A note on PDF remediation
Additional tools, guidance, and remediation resources to support this work will be shared in the coming months. The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Accessibility Resource Center, and Communications, Marketing, and Brand Management (CMBM) will continue to offer consultation, training, and practical support to help faculty and staff make updates efficiently and effectively. The goal is steady progress over time.
If the PDF is from a library database: Consider replacing the PDF
PDFs often create accessibility barriers for assistive technology users. To ensure all students can access course materials, use permalinks (persistent links) from the TCNJ library databases. These links allow the user to choose the format that works best for them, such as a website, online reader, or PDF. Permalinks help ensure that all students can access library-hosted course materials. Beyond document accessibility, permalinks simplify off-campus access and ensure copyright compliance.
If your PDF is from a library database, providing a permalink is the way to go.
Visit CETL’s guide on adding permalinks to a Canvas course for step-by-step instructions.
If you must use a PDF: Check accessibility with Adobe Acrobat Pro
Adobe Acrobat Pro is most commonly used to check and remediate PDF accessibility. Adobe Creative Cloud is available to all TCNJ Faculty and Staff at no cost to your departments under IT’s new contract.
When creating a PDF from a Word Document, Google Doc, or PowerPoint, the source document should be accessible before conversion. Most platforms, such as Word and PowerPoint, have built-in accessibility checkers that review the source document. It is best to avoid photocopying or scanning a print document, such as a book or printed article, and converting it to PDF. Digital originals tend to be higher quality, which can improve PDF accessibility. Many accessibility and remediation issues stem from poor-quality scans of source documents.
Step 1: Scan and OCR
- Open the PDF. Under “All tools,” select “Scan & OCR.”
- Choose “In this File” and ensure “All pages” is selected.
- Click “Recognize Text.”
You can check that the text is searchable by highlighting words and sentences or searching for particular keywords in the document. Doing so serves as a manual check that the document has successfully undergone character recognition and is no longer an image.
Step 2: Autotag
- On the right side toolbar, select the tag icon for “Add, delete, or edit accessibility tags.”
- Select the three dots and choose “Autotag Document.”
PDF tags define a document’s structure: they establish a logical reading order and indicate the types of document elements. Tags help identify elements such as headings, paragraphs, tables, etc. While PDF tags are not visible in the document, screen readers and other assistive technologies use them to read and navigate it.
Step 3: Check for Accessibility
- Open the PDF. Under “All tools,” click “View More.” Select “Prepare for Accessibility.”
- Select “Check for accessibility.”
- Leave all pre-selected options checked and click “Start Checking.”
Review the Accessibility Checker Report. You can open anything with an arrow next to the title to access specific details. PDF elements that need to be fixed or manually checked will be labeled “Failed” or “Needs manual check.”