Usability & Web Accessibility – PDF – Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by Yale University | Date Accessed: August 17, 2022

Should I convert my PDFs and documents into web pages?

While the decision often depends on the nature of the PDF document, web pages in general are easier to create and maintain accessibly. This is especially true for interactive documents, such as forms. Site owners should in general prefer to create content as web pages unless there is a compelling reason to provide the content in some other medium. Site owners can also provide content both in a web page and a PDF, with a PDF download available on the page itself. You can contact accessibility@yale.edu(link sends e-mail) to discuss specific cases.

How should I convert my forms to web pages?

If you decide that you can make a form into a web page, Yale has multiple tools available. Qualtrics(link is external) forms are secure, and can be made accessible by using accessible Qualtrics form fields(link is external). YaleSites Webforms(link is external) can also make accessible forms.

What resources does Yale provide to help create accessible PDFs?

Yale is constantly looking for new tools and resources to help content editors create accessible PDFs. Adobe Acrobat DC(link is external), a common PDF editing software, can be downloaded free or charge to university members. We have also gathered resources for creating accessible PDF & Word Documents.

The ITS Digital Accessibility team will provide PDF and document accessibility trainings in the coming months. All Yale accessibility trainings are listed on the accessibility training page.

What should I do if my PDFs are supplied by a vendor?

Ask the vendor to improve the accessibility of the PDFs they provide. This can be part of any future contract re-negotiations, but many vendors are open to this request at any time, so it’s worth making the request now. Yale’s Working with Vendors page provides language that you can use when discussing accessibility with vendors.

About This Article:

A Life Worth Living has copied the content of this article under fair use in order to preserve as a post in our resource library for preservation in accessible format.  Explicit permission pending.

Link to Original Article: https://usability.yale.edu/web-accessibility/articles/pdf-frequently-asked-questions