Method Software How to Make it Accessible

Convert original MS Office document to PDF file.

Microsoft Office Word, Excel and Powerpoint (MS Windows based only).

  1. Start with a well-structured document, presentation or spreadsheet.
  2. Check the document before creating a PDF. Select the File tab and select Info. Select Check for Issues>Check Accessibility. The checker will progress through your document and provide errors and warnings.
  3. Make necessary corrections to your original file where issues are indicated.
  4. To create the accessible PDF, select the File tab and select Save as. In the Save as type field, select PDF (*.pdf). Enter a file name in the File name field.
  5. Select the Options button and make sure the Document structure tags for accessibility and Create bookmarks using Headings checkboxes are selected.
  6. Select OK and Save. This will tag all of the text formatting, so page headings and lists are correctly interpreted by a screen reader.

Run Adobe Pro Accessibility Checker on PDF files.

Adobe Acrobat Professional (Version X or XI Pro). Visit the NOVA faculty access site for a downloadable version of Adobe software.
  1. Click the Tools tab to open the Accessibility panel on the right hand side. If you do not see it, click the View menu and select Tools>Accessibility.
  2. Under Accessibility, select the Full Check button.
  3. The Accessibility Checker window will open.
    1. Under the Report Options, check on the Create Accessibility Report.
    2. Under the Checking Options section: Category: Document and check all the items.
  4. Select the Start Checking button.
  5. The Accessibility Checker Report will display on the left pane.
  6. Make corrections as indicated in the report and save the updated file.

Note: Read more about automated Accessibility Checkers in Section 11.

Run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) of scanned documents when original source files are not available.

Adobe Acrobat Professional (Version X or XI Pro) files.
  1. Open the scanned PDF file.
  2. Open the Tools panel (click Tools in top right ) and click Text Recognition.
  3. Select In This File and the Reconize Text window will open.
  4. Select the Edit button to adjust OCR settings. Select English (US) for Primary OCR Language, Searchable Image for PDF Output Style, and 600 dpi for Downsample To.
  5. Select OK when done.