How to Save a PDF and Retain Accessibility Fixes

To save to PDF properly in MS Word or PowerPoint, do not “Print to PDF.” Printing a file to a PDF will flatten and lose all structure, and any accessibility fixes will be lost.

  1. Go to File
  2. Click "Save a Copy"
  3. Change type to PDF.
  4. Click "More Options"
  5. Click "Options" (see screenshot below)
  6. Be sure that under "Include non-printing information: you have the following selected:
    1. Document properties
    2. Document structure tags for accessibility.
  7. Click OK
  8. Save PDF using desired filename and location. Use dashes (-) or underscores (_) instead of spaces in filename.
Screenshot of PDF save options.