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Uploading an PDF document to Cascade CMS is done by using the red plus sign for adding content. 

We recommend most of your content be posted as pages in the CMS, not as PDFs. See our policy.

PDF Accessibility

Web Communication will not make your document accessible; this is a departmental responsibility.  We will reject the workflow back to you for correction if it doesn't pass an accessibility check in Adobe.

You must check your pdf for accessibility in Adobe Acrobat (Contact IT to have Acrobat installed) before uploading, and it must pass with no errors.  You're free to check files 5MB or less using PAVE (  ), but the file must also pass the accessibility checker in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Information about creating accessible PDFs in Acrobat can be found on the WebAIM site @ . 

Steps to check a PDF in Acrobat

1. Make sure "Enable cloud-based auto-tagging for accessibility" is checked under Preferences in Acrobat.
   
   
   
2. Choose "Prepare for Accessibility" under Tools.
3. Choose "Automatically tag PDF".
   
   
   
   
4. After the auto-tagging runs, choose Check for Accessibility.  Any outlying "Failed" notices need to be corrected. LU has multiple tools available for remedying failed items such as Gemini, Co-Pilot, and a simple Google search.
5. If you are using color in your document, you also need to check background and foreground color contrast (a manual check in Acrobat) with the color contrast checker:
   
6. PDFs should be optimized using the Adobe tool for optimization to make downloading and viewing easier for the person viewing the PDF. There is a choice to optimize the PDF under Tools in Acrobat.

Resources

• Web Accessibility Resources
• Web Accessiblity Policy
• This video may also help:  
  
  

Do not use or link to PDFs unless absolutely necessary. PDFs are for print material, not reading online. If visitors are meant to read content on screen, it should be posted as HTML. If visitors are meant to print the content in order to read it, then post as PDF, if necessary. 

Tips

• It's easier to build the document in an accessible way in Word or Indesign, whatever you are using, instead of trying to make it accessible after the fact. There are all kinds of tutorials on the web for this sort of thing. However, you must run the checker in Acrobat and mitigate failed issues for every pdf document you post.

Posting Instructions

1. In the Site Content tree on the left, click on the _files folder. Then click on the document folder or a subfolder within the documents folder.
   
   
   Select a folder by hovering over the asset name and clicking on the arrow (>) that appears to the right of the asset name. The contents of that folder will display on the right hand side of the page.
   
   
   
2. Look for the red plus sign in the topmost header area of the page, and click on Add Content.  Choose the Document asset.
   
3. Drag and drop your document from somewhere on your computer into the browser window, or choose one from your computer. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Fill in the Display Name and Title for document description.
   
   
   • Make sure the file name/Display name is filled in correctly with the .pdf extension.
   • Be sure the document file name is descriptive and SEO friendly.
   • Do not use spaces, capital letters, or other special characters in the name of the PDF file.
     
     
5. Check "yes" if the document has been checked for accessibility and passes ALL.
   
   
6. Provide proof that you checked your document by indicating what software you used and type your name.  You may also copy and paste the final check results into the field.  All pdfs are subject to checks by the Web Communications office and may be rejected for corrections if needed.
   
   
7. Click Preview Draft. After previewing the draft, click Submit to save the PDF to the CMS.
   
   
8. A workflow will be initiated, the Web Communication office will review the document and publish to the servers.  If further edits are required the workflow will be returned to the author.
   
   
   

Documents uploaded to the CMS can be linked from a page via the WYSIWYG editor by clicking on the Insert/edit link button (looks like a chain) and navigating to the document file.