The Ohio State University PDF Remediation Tool offers a streamlined way to transform PDFs into more accessible documents. Remediating PDFs manually can be a heavy lift; the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) is offering this tool as a way to increase efficiency. The tool leverages AI to scan files for basic accessibility concerns and returns updated documents along with a report of remaining accessibility issues. If your unit has access (see below for more information), you will be able to log in to the tool using your Ohio State credentials.
Log In
How It Works
- Upload: Submit your PDF file to the secure portal.
- Transform: The tool automatically updates common accessibility issues.
- Review: You will receive a remediated file and a detailed report highlighting what was fixed and what still requires a manual check.
Access Information
Use of this tool is billed at $.08/per page to the user’s primary unit on a monthly basis for cost recovery. Your unit must sign on to the chargeback agreement before you can access the tool.
Access to this tool is coordinated with university department leadership. To express interest or ask if your department is already in the process of getting access, email OTDI-PdfRemediationApp@osu.edu.
Who Has Access
- The Office of Administration and Planning
- Strategic Enrollment Management*
*Only authorized users
For technical support, please contact the IT Service Desk.
Faculty and staff in University Libraries and Arts and Sciences do not have access to this specific tool as their units have internal remediation tools.
Tool Limitations
This tool does not remediate:
- Fillable forms
- Color contrast
- Password protected PDFs
Important Notes
- Using this tool does not guarantee 100% accessible documents. Users will need to complete a manual review and fix issues to ensure accessibility. Review the Manual Accessibility Checks section on the Evaluating PDFs for Accessibility guide from Digital Accessibility Services.
- There may be better formatting options to consider than PDFs. Review the PDF Decision Tree to confirm whether a PDF is appropriate for your needs.
Resources and Training Links
How to test PDFs for accessibility.
This 45-min course shows users how to adopt an accessible design approach when creating PDFs.
Guidance to help users create accessible PDFs.
This 45-min course focuses on documents that start in Word and end up in Acrobat for touch-up.
Strategies for reviewing existing content and creating new content for compliance with updated federal regulations.
This 1-hour engaging video-centric course provides a basic overview of how to make PDFs accessible for people with disabilities.