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Make your LaTeX PDF work for every reader

October 05, 2026

Learn how to make LaTeX documents accessible at an upcoming workshop offered by the Graduate College and the University Library on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Digital Accessibility in LaTeX and Overleaf will be held from 9-10:30 a.m., in Room 134 Parks Library. For this workshop “accessible LaTeX” refers to preparing a document in LaTeX that can be exported as a properly tagged PDF file.  

Attendees should have basic knowledge of LaTeX, or at least one other computer programming language, to get the most out of this workshop. The skills travel, so once you can produce an accessible file in LaTeX (or any other tool), you can keep publishing research more people can use. 

Secure your spot by registering at: https://iastate.libcal.com/event/17263118?register 

The Iowa State University Digital Accessibility policy applies to all digital content including creative work, theses, and dissertations. If a document is not accessible, program completion can be delayed. Accessibility problems show up when content cannot be perceived, understood, or used on its own or through a screen reader or other assistive technology. If a reader cannot get through your thesis, article, or slides, they may miss the work you meant to share. You may miss citations and collaborations.  

 According to presenters Kristin Terrill, Graduate College and Jesse Garrison, University Library, this workshop is for anyone interested in learning about accessibility in math, statistics, computer science, engineering, or any discipline whose communication involves specialized notation (music notation, circuit diagrams, and knitting patterns are all supported in LaTeX).  

“The workshop begins with why LaTeX and PDF have been hard to make accessible, then we walk through enabling accessibility features in LaTeX on Overleaf (the same tools work outside Overleaf),” Garrison said. “Many attendees bring a document already in progress. We leave time for Q&A and some one-on-one help so you can apply the changes to your own project.” 

 After the session, participants should be able to set up a LaTeX project that exports a tagged PDF, create accessible headings, tables, and figures, check the compiled file in a PDF editor such as Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. 

Related campus support: