Using Sensus Access to Make Inaccessible PDFs More Accessible
What is Sensus Access?
Sensus Access enables users to remediate documents for improved accessibility or to convert them to alternative media formats (including audiobooks, e-books, and digital Braille). Sensus Access works best for converting inaccessible files (like scanned PDFs, as they are image-based documents, not text-based documents that a screen reader can read) to a more accessible file. It also works best for converting accessible documents to PDFs from other file formats like Word or PowerPoint. (Add: multiple file conversions at one time?)
Please note: While SensusAccess can remediate inaccessible documents, it is not considered an accessibility compliance tool. Sensus Access cannot always remediate inaccessible documents to 100% accessibility.
How Do I Use SensusAccess?
Go to the Rutgers version of SensusAccess and complete the following steps:
- Step 1 – Upload your document: Choose “File” as the source.
- Step 2 – Select output format: Choose “Accessibility conversion” as the output.
- Step 3 – Specify accessibility conversion options: Choose pdf – Tagged PDF (text over image) as the target format if you want to create a more accessible PDF.
- Note: You may also consider converting your document to a Word file or other format based on your needs. For instance, converting your document to a Word file may allow you to better edit the document yourself and then save it as a PDF after you have completed your editing.
- Step 4 – Enter email address and submit request: Enter the email address to which you would like the converted document sent.
Your converted document should arrive in your email in minutes after submitting the original document. However, it can take longer depending on the size and remediation needs of the submitted document and how many other documents were in line before yours.