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How to Make PDFs Accessible | Episode 9: West Hills College Leemore

Welcome to episode nine on community college PDF accessibility. Today, we focus on West Hills College Leemore’s 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar.

Video Guide

In case you missed them, here are Episode 1, Episode 2,  Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, and Episode 8 in our PDF Accessibility Community College Series.

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Understanding PDF Accessibility Challenges

Difficulty in Locating Accessible PDFs

Our first challenge is finding PDFs on West Hills College Leemore’s website. The initial search yielded no results, indicating either a lack of PDFs or a website search function not optimized for such queries. This highlights a common problem where accessible documents are either scarce or not easily locatable, hindering the ability of people with disabilities to access information.

Inadequate Tagging of PDF Documents

The PDF lacked a comprehensive structure, including the absence of a document tag. Proper tagging is crucial for screen readers to interpret and navigate a document. This partial tagging reflects a widespread issue where documents are only minimally accessible, not meeting the needs of all users.

Correct tag properties to create an accessible tag structure in a PDF
Technical Challenges with Adobe Acrobat

We used an older version of Adobe Acrobat for this Episode, which changed the usual workflow. This points to a broader issue where accessibility work can depend heavily on specific software versions, potentially limiting the effectiveness of accessibility efforts if the latest tools are unavailable.

Issues with Content Representation

Content must be properly formatted for accessibility. For example, acronyms like “TH” for Thursday might not be correctly interpreted by screen readers. This issue underlines the importance of clear and explicit content presentation for accessibility.

Problems with Automated Tools

Despite making several manual adjustments, we found discrepancies when running the PDF through an accessibility checker. It indicates untagged text objects, suggesting that automated tools might not always accurately reflect the accessibility status of a document. This reveals a limitation in relying solely on automated checks for accessibility compliance.

Importance of Saving Changes

Remember to save the PDF before testing it with an accessibility tool, to ensure correct results. This demonstrates the importance of following proper procedures in accessibility work to avoid misinterpretation of a document’s accessibility status.

Challenges with Tagging and Re-tagging

Making this PDF accessible involved extensive manual tagging, re-tagging, and artifacting of elements within the PDF. This labor-intensive process underscores the lack of streamlined, efficient methods for ensuring PDF accessibility, highlighting a need for more user-friendly tools and methods in accessibility work.

Missing PDF/UA Identifier

Always ensure your PDF meets PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility) standards, which are crucial for making PDFs accessible to assistive technologies. Head to Adobe Acrobat’s Preflight menu and use the “Print Production” tool. Select “Preflight,” and then use the single fix feature to search for and set the PDF/UA-1 entry.

Run the PAC 2021 tool to ensure your PDF is accessible.

Today’s journey to PDF accessibility highlights several challenges faced in the field of digital accessibility. These include difficulties in locating accessible documents, partial or improper tagging, dependency on specific software versions, limitations of automated tools, and the labor-intensive nature of ensuring document accessibility. Addressing these issues is crucial for creating an inclusive digital environment where information is accessible to all.

Remember, I can be your accessibility expert. 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!

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How to Resize a PDF

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How to Update Tooltips in a PDF

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Alternative Text for Images and Non-text Elements in Microsoft Word |Section 508 for Word

Welcome to another post in our series focusing on enhancing Word accessibility to ensure Section 508 compliance. Today, we explore the importance of adding alternative text to images and non-text elements to ensure Word accessibility.

Video Guide

Word Accessibility and Section 508 Compliance

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that federal agencies’ electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. This includes documents created in Microsoft Word. Ensuring all images and non-text elements have alternative text added is yet another best practice for Word accessibility.

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Understanding the Importance of Alt Text

Alt text is a descriptive text added to an image in a document. It’s crucial for those who cannot see the image, as it provides a textual representation of the visual content. This is particularly important for users of screen readers, as it helps them understand the context and content of images within a document.

Adding Alt Text for Section 508 Compliance

The context in which an image is used plays a critical role in determining appropriate alt text. As authors, we must assess whether an image is merely decorative or carries essential information. Alt text should be concise yet descriptive, providing clarity without overwhelming the user with unnecessary details.

Let’s explore some practical examples to understand how to effectively use alt text for images and non-text elements in Word documents:

1. Describing Contextual Images

Example: An image of ‘The Undertaker’, a famous wrestling character.

An example of how to add alt text to an image in Microsoft Word.

Alt Text: “The Undertaker, a character from wrestling, who dominated the ring for over 30 years, wearing his famous attire: a black trench coat, black hat, and black gloves, doing his signature taunt.”

Rationale: This alt text provides a detailed description of the image, including the context of The Undertaker’s significance in wrestling history.

2. Handling Decorative Images

Example: An icon of two people wrestling.

Alt Text Decision: Marked as decorative.

Rationale: If the image doesn’t add contextual value or information to the document, it’s better to mark it as decorative. This prevents cluttering the screen reader with unnecessary information.

3. Images Containing Text

Example: An image containing the word “Wrestling.”

Alt Text Options: Either describe the text or mark it as decorative, depending on context.

An example of how to add alt text to an image containing text, in Microsoft Word

Rationale: If the text within the image is crucial for understanding the document, include it in the alt text. Otherwise, it can be marked as decorative.

Best Practices for Alt Text in Word Documents

  • Be Descriptive and Concise: Focus on conveying the essence of the image without being overly verbose.
  • Consider the Document’s Context: Tailor the alt text to the document’s purpose and the image’s role within that context.
  • Use Alt Text for Essential Images: Ensure that images conveying critical information have alt text.
  • Mark Decorative Images Accordingly: Avoid overloading assistive technology users with irrelevant information.
MS word guides, videos, and instruction links

Providing meaningful alternate text for images in Microsoft Word documents is a significant step toward Section 508 compliance and overall digital accessibility. By carefully considering the context and content of each image, we can create documents that are inclusive and accessible to everyone, including those using assistive technology.

I can be your accessibility expert. 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!

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How to Make PDFs Accessible | Episode 8: Fresno City College

Welcome to episode eight on community college PDF accessibility. Today, we focus on Fresno City College’s form for Biomedical Equipment Technicians.

Video Guide

In case you missed them, here are Episode 1, Episode 2,  Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, and Episode 7 in our PDF Accessibility Community College Series.

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Key Takeaways from This Episode

This episode reveals common issues with PDF accessibility, highlighting the need for meticulous attention in document creation to ensure full accessibility for individuals using assistive technology.

  • Simply Document Structure: Implement a clear structure with simple navigation. Use standard tags for text and tables, ensuring they are not overly nested.
  • Auto-tagger limitations: The auto-tagger places the form fields into the PDF, but doesn’t necessarily tag each form field. The Adding Form Fields tool also has its limitations. In the end, you may have to manually tag each form field.
  • Avoid Unnecessary Tags and Blank Spaces: Remove or convert unnecessary elements to artifacts.
  • Appropriate Use of Table Headers: Correctly label table headers and data cells to provide context for the data presented. Select incorrectly labeled cells, right-click, select Properties, and choose the option you wish.
Properly label table cells so readers understand the purpose of each field.
  • Form Field Accessibility: Write clear and descriptive labels and tooltips so users understand each field’s purpose. Ensure they are informative but not overwhelmingly long. Use the Prepare a Form tool to go through cells quickly.
Updating tooltips for each data cell so readers understand the field's purpose.

Making PDFs accessible requires a trial-and-error approach to resolve errors. Regularly consult the accessibility checker and make necessary adjustments. Also, be prepared to deal with tool inconsistencies, making manual adjustments when needed.

Remember, I can be your accessibility expert. 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!

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How to Make PDFs Accessible | Episode 7: Reedley College

Welcome to episode seven on community college PDF accessibility. Today, we focus on Reedley Community College’s document “HSE Enrollment Form.”

Video Guide

In case you missed them, here are Episode 1, Episode 2,  Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, and Episode 6 in our PDF Accessibility Community College Series.

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Key Takeaways from this Episode


This episode reveals common issues with PDF accessibility, highlighting the need for meticulous attention in document creation to ensure full accessibility for individuals using assistive technology.

Streamlining PDF Accessibility with Appropriate Tagging

  • Nested Tags and Reading Order Challenges: Manually cut and paste tags to correct improper nesting, thereby streamlining the document’s structure. This ensures the organization of headings, sections, paragraphs, figures, and lists in a logical reading order. Additionally, remove unnecessary section tags and artifact redundant content to simplify the document’s structure.
  • Improper Tagging of Form Fields: Separate blended content like combined city, state, zip, and phone information. Create new tags for each form field and move existing ones to ensure proper labeling and visibility for screen readers.
  • Inconsistent Use of Heading Tags: Review all heading tags (H1, H2, etc.) to ensure consistency. Note that non-essential content should never be tagged as headings.
  • Issues with Nested Lists: Address formatting issues in nested lists to ensure they are correctly structured. Place your nested list inside an ‘LBody’ tag for clear and logical content association.
Properly tagging a nested list in a PDF
  • Ineffective Alternate Text for Images: Add descriptive alternate text to all PDF images to convey each image’s content and function.
  • Excessive Content in Single Paragraph Tags: Break down large blocks of content grouped under a single ‘p’ tag by creating multiple new ‘p’ tags to separate and organize the content more effectively.
  • Extra Rows and Blank Content: Identify and remove any extra rows that represent blank content.

Ensuring PDF Accessibility through Accessibility Checkers

  • Font Embedding Issues: Use the preflight tool in Adobe Acrobat to embed missing fonts.
  • Annotation Nesting Errors: Ensure that all interactive elements like widgets are appropriately nested within the document’s framework.
  • Table Issues: Use the Reading Order Tool for Tables to identify and edit table structures. Add headers to tables and remember to set the ‘column’ and ‘row’ scope appropriately.
  • Address Inappropriate Use of Figure Elements: Modify the placement attribute of figure tags from ‘start’ to ‘inline’ and then to ‘block’ if necessary.
Changing the placement attribute of a figure tag in a PDF
  • Correct Metadata for PDF/UA Compliance: Finally, add a PDF/UA identifier to the document’s metadata using the Preflight menu in Adobe Acrobat.


The above process actively demonstrates the need for a detailed and methodical approach to ensure PDF accessibility. To guarantee documents are comprehensible for all users, one must be thorough and understand the technical tools and standards.

Remember, I can be your accessibility expert. 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!

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How to Update Tooltips in a PDF

Welcome to today’s blog post. We’re discussing the importance of adding unique tooltips to PDF form fields with the same name. This boosts the accessibility of a PDF.

Video Guide

Why Unique Tooltips?

When PDF form fields share names, it’s confusing. Screen readers struggle. Users find it hard to know what each field is for. Setting unique tooltips solves this.

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Steps to Update Tooltips

  1. Open File: Go to ‘Prepare a Form’. Select your file. Select ‘Create’.
  2. Check Existing Tooltips: Right-click the name fields and select properties. Look under ‘General’. Note existing tooltips.
  3. Make Tooltips Unique: Change ‘Name’ to ‘Applicant 1 Name’ for the first field. Change ‘Email’ to ‘Applicant 1 Email’ for the second field. Do the same for all the others.
  4. Repeat for All Fields: Email, address, etc., should also have unique tooltips.
Creating a unique tooltip for fields sharing the same name by specifying Applicant 1 Name

Adding Form Fields

Once tooltips are set, focus on organizing and correcting all your form fields.

  1. Find Unmarked Annotations: Open the ‘Accessibility Tags’ window. Click ‘Options’, choose ‘Find’ and search for ‘Unmarked Annotations’.
  2. Tag Form Elements: These will appear under a new section. Tag them.
  3. Add Placeholders: Create blank ‘p’ tags for each field. Move name, email, and address into these.
  4. Final Check: Run Jaws or any screen reader to ensure correct naming of all form fields.
Ensuring all form elements are tagged and moved to the correct place in a PDF

Result

After these steps, screen readers will identify each form field clearly. For example, ‘Applicant 1 Name’, ‘Applicant 2 Name’ and so on. This adds clarity for users.

Running a screen reader to ensure correct naming of all form fields

The Value of Unique Tooltips

Creating unique tooltips for each form field boosts user experience. They improve accessibility and help to make PDFs compliant with standards like PDF UA and Section 508. Remember, creating accessible documents is all in the details!

I can be your accessibility expert. 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!

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