Before you start: #

DocAccess Doesn’t work in FireFox #

Firefox users won’t see the links to DocAccess tools when using the Firefox browser. The developers of the tool are aware of this and are working to fix thet issue.

Request a DocAccess version of your PDF #

The document only needs to be requested once, and you can navigate away from the page after requesting.  The process will complete even if the page is no longer on screen.  It may take an hour or more for DocAccess Versions to generate

From within a page or from the content viewer #

You can request a DocAccess version of a PDF by following the “Request Accessibile Version” link that appears next to the item when linked in a page, or when viewed from the module list.

The image below shows a screenshot of a Canvas page, with text and a link to a PDF. Immediately to the right of the PDF link is a green rectangular icon featuring an accessibilty icon and the phrase “Request Accessible Version”. The download link icon appears to the far right in the same line.

The image below shows a screenshot of the Canvas Modules view. One of the items is a PDF named “Real-time quantum jump in sound observed for first time.pdf”

When I click on this link, I’m taken to the docviewer view of the file in Canvas. This view always shows the title of the document, followed by a link to download the file. Immediately to the right of the PDF link is a green rectangular icon featuring an accessibilty icon and the phrase “Request Accessible Version”.

From the Files Menu in Canvas #

You can request a Doc Access version of a PDF from the Files menu by following the “Request Accessibile Version” icon next to the item in the files list.

The image below shows the files menu view in Canvas. The “Create Accessible Version” icon, will appear for items that are compatible with DocAccess. within the “Status” column of the files list. The icon will be gray when no accessible version is present. It will be green if an accessible version is present.

Access the DocAccess Version in Canvas #

Returning to the page or module view, you’ll now see just the Accessible version Icon. You can open the document to the full browser by clicking on the icon. In both views you’ll have access to additional tools (located in a fly-out menu on the top right side) and a toggle between “Print Friendly Vew” and an “Accessible Transcript View”

copy the DocAccess Version #

Toggle to the “Accessible Transcript View”. Highlight the contents of the document by clicking at the top left corner of the document and dragging down to the bottom right corner of the document. Use ctrl+c or ⌘+c to copy the transcript view to your clipboard.

Paste the DocAccess Version into a new page in Canvas. #

Create a new page in Canvas. Name it with the article title + “(Accessible) and paste the copied text from the previous step into the page.

Review the DocAccess Version for accuracy. #

Generative AI is being used to analyze and modify your document, its important to check that the AI interpretted the document correctly.

Link the page containing the doc access version of the document to your course content. #

This step is optional for now, but will be required when our DocAccess license lapses.

On a Page #

Place a link to the accessible page in parenthesis to the right of the link to the PDF on the page linking to the PDF. Please ensure you’ve placed a non-linked character between the link to the pdf and the link to the page to ensure more accessibility issues aren’t introduced. This is illustrated in the screenshot below.

In Modules #

Place a link to the page in the course modules below the link to the original PDF. Indent this link one level below the PDF. This is illustrated in the screenshot below.