How to Add a Document Title into a Word Document or PDF

This tutorial teaches how to add a document title into a Microsoft Word document, ensuring your Word documents and resulting PDFs are more accessible.

A missing document title is likely one of the most common accessibility errors found in PDFs uploaded to Canvas. It’s also one of the simplest to fix (if you know how to do it).

A document title provides an easy-to-read title for all students using a screen reader. If the title is set, a screen reader states the title instead of the filename. (We all know how crazy filenames can get after 10+ revisions!)

Adding a Document Title to Microsoft Word

Update the original Word document if you have it; there’s always the chance more edits will need to be made. If you don’t add it to the Word document, you’ll find yourself repeatedly fixing the resulting PDFs.

Word has a simple (though somewhat hidden) way to add a document title.

How to Add a Document Title into a Word Document – Video Transcript (PDF)

1. Copy the Heading 1 of your document to use as your title. (Optional)
2. Go to File > Info > Properties > Title.
   

   

   1. Click “Add a title” and paste your Heading 1 into the textbox. Or, type in an easy-to-read title for your document. For Example, “ENGR 101 Fall 2021 Syllabus.”
3. Save your changes.
4. Use the Save As feature to convert to a PDF to transfer the title to the PDF successfully.

Setting the Document Title in Adobe Acrobat

If you don’t have access to the PDF’s original Word document, you can fix the missing title in Adobe Acrobat. Note: You cannot edit the title with Adobe Reader.

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. In the Search tools textbox on the right, start typing “Accessibility” to search for the accessibility features in Acrobat.
   

   

3. Select Accessibility Check to check the accessibility of your PDF.
   

   

4. On the left, the Accessibility Checker panel will open to show you the accessibility issues Acrobat found with your PDF.
5. To fix the title, click the greater than symbol (>) next to “Document (# issues)” to open that section.
   

   

   Note: Adobe Acrobat consistently flags 2 warnings within the Document section, so a number greater than 2 means there’s probably an error in your PDF.

6. Within the Document section, right-click Title – Failed, then choose Fix from the context menu.
   

   

   1. If no title was set in the original source, a Description dialog window appears. The top section shows the missing title.
      

      

      1. Uncheck the “Leave As Is” checkbox and enter an easy-to-read title.
      2. Click OK to set the title.
      3. Save the PDF to keep your changes.
   2. If a title was set in Word but unsuccessfully set in the PDF (e.g., the Save As function wasn’t used to convert), then clicking Fix will auto-fix the title. However, if the PDF isn’t yours, you should ensure the title is easy to read.
      1. In Acrobat, go to File > Properties and view the Title within the Description tab.
         

         

      2. If the Document Title is not easy to read (or includes a filename), click the Additional Metadata… button at the middle-right of the dialog window.
      3. Then, update the Document Title field to an easy-to-read title.
         

         

      4. Click OK once you’ve updated the Document Title.
      5. Click OK to update the PDF document properties.
7. Save your changes.

Now, the PDF should display that title within the PDF tab. Also, when a student has multiple tabs open, it’s easy to find the document they need. (Even if they’re using a screen reader.)

Conclusion

Every document uploaded to Canvas needs a Document Title. This title helps your students find the correct document more easily and removes the error shown in Canvas. (A win-win!)