Accessible PDFs

Types of PDFs

First, it is important to note that there are two different types of PDFs:

  1. Image-based

  2. Text-based

Text-based PDFs can be read by screen reading software, while image-based PDFs cannot.

Saving a Word Doc as a PDF

It is suggested that you create PDF documents from accessible Word documents. If the Word document itself is accessible, then all of the metadata and coding will remain in the document when it is saved as a PDF.

To save a Word document as a PDF:

  • Click "File", then "Save As". This will open the Save As dialog box.

  • From the "Save as type" drop-down menu in the dialog box, select PDF.

  • Before saving, click "Options..." and ensure that "Create bookmarks using:" is checked and "Headings" is selected.

  • Click "OK" to save.

What if I have a scanned PDF of a document?

Scanned PDFs are usually image-based, so it is important to extract the text. This can easily be done by opening the PDF in Microsoft Word.

  • Navigate to where the PDF document is saved on the computer and click it once to select it.

  • After it's been selected, right-click the file and select "Open with". Select Microsoft Word.

  • An alert window will open. Click "OK".

Converting from PDF to Word may take some time, depending on the size of the document. When the document has finished converting, clear all formatting.

  • Select the entire document by pressing the "Ctrl" and "A" keys on the keyboard simultaneously.

  • In the "Font" group of the "Home" tab in Word, click the icon with a capital "A" and a pink eraser. Hovering over this icon should bring up the text "Clear All Formatting"

You will discover that OCR (optical character recognition) technology is not perfect. There will be mistakes in the resulting Word document, so now you'll want to go through and edit it for accuracy. Having the original available as a reference will help during this step. Don't forget to look back on how to make Microsoft Word documents accessible if needed.

Once the Word document is accessible, follow the instructions in the second subsection of this page "Saving a Word Doc as a PDF" to convert the document to an accessible PDF.

Still Need Assistance with PDFs?

If you still need some more direction with creating accessible PDFs, you can contact cfar@linnbenton.edu or call 541-917-4789 for more information.