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Checking PDF Accessibility with Adobe Acrobat

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This article is for Faculty who need to check and improve the accessibility of scanned PDF documents. Using Adobe's Accessibility Check feature allows faculty to verify PDF files meet accessibility standards for students with disabilities. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat already installed on your Mac or PC, sign in at Adobe. Choose the option for Continue with Google, select the Enterprise ID option, and enter your CSUEB credentials to login when prompted. It is recommended to find electronic versions of sources for PDFs and run accessibility reports on those documents rather than uploading scanned and unchecked copies into Canvas.


1. Open Your Scanned PDF Inside Adobe Acrobat Reader.

(1) Right click the document, (2) select Open With, (3) choose Adobe Acrobat.

(1) Right click the document, (2) select Open With, (3) choose Adobe Acrobat.

2. Select Accessibility and Run the Accessibility Check

2.1. Select the Accessibility Tool from the Tool Bar on the Right.

Select the Accessibility Tool from the Tool Bar on the Right.

If you don't see the Accessibility tool, select the more tools option at the bottom of the tool list on the bottom right-hand side.

2.2. Select More Tools and Scroll Down to Protect & Standardize

Select Add under the Accessibility tool.

Select More Tools and Scroll Down to Protect & Standardize. Select Add under the Accessibility tool.

Select the button again when it displays the word "Open."

Select the button again when it displays the word "Open."

2.3. Choose the Checkmark Icon Labeled Accessibility Check from the Right - Hand Panel

Choose the Checkmark Icon Labeled Accessibility Check from the Right - Hand Panel

2.4. Keep All the Boxes Checked in the Options Pop-Up Menu

Select the Start Checking button in the bottom right corner.

Select the Start Checking button in the bottom right corner.

3. Review and Correct Document Issues

Select chevrons beside categories in the left Accessibility Checker panel to review document issues.

Select chevrons beside categories in the left Accessibility Checker panel to review document issues.

3.1. Select Categories Marked with Red X's

Selecting a Failed category will highlight its text in blue. You can right click the failed issue to show and choose the "Fix" option.

3.2. Additionally, You Can Select the Options Icon to Fix the Issue

(1) Choose the option box with the inverted arrow, then (2) select Fix.

(1) Choose the option box with the inverted arrow, then (2) select Fix.

Adobe Acrobat Fixes the issue, then displays a "Passed" label when complete.  Select the remaining "Failed" issues, then (repeat steps 3.1 - 3.2)  choose Fix by selecting the option icon in the upper left corner.

Adobe Acrobat Fixes the issue, then displays a "Passed" label when complete.

Looking at the above image, for categories such as Primary language and Title, Adobe will prompt faculty to enter information into the respective fields.

Creating accessible documents is in iterative process. Please access Using the Scan & OCR Feature on PDF's in Adobe Acrobat to learn how to use Adobe Acrobat to turn scans or photos of paper documents into searchable PDF's with selectable links.

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