PDF Accessibility
While PDF document accessibility has improved over the past few years, students with print-based disabilities may still find challenges when attempting to interact and read PDF documents due to issues with compatible PDF readers or with how the document was originally authored. Generally speaking, creating accessible PDF documents is easier from Microsoft Office applications, Adobe InDesign, or other word-processing applications rather than fixing the PDF document directly.
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat DC is used by alternate media specialists to edit and manipulate PDF files that have been scanned or provided by publishers. Acrobat can also be used to remediate PDF documents and check if a document has potential accessibility errors.
- Accessibility Repair Workflow
- Using the Accessibility Checker
- Acrobat Accessibility Features
For PDF documents that have many pages and contain multiple accessibility issues, such as incorrect text or lack of a document structure, it may be more effective to process the PDF document using OCR applications. OCR solutions, including OmniPage and Abbyy Finereader, can process large PDF files faster and output documents that require fewer remediation steps.
Equidox
Equidox is a web-based application intended to facilitate the remediation of inaccessible PDF documents into HTML, EPUB, or accessible PDF versions. The CCC Accessibility Center has acquired a limited number of licenses for California Community Colleges staff. At this time, licenses are limited to approximately three to four per college. To gain access to Equidox, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a request for Equidox.
It is strongly recommended that college staff do not upload documents containing Protected Health Information (PHI) or other content associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Due to the nature in which documents are stored, this information does not meet legal privacy requirements.
Importing, uploading, opening, and saving a document in Equidox
This video will walk you through the basics of getting a file into Equidox and begin editing the document for accessibility conversion.
Zoning, Previewing, and Reading Order in Equidox
This video will walk you through how to zone various areas within a file using Equidox. Results can be viewed as a sample in HTML, and the reading order can be quickly adjusted while using Equidox.
Exporting a document in Equidox
This video will walk you through the export process of Equidox. Files can be exported as PDF, HTML, or ePub.