Dr. Robinson explains how to reduce a large PDF to just a few pages, so anyone can “copy” just a few pages out as needed or convert a whole inaccessible PDF to something accessible with a screen reader. She begins with a blurry PDF of “A Tale of Two Cities,” demonstrating how it turns blue when clicked, or a screen reader saying “empty document”. To make the PDF more manageable, she uses the “Control + P” command, which is the universal print command across browsers. She selects “Microsoft Print to PDF” from the printer options and then uses “Alt + G” to navigate quickly to the page selection. After selecting only two pages to save, she names the file and saves it to her downloads folder using “Alt + D” followed by “Alt + S.”
Next, Dr. Robinson uses MathKicker.AI, an AI program typically for math conversions but also converts anything to convert the PDF to a DOCX file. She opens Math Kicker, navigates to the convert to PDF button by pressing “B,” and waits for it to convert. Once the conversion is complete, she accesses the converted file using “Control + J” in a browser or “Windows + E” to open the file explorer. In file explorer and selects the newly saved PDF from her downloads folder.
Print Options to reduce a PDF
After verifying that the correct pages were saved, she adjusts the viewing size to 200% using “Alt + V” and then “Z” to make the text more readable in WORD. The text appears flawless, making it easy for screen readers to process and read aloud.
Dr. Robinson emphasizes that this method is particularly useful for low vision or blind students, allowing them to access only the necessary pages of a large PDF and allowing them to use a screen reader to read content. This approach also benefits fully sighted users who may struggle with poor-quality images. By converting and saving specific pages, users can create clear, readable text from even the blurriest PDFs.