Ask Us

Many library resources, such as journal articles and e-book chapters, can be downloaded in PDF format. You should find that these files are compatible with assistive technologies like text-to-speech readers.

Here are some tips for reading PDFs and activating accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Change background and text colour

For files with an image layer over the text, try zooming and reflow first.

1. Go to the main menu, select Edit > Preferences.
2. The Preferences dialogue box choose Accessibility.
3. In the Document colors options section, check the box Replace document colours. 
4. Choose from various options, including high contrast combinations or custom colours. Select the background and text swatches to pick new colours.
5. Select OK to apply your adjustments.

   ---

Hear text with Read Out Loud

To hear the document read aloud using synthesized speech: 

1. Go to the main menu.
2. Select View > Read Out Loud > Activate Read Out Loud or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Y.

Zoom and reflow text

Magnify text and fit it to the width of the page to eliminate horizontal scrolling.

1. Use the + button in the toolbar, select a value from the drop-down box, or enter a value of your choice. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + +
2. To fit the text width to the window, go to the main menu and select View > Zoom > Reflow or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 4

Automatic Scrolling

Move through a document without manually scrolling with a mouse or keyboard by activating automatic scrolling.

1. Go to the main menu, select View > Page Display > Automatically Scroll or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + H.
2. Use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to adjust the scrolling speed.

Viewing PDFs on mobile devices

To view a PDF easily on a small mobile screen without pinching or zooming, use Liquid Mode in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader app, available for iOS and Android.

1. Open your PDF using the Adobe Acrobat Reader app
2. From the navigation, choose the Liquid mode icon.

Note: Liquid Mode is not available for PDFs over 200 pages, larger than 10 MB, or scanned images of texts.