{"id":41128,"date":"2011-01-21T13:49:26","date_gmt":"2011-01-21T18:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/?page_id=41128"},"modified":"2025-05-06T15:02:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T19:02:40","slug":"link-pdf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/cccs\/websites\/www\/wordpress\/how-to\/link-pdf\/","title":{"rendered":"Using &#038; Linking to PDF Files"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The PDF document format is used to preserve original formatting that cannot be easily recreated on a web page. PDFs are often a great option for downloadable forms or documents\/flyers that you expect your visitors will download and\/or print. \u00a0<strong>If your primary goal is to simply publish content, you should do so as a web page in WordPress and not as an uploaded PDF.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Key Concepts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Publishing content as a standard web page is more accessible than uploading and linking to a PDF file; it\u00a0is also more easily discoverable by both visitors and search engines.<\/li>\n<li>Publishing content as a standard web page allows you to edit content quickly and easily; replacing a PDF with an edited\/updated version requires more time and resources.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You cannot redirect links to PDFs in BU WordPress<\/strong>; linking directly to PDF files can be problematic (see linking best practices below).<\/li>\n<li>All BU websites must comply with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/mwas\/\">Minimum Web Accessibility Standards<\/a>. These standards ensure that all users, including those with disabilities, can access the content on your site. <strong>This includes ensuring PDFs are tagged for accessibility<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Using &amp; Linking to PDFs<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">When To Use a PDF<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PDFs are an excellent option for downloadable forms. Visitors can use Acrobat to fill out a downloadable form without a need to fill out a paper form. (Always ensure your data collection and storage workflows follow the University&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/policies\/data-protection-standards\/\">Data Protection Standards<\/a>.)<\/li>\n<li>Event flyers are a great thing to share via PDF. \u00a0Provide a downloadable PDF <em>in addition to<\/em> publishing the event information on a standard web page. Supporters can download, print, and post your flyer to help promote your event.<\/li>\n<li>Lengthy documents that are frequently printed for offline reference.<\/li>\n<li>Content that needs to be shared digitally offline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">When Not To Use a PDF<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have a document from another application (like Word) that you saved as a PDF and it&#8217;s just easier to post it.<\/li>\n<li>You like the design\/layout of the PDF better than how it looks as a web page.<\/li>\n<li>The PDF looks fine when you look at it on your computer so it will be fine for everyone else.<\/li>\n<li>You don&#8217;t know how to use WordPress to publish this content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Maintaining accessible content is University policy; that fact is more important than how easy something is to do or if it looks exactly like you want it to. Standard web page content will always be more accessible and discoverable than content in a PDF.<\/p>\n<p>If publishing your content as a PDF does not provide added value (such as ease of printing or filling out a long form), you should most likely publish it as a standard web page.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">How to Link to a PDF in BU WordPress<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Place your cursor where you want the link to appear in your WordPress page.<\/li>\n<li>Click the <strong>Add Media<\/strong> button to open the Media Library.<\/li>\n<li>Choose the PDF from the Media Library; or upload your tagged PDF at this time.<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Title<\/strong> field, give the PDF a meaningful title and include &#8220;(PDF)&#8221; in the linked text.<\/li>\n<li>Under <strong>Link To<\/strong>, select <strong>Attachment Page<\/strong> (recommended) or <strong>Media File<\/strong> (not recommended &#8211; see best practices) for direct links.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Insert into Post<\/strong> to add the link.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Always indicate in your link text that you are linking to a PDF; for example use link text such as this: \u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Download the event flyer (PDF)<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Best Practices when Linking to PDFs<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid linking directly to the PDF media file. Linking directly to a media file bypasses the WordPress page URL and therefore becomes a link that cannot be redirected. That means that if you share the wrong URL &#8212; or want to redirect folks that have an old URL &#8212; you simply cannot do that if you have linked directly to the PDF media file.<\/li>\n<li>Publish links to your PDFs on regular web pages, and ensure your links to the PDFs are prominent and easily discoverable, and then share the link to the web page(s) instead of linking directly to the PDF media file(s).<\/li>\n<li>If you use PDFs for policies, resources, and other types of information that is frequently updated, it is best to create a landing page where you link to your PDFs. Always share the link to the landing page, rather than sharing links to the individual PDFs. It&#8217;s easy to change the link on the landing page; it&#8217;s not possible to redirect a link to a PDF file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Creating Tagged PDFs using Microsoft Word<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><br \/>\nMicrosoft Word is a great option for creating tagged PDFs. Most BU users have access to Word, making it an accessible option for creating tagged PDFs.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Use built-in heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>Ensure all images have relevant descriptions in the alternative text (alt text), and tables are labeled clearly with column and row headers.<\/li>\n<li>Go to <strong>File &gt; Save As<\/strong> and select <strong>PDF<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In the save options, choose <strong>Best for electronic distribution and accessibility<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Creating Tagged PDFs using Adobe Acrobat<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><br \/>\nAdobe Acrobat Pro is the most accurate tool for creating tagged PDFs and checking accessibility. If you have access to Adobe Creative Cloud, you may already have Acrobat Pro. If not, check eligibility for a license through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/teaching\/digital-multimedia-production\/adobe-creative-cloud\/\">Adobe Creative Cloud at BU<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.<\/li>\n<li>Go to the <strong>Accessibility<\/strong> tools panel.<\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>Autotag Document<\/strong> to add tags automatically.<\/li>\n<li>Run the <strong>Accessibility Checker<\/strong> to ensure compliance with accessibility standards and follow the recommendations in the tool to fix any issues.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For more information, see the Adobe guide: <a href=\"https:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/acrobat\/using\/creating-accessible-pdfs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creating Accessible PDFs<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Creating Tagged PDFs using Google Docs<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><br \/>\nIf you don&#8217;t have Microsoft Word, Google Docs can be used to create tagged PDFs:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Apply proper heading styles and provide alt text for all images.<\/li>\n<li>Go to <strong>File &gt; Download &gt; PDF Document (.pdf)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Google Docs creates an accessible PDF, but always check the exported file for accessibility.<br \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">What are tagged PDFs?<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>Tagged PDFs contain additional markup that defines the reading order and logical content structure of the document, allowing screen readers and assistive technologies to read and navigate the content properly. Without tags, a PDF may not be accessible to users with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">I have a paper document I need to post as a PDF. How do I best do this?<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reference the IS&amp;T guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/cccs\/websites\/www\/non-wordpress\/how-to\/paper-to-pdf\/\">Creating PDFs from Paper Documents.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Use a copier or scanner with Optical Character Recognition (OCR).<\/li>\n<li>Always review text after scanning \u2014 OCR accuracy can vary.<\/li>\n<li>Scan at 300 DPI for the best results.<\/li>\n<li>Use your scanning software to Save As &#8230; and select PDF.<\/li>\n<li>If your scanning software did not produce a tagged document, use Adobe Acrobat Pro to tag the document for accessibility.<\/li>\n<li>If those steps have not worked, consider recreating the content as a web page or a properly tagged document.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Can I replace a PDF media file without changing the link<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>If your PDF file has been uploaded through the WordPress dashboard, you can use Enable Media Replace to simply replace the existing PDF file with a file using the same file name. Follow our documentation on how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/cccs\/websites\/www\/wordpress\/how-to\/replace-media\/\">replace existing files in the Media Library.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you do not see the menu option to &#8220;Replace Media&#8221; in your Media Library, contact IS&amp;T to request the Enable Media Replace plugin be turned on for your WordPress site.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">My PDF upload in BU WordPress failed. How can I fix it?<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>When a PDF is uploaded to websites in BU WordPress, an automated check is run on the document to ensure the presence of tags for accessibility. Untagged PDFs are inaccessible to screen readers, so PDFs without accessibility tagged are not permitted to be uploaded. If your upload failed, your document is likely missing these tags. Use the resources above to create a tagged document for a successful upload.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">My authoring software has Save As, Export, and Print As PDF options. Which should I use?<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>Authoring software can have several options to create PDFs. The following guidelines apply generally.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SAVE AS PDF<\/strong> &#8211; The &#8220;Save As&#8230;&#8221; menu option in some software programs allow you to save as a PDF. &#8220;Save as&#8221; generally produces the best document for accessibility compliance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>EXPORT<\/strong> &#8211; Some software programs have an &#8220;Export&#8221; or &#8220;Export as PDF&#8221; option; this is generally the same as \u00a0&#8220;Save As&#8221; but may require additional user input before saving the document.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span class=\"avoid\">Avoid &#8220;PRINT AS PDF&#8221;<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; the &#8220;Print as PDF&#8221; option creates a PDF file specifically for printing. <em>Much of the accessibility information may not be included in a PDF generated solely for print.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>PDF Accessibility Deep Dive<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Key points for creating accessible PDFs<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Keep accessibility in mind from the outset<\/strong>. Many techniques to author accessible PDFs require that you use special editing tools in your authoring software. Adobe Acrobat Pro, Microsoft Office applications, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#pdf_notes_acc-sup_files_applications\">many other authoring tools<\/a> support PDF accessibility.<\/p>\n<p>Learn how to use the tools <em>in the source software<\/em> so when you export your file as PDF, you will have the accessibility requirements in place. For example, Microsoft Word is a very common software tool used to create PDFs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Headings\/heading structure<\/strong> &#8211; Tag your headings specifically as headings like HTML &#8211; H1 as the main heading, stepping down to H2, etc., structuring your document hierarchy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alternative text for images<\/strong> &#8211; Important images need informative Alt attributes describing the image so it is fully understandable to non-visual users. Unimportant images and graphics should have empty Alt attributes so they can be skipped.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Table structure<\/strong> &#8211; As with web pages, tables should only be used for tabular data and should not be used for layout. Table property settings in the source software can be set up to produce PDFs that mark table elements such as rows, headers, and spans appropriately for assistive technologies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Descriptive links<\/strong> &#8211; As with web pages, do not use &#8220;here&#8221; or &#8220;click here&#8221; or other generic words for link text. Make your link text descriptive of the content you are linking to, using actionable and relevant keywords.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lists<\/strong> &#8211; Use lists when you have an actual list. Several lines of text with line-breaks at the end may look like a list, but the list should be tagged appropriately for assistive technologies to read the list and understand there is relationship in the list items.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legible text size<\/strong> &#8211; An appropriately tagged PDF uses the document&#8217;s logical structure to allow page content defined into structural types. Text content should be a legible size, and text size should be adjustable in a way that the document reflows to accommodate the text without losing any content.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Good contrast<\/strong> &#8211; Foreground and background images, texts, and colors must have sufficient contrast to be accessible to some users with visual impairments. Learn how to test for color contrast and use appropriate color choices. Note also that text size is variable, so small text on a background color may have different contrast requirements than a large text with the same background color.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No color reliance<\/strong> &#8211; Do not rely solely on color to convey information. Color blindness is a common visual impairment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Document title<\/strong> &#8211; Meta data in your document should be used for discoverability and search engine optimization. Use a document title (required) and optionally use authoring tools to define author, keywords, and other meta data just as you would with a web page. Also note that when viewed in a browser, the PDF\u2019s Document Title appears in the browser tab. Use a title that will still make sense if the file is updated\u2014avoid including dates or version-specific info.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">PDF Techniques from WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>The topics linked below contain detailed instructions for using authoring software to achieve accessibility compliance. The topics frequently include specific instructions with screenshots from Acrobat and Office software packages.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF9\">Marking content with heading tags<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF1\">Applying text alternatives to images<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF1\">Using table elements for table markup<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF11\">Providing links and link text using the link annotation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF21\">Using list tag for lists<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#pdf_notes\">Tagged PDF, logical structure, text size<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/G145.html\">Ensuring proper contrast ratio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/G111.html\">Using color and pattern<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG20-TECHS\/pdf.html#PDF18\">Specifying the document title<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"resources\">Additional Resources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/cccs\/websites\/www\/wordpress\/how-to\/accessible-content\/\">Creating Accessible Content on BU WordPress<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/acrobat\/using\/creating-accessible-pdfs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creating Accessible PDFs in Adobe Acrobat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/teaching\/digital-multimedia-production\/adobe-creative-cloud\/\">Adobe Creative Cloud Access at BU<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/get.adobe.com\/reader\/\">Free Adobe Acrobat Reader<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PDF document format is used to preserve original formatting that cannot be easily recreated on a web page. PDFs are often a great option for downloadable forms or documents\/flyers that you expect your visitors will download and\/or print. \u00a0If your primary goal is to simply publish content, you should do so as a web&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3321,"featured_media":0,"parent":304,"menu_order":33,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41128"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41128"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157198,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41128\/revisions\/157198"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}