Oftentimes, when textbook images are scanned as PDFs, they are saved as “images” instead of “text,” which makes them inaccessible to students using screen-readers or text read aloud options. Follow the steps below to check your PDFs for accessibility and convert them as necessary.
Check Your Document for Accessibility
The following are a couple of ways you can check the accessibility of a document.
- Try clicking and dragging to select text using your mouse. If you cannot highlight the specific lines of text, it is an image file and it is not accessible.
- Try using a “read aloud” feature with your PDF. If the feature cannot detect text on the page, it is likely an image file, and not accessible.
If your document passes the accessibility tests, no further action is required. If not, follow the steps below to convert your PDF into an accessible document.
Convert your Document, as Necessary
There are also many ways to convert PDFs into accessible documents. The option below outlines a way you can do it for free through our Microsoft License.
- Save the PDF to your computer (desktop, downloads, or elsewhere). The key here is to remember where you saved it.
- Open the desktop version of Microsoft Word. You will know it is the desktop version, when you can see the Word application also running on your computer:
- Open a blank Word document.
- From the ribbon at the top of the screen, select File, then Open. Navigate to find where you had saved your document onto your computer and select your PDF.
- If you are prompted with a message asking what type of file you are converting from, select PDF.
You should now see your PDF converted into a Word document as text. Once you Enable Editing at the top of the screen, you will be able to make edits to the text or formatting as needed.
You should run the accessibility checker and fix any issues. Click the Review tab on the ribbon and then Check Accessibility:
Once any desired edits are made, save this new Word document, and distribute the document to the students as needed.