If you need to link to a PDF from your web page, the PDF must reside on a web server. You can’t share a PDF on the web if it is stored on your personal drive or your department’s network drive. It's also important to make sure that your PDF is accessible for all viewers, a process that begins with making sure that your original document (in Microsoft Word, for example) is accessible.
Uploading a File
There are two options for uploading PDF files to the Kenyon website.
The documents server (documents.kenyon.edu) is where many offices and departments have traditionally stored PDF files. Older versions of the website did not accommodate PDFs easily, so most departments were given a folder on the documents server. If that has worked well for you, you can continue using that process.
If you are using the documents server, make sure that you link to the correct url for your PDF. For example, a PDF saved on the documents server in the admissions folder would have the following url: http://documents.kenyon.edu/admissions/file_name.pdf
You can store PDFs in your department or office BigTree folder.
Step 1: Find your folder.
In BigTree, click the "Files" tab in the upper navigation bar. Search or navigate to your folder (ex: "Administrative Offices">"Accounting" or "Academics">"Classics").
Step 2: Upload your file.
Click on the "Add Files" tab and drag-and-drop or click in the grey box to manually select the file(s) from your computer. Click "Continue."
Step 3: Copy your file URL.
Click on the blue link to open your file in a new browser tab. Copy the full url from that tab.
Step 4: Hyperlink text to your file.
On the relevant webpage, highlight text and add a hyperlink to your file URL. For accessibility purposes, please indicate that you are linking to a file by either including the word "download" or "(PDF)" in the linked text.
Examples:
File Accessibility
It's important to make sure that everyone can read and interact with your file.
The following elements are important to make sure that your Word document and the resulting PDF are accessible:
• Use Headings: Making text larger and bold does not make it a heading. Use the built-in heading styles in Word to structure your document.
• Use Lists: Use Word's built-in tools for numbered and bulleted lists.
• Enter Alternative Text for Images: In most versions of Word, you can enter alternate text for images by right clicking on an image and selecting "Format Picture." Within the Format Picture dialogue, select "Alt Text."
• Use Tables Wisely: Simple tables with one row of column headers and no nested rows or columns are generally accessible. More complex tables can only be made accessible within HTML or Adobe PDF. Often complex tables can be avoided by creating several simple tables.
For basic Word, Excel or PowerPoint files (basic = short, with no fancy formatting or features like tables or form submission fields), you can run Microsoft's Accessibility Checker, which will review your source file and help you fix any accessibility issues. You can run the Accessibility Checker by going to File > Info > Check for Issues.
After running the Accessibility Checker, follow these steps to create a tagged PDF:
1. In the "Save As" dialogue box, click the arrow at the "Save as type" list, and then click PDF.
2. Click "Options."
3. Make sure that the "Document structure tags for accessibility" check box is selected, and then click "OK."
4. Click "Save."
For Word 2016 (Mac): Go to File > "Save As..." and select PDF. When saving, make sure that the box "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility" is checked.
More detailed information about creating accessible PDFs in Word, Excel and Powerpoint is available on the Microsoft Office website.
More information about document accessibility in general, and help in creating accessible documents, is available through Student Accessibility and Support Services.