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Welcome to our April issue of the Accessibility Minute Newsletter! This newsletter is produced by the CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office (DAO) and covers one accessibility skill or topic per month. Please visit the DAO website to access . As always, thank you for taking a minute (or two) to read.

Rethinking Your Use of PDFs

PDFs are one of the most commonly used file types for sharing content, but are they the best choice for you and your audience’s needs? Before choosing a PDF format, it’s important to weigh both the benefits and limitations, particularly from an accessibility standpoint. This month’s newsletter will help you consider when a PDF is appropriate and when a different file type might be better suited for your content and audience.

Before you determine if a PDF is the right file type for your needs, it’s important to understand the potential advantages and disadvantages this document type offers. Some advantages include that they are easily opened on any device, they do not require purchased software to access, and the layout and formatting are consistent across all devices. Another potential advantage of PDFs is that they are considered “safer” because they are not editable.  Although this may be true, any end users who have access to Adobe Acrobat may still be able to edit the content. Some disadvantages of using PDFs include that they require purchased software and enhanced knowledge to edit, form fields are required to allow users to enter information, and they require significantly more time, effort, and knowledge to make accessible than most other file types.

Considering how difficult it can be to create accessible PDFs, and the high potential to inadvertently create accessibility issues such as poor reading order, , unlabeled form fields, etc., we encourage you to ask yourself, could my PDF be a different file type?

Based on the purpose and intended use of your documents, it is important to consider the additional questions listed below to ensure you are utilizing the most appropriate and accessible file type. The scenarios are presented in a question/answer format.

Question: Do I need a consistent visual layout on all devices?

Answer: PDF or HTML (webpage) would be best suited for this content.

Question: Does my document need to be available to people outside of my organization or university?

Answer: This will only apply to organizations who set outside sharing limitations on documents. If so, then a PDF or HTML (webpage) would be best suited for this content.

Question: Is my document frequently updated?

Answer: If so, then an HTML (webpage), Word doc, or PowerPoint would be best suited for this content. Since PDFs require purchased software to edit, content creators will need to make edits to the original file format and then convert to PDF again. Updating webpages, Word docs, and PowerPoints are much easier to edit and less time consuming.

Question: Will users need to type in the document?

Answer: If so, then a Word doc, Google Doc, or HTML form would be best suited for this content.

Question: Does your document require form fields?

Answer: If so, then web forms, Google Forms, or form creation platforms, such as Qualtrics, would be best suited for this content. Web forms are inherently more accessible than most other form types and are often easier to update.

Question: Does the document need to be printed?

Answer: If so, then a PDF, Word doc, or PowerPoint would be best suited for this content.

We understand that PDFs may be necessary in certain situations. If they are required for your work, ensure you implement into your original file format prior to converting to PDF. To ensure your PDFs are fully accessible, we highly encourage you to take PDF accessibility training courses. If PDF training is not a viable option, you can also utilize third-party vendors to remediate PDFs for you (please note that these services can be quite costly). Below are some training options and third-party vendors we recommend exploring. Please keep in mind that some of these resources are not all-encompassing and depending on the content you are creating, you may need additional training to ensure your PDFs are fully accessible.

PDF Training Options

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• (free)
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• (requires paid access to LinkedIn Learning)
• For CU Boulder and CU System employees, we offer extensive services at no cost. Please review our website and contact us at DigitalAccessibility@Colorado.EDU to schedule a consultation.

Third-party Remediation Services

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April Challenge

Review your / your organizations' PDFs to determine if there is another, more accessible file format that would be more appropriate for its intended use.