PDF Remediation for Accessibility

A photograph of hands typing on a computer keyboard.

Meeting the PDF Accessibility Challenge

Ease of creation and convenience have made PDFs a very prolific electronic document type across the internet. But, as with webpages, PDFs also need to meet accessibility requirements in order to serve users dependent on assistive technologies.

Before you go through this process, consider if PDF is the right format for your content:

Does it need to be printed with a specific format? Printing is PDF's real reason for existence.
Will people need to look at this on mobile devices? PDFs do not resize to fit the device they are on, and are a very poor choice for general communication.

In most cases, we should be making a web page instead of a PDF, and the tools for making an accessible, mobile-friendly web page are built into our content management system. But, if you absolutely need a printable document, then carry on.

Throughout this page you will find tutorials and resources to help you in creating fully accessible PDFs. The goal for this page is for it to grow over time to add more tips and techniques so that you can better serve those who access your online documents.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is necessary for remediating PDF files. The application is available via Adobe Creative Cloud. If you need assistance in obtaining Adobe Creative Cloud, contact helpdesk@wichita.edu for assistance.

For questions related to PDF remediation, please submit a Support Request via the .

Basic PDF Remediation Basic PDF Form Remediation Advanced PDF Form Remediation Resource Documents

Tutorial 1: Basic PDF Remediation for Accessibility

We recommend watching the video in fullscreen mode so all tools and tags are clearly visible.

Practice Files

Samples of the PDFs presented in the videos are included in downloadable ZIP format. One is a nonremediated version that can be used for practice or to follow along with the video, and the other is a completed version that can be used for structure review.

Basic PDF Practice File - For use in practicing PDF remediation along with the instructional video.

Basic PDF Remediated - a finished version of the Practice File that can be used as a reference.

Basic PDF Remediation, Part One: Introduction and Autotag Method

Basic PDF Remediation, Part Two: Manual Tagging Method

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Tutorial 2: Basic PDF Form Remediation for Accessibility

We recommend watching the videos in fullscreen mode so all tools and tags are clearly visible.

Practice Files

Basic PDF Form Practice File - For use in practicing PDF form remediation along with the instructional videos.

Basic PDF Form Remediated - a finished version of the Practice File that can be used as a reference.

Basic PDF Form Remediation, Part One: Prepare Form

Basic PDF Form Remediation, Part Two: Tags

Basic PDF Form Remediation, Part Three: Reading Order and Final Corrections

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Tutorial 3: Advanced PDF Form Remediation for Accessibility

We recommend watching the videos in fullscreen mode so all tools and tags are clearly visible.

Practice Files for Tutorial Videos 1 through 3

Advanced PDF Form Practice File - For use in practicing PDF form remediation along with the instructional videos.

Advanced PDF Form Remediated - a finished version of the Practice File that can be used as a reference.

The Website team would like to wish the Human Resources team a huge "Thank You" for allowing us to use this file for the tutorial.

Tutorial Video 1

Tutorial Video 2

Tutorial Video 3

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Resource Documents

ARC 2020 and Accessibility Summer Camp 2020 Presentation PDFs

ARC 2020 Presentation - Presentation created for 黑洞社区 Faculty and Staff

Accessibility Summer Camp 2020 Presentation - More general presentation, with 黑洞社区-only material removed

Tagging Annotations - How to tag annotations that Autotagging misses.

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