Creating Universally Designed PDFs from
Microsoft Office with Adobe Acrobat XI
Overview
It is simple to convert Microsoft Office documents to PDF using Adobe Acrobat, but not all PDFs are
created equally. A universally designed PDF is created in a way that allows various types of technology
to interact with it. This means that readers can select the text, copy and paste, search the document,
navigate it using a Table of Contents or just a keyboard, and listen to it using text-to-speech or screen
reading software.
By adding some extra steps to your PDF creation workflow both before and after conversion, you can
create documents that are more usable for everyone, including those with disabilities. This guide walks
you through the most important aspects of improving your converted PDFs.
Before Conversion
Make the Source Document Accessible First
When converting from Microsoft Office, make the document accessible in the original format first. See
our other Quick Start Guides (http://atrc.colostate.edu/1quickstart-guides.aspx) for how to do this in
Word 2010, Word 2013, and PowerPoint 2010. Many of the steps taken with the original document will
carry over to the PDF when it is created.
Configure the Acrobat Toolbar Options
1. Before converting a document, make sure the following setting is checked in your Acrobat
toolbar. Click on Acrobat on the Microsoft Office Ribbon, then click on Preferences.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
1
2. Check the checkbox that says Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF if not
already checked.
Convert to PDF
There are three ways to convert to PDF using the Acrobat plugin in Office. Only two of these maintain
the work that you have put into your original document.
Avoid “Print to PDF”
The “Adobe PDF” printer that shows up along with your other printers is a bad option for accessibility. It
does not save any of the work you have done in the original document. Use one of the two following
options instead.
Use “Save as Adobe PDF”
Click on File, then Save as Adobe PDF.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
2
Use “Create PDF”
A second good option is to use the Acrobat toolbar ribbon. Switch to the Acrobat Ribbon and select
Create PDF.
After Conversion
Once your PDF is created, it should open automatically in Adobe Acrobat XI. The conversion process is
not perfect, so there are a few items to fix within Acrobat itself.
Set the Document Title
By default, PDFs display the file’s name at the top of the page rather than the title. This is the part of the
document that screen reading software reads first, so a long or meaningless file name may confuse or
frustrate a listener. To fix this:
1. In the File Menu, select Properties.
2. On the Description tab, type the document title in the Title field.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
3
3. Switch to the Initial View tab in the same menu.
4. In the Show dropdown menu, change the selection from File Name to Document Title.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
4
Set the Document Language
Screen readers look at the document properties to determine the pronunciation they should use while
reading the document. In order to set the language of your pdf:
1. Click on File and select Properties.
2. In the Advanced Tab of the Properties window, use the Language Drop-down Menu to select
the language.
Note: If your document contains more than one language, set the overall document language to the one
most commonly used. You can still mark individual passages to be read in another language. How to do
this is beyond the scope of this Quick Start Guide.
Check the Reading Order
Screen readers and text-to-speech software look at the Tags of a PDF to determine the correct reading
order of the page. Tags define the Document Structure, and also generate a Table of Contents.
Unfortunately, Tags generated during conversion are not always in the correct order. This is especially
true with images, which are often lumped together at the end of each page. This means they will be
described all at once, out of context.
To check the Reading Order, use the Check Order Panel in the Accessibility Toolbar.
1. To activate the Accessibility Toolbar, click on View > Tools > Accessibility.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
5
2. It will open in the Tools Pane on the right-hand side of the document.
3. Expand the Accessibility Toolbar, and select TouchUp Reading Order.
4. In the new window that pops up, click on Show Order Panel.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
6
5. The Order Panel will show up in the Navigation Pane on the left side of the screen. Expand a
page number to see its tags. These numbers correspond to the boxes that now appear in your
document, showing the order in which the items will be read.
6. If they are incorrect, Select and Drag the numbers into the right order using the Order Panel.
7. Check each page in the document, and don’t forget to save.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
7
Set the Tab Order
Some readers use a keyboard to navigate the document instead of a mouse or a screen reader. For
keyboard users, the Tab Order is just as important as the Tag Order that you just fixed in the previous
section. There is one extra setting to make sure that the two match.
1. In the Page Thumbnails navigation pane on the left side of the document, select all pages. You
can do this by Clicking on one of the thumbnails, then simultaneously pressing the Ctrl and A
keys.
2. Click on the Page Thumbnail dropdown menu in the navigation pane. Select Page Properties.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
8
3. Select the Use Document Structure option:
Run an Accessibility Report
Finally, Adobe Acrobat has an accessibility checker that will catch problems you may have missed. It also
gives instructions on fixing any issues detected.
1. In the Accessibility Toolbar on the right side of the screen, select the option Full Check. (Don’t
use the Quick Check as it does not detect problems!)
2. Accept the default options for the search and click Start Checking.
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
9
3. The results are displayed in the Navigation pane on the left side of the document. Expand each
category to see more details. (There may be issues detected that are not covered in this guide.)
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
10
4. If you need more information on fixing an issue, right-click on it and select Explain. This opens a
Help page on Adobe’s website that explains how to fix the problem.
Further Resources
Accessibility By Design (http://accessibility.colostate.edu)
WebAIM (http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/)
Adobe - In-Depth Accessibility Guide (PDF Download)
Assistive Technology Resource Center
Colorado State University
Allison Kidd
June 2014
http://atrc.colostate.edu
http://accessibility.colostate.edu
11