For PDF training, please look at the free microlearning models below.
Accessible document structure allows a screen reader to read a PDF out loud properly. It also allows a mobile device to reflow and display the document on a small screen correctly. Similarly, the preset tab order of an accessible PDF form helps all users—not just users who rely on the keyboard—complete the form more easily. The best recommendation is to AVOID creating PDF files and create digital web-based documents or WORD Documents.
Do not use headers or footers
Do not use footnotes - incorporate any and all important information into the main content text itself
Break up complicated, multitopic tables into separate tables
Utilize headings to improve document navigation in screenreader applications greatly
Avoid using scanned PDFs - they are actually images instead of text, require Optical Character Recognition to translate to text, and the worse the quality of the scan, the less effective (therefore, less accessible) the end result will be
Here are ten modules about two-minute-long tutorials from Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, who kicked off the 12th annual FREE Ability Summit. These simple step-by-step tutorials target specific flagged items that may need to be remediated as you create your PDF:
- PDF Accessibility: Using the Accessibility Checker
- PDF Accessibility: Reading Order
- PDF Accessibility: Headings
- PDF Accessibility: Tagged PDF
- PDF Accessibility: Bookmarks
- PDF Accessibility: Images
- PDF Accessibility: Color Contrast
- PDF Accessibility: Navigation Links
- PDF Accessibility: Lists
- PDF Accessibility: Tables
The National Clearinghouse of Rehab tutorials are also FREE and available for public access: