Welcome to Episode 23 of our Making College PDFs Accessible series! Today’s episode is another hands-on, practical workflow for turning a non-accessible college PDF into a fully WCAG-compliant document. Using a real example from Santa Barbara City College, we’ll walk through The Accessibility Guy Method for PDF Accessibility.
Video Guide
If you are interested in the real-life practice and nuances of document remediation, please check out the other posts in our Making College PDFs Accessible series.
Check Design for Color Contrast
Start by scanning the document using the PAC 2024 tool. Focus on the WCAG “Distinguishable” requirement to identify any text with insufficient color contrast. In this case, page 32 contained gray text that failed the minimum contrast standard.
- Open the file in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
- Use the Edit tool to select the gray text.
- Change the text color to black to meet contrast standards.
- Save the document.
- Re-run the PAC scan to confirm that the error has been resolved.
By correcting this early, you prevent contrast issues from interfering with the document’s legibility for users with visual impairments.
Validate and Add or Adjust Tags
The document included basic tagging, but it still required validation and improvements to comply with accessibility standards.
- Open the tags panel and confirm or create a “Document” tag as the parent.
- Walk through the entire structure, verifying each tag corresponds to visible content.
- Artifact blank tags or unnecessary elements that do not contribute to comprehension or that may confuse screen readers.
- If there are no tags in the documents, or if the existing tag structure is too problematic, try running the auto-tagging tool in Adobe Acrobat.
A proper tag structure ensures that assistive technologies can accurately interpret the document’s content and structure.
Correct List Structures
Check for improperly formatted or broken lists across pages, which create confusion for screen reader users.
- Manually create new List Item (LI) and List Body (LBody) tags as needed.
- Nest list elements properly to preserve correct order and hierarchy.
- Validate each list to ensure content does not get merged or lost due to improper tagging.
- Correct any improperly nested items that span across page breaks.
Clear and properly structured lists improve navigation and comprehension for users who rely on audio feedback.
Fix Hyperlinks in the Table of Contents
In our example, hyperlinks in the Table of Contents were tagged as “Reference” tags rather than proper “Link” tags. This causes problems with nesting and functionality.
- Search for all instances of “Link – OBJR” in the tags panel.
- Identify the parent “Reference” tags associated with those objects.
- Replace each reference tag with a “Link” tag using the Properties panel.
Linking elements properly supports efficient navigation through the document.
Review and Correct Tables
Tables presented structural problems, including incorrect header labeling and missing summaries.
- Open the Prepare for Accessibility tools and launch the Table Editor.
- Change all cells incorrectly tagged to either header or data cells.
- Set the table scope to either Column or Row.
- Add a table summary through the table properties panel.
Proper table structure ensures that screen readers can interpret rows, columns, and headings accurately.
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Remove Unnecessary Path Tags
Path tags represent decorative visual elements like lines and shapes. These can clutter the document structure and confuse screen readers.
- Open the Content panel in Acrobat.
- Locate and select all path tags in the tags panel, right-click, and choose ‘change tag to artifact’.
Cleaning up path tags reduces distractions and simplifies the document’s logical reading order.
Run the Accessibility Checkers and Fix Issues
Run the built-in checker in Adobe Acrobat and the PAC tool. Address issues one by one.
- Set the document metadata
- Open Print Production > Preflight, and run the fix for annotations if flagged.
- Add alt text to figures as needed.
- Fix role mapping issues. We removed RT, RB, and Ruby as they were identified in the PAC tool.
- Confirm all hyperlinks, lists, and tables are now correct.
A successful PAC report means the document meets current accessibility standards and is ready for distribution.
Final Result
This document was originally created in Microsoft Word and had a strong starting structure. The remediation process revealed many issues that were ultimately solvable with manual tagging and attention to detail. I gave this document an Accessibility Guy score of 7/10 based on structure, tagging, and semantic accuracy.
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!
