Integrating Accessibility into PDF Documents Sean Keegan Web Accessibility Instructor High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges

Overview Definitions Creating Accessible PDFs Retrofitting PDF Documents Assistive Technology and PDFs Resources

Definitions Image Only PDF Scanned image, no actual text content Requires OCR Searchable PDF Contains text content, but not tagged Tagged PDF Contains a document structure

PDF Tags Tags provide structure to a PDF document Tags allow for: a logical reading order structured content access in PDF forms

Content Creation - Easy Software Necessary MS Office 2000 or later (for Windows) Adobe Acrobat 5, 6, 7, or 8 "Save as PDF" plug-in for Office 2007 also works Sample Workflow for MS Word 1. Create your content 2. Use Styles and Formatting to designate headings 3. Add appropriate alternative text for images 4. Specify your data table column headers

Add Structure Use the Styles menu to specify content headings

Add Text Descriptions Select the image In the Size ribbon, open the Size properties Choose "Alt Text" Enter the text description for the image

Content Creation – "Less Easy" PDF document does not contain Tags, but contains text content (searchable PDF) Sample Workflow in Adobe Acrobat: 1. Use "Add Tags to Document" function (under Advanced > Accessibility on menu bar) 2. Add text descriptions for images, check logical reading order, and set data table headers P.S. Don't make a mistake – there is no undo.

Determining Reading Order Save the PDF as Text (Accessible) or Plain Text This will provide a text flow of how information may be communicated to assistive technology Review the zones on the PDF document Watch for: multiple columns text boxes Figures labeled as Tables

The TouchUp Reading Order Tool Allows author to: control text flow reclassify headings, formulas, text, captions Remove content from document structure (e.g., artifacts)

Using the Order Tab The Order tab provides a page view of the content and zones on the page Zones can be reorganized in this view to control reading order

Starting Over… Sometimes you just need a "Do Over" Use the "Clear Page Structure" option to clear the structure of the current page Does not affect the visual aspect of the PDF - just the structure

Adding Alternative Text The TouchUp Reading Order Tool provides an option to add alternate text to images & figures

Content Consumption Properly created content is usable with current assistive technology Not all assistive technology functions well with PDF viewing applications Accessible PDF content can be navigated with refreshable Braille displays

Resources High Tech Center Training Unit PDF Training Manual NetCentric CommonLook Plug-in to Adobe Acrobat WebAIM WCAG Samurai on PDF

Thank you Sean Keegan High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges