Pillar: Accessible Documents, Presentations, and PDFs
Pillar: Accessible Documents, Presentations, & PDFs
What and Why
Accessible documents, presentations, and PDFs enable all users to read and navigate information easily. Screen reader technologies rely on properly structured documents to correctly relay information to users. Features of accessible documents, presentations, and PDFs include clear headings, readable fonts, and alternative text for images. Accessible content also benefits neurodiverse individuals by providing a well-structured and easy to follow format.
Accessible Documents Best Practices
Microsoft Word Best Practices
- Choose readable sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri.
- Use a minimum font size of 12pt for body text.
- Use paragraph breaks (Press “Return” or “Enter”) instead of line breaks (Press “Shift” + “Enter”).
- Apply the 7 Pillars
- Use inline, not floating, images and tables.
- Run the accessibility checker in Word regularly to resolve any identified issues.
Microsoft PowerPoint Best Practices
- Choose readable sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri.
- Use a minimum font size of 24-30 pt for presentation slides (30 for headings).
- Avoid selecting a blank slide and adding text boxes to it. Instead, select the “New Slide” option from the Home tab and choose an appropriate slide layout from the menu (e.g., Section Header, Two Content slide).
- To confirm that objects (images, text boxes, icons) on your slides will be read in the correct order by a screen reader, use the Accessibility Checker to check "reading order”. Don’t use the auto advancing of slides feature.
- Apply the 7 Pillars
- Run the accessibility checker in PowerPoint regularly to resolve any identified issues.
PDF Best Practices
- Do not scan paper documents to PDF, as this produces an inaccessible PDF.
- Follow the How Tos (below)
How Tos for Accessible Documents and PDFs
- Microsoft Word and PowerPoint:
- UVA Canvas Pages/Assignments/Quizzes:
- PDF Files
- Create accessible PDFs (read) from existing Microsoft Word documents
- Review existing PDF content. Only make public the PDFs that you will use in a course.
- Replace Existing PDFs
- Locate an accessible “html version” in a Library database.
- Use the Ask a Librarian Chat Box or contact your subject area Library Liaison
- UVA Library Access Services will provide PDF remediation support for Instructional Scanning requests beginning Fall 2025 for course related materials. For further guidance on submitting a chapter/article scan request through Virgo, please review the tutorial to place a “Scan Request for UVA Material”. Contact [email protected] with questions.
- Large batch requests: submit a request to our VHEAP state-contracted vendors (incurs a fee):
- Convert existing PDFs. Try converting your document from a PDF to an accessible Word document or a tagged PDF using SensusAccess in Canvas. Afterwards, manually add Alt Text to images if needed.
- Help Page: Convert a File—Sensus Access (read) or Convert a file—Sensus Access (watch)
- Coming Soon: UVA is currently exploring which “accessibility checker” vendor will best serve our faculty for 2025-2026. Stay tuned for updates on the tool of choice.
Specialized How-To's
- Using PowerPoint templates: Use an accessible presentation template
- Using Tables:
- Microsoft: Create Accessible Tables in Word (watch)
- Canvas: How do I insert a table using the Rich Content Editor? (watch)
- Math, Music, and Logic Notation:
- LaTeX user caution: LaTeX is primarily used to create print documents but does not easily translate into PDFs that are digitally accessible (LaTeX is not yet fully accessible. Additional guidance will be provided in the future).
Remember: Check the Accessibility of Course Content
Streamline & Check the Accessibility of Existing Content
Where can I get support or further training?
Coming soon, Summer 2025: “Faculty Pathways for DA Support”
For faculty designing or managing website content, please review Web Accessibility Tutorials
References
W3C. (2024). How to Meet WCAG-Quick Reference.