PDF Checklist

Guides Tutorials
  • File Setup
    • Does the document file name not contain spaces and/or special characters?
    • Is the document file name concise, generally limited to 20-30 characters, and does it make the contents of the file clear?
    • Have you set your document language to English?
    • Have track changes been accepted or rejected and turned off?
    • Have comments been removed and formatting marks been turned off?
    • If there are more than 10 pages, did you add bookmarks or a table of contents?
  • Text
    • Does the document utilize recommended fonts (i.e., Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, or Calibri)?
    • Are heading styles organized in a hierarchal and logical fashion, with consecutive headings (i.e., no missing heading levels)?
    • Is the list style being used in Word or InDesign, as opposed to manually typed characters (e.g. Hyphens, numbers, or graphics)?
    • Is content clear and concise?
    • Is all text logical in the Reading Order View?
    • Do all URLs contain descriptive hyperlinks (i.e., avoid generic phrases like "click here"; instead, use phrases that let users know about the content of the linked page prior to selecting it)?
    • Is the color contrast ratio between foreground text and background color sufficient?
  • Images
    • Do all images, grouped images, and non-text elements that convey information have meaningful alternative-text descriptions?
    • Do complex images (i.e., charts and graphs) have descriptive text near the image (perhaps as a caption or long description)?
    • Is the document free of scanned text-heavy images (i.e., avoid text content contained in images that disappear when images are not available)?
    • If color is used to emphasize important text, is there is an alternate, compliant method used as well?
    • Have you provided alternatives for or avoided use of sensory information (e.g., shape, size, color, visual location, orientation, sound, etc.)?
  • Tables
  • Accessibility Check