Accessible Documents, Slides, Spreadsheets, and PDFs

Perhaps the most challenging part of online accessibility for courses is making all course materials screen reader-ready. We recommend taking some classes at your intuition if possible, or at the very least watching YouTube videos and/or reading instructions on each software program. As of 2026, the linked channel for The Accessibility GuyLinks to an external site. on YouTube has many excellent resources.

Here are some general principles:

1) Use the built-in accessibility checker in the programme in which you created the content whenever possible. So, if you used Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, or Google Sheets, run the accessibility checker first and fix any errors that come up to the best of your abilities. The system will tag your document, meaning it makes tags for each item based on what it guesses the content is. These tags will be read in a specific order, which you should adjust if the order is important for understanding.

Tables and graphics are especially challenging to make accessible, so familiarize yourself with the rules for tagging table headers, table rows, and data cells. Complex graphics are also very challenging, for example if they contain math formulas. Some services use generative AI to auto-create alt-text for these graphics (see the Images section in this module), so see what you can find.

You can also download Grackle as an add-on extension, which can help identify and fix issues in Google software.

2) Keep graphics to a minimum and tables as simple as possible. It’s fun to play with graphics in your documents and visual design for tables, but unfortunately screen readers have difficulty with these and will miss important text if the document is not tagged correctly. One option is to have two versions of a document: a graphical version (for people who do not need to use a screen reader), and an accessible one, which is mainly only correctly tagged text.

3) Keep the files in their original format if possible rather than converting to PDF or another file format. Otherwise, your accessibility features may not carry over correctly. This only works if your students have access to that software, unfortunately, so if they don’t have access to Microsoft Word, for example, you may have to make a PDF. However, many institutions have either Microsoft or Google as free to use for students, so try to work with the resources provided by your university. Contact the accessibility office for advice.

4) For PDFs, get Adobe Acrobat DC Pro. This can be an expensive product, but well worth it for its accessibility features if you absolutely must use PDFs in your course. Your institution may pay for it for you, especially if you are expected to make materials accessible by law, so don’t be afraid to ask if you can get a license. The Accessibility features are complex and can be a learning curve, so only use this option if you cannot provide accessible files in other formats. The Accessibility Guy YouTube channel is the best we have found for relatively clear instructions for using this program.

Practice makes competent, just like the other concepts in this course. We encourage you to do your best and keep working on your skillset in this increasingly digitized educational world,