To be accessible to people using alternative access, PDFs need to be remediated. This involves reviewing the document’s metadata to ensure the document can be accurately interpreted by the alternative access technology (e.g., screen readers). The more accessibility built into documents during their creation, the less remediation they require later.
Ways You Can Help
Here are some things we can all do to help documents be more accessible:
Weave Accessibility in From the Beginning
Where and how you start lays the groundwork for an accessible document. The structure you build carries through to the PDF. The most dependable tools for saving a document as a PDF are MS Word, Adobe InDesign, and PowerPoint. Google Docs is okay. Google Slides, Canva, and Adobe Illustrator cannot yet produce accessible PDFs.
- Apply headings and lists correctly
- This is about structure for the screen reader to follow, not about how it looks. Use built-in heading styles to create a clear document hierarchy. Use the list tool for lists.
- Use legible text size
- 12-14 point is recommended for body text
- 18 point is recommended for large print materials
- Use descriptive links
- Ensure links are contextual and meaningful. Avoid generic link phrases like “here” or “read more”. For example, “visit the NWACS website” instead of “learn more here.”
- Use true text, not images of text
- Avoid using screenshots or scanned images of text (including tables, graphs, etc.), as screen readers see those as images. Screen readers need text directly on the page that can be selectable.
- If you feel it is important to use an image of some text or a chart to demonstrate your point, remember to insert alt text to explain the image.
- Add meaningful alt text for any images as you put them in the document
- Describe any images in the document
- Mark any purely decorative images as decorative
- Be mindful with tables
- Keep tables simple and use clear headers
- Be mindful with columns
- Keep it simple; avoid jumping the reader around the page
- Check color contrast before exporting to PDF
- Be sure that all text and visual elements meet contrast requirements so low-vision users can still access the content. Use a tool such as WebAIM Contrast Checker to help with this.
- Add the document title in document properties
- For example, in MS Word:
- go to File > Properties
- select ‘Summary’ and add the title in the appropriate box
- For example, in MS Word:
A Note on Emojis as Bullet Points
It can feel fun to use emojis in place of bullet points. But, doing so causes accessibility problems.
- Emojis carry meta-data (like any image). This information usually describes the emoji. When a screen reader reads out the emoji it will read the text description assigned to that emoji, immediately followed by the text that follows the emoji. For example, “grinning face with big eyes Accessibility creates a good experience for everyone.” Imagine several in succession! The emoji alt text is time consuming, repetitive, and noisy. It distracts and can confuse.
- Using emojis as bullet points means the content will not be programmed as a list, so the screen reader user will not understand that the items are a list.
- We all interpret emojis differently. This may result in confusing the message you are trying to communicate.
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