Working with PDFs: Checking and Repairing Accessibility

Reading with Tabs | Videos | Quick Check

PDFs are widely used because they preserve layout and can be opened on nearly any device. That same stability can be helpful—or harmful—depending on how the file was created. This page focuses on how to evaluate PDFs for accessibility and what to do when problems appear.

Review the tabs below for your preferred software:

Understanding PDFs and Accessibility

A PDF (Portable Document Format) preserves the visual layout of a document across devices. Accessibility depends not on appearance, but on whether the underlying structure—headings, reading order, links, tables, and alternative text—has been preserved.

Accessible PDFs typically begin with accessible source files. When structure is missing or damaged, the PDF may look fine while remaining difficult or impossible to navigate with assistive technology.

OCR and Scanned PDFs

Scanned PDFs are images of text. Without Optical Character Recognition (OCR), they are unreadable to screen readers and cannot be searched or selected.

OCR converts visual text into real text data. While OCR improves access, it does not guarantee accuracy or proper structure—human review is still required.

Selectable, searchable text suggests OCR is present
Accessibility checkers help identify missing tags and reading order issues
Complex layouts often require manual correction

Repair Strategies

Confirm whether the source document is available and accessible
Use OCR when working with scanned files
Run an accessibility checker to identify structural issues
Review reading order, headings, links, and alternative text

Some PDFs—especially long, complex, or legacy documents—may require professional remediation. This page focuses on common scenarios and realistic decision-making.

Accessing Adobe Software at GCCCD

Faculty, students, and staff can sign in to Adobe with their @gcccd credentials on college-owned computers on campus. For personal devices, log in to Adobe Creative Cloud to verify access. As a general rule, full-time faculty are provided Adobe licenses, whereas part-time faculty need to request a license.

To check/request access:

The Adobe home screen will show what apps are available.
If a faculty member does not have access to Adobe already on their personal device, the current process is to request access by submitting this Adobe software request form.

Older personal devices may not be supported due to outdated hardware and software. The district help desks do not provide support for personal devices for liability reasons.

Questions? Contact the Help Desk!

Three Ways to Repair/Remediate PDFs

Review the following sections that are relevant to you; expand panels by clicking on topics:

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat Pro can identify and repair many common PDF accessibility problems. Automated results are a starting point; reading order, alternate text, tables, and overall usability still require human review.

Getting Started:

Open Your PDF in Adobe Acrobat:
- Launch Adobe Acrobat.
- Open the PDF file you wish to make accessible.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Perform an Accessibility Check:
- Select All tools, then Prepare for accessibility.
- Select Check for accessibility, choose the checks you need, and start the check.
- Review every result, including items marked Needs Manual Check. A passing automated check does not guarantee that the PDF is fully usable.
Add or Edit Document Title:
- In the Accessibility Checker panel, find “Document Title”.
- If it’s flagged, add a title by going to “File,” then “Properties,” and fill in the “Title” field.
Ensure Proper Tagging of the Document:
- In the Accessibility Checker, look for “Logical Reading Order” and “Tagged PDF” issues.
- Use the “Tags” panel to add or edit tags. Tags are like HTML tags that provide structure (headings, paragraphs, lists).
Set Language:
- Go to “File,” then “Properties.”
- In the “Advanced” tab, set the default language.
Alternative Text for Images:
- Under Prepare for accessibility, choose Set alternate text.
- Write a concise description for each meaningful image and mark decorative images appropriately.
- For complex images, provide an equivalent detailed explanation in the document or an accessible linked resource.
Check Color Contrast:
- Ensure text is easily readable against its background.
- Use online color contrast checkers if needed.
Review and Edit Reading Order:
- Use All tools → Prepare for accessibility → Fix reading order.
- Ensure the content flows logically.

The video below demonstrates how accessibility issues surface in PDFs and how tools like Adobe Acrobat can be used to inspect and repair them. Facilitated by Adelle Roe at Grossmont College. Recorded November 19, 2024. (Length: 21:26)

Please note that you can access captions [CC] and even slow down or speed up the video using the settings at the bottom right of the video; it looks like a gear icon.

For a briefer perspective/explanation, Angela Feres demos Adobe Acrobat here (length: 7:19).

Please note that you can access captions [CC] and even slow down or speed up the video using the settings at the bottom right of the video; it looks like a gear icon.

Adelle Roe demos Adobe conversion of a scanned document here (length: 3:32):

Please note that you can access captions [CC] and even slow down or speed up the video using the settings at the bottom right of the video; it looks like a gear icon.

AI-Assisted Text Recovery (Use Caution)

An approved AI tool may help extract text or draft an image description, but it does not remediate the PDF. Do not upload student records, confidential information, or restricted material. Follow district guidance, and verify the complete output against the original.

If district policy permits, upload a non-sensitive file or image to an approved tool.
Ask it to extract the text verbatim or describe a specific image, then compare the result with the original page by page.

AI output can omit text, change wording, or invent missing material—especially when a sentence ends at a page break. Treat it as a draft and double-check every line.

The following preserved example shows an AI-generated draft for a complex image containing text. A faculty member would still need to verify every quotation, relationship, and conclusion and then edit the description for the image’s instructional purpose.

Complex image described in detail below Chat GPT: This appears to be from an educational or informative document about "Reducing the spread of conspiracy theories." The text on the left side of the image explains that preventive measures should be taken to protect the public from exposure to conspiracy theories. It mentions that the sharing of conspiratorial climate-denial posts on Facebook was reduced by an intervention that prompted people to ask themselves four questions about the material before sharing it:

Do I recognize the news organization that posted the story?
Does the information in the post seem believable?
Is the post written in a style that I expect from a professional news organization?
Is the post politically motivated?

These questions are highlighted in a blue box to draw attention.

Below this box, the text continues to say that if efforts to contain the spread of conspiracy theories fail, communicators must turn to strategies that mitigate the impact of such theories.

On the right side, there is an image of a social media post from "InfoWars" dated July 17 at 3:19 PM. The post includes a photo of former Vice President Al Gore with a caption provided by InfoWars, which reads: "Former Vice President Al Gore has exposed the 'climate change' movement as an ideologically driven 'hoax science' aimed at creating a United Nations carbon tax to redistribute income internationally by insisting global cooling is what we should expect from global warming." Below the caption, there's the InfoWars.com logo and a headline that says "Al Gore Insists Global Warming Causes Global Cooling." The social media interface shows the options to Like, Comment, and Share, as well as indicating that the post has 148 reactions, 31 shares, and the comment section is set to "Most Relevant."

This seems to be used as an example of the type of content that the text is advising the reader to critically evaluate before sharing, in order to prevent the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Google

Dawn Heuft shows us how Google can help to make PDFs accessible (length: 4:59):

Please note that you can access captions [CC] and even slow down or speed up the video using the settings at the bottom right of the video; it looks like a gear icon.

Quick Check

Which statement best reflects how PDF accessibility works?

PDF accessibility usually starts with the source file and must be verified in the finished PDF.: Correct: Strong source structure helps, but export can lose information and complex PDFs may still need manual remediation.
Visual appearance determines whether a PDF is accessible.: Accessibility relies on structure, not visual layout.

Check Answer

Adobe Acrobat Guides

Connection

Because PDFs don’t easily reveal their structure, accessibility issues can go unnoticed. Understanding what’s happening “under the hood” helps you make more informed decisions about whether a PDF is usable as-is or needs a different approach.

Hear Why a PDF Needs Text and Structure

A PDF may show readable words on screen while containing only a picture of those words.

Image-only PDF

Transcript

“Blank. End of document.”

There is no usable text or structure for the assistive technology to follow.

Readable, structured PDF

Transcript

“Heading level one, Safety procedures. List, three items. Wear eye protection. Keep exits clear. Report spills.”

The text and its organization are available for navigation.

Exact announcements vary by screen reader, PDF viewer, document tags, and user settings. OCR can recover text, but structure still needs verification.