How to Fix a Scanned PDF

Why are Scanned PDFs Inaccessible?

Scanned PDFs are one of the most common accessibility issues.  A scanned PDF is essentially a picture of a document. This means that there is no way for a screen-reader to recognize the text or images on the page and read that information to a blind or low vision person using the screenreader.  You can tell that a PDF is scanned if you are unable to select text in the document, as shown in the screenshot to the right.  

Although making a scanned PDF fully accessible is difficult, SRJC has provided a tool that makes it easy to improve the accessibility of a scanned PDF.  

How to Fix a Scanned PDF

Watch the video or follow the steps below to fix your scanned PDFs:

Steps to fix a scanned PDF:

  1. Find the scanned document within your Canvas course. If it's not there, add it and wait for Panorama to scan it.
  2. Select the red Panorama Accessibility icon next to the scanned document.
    • This will open the Alternative Formats Menu
  3. Select 'OCR Formats'
  4. In the new menu, hover over 'OCR Reconstructed Tagged PDF' and select the text that says 'generate'
    • If the PDF is focused on math equations, select 'generate' using 'OCR Overlaid Tagged PDF' instead
  5. Wait for the document to process.
    • You can leave the page and it will still process.
  6. Once it is complete, three new buttons will appear: 'View', 'Download', and 'Reprocess'. Select 'Download'
  7. Return to the Alternative Formats Menu and select 'Accessibility Report'. It has a gauge graphic next to it.'
  8. On the bottom-right of the Accessibility Report page, you will find an option labelled 'Update Document.' Place your new PDF you created in this box.
  9. You can click 'Choose Media' to use the file browser, or simply drag and drop.
  10. Once the file is uploaded, make sure to press the 'Update' button just underneath the box you placed the file in.
    • This replaces the existing document with the new one you just uploaded.
  11. Make any other accessibility fixes as needed. The OCR process can miss things, so it is recommended to double-check the content before leaving it.
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