Making the Most of PDFs PDF (portable document format) is a file format developed by Adobe Systems. PDFs make it possible to send documents with original formatting intact. Adobe Reader is a free utility that allows you to read and save but not edit PDF files.

Making the Most of PDFs PDFs can be created by: Scanning a document. Creating from a word document. From Adobe Acrobat or similar application.

The Challenges of PDFs PDF documents are often intended to replicate a printed document and, as such, tend to have complex layouts including multiple columns, images, pull quotes and text boxes. Unless tagged correctly these elements can disrupt the reading order of the document. The good news is that if you have created a PDF from a well designed word document it will transfer the intrinsic accessibility features over.

The Accessibility Benefits of PDFs Portability. Looks the same on screen and printed. Most PDFs are born of word documents BUT many of these benefits rely on the document being created accessibly in the first place. Start by designing your document with accessibility in mind and then check this via Adobe Reader.

Types of PDFs Image documents or scanned documents are least accessible They create an image of the document similar to a photograph. Not accessible to screen reader users. No text to enlarge – therefore cannot use many accessibility features.

Does your college have TextHELP Read and Write Gold Version 9? The screen shot reader in this software allows takes a shot of the inaccessible text and makes it accessible/reads it back to the user. Find out about screenshot reader at: “The Screenshot Reader! will save me hours of time and bags of money for printing, scanning, and editing locked PDF files!"

Converting from an inaccessible word document can create untagged PDF Documents Untagged documents often contains page layouts with multiple columns. Reading order. Instead they may be mixed together and disordered. A screen reader user may not be able to extract words, sentences and paragraphs in a coherent order.

Most accessible way to convert to PDF is by using Adobe Acrobat Professional The first version of Adobe Acrobat to create accessible PDFs was version 5. Follow the advice in the ‘Accessibility Setup Assistant’ under the advanced menu.

Characteristics of an accessible (or tagged) PDF Logical structure and reading order Alternative Text descriptions Navigation aids (structured headings, links, table of contents). Security that doesn't interfere with assistive technology - ie not locked down so much that it can’t be changed.

MS Word 2007 Additional plug in allows you to save a word document as a PDF Watch this video to learn more

Adobe Reader helps make PDFs easy to read and has accessibility features Accessibility Features Allows a PDF document’s visual integrity to be adapted to suit the preference of the reader. Compatible with assistive technology. Using the Accessibility Setup Assistant Control how Adobe Reader displays documents and interacts with assistive technology, including screen readers and screen magnifiers. The Accessibility Setup Assistant automatically opens the first time that you run Adobe Reader while a screen reader is running.

From a user's viewpoint the following functionalities in Adobe Reader offer most benefits The ability to navigate via bookmarks. The ability to magnify and reflow text, especially useful for reading documents in column format. The ability to magnify and reflow text, especially useful for reading documents in column format. The ability to change the text and background colours. The ability to automatically scroll through the document and therefore read it without mouse interaction.

Personalised Font and Background Colours Adobe Reader allows the user to change the background and font colour of a document according to personal preference. From the menu select Edit > Preferences and select the 'Accessibility' tab from the left hand menu. Tick the checkbox 'Replace Document Colours'

Enlarging the Text Size Adobe ® Reader allows the user to enlarge the text using the zoom function. To access the zoom utilise the zoom tool and options from the Select and Zoom toolbar. Alternatively, navigate to View > Zoom > Zoom To and select the appropriate magnification value from the dialogue box. Using the Reflow function will avoid the need for horizontal scrolling when the text is magnified.

Document Navigation If a document has been structured correctly, users can view a hierarchical list of bookmarks allowing them to quickly locate the relevant information within a document. To open the bookmarks within a PDF navigate to View > Navigation Panels > Bookmarks or click on the Bookmarks icon on the left of the screen. If available, the bookmarks will open on the left of the screen.

Activity Open a PDF document and try personalising the look of the PDF in Adobe Reader by following the guidelines in TechDis Accessibility Essentials 4. You may want to try: – Zooming with the reflow on. – Automatically scrolling the document. – Hearing the document being read out loud. – Personalise font and background colours.

Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available online – Includes: – Case studies. – Hints and tips from screen reader users. – Comparison of free PDF software.

Provides advice for people creating their own PDFs or advice to if procuring external designers to create your PDFs Accessible PDFs: What you Need to Know (multimedia resources from Adobe)