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PDF Accessibility Remediation

PDF remediation is an important part of Antelope Valley College's commitment to providing an accessible and inclusive online experience for all students, employees, and community members. Remediating PDFs helps ensure that individuals with disabilities, including those who use screen readers and other assistive technologies, can access, navigate, and understand important college documents. By addressing accessibility issues such as missing headings, improper reading order, and inaccessible images, AVC employees help remove barriers to information while supporting the college's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

PDF remediation is a 3-Step Process:

Step #1:
Download the PDFs from your department webpages.

Step #2:
Upload your PDFs to Canvas and run them through the PDF Remediation tool.

Step #3:
Replace the old PDFs on your webpages with the new ADA accessible PDFs.

Step #1:
Download the PDFs from your department webpages

  1. Navigate to the webpage containing the PDF document you want to download.
  2. Locate the link to the PDF document.
  3. Click the PDF link to open the document in your web browser.
  4. Once the PDF opens, locate the Download icon (usually a downward-pointing arrow) in the upper-right corner of the browser's PDF viewer.
  5. Click the Download icon.
  6. Select the folder on your computer where you want to save the PDF, if prompted.
  7. Click Save to download the document.
  8. Open the saved PDF to confirm it downloaded successfully.

Alternative Method: You can also right-click the PDF link directly on the webpage and select Save Link As to download the file without opening it first.

Note: The exact steps may vary slightly depending on your web browser and its settings.

Step #2:
Upload your PDFs to Canvas and run them through the PDF Remediation tool.

Once you have downloaded your PDFs from the AVC website, the next step is to upload them into Canvas and use the available accessibility remediation tool to identify and correct potential ADA accessibility issues.

  1. Log in to Canvas. Open AVC's Canvas website and sign in using your credentials.
  2. Open the appropriate Canvas course. Select the course or training area designated for PDF remediation.
  3. Select Files. In the course navigation menu, click "Files."
  4. Upload your PDF. Click "Upload," locate the PDF you downloaded from your webpage, and select "Open."
  5. Locate your uploaded PDF. Once the upload is complete, find the document in the Files list.
  6. Open the accessibility report. Click the accessibility score indicator next to the PDF.
  7. Review the accessibility issues. Problems identified may include missing document tags, scanned text, missing language information, or other accessibility barriers.
  8. Run available remediation options. Follow the instructions provided by the accessibility tool. Options may include automatically tagging a PDF, recognizing scanned text, or correcting document properties.
  9. Review the results. Recheck the document for remaining accessibility issues and make additional corrections as necessary.
  10. Download the improved PDF. Once remediation is complete, download the updated document to your computer.
  11. Verify the downloaded document. Open the PDF and confirm that its text, formatting, links, reading order, and accessibility features work correctly.

Next Step: After downloading and reviewing your remediated PDF, proceed to the next step.

Step #3:
Replace the old PDFs on your webpages with the new ADA accessible PDFs.

Follow these steps to upload a new or ADA-remediated PDF to your webpage using Drupal's File Manager.

  • Log in to Drupal. Sign in to the AVC website using your Drupal account.
  • Go to your Department webpage. Go to the webpage containing the old PDF.
  • Open the File Manager. From the Drupal toolbar, click the File Manager icon (screenshot below).


Example of Drupal File Manager Icon
 

  • Navigate to the appropriate folder. Locate the folder where your department's PDF documents are stored.
  • Select Upload. Click the Upload button to begin uploading your PDF.
  • Choose your PDF. Browse your computer and select the new or ADA-remediated PDF you want to upload.
  • Complete the upload. Click Upload or the corresponding confirmation button to save the file to Drupal.
  • Locate your uploaded PDF. Verify that the new PDF appears in File Manager.
  • Copy the PDF's URL. Use File Manager's file link or URL option to obtain the location of the uploaded PDF.
  • Update your department webpage. Navigate to the Drupal page containing the original PDF link, select Edit, and replace the old link with the URL of the newly uploaded PDF.
  • Save and test your webpage. Save your changes and click the PDF link to verify that the correct document opens.

Important for PDF Remediation: Before replacing an existing PDF, make sure the new version has been remediated for accessibility. Keep a backup of the original document until you have verified that the updated version works correctly.

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