Date Last Reviewed:
09/10/2009
Creating accessible pdf's (Word 2003 document)
Accessible pdf from the Word 2003 document
Adobe Accessibility Quick Reference Card -
Preparing Microsoft Word documents to create accessible pdf files (pdf)
The Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act requires Illinois universities to ensure that the information on their web sites is accessible to people with disabilities.
It’s easy to make accessible pdf's from Word 2003 documents. When creating the document, use heading styles and lists. Add alternative text to all images. Make columns and tables using the columns and tables commands.
Use heading styles for all section headings instead of making headings a larger font size. Heading styles are under the ‘Home’ tab. Headings become bookmarks in pdf’s, which are especially useful in long documents.
The headings in this document become bookmarks in the pdf.
If you have a list of items, create a bulleted list instead of a series of paragraphs. For a sequential list, such as steps in a procedure, create a numbered list. Both list options are under the ‘Home’ tab in the Paragraph section.
Right-click the image and choose Size. Go to the Alt Text tab. The default alt text is the name of the file, which is almost always not helpful to someone who can’t see the image. Type a short description of the image and close the dialog box.
Choose the Page Layout tab, then Columns in the Page Setup section. Don’t use the Tab key and space bar to make columns.
Choose Insert, then Table to create tables. Don’t use tabs and spaces.
Choose Insert, then Hyperlink in the Links group.
Click the Screen Tip button in the upper right of the dialog box. The Screen Tip text can be the same as the Text to display. Describe where the link will take your visitor. “Click here” is not descriptive.
Choose Save As > Adobe PDF or click the Acrobat button in the top toolbar > Create PDF.
If there is no Acrobat button on the toolbar, get the free add-in by going to www.microsoft.com and search for -
2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS
In the Save Adobe PDF File As dialog box, click Options.
The PDF Options should look like this. Click OK then Save.