Accessibility Guides By Software
Microsoft Office
Google Suite
Grackle Checker
Grackle Docs is an extension that allows users to check for and easily fix access issues of documents in the Google Suite. Anyone with a UIC email address can install and use Grackle.
If you’ve used the Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker, Grackle provides a similar experience within Google Workspace by helping identify accessibility issues and offering guidance for creating more accessible digital content.
Additional getting started resources:
- Grackle Workspace Installation Guide 2026 video — step-by-step instructions for installing the Grackle extensions.
- Grackle Workspace Walk Through video — an overview of key features.
Cross Platform Exporting
Exporting to other kinds of files (Word Doc, PPT, etc.) will result in the loss of important accessibility metadata. For example, a perfectly accessible Google Doc will export to an inaccessible Word Document.
If you must export your Google document to PDF using Grackle. Otherwise, author your content using the tool you intend to use to present it and recheck for accessibility any time you change platforms.
PDFs and Adobe Acrobat
Converting to PDF
Often the best option to maintain accessibility of a document is to avoid conversion to PDF altogether. However, if a PDF is necessary, it is easiest to create an accessible PDF from an accessible source file:
UIC Step By Step Guide to Export Word Docs to Accessible PDF (.pdf, 240.7 KB)