Universal Design for Learning

Alternative text serves several functions:

• Screen readers announce alternative text in place of images, helping users with visual or certain cognitive disabilities perceive the content and function of the images.
• If an image fails to load or the user has blocked images, the browser will present the alternative text visually in place of the image.
• Search engines use alternative text and factor it into their assessment of the page purpose and content.

A great deal of effort is often devoted to remediating PDF files with accessibility issues. Most of this work can be avoided by choosing a source document that supports conversion to an accessible PDF. This article focuses on Microsoft Office 365 source documents exported to PDF using Acrobat.