Displaying content on a web page instead of linking to a document is preferred whenever possible. UNL CMS pages are designed to deliver mobile responsive, web accessible content with little or no extra effort. A PDF document, however, can be difficult to read on mobile devices and time-consuming to make accessible.
Below are cases when creating a web page version of a document may not suffice.
- A PDF document has to be printed in a specific format
- A Word document was created as a template for users to download, update and use
- The PDF was created from a book or manual with several pages
- An Excel document or PowerPoint presentation was created as an interactive tool for users to download, update and use
Allowed File Types
Only accessible documents may be added in UNL CMS. Adding a file requires checking a box certifying you've done due diligence to assure the file meets accessibility standards.
File types (maximum file size 40 MB each).
- PDF document (.pdf)
- Word document (.doc, .docx)
- PowerPoint presentation (.ppt, .pptx)
- Excel spreadsheet (.xls, .xlsx)
Making Files Accessible
The best strategy for accessibility is to create documents with accessibility in mind, run an accessibility checker, and fix any issues before saving it.
Many PDF accessibility issues can be fixed in Acrobat Pro. However, fixes applied in Acrobat will need to be reapplied if the document is modified in another application and resaved as a PDF. Thus, it's best to fix as many accessibility issues as possible in the application the document was created in first.
- How to fix common web accessibility errors in InDesign
- How to fix common web accessibility errors in Word
Accessibility Checkers
Acrobat Pro and Office Apps have built in accessibility checkers. Before adding a file, run the software's accessibility checker and fix any issues.
PDF Documents
Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro)
Word document, Excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation
Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker
Abobe InDesign (check before saving as a PDF)
Adobe InDesign Accessibility
Adobe Illustrator (check before saving as a PDF)
Accessibility in Illustrator
Manually Check and Fix Accessibility
In addition to running an accessibility checker, the following items may need manually inspected and fixed if there are issues.
- Color Contrast
- Check forward and background colors with a color contrast checker tool
- Adobe Acrobat (auto replace colors)
- Reading order
- PowerPoint (use the reading order pane)
- Excel (content must follow logical reading order: left to right then top to bottom)
- Word (change the style/position of headings in the document)
- Adobe Acrobat (use the reading order tool)
- InDesign (use the articles panel)
- Illustrator (bottom layer is read first, use Acrobat Pro to reorder in PDF)
- Heading order
- Tags
- Adobe Acrobat
- Indesign (use structure pane and tags panel)
- Word (select "Document structure tags for accessibility" when saving as a PDF)
- Image alt text
- InDesign (use Object Export Options)
- Adobe Acrobat (use content panel, tags panel or Figures Alternate Text in the Accessibility Checker panel)
- Excel, PowerPoint and Word (use the alt text page or right click and select edit alt text)
- Form fields and Tool Tips
Naming Your Files
All files should be saved in a "kebab case" (using dashes between words) naming style as a .txt, .rtf, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .ppt, .pptx, .odp, .xls, .xlsx or .ods file, with no spaces in the title and descriptive file names. For example, a student handbook PDF could be called "student-handbook.pdf" or, if possible, with even more specific details like "statistics-graduate-student-handbook.pdf".