information. Right-click for a submenu that will give you the following options:

Adobe Acrobat contains an Accessibility Toolbox which contains the Accessibility Checker and the Reading Order options box which will aid you in creating an accessible PDF.

To make the Accessibility Toolbox show up on the right-hand column of icons on your Acrobat screen:

It is not that PDF files are meant to be troubling, it is that they were just not made to be accessible in the beginning. 

  • Originally developed (early 1990’s) as an export option, just like a printer
  • Most times, created by scanning a paper document and saving it as an image file
  • Never meant as an editing environment
  • When introduced, the use of Assistive Technology to read a PDF was not widely available

Today, most people who are working with a PDF have received the PDF file directly and face stumbling blocks:

An accessible PDF is comprised of three layers:

Visual Layer

This is the layer you see on the screen or would see if you printed out the PDF. It is essentially a picture of your document. 

If you are supplementing your course with interactive course materials such as fillable PDFs or E-text, you'll want to make sure disabled students are able to complete these items independently. The materials must be made accessible before sharing or assigning to the class. Most materials can be made accessible relatively quickly so that all students have the same material at the same time.

This category includes such things as Google Docs, Clickers, PDFs, and E-text.