Human Remediation
Link to a Document

The Pope Tech icons are courtesy of WebAIM and part of WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools) documentation.

Alert: Link to a document

Link to a document icon. A "link to a document" alert indicates that a document or file upload is available in Canvas. The key to document accessibility is ensuring the document is natively accessible. In other words, the document underwent an accessibility check in its original source (Word, PowerPoint, Adobe, etc.). All users, especially those using assistive technology, benefit from link text that clearly indicates the type of non-HTML document that will open.

Note: Currently, Pope Tech does not scan content uploaded or linked to Canvas, including PDFs, Word Documents, or PowerPoint presentations. However, Pope Tech will alert you to the presence of documents and files, allowing you to manually check for accessibility.

Additional icons by platform

Microsoft Office: Various alerts may result from uploading a document to Canvas. If Pope Tech can identify the document format, it will give you that specific result: Link to a PDF, Link to a Word document, Link to an Excel spreadsheet, or Link to a PowerPoint. If Pope Tech cannot identify the document format, you may receive a more general 'Link to Document' result.

Google Suite: Various alerts may result from linking a file type in the Rich Content Editor. If Pope Tech can identify the file format, it will provide the specific result: Link to Google document, Link to Google Form, Link to Google Presentation, Link to Google Sheet, or Link to Google Video. If Pope Tech cannot identify the file format, you may get a more general Link to Google result.

Remediate this alert

Select one of the tabs below for remediation guidance. Alternatively, you can access the video and text instructions for additional support.

Video Instructions

Watch a video about remediating a link to a document.

Text Instructions

Read step-by-step instructions for remediating a link to a document.

Important: If you access this alert using the Accessibility Dashboard, skip to Step 3.

Click the edit button to open Canvas’s Rich Content Editor.
Click the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide button at the bottom of your screen.
Navigate to "Documents and Videos" in the Accessibility Guide.
Select a result to highlight the document in your content.
Check the document's accessibility in its native form (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc.). Refer to the links below for more information on remediating various document types.
Add the document type in parentheses at the end of the link text.
- (PDF), (.docx), (.xlsx), (.ppt)
Manually check the accessibility of each uploaded document.

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