The Alt Media Files | Accommodations for Students | Episode 3

Ensuring accessibility in education creates inclusive learning environments. Many textbooks exist only as scanned or image-based PDFs, making them difficult to access for screen readers or visually impaired students. This episode of The Alt Media files shows how to make appropriate accommodations for students by converting a PDF into an accessible Microsoft Word document with enlarged font and simplified formatting.

Video Guide

Understand the Challenge

Image-based textbooks do not allow direct editing or font resizing because they contain images rather than selectable text. To address this, users must apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert images into editable text. However, high-resolution scans often result in large file sizes that can crash OCR software or slow down processing.

Reduce PDF File Size

Large files, such as those reaching 300,000 KB, often cause performance issues. To handle this, open the file in Adobe Acrobat and use the “Save as Reduced Size PDF” option in the menu. Keep the existing quality settings to preserve legibility. Reducing the file size to approximately 20,000 KB significantly improves software performance during OCR processing.

Use ABBYY FineReader for OCR

After optimizing the file size, right-click the PDF and select “Convert with ABBYY FineReader.” Choose “Open in OCR Editor” to begin processing the document. ABBYY FineReader scans each page and converts image-based text into editable content.

Some pages may require manual zoning. You can define text areas manually to ensure accurate recognition when ABBYY struggles to detect structure automatically.

Export the Text

ABBYY FineReader allows exporting the processed text in several formats:

• Exact Copy: Maintains original layout but may introduce formatting issues such as cut-off text.
• Editable Copy: Provides better text flow, allowing easier editing in Word.
• Plain Text: Removes formatting and offers a clean layout, ideal for accessibility adjustments.

In this guide, plain text proved to be the most effective export format for font resizing and readability.

Adjust Font Size

After exporting to Microsoft Word, press Ctrl+A to select all text. Change the font size to 18-point to improve readability for students with visual impairments. If necessary, adjust margins or spacing for a better layout, although minor imperfections typically do not hinder usability.

Save the Final Document

Once you adjust the font size, save the Word document. Review the final content to confirm it retains all necessary information and appears readable. Share the document with students or upload it to an accessible learning platform.

Conclusion

By reducing the file size, applying OCR with ABBYY FineReader, and formatting the final output in Word, you can convert image-based textbooks into accessible and readable documents. This process ensures that all students, regardless of visual ability, can access educational materials in an inclusive format.

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!