Accessible by Design
PDF Documents from MS Word
Overview
A universally designed PDF is created in a way that allows various types of technology
to interact with it. 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 speechto-text or screen-reader software.
"Accessible PDF" refers to "tagged" PDF files, though there is more to an accessible
PDF than tags. PDF tags provide a hidden structured, textual representation of the
PDF content that is presented to screen-reader users. The tags exist for accessibility
purposes only and have not visible effect on the PDF file.
Before Conversion
Ensure that the Source Document is Accessible
Many steps taken with an original document will carry over to the PDF document when
it is created. Refer to Creating Universally Designed Word 2010 Documents, Creating
Universally Designed Word 2013 Documents, Creating Universally Designed
PowerPoint Documents.
Office 2010/2013 users can create tagged PDF files with the Adobe Acrobat plugin
(preferred) or natively from the File ribbon. The file must be exported correctly. If a file
is created by printing to PDF, it will not be correctly tagged.
Configure Acrobat Toolbar
1. Click on Acrobat on the MS Office Ribbon. Click on Preferences
2. Check the box for Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF if
not already checked.
Convert to PDF
Use “Save as Adobe PDF”
Click on File, then Save as Adobe PDF.
Use “Create PDF”
Switch to the Acrobat Ribbon and select Create PDF.
Avoid “Print to PDF”
The “Adobe PDF” printer is a bad option for accessibility. It does not save any of the
work done in the original document. Use one of the two other two options above.
Conversion without Acrobat Toolbar
File  Save As  Save as type: PDF
Click on “Options” and select:
 (Page range) “All”
 (Publish what) “Document”
 (Include non-printing information) “Create Bookmarks Using Headings”,
“Document Properties”, “Document structure tags for accessibility”.
After Conversion (Adobe Acrobat Pro)
Once the PDF is created, there are additional steps that will enhance accessibility.
Some of them are listed below.
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.
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.
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.
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.
3. Select the Use Document Structure option:
PDF Accessibility Check (Adobe Acrobat Pro)
Tools  Accessibility  Accessibility Full Check
 List of accessibility barriers will appear on left side of screen.
 right click on a figure that has been identified as “Failed” and click “Fix”
Using the Adobe Acrobat XI Accessibility Checker
(http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/accessibility/products/acrobat/
pdfs/acrobat-xi-accessibility-checker.pdf)
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