Overview
If you distribute PDF documents to students or post PDFs online, they must be made accessible before being posted so they work effectively with screen readers such as VoiceOver or Windows Narrator. A document or application is considered accessible if meets certain technical criteria and can be used by people with disabilities such as mobility impaired, blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, or who have cognitive impairments. USD policy on digital accessibility
Please click the PDF Remediation Request button on this page to request remediation of a single document.
Please review the Digital Accessibility Resource Guide
Benefits
Introduction to PDF Accessibility
There are many things that can be done in native document applications to support accessibility, such as adding alternative text for images; defining structural headings, lists, and data tables; providing document language; and setting document properties such as titles. Desktop publishing applications such as Adobe InDesign support these features, as well as other word processing applications such as Microsoft Word. Google Docs is not recommended as an authoring tool for exporting as a PDF.
Review the Guidelines for Accessible Documents. The easiest way to create an accessible document is to start with the authoring software it was originally created with such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, or Google Doc.
Recommended authoring software with built-in accessibility checkers
- Microsoft Word
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Adobe InDesign
- FoxIt PDF Editor
Tutorials to convert documents to PDF
PDF Remediation Tutorials
Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning for assistance with PDF remediation
Contact the Service Desk for Adobe Acrobat Pro
Target Completion Date
This is a Self Service available to use as needed
Available To
Faculty
Cost
There is no cost for this service. Contact the Service Desk for Adobe Acrobat Pro
Policies
USD Accessibility Policy