How to Make PDFs Accessible | Episode 14: Antelope Valley College

Welcome to Episode 14 of our college PDF Accessibility series. Today, we focus on Antelope Valley College’s Associated Students Organization Agenda PDF.

Video Guide

If you’re interested in the real-life practice and nuances of document remediation, here are Episode 1, Episode 2,  Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 15, Episode 16, and Episode 17 in our PDF Accessibility Community College Series.

Our journey begins with a visit to the avc.edu homepage. A quick search of the website PDFs brings up the agenda minutes from Antelope Valley College’s Associated Students organization. However, upon opening the document, we find that it has no tags! Tags are essential for making PDFs accessible to individuals using screen readers.

Auto Tagging for PDF Accessibility

To rectify this issue, we utilize the “Prepare for Accessibility” tool, which automatically tags the PDF. Surprisingly, the auto tagger does an excellent job structuring the document, saving us valuable time.

Addressing Alt Text and Metadata

After tagging, we ensure all images have appropriate alternate text and update the document’s metadata, including title, author, subject, and keywords. These elements are crucial for facilitating navigation and comprehension for all users.

Running Accessibility Checks

Next, we run the accessibility checker to identify any remaining issues. While most elements are fixed automatically, we encounter errors related to structure and metadata. These require manual intervention to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.

Download the Free Section 508 Checklist for PDF Accessibility:

Resolving Structure and Metadata Errors

We address structure errors by correcting inappropriate use of span elements and ensuring proper placement attributes for figure tags. Additionally, we generate alternative descriptions and add the PDF UA identifier to enhance compatibility with assistive technologies.

Quality Assurance and Final Checks

Once all errors are resolved, we conduct a final quality check using the PAC 2024 tool. This ensures that our PDF meets WCAG and PDF UA standards, paving the way for an inclusive user experience.

While this PDF initially scored a one out of 10 on The Accessible Guy rating chart, our systematic approach has transformed it into a fully accessible resource.

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Let me be your champion for inclusion. I offer tailored solutions (and self-paced courses!) to ensure your documents meet and exceed compliance expectations. For more detailed insights, tutorials, and in-depth discussions on accessibility and related topics, don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel: The Accessibility Guy on YouTube. Subscribe for regular updates!