Introduction to Document Remediation Workshop

From Confusion to Strategy

I don’t normally provide such a lengthy background, but in this case, I think it will help you better understand just exactly why document remediation can be such a challenge and help set the stage as you begin your own journey.

The “Aha!” Moment (2016)

I didn’t start out as an expert on accessible documents and still don’t consider myself one. However, I did start out exactly where you are right now. In 2016, during the final semester of my Master’s in Technical Communication program, I was told the website I managed was “inaccessible.” I had no idea what that meant, and even worse, I didn’t even know why my content was failing. I did know I needed to figure it out, so I dug in, fixed the site, and learned to maintain it by building accessibility into my processes. But while web resources were everywhere, documents were a complete mystery. Even in my graduate studies, document accessibility wasn’t covered.

The Bridge: Structure & Rhetoric

What I did learn in my program was how to structure content—how to design and organize information to fit a specific purpose, tailored for my audience and context. In other words, the rhetorical situation for any act of communication. That knowledge became my bridge to understand accessibility. I realized that the “hidden piece” of accessible documents—the tags—is just a digital version of that structure.

For my final portfolio, I challenged myself to make it accessible. It was weeks of trial and error. If I looked at that file today, I’d probably find a dozen things to fix! But that struggle was my greatest teacher. No one else may even realize the effort that went into making that document accessible, but I did, and that’s what mattered to me.

The Remediator’s Wisdom

As I think about my experience remediating documents, I’m reminded of Kenny Rogers’ song, The Gambler. The song begins with an experienced gambler offering advice to a fellow traveler. He said:

“Son, I’ve made a life out of readin’ people’s faces
And knowin’ what their cards were by the way they held their eyes
So if you don’t mind my sayin’, I can see you’re out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey I’ll give you some advice.”

Often, when I talk to people about accessible documents, I feel like that gambler offering a cautionary tale. Not to discourage you from the task at hand, but to be perfectly honest: document remediation is not always straightforward. It can be frustrating, confusing, and at times, a bit (or a lot!) of soul-crushing frustration. I want to ease that struggle a little by sharing with you the hard learned lessons of my own past. The advice the Gambler offers about life is so appropriate for document remediation that I’ve repurposed it for this course:

“You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealing’s done.”

The skills emphasized in this workshop are for the documents in the hold ‘em group. However, you will also see advice about when to STOP. These are the moments that we give you permission to fold ‘em and walk away. There are also moments where we encourage you to run before you ever even begin. This is the real value of document remediation. Not the work itself, but the realization of when to apply the time and effort.

Then vs. Now: The Shift from “Fixing” to “Evaluating”

Over the last decade, I’ve seen huge leaps in technology and tools. What took me weeks in 2016 now takes an afternoon. Today, I spend more time evaluating than I ever spend remediating. Through that experience, I’ve learned a hard truth: A fully certified accessible document can still be a blank shell if it’s loaded into a broken reader. The environment (the document and the reader) is the disabling factor, not the reader’s ability to access and understand. So let’s fix the environment and remove the barriers before they ever become an issue!

Don’t Fight the “Tag Gremlins”

While technology has improved, it isn’t perfect. Even in 2026, you will encounter what I have (affectionately?) dubbed Tag Gremlins.
In the early days of my remediation journey sometimes moving a single tag in the tree could cause the entire document structure to shift and change without warning.

While these catastrophic “meltdowns” are rarer now, Gremlins still linger. You might find a tag that refuses to move, text that disappears when you try to label it, or an Accessibility Checker that insists on an error you’ve already fixed.

When you encounter these unexplainable glitches, remember the Gambler’s advice: Know when to walk away. These are the times when I learned the Gremlins just need a nap. Save your work, close Acrobat, and step away for five minutes. Most “technical” bugs (not to mention internal frustrations) are solved by a fresh start—both for the software and for you.

My Philosophy: People Over PDFs

This is the perspective I bring to this course. Accessibility means the entire process works for both the creators and the readers. If the workflow is so frustrating that you give up, the reader loses. If the document is so broken that the reader can’t navigate it, the creator’s effort is wasted.

To create a truly accessible experience, you have to understand:

• Why the content exists (the purpose).
• Who it is for (the audience).
• How they are actually going to access it (the context).

Unfortunately, PDFs are often a barrier to that experience. If you want your content to be found, read, and understood, you have to be willing to shift your mindset and your efforts to accessible, alternative formats. It might feel like more work at first, but it is a fraction of the time you’ll spend fighting the “Tag Gremlins” in a broken document.

This is the invisible work that makes everyone feel more included, valued, and productive. No one should have to spend an ounce of energy fighting to fix a broken form or rearrange a scrambled document when they could be using that energy for their own growth and success. This is why I do this work, and I’m so glad you’re here to join me.

Thank you for doing the work that matters, especially when it’s invisible. Now let’s go make the world a more accessible place, one document at a time!

Carolyn Quintero
Web Accessibility Manager
Office of Information Technology
Boise State University

Why are documents an accessibility challenge?

Before we dive into the “How” of PDF remediation, let’s remember the “Why” from our prerequisite workshop. While documents are a staple of our work at Boise State, they present unique barriers that webpages do not.

The “Flattening” Problem

When we create a PDF, the computer often “flattens” the content. It sees the text and images as a static picture rather than a structured story. Without the “Digital Brain” (Tags), a screen reader has no map to follow, leaving the user trapped in a sea of unorganized data.

The “Print-First” Mindset

Most documents—like flyers, brochures, and syllabi—were designed for the printed page, not the digital screen.

• The Barrier: Print design focuses on visual “flair” (like columns, text boxes, and background graphics) which can scramble the reading order for someone using assistive technology.
• The Rule: Text first, design second. Print design often relies on visual cues (like text boxes, columns, and background graphics) that are ignored by assistive technology. Prioritizing the logical, structured text before adding any visual flair ensures a correct reading order for screen reader users.

The “Terminal Document” Risk

We learned the “Document Decision Tree”:

• The Rule: If a document is too complex, too old, or too broken, it might be a Terminal Document, or a document that is nearly impossible to make accessible in a PDF format.
• The Strategy: Instead of fighting digital documents for hours, the most accessible (and efficient) choice is often to move that content into an HTML webpage or a Canvas page, which are inherently more accessible and mobile-friendly.

Evaluation Over Remediation

The goal isn’t just to “Pass” an accessibility checker. The goal is to create an accessible document that users can actually read and interact with free of barriers. One way to do that is to evaluate the Effort Level:

• Low Effort: 5–10 minutes per page (Simple headings and alt text).
• High Effort: 1+ hour per page (Complex tables, merged cells, and broken reading orders).
• The Takeaway: Your time is valuable. This course will teach you the “Surgery” for when you must use a PDF, but always remember the Boise State gold standard: Web-first whenever possible.

Initial Setup

After opening and saving a copy of the My Remediation Manual Google Doc, follow these steps to set up your manual so it’s ready for the workshop.

1. Open the file named “My Remediation Manual” and change the file name to “your name” Remediation Manual. Example: Buster Bronco’s Remediation Manual.
2. Add the same title to the first page of your document with the Heading 1 style
3. Using Google Docs? You’re all done!
4. Using Microsoft Word? Select File > Download > Microsoft Word. Save this document in your Introduction to Document Remediation Google Folder for easy future reference throughout the course. You will add your remediation notes and screenshots to it in every module.

Adding Notes

In each module, you will have “Practice Labs.” The activities in these labs will focus on one specific aspect of remediation. For each practice lab you will add a section to your Remediation Manual. You can either add these sections as you start a practice lab, or set them up now. There are a total of 10 practice labs:

1. Setting Up Your Workspace
2. Evaluating the Effort
3. The ‘Big Five’
4. Headings
5. Visual Content
6. Links, Colors, and Contrast
7. Tables and Lists
8. Forms and Buttons
9. Document Surgery
10. Final Verification

Audit Tables

You will also have Audit Tables for several of the labs to record your findings for the different areas. You can either add these tables as you start each activity or add placeholder tables in your document now. There are a total of five audit tables.

1. Headings Audit Table
2. Visual Content Audit Table
3. Links, Colors, and Contrast Audit Table
4. Tables and Lists Audit Table
5. Forms and Buttons Audit Table