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Create Accessible PDFs

Overview

Chances are that at least some of the readings you assign to your students, or the slides you upload to your course site, are in PDF form. However, PDFs can often be inaccessible. Adobe’s page What is an accessible PDF? shares that accessible PDFs prioritize inclusivity and provide a better user experience for individuals with disabilities. UCLA’s Disabilities and Computing Programs also provides step-by-step guidance on creating accessible PDFs. Take a moment to review this guidance and then check the Ally scores for some of the PDFs you upload to your course site.. Are your course PDFs accessible or inaccessible?

How to Create Accessible PDFs

Start with accessible documents

If you are converting documents to PDF format and sharing them with your students (such as your syllabus), make sure that the original document is accessible before you convert the file.

Leganto, also known as the “Course Reading List” in Bruin Learn, is a tool that allows instructors to create lists of resources for their courses and share these lists efficiently with their students and Library staff. Leganto reading lists can include both Library-owned texts and external resources such as websites, videos, audio files, and more. All Leganto reading lists that are submitted to the Library are processed as course reserve requests. Using Leganto helps support digital accessibility of course materials.

Learn more about how to use “Course Reading List” (Leganto) in partnership with UCLA Library to support digital accessibility.

Find alternatives for your students

If you have an inaccessible PDF of a resource that you assign, like a journal article or portion of a book, look for an accessible version of the same file. You can do this by going back to the publisher’s site, or through the UCLA library.

Make your PDFs accessible

You can choose to make your PDFs accessible by following the instructions from Adobe: Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

Note that this is a work intensive and time consuming process, so it is worth searching for an alternative accessible version before embarking on remediation. Adobe provides an in-depth recorded webinar on PDF remediation that can also support your skill development. Also see Adobe instructions on accessible PDFs.

Summary & Key Takeaways

Avoid PDFs if possible: In general, PDFs can be the most challenging when it comes to digital accessibility. When other alternatives are available – creating the document as a website/course page, Word document, or Google document – use those alternatives.
Create accessible documents in other tools before saving as a PDF. Use “save” or “export to PDF” (not “print to PDF”, unless you are printing). If you are creating a document that will be shared as a PDF, ensure that you are first creating it in adherence to digital accessibility guidelines before saving as a PDF. Correcting a PDF is much more difficult than correcting a document in other formats.
If the PDF is authored by someone else, use the accessibility checker and search for other versions of the same document that are more accessible. Publishers often have an accessible version of the document or may create one upon request.
Delete older versions, duplicates, and unused PDFs from your Bruin Learn course site. These files will decrease your course accessibility score.
Consider using a Course Reading List (Leganto) in partnership with the UCLA Library: Learn more about how to use “Course Reading List” (Leganto) in partnership with UCLA Library to support digital accessibility.