Enhancing accessibility of PDF documents
This video provides an overview of enhancing the accessibility of PDF documents. It covers 10 themes with 20 tips in total. The 10 themes include: Source document properties, Initial accessibility check, Tagging, Reading order, Graphics, Hyperlinks, Use of colour, Document information, File sharing, and Follow-up accessibility check.
This video is one in the IDEALeaders Self-Learning Series on the Co-Creation of Virtual Learning Accessibility. It is one of the deliverables of the Project entitled “Promoting accessibility of virtual teaching and learning through a train-the-trainer approach” funded by the UGC Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning in 2021-2023.
English captions are available.
Timestamps of the chapters:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 01:53 Source document properties
- 09:40 Initial accessibility check
- 14:18 Tagging
- 24:01 Reading order
- 28:16 Graphics
- 32:02 Hyperlinks
- 36:37 Use of colour
- 42:50 Document information
- 49:12 File sharing
- 51:26 Follow-up accessibility check
- 52:56 Disclaimer
Suggested citation:
Ma, G. Y. K., Cheung, M. H. K., Choi, C., & Yeung, P. P. S. (2023). Enhancing accessibility of PDF documents. [Video]. IDEALeaders Self-learning Series: Co-creation of virtual learning accessibility. HKU Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.25442/hku.22993328
Virtual Learning Accessibility Toolkit: PDF version and Website version
References listed in the video:
- Accessibility features in PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. Adobe.
- Create and verify PDF accessibility in Adobe Acrobat. Adobe.
- Creating accessible PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. Adobe.
- PDF Accessibility. WebAIM.
- PDF Accessibility. California State University, Northridge.
- PDF Techniques. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Points to note:
- This video is intended to serve as a general guide for creating accessible digital materials and virtual learning environment. The recommended practices in this video are not exhaustive or the best solutions for each situation. Teaching and learning practices might vary across academic disciplines, as well as individual preferences and needs. The recommended practices need to be fit and applied to various disciplinary contexts and authentic practices.
- Please be aware that fulfilling all the practices suggested by this video would not guarantee “full accessibility”. Use your own best judgment. Always be aware of and respect the diverse access needs of different individuals.
- This video does not contain any business promotion elements.
- Software, programmes, and operating systems are constantly and rapidly developing along with changing accessibility functions. Statements in this video about the functions of any software, programmes, and operating systems may no longer represent their current status.
- It is possible that the hyperlinks of the cited resources in this video might be edited or removed by the corresponding contributors after the publication of this video.
- The recommended practices in this video are basically about accessibility to people with disabilities. However, the practices are central to good teaching and learning practices and will benefit all users regardless of disability status.