This is the fourth post of Accessible PDFs series of blogs. You can view the other posts from
- Accessible PDFs – Creating a PDF (1/5)
- Accessible PDFs – Document Structure (2/5)
- Accessible PDFs – Tags and Reading Order (3/5)
Convert Scanned Text
To make a scanned PDF accessible, make sure that it contains real text. Go to Tools > Enhance Scans and add it. In the PDF with scanned text go to Enhance Scans in the Tools pane and select Recognize Text > In this File.
Changing background colour
Some people find it easier to read when they have certain background colours. So you should be able to change the background colour of a PDF document. Use Edit > Preferences > Accessibility > Replace Document Colours. Sometimes this may not work well; for example, if there are background images.
Read Out Loud
Accessibility Checker
You can check the accessibility of your document using Accessibility pane’s Full Check option. This will give you issues that the automatic checker can pick. However, there are many things that this automated accessibility checker is not capable of picking up, for example issues with complex tables. I will discuss complex tables in my next blog post.
I am a Learning Technology Researcher and the Chair of the Online Learning Research Centre at the University College of Estate Management. My principle research interests lie in the area of social implications of information and communication technologies, especially eLearning.