Making Documents Accessible
Why do we need to make our content accessible?
Grand Valley State University strives to be an inclusive environment. As such, it is GVSU's policy to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Please see Grand Valley's ADA philosophy statement for more information.
To comply with the ADA, documents posted online, including, but not limited to, Adobe PDF files, Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and online flipbooks, must be screenreader friendly. Screenreader software is a form of assistive technology that reads a screen's display aloud to the user. It can be especially useful for people who have visual or motor impairments. Here is a captioned video example of how it works, using the popular Windows screenreader NVDA.
All multimedia resources available to the general public must be captioned. Captioned media displays the audio content of a program as text on-screen and synchronized with the dialogue of the speaker, and includes additional auditory information such as sound effects. This provides accessibility for individuals who are deaf, deafened, or hard-of-hearing, while also benefiting individuals with diverse learning abilities and whose primary language is not English.
University Marketing is no longer posting communications pieces to Issuu.com because documents on this website cannot be read by assistive technology and therefore are not accessible. Once University Marketing (IM) completes a project with a department, IM will provide an inaccessible PDF of the project to the department. The department is responsible for making all documents on their websites accessible and there are several ways to do this. Please compare the options to determine the best fit for you, your audience, and your communications piece.
This webpage provides standards developed by Student Accessibility Resources and University Marketing for all Grand Valley State University communications pieces that are posted online. It also lists resources and recommendations to help students, faculty members, and staff members better understand their options for posting accessible documents online.
What are my options for making documents accessible?
An accessible online document has an established reading order, as well as visual elements that are tagged with alternative text descriptions. For example, any visual element such as a photo, chart, or graph that is necessary for the understanding of the document must be tagged. The established reading order and alternative text descriptions are needed for assistive technology to comprehensively and accurately communicate the information to the reader.
Generally speaking, these are the options for making your document accessible:
- Put the information on your website via the Content Management System (thereby converting it to Web Format/HTML
- Publish your document as a tagged PDF
- Publish your document as an accessible Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document
- Use an outside resource to create an online "flipbook"
See the comparison chart to determine which option might work best for your audience, content, budget, time, and file format.
What do I need to do to make my document accessible?
Options for Microsoft Word documents
Microsoft's guidance on accessible Word document authoring
Options for publishing:
- Add document to CMS
- Use Adobe's Save as Adobe PDF (requires Acrobat Pro DC installed on your computer)
- Use Microsoft's Save as PDF
Note that either "save as PDF" option will require a manual check of the PDF tags to ensure accessibility, as automated tools sometimes produce tagging errors.
Options for Microsoft Excel documents
Microsoft's guidance on accessible Excel document authoring
Options for publishing
- Add document to CMS
- Use Adobe's Save as Adobe PDF (requires Adobe Acrobat Pro DC installed on your computer)
- Use Microsoft's Save as PDF
Note that either "save as PDF" option will require a manual check of the PDF tags to ensure accessibility, as automated tools sometimes produce tagging errors.
Options for Microsoft PowerPoint documents
Microsoft's guidance on accessible PowerPoint document authoring
Options for publishing
- Add document to CMS
- Use Adobe's Save as Adobe PDF (Requires Adobe Acrobat Pro DC installed on your computer)
- Use Microsoft's Save as PDF
Note that either "save as PDF" option will require a manual check of the PDF tags to ensure accessibility, as automated tools sometimes produce tagging errors.
Options for Microsoft Publisher documents
Options for publishing
The use of Microsoft Publisher to create PDF documents is not recommended. PDF documents created from Publisher will require an extensive amount of manual remediation work to be made accessible.
Adobe InDesign
Options for publishing
Adobe InDesign can create accessible PDF documents, but the process can be complex. Adobe provides basic guidance on mapping styles to tags, and alternative text descriptions.
Several vendors provide courses on using InDesign to create accessible documents. Pubcom.com is one such vendor, and is recognized for their accessibility efforts.
Other Software Options
Web-based applications such as Canva are popular for PDF creation. Please be advised that the output from such applications may or may not be accessible to screenreaders. PDFs created by these applications will require a review of the tagging structure, and possible tag remediation work in order to be made accessible.
Accessible PDF format
You can also make PDFs themselves accessible by tagging them. Please note that these options may be more time-consuming and/or more expensive than creating a Web format version (HTML).
Tagging PDF Files
There are ways to tag PDFs to make them screenreader friendly, so the screen reader reads the main text and alternative image text in the correct order. Adobe Acrobat Pro is required to do this.
Review the following for how to tag a PDF:
- Here's how you can tag a PDF yourself: https://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/acrobat
Hiring a vendor to tag your PDFs is also an option, especially if you have a large PDF or multiple PDFs. Appligent, Inc. is one such vendor.
Online flipbooks
Issuu flipbooks are not screenreader friendly. However, there are digital publishers similar to Issuu that offer screenreader friendly flipbooks. If you want to publish an online flipbook, here are some vendors:
Please note that digital publishing can be very expensive and will likely only be worth the investment for a high-profile piece that will be viewed online extensively.
Comparing your options
|
HTML (Your website) |
Tagged PDF |
Online Flipbook |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost |
Free using GVSU's CMS |
Free if you own Acrobat Pro and tag the PDF yourself Varying cost to pay for vendor's time |
Expensive |
|
Ease of Creation |
Moderate |
Can be difficult and time consuming if you tag the PDF yourself Easier if you pay outside source |
Moderate |
|
Design Elements |
Alters look of printed piece Best for simple designs Can add images for visual interest |
Maintains look of printed piece |
Maintains look of printed piece Can enhance content with flipping pages sound, video, and rich media |
|
Time |
Some time |
Most time |
Some time |
|
End-user Friendliness |
Most user friendly Nothing for user to download |
If not tagged correctly, a screenreader will not read accurately |
User is directed to external site More downloading time needed |
|
Best Application |
When dealing with highly informational content |
When it's important to maintain look of printed piece |
When it's important to maintain look of printed piece When it's helpful to enhance content with flipping pages, sound, video, and rich media |
Student Accessibility Resources
Within Grand Valley
Outside Grand Valley
FAQ's
Q: Do I have to make all documents posted to the website ADA compliant, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, Excel files, and PDFs?
A: Yes. See What do I need to do to make my document accessible?
Q: Do attachments to emails have to be made accessible?
A: That depends on your audience. If the document may be read by someone requiring assistive technology, then yes.
Q: How do I convey the information in my document in the fastest, simplest, most cost-effective way possible?
A: Use CMS.
Q: Why is Grand Valley discouraging the use of Issuu?
A: Screen readers cannot read Issuu flipbooks. The process of creating the Issuu flipbook flattens out the text and images, stripping them of readable information. There are other companies that offer ADA-compliant products that are similar to Issuu. Read the Online Flipbooks section.
Q: How do I test a document to see if it is accessible?
A: GVSU's Student Accessibility Resources recommends using the following screen readers to test documents:
- JAWS for Windows
- NVDA for Windows
- VoiceOver on Mac and iDevices
- TalkBack on Android devices
Q: Can I still use Issuu for my online documents?
A: You may use Issuu only if you create an additional document that is accessible. This document must be equal in all the information provided in the Issuu document to be ADA compliant. This means providing all text, and providing alternative text for visual elements necessary for the understanding of the document. You must ALWAYS provide a link to the accessible version in the same location that you are providing a link to the Issuu version (i.e., a website landing page).
Q: Who can I call for answers to other questions?
A: Please call Student Accessibility Resources or University Marketing.
Summary of options for making documents accessible
An accessible online document has an established reading order, as well as visual elements that are tagged with alternative text descriptions. For example, any visual element such as a photo, chart, or graph that is necessary for the understanding of the document must be tagged. The established reading order and alternative text descriptions are needed for assistive technology to comprehensively and accurately communicate the information to the reader.
Generally speaking, these are the options for making your document accessible:
- Put the information on your website via the Content Management System (thereby converting it to Web Format/HTML)
- Tag a PDF of your document
- Create an accessible version of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel files
- Use an outside resource to create an online "flipbook"