Using Guided Remediation with Assistance on PDFs

Introduction

PDFs can take many forms, including text-based PDFs, scanned or image-only PDFs, PDFs with complex layouts or tables, and publisher-provided PDFs. Their accessibility needs can vary significantly.

PDFs often receive low accessibility scores because a PDF can look readable on screen without containing the information assistive technology needs to interpret it. For example, a scanned or image-only PDF is essentially a picture of a page: a screen reader cannot reliably select, search, or read its text. OCR (optical character recognition) adds machine-readable text so students can search the document, use text-to-speech or screen-readers, and navigate its content more effectively. Metadata and structural accessibility tags give assistive technology information about the document's title, headings, reading order, tables, images, and other content. Together, having these accessibility elements help a screen-reader user identify the document, move through it efficiently, and encounter its content in a meaningful order.

• Review the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for more accessibility standards and guidance.

Panorama's role is that it can help identify missing structure and, for some PDFs, provide guided remediation options. 

This article explains how to use Guided Remediation with Assistance from Panorama. There are two other options, AI-Assisted Remediation with AutoPilot and Structural Remediation Advanced Editor, that are not covered in this article.

Remember: You can use Panorama’s Version History to compare or restore earlier versions of the file. Panorama is not expected to work perfectly for every file.

Using Guided Remediation with Panorama Assistance on PDFs

Please Note: For best results, use upright orientation PDFs that have minimal skew to the images/text.

1. Click the accessibility icon on the PDF you want to remediate.
   
2. Panorama will list and explain issues found within the document. To start using the guided fixing process, click View X Instance. (X will vary in number depending on how many issues fall underneath this specific category.)
3. Click Fix Issue.
4. Select the option that best describes the need for the PDF, and then click Select Fix.
   OCR Overlaid PDF
   How it works: Adds machine-readable, selectable text over the original scanned image while keeping the original visual appearance.
   Visual appearance: Looks identical to your original scan.
   Best used for: Documents where original imagery are important and must stay visually intact.
   Example:
   
   OCR Reconstructed PDF
   How it works: Extracts recognized text and creates a new PDF.
   Visual appearance: Removes the original background images and raw scan visuals, focusing purely on clean text flow.
   Best used for: Straightforward text documents like plain textbooks or articles where exact visual layout or images do not matter.
   Example:
   Which option should I choose?
   Choose Overlaid when original images, historical layouts, or page appearance matter. Choose Reconstructed for straightforward text documents when a cleaner reading experience is the priority. 
    
5. Next Steps: Continue remediation and review changes.
   Panorama will take you through a step-by-step process on how to fix the remaining issues detected. 

Before remediation, this PDF was an image-only scan. Panorama assisted in adding OCR-generated text, accessibility tags, and titles and headings, so users may be able to select, search, and access the text with assistive technology. Make sure to always review the OCR accuracy, reading order, headings, tables, images, and instructional meaning before using the revised PDF.

After the continued remediation, Panorama reports that it has resolved all issues it detected for this file.

Always review before relying on the result. OCR can misread words, lose layout meaning, or create an incorrect reading order, especially in documents with columns, tables, handwriting, poor scan quality, diagrams, or unusual fonts.

Review the Result Before Relying on it

Guided remediation can improve a PDF, but it may not resolve every issue. Panorama offers a Structural Remediation Advanced Editor where you can view and make edits to the PDF. Always be sure to check for the following:

• Text is selectable and searchable.
• The words produced by text recognition are accurate.
• Pages are displayed in a readable orientation.
• Text, headings, columns, citations, and footnotes appear in a logical sequence.
• Important italics, labels, captions, tables, images, and other formatting have not been lost or changed in a way that affects meaning.
• The original purpose and educational value of the material has been preserved.

If Panorama continues to show a message such as Check the reading order, the document needs additional human review. A higher accessibility score means Panorama has resolved some detectable issues; it does not by itself confirm that the reading experience is complete or coherent for students using assistive technology.

NOTE: Panorama is one option for improving PDF accessibility in Canvas. If its automated remediation does not preserve important content or does not resolve the issue identified, do not assume the result is complete. Use the report to identify what needs further review and contact us for further support or assistance.