Creating Accessible PDFs from PowerPoints

Creating Accessible PDFs from PowerPoints

• Method 1: file > save as: PDF > more options > options > check “document properties” and “document structure tags for accessibility” > OK
• Method 2 (requires Acrobat): use acrobat tab.

PowerPoint Document Title (Metadata)

• File menu > info > properties > show all properties > title: “name of document”.
• The title is the only required bit of metadata, but other fields like tags, subject, and author are helpful to add / edit.
• Metadata will carry over from PowerPoint to PDF file when saved as a PDF.

Master Slides

• View menu > slide master.
• Slide master maps to heading 1 and layout masters map to heading 2.
• To check the layout right-click the slide > layout > choose what layout works best.
  • Adjust text box sizing / position as needed.

Defining PowerPoint Tag Order

• Home tab > select > selection pane.
  • Order goes from bottom to top.
• You can also go to the review tab > check accessibility > reading order pane.
  • Order goes from top to bottom.

Tables in PowerPoint

• Make sure to add header rows to tables.
• Click on the table in PowerPoint > hit the “table design” tab > hit either header row, first column, or both depending on what fits your table the best.

Touch-ups After Conversion from PowerPoint to PDF

• Look over the tags tree to clean it up and double check for mistakes.