MSU Engineering · Digital Accessibility
D2L Digital Accessibility Guidelines
Accessible course materials start with structure, NOT a PDF. Focus on document structure and let the students use D2L to download the PDF.
Step 1: Structure your materials
Six things to get right in every document, slide deck, or page — whatever format it ends up in.
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Headings
Use the real heading styles (Heading 1, 2, 3) in order. Big bold text looks the same on screen but is invisible to a screen reader.
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Image alt text Most missed
Add a short description (alt text) to every informative image, chart, or diagram, and mark decorative images as decorative. How you do this varies by tool: see MSU’s per-tool guides.
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Lists & tables
Use real bullet and numbered lists, not typed dashes. Use tables for data only, set a header row, and avoid merged cells.
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Link text
Links should say where they go: “Submit the project proposal,” not “click here” or a raw URL.
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Color & contrast
Never use color as the only way to mark answers, warnings, or due dates, and keep text contrast strong enough to read easily.
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Title & language
Set the document title and language in the file properties so screen readers announce the file correctly.
Step 2: Share the original format and not a PDF
Students can download or convert D2L materials themselves, including to PDF. Pick the first option that fits:
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First choice
A D2L page (if applicable)
Write instructions, readings, and weekly content directly as course pages. HTML is the most accessible format there is — and students can download or convert D2L materials themselves, including to PDF.
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Also great
The original file, made accessible
Upload the accessible Word or PowerPoint file itself. Native formats keep their structure best, and anyone who wants a PDF can export one from the file.
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Only when needed
A tagged PDF
Make a PDF yourself only when a fixed layout really matters — a form, a poster, a print handout — or when a PDF is specifically required.
Step 3: If you do need to make a PDF
Three steps turn an accessible source file into an accessible PDF.
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Run the checker
Use the built-in Accessibility Checker in Word or PowerPoint before exporting.
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Export with tags
Export or Save As PDF with “document structure tags” enabled. Never use Print to PDF.
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Verify the PDF
Check the title, reading order, alt text, and tables. Use the D2L checker after uploading, or our PDF checker.
NEVER upload an untagged PDF. What is an untagged PDF?
Step-by-step for your software
How to make accessible files — and tagged PDFs when you need them — in the tool you write in. Each page fits on one screen.
Four things to avoid
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Print to PDF
Printing or screenshotting to PDF strips the structure screen readers need.
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Scans & handwriting
A scanned or handwritten page is just a photo to a screen reader. Provide a typed accessible version, or OCR the scan and remediate it.
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Color as the only cue
Don’t mark answers, warnings, or due dates with color alone — add words or symbols.
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Fake structure
Big bold text is not a heading and typed dashes are not a list. Use the real styles.
Stuck with a PDF you can’t re-export?
Fixing the source file and re-exporting is always the better repair. If no source exists, like a scan or an inherited handout, our Tagged PDF Builder can check the PDF and help you repair it.
Want the full picture?
MSU’s Digital Accessibility site covers everything here in depth — these are the pages faculty use most.
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Create Accessible Content — all MSU tutorials
Step-by-step MSU guides for documents, courses, video, and websites.
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Basic Accessibility Checklist
The one-page MSU checklist that applies to every format.
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Word vs. PDF: choosing a format
MSU’s guidance on when a PDF is (and isn’t) the right choice.
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Get training
Workshops and self-paced accessibility training for MSU faculty and staff.
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Request a consultation
Ask the MSU Digital Accessibility team to review your materials with you.
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Report inaccessible digital content
MSU’s form for reporting digital content that isn’t accessible.