Ally’s New PDF “Quick Fixes” Empower Faculty in Minutes

Imagine encountering a PDF flagged in Ally for having no embedded title, missing language metadata, or being a scanned-only image. Ally’s latest update brings a trio of PDF "quick fixes" that turn what used to require Adobe Acrobat into a streamlined, in‑context workflow, making remediation smoother and more efficient than ever before.

Now, without leaving Blackboard -- or opening a separate PDF editor -- faculty can:

• Add or revise the document title via a built-in input field and click “Apply fix”
• Specify the document’s language (English, Spanish, etc.) through a dropdown menu and apply the fix right away
• Convert a scanned PDF to readable text with OCR: preview the result, optionally download the original scan, then apply the fix and let Ally overwrite the file seamlessly

These tools appear automatically in the Instructor Feedback panel.

Why It Matters to Faculty and Students

For too long, accessibility fixes meant downloading content, editing it in specialized tools, and reuploading. However, Ally’s quick fixes will help keep the workflow as tight as possible since files are overwritten in place to avoid duplication and storage bloat.

These changes don’t just boost Ally scores -- they enhance access, comprehension, and usability for all students, particularly those using assistive technologies.

Learn more about Ally

For more information about Ally, please join our upcoming session, Ally Reporting to Improve Course Accessibility, on September 30. 

Ready to take the first step? Visit UMBC’s Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.

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