1. AHG Advanced Techniques for PDF Accessibility
Rob Haverty, Senior Product Manager, Document Cloud Accessibility, Adobe

2. Agenda Intro to Acrobat Pro DC Accessibility of Source Document
Converting to PDF
Hierarchy of Tasks
Tag Tree
Artifacts
Tables
Reading Order Panel
Figures
Links
Sometimes working with PDF files to make them accessible can feel like you are trying to navigate a maze. The are multiple opportunities to go down the wrong path or end up in a dead end and having retrace your steps or even start all over again.
Some of the more common challenges include:
Is the source document accessible?
What type of conversion tool are you using?
Are you aware that there is a strict hierarchy of tasks in creating an accessible PDF?
Most documents will require some manual remediation.
There is a wide variety of tools you will need to use to remediate the PDF.
PDF forms adds another layer of complexity to an already complex process
Not everyone structures a PDF document in the same way adding to confusion for those attempting to learn

3. Intro to Adobe Acrobat Pro DC UI
Home Tab
Tools Tab
Document Tab
Tools Pane
Accessibility Tool
Action Wizard
Edit PDF
Enhance Scans
Navigation Pane
Tag Panel
Order Panel
Content Panel
Order Panel vs. Tag Panel
F6/Tab/Arrow Keys to Navigate
F2 – Copy and Paste

4. Accessibility of Source Document
Does the authoring tool of the source document allow the author to create an accessible document.
For Example: Word has an Accessibility Checker to help the author make the document more accessible.
Does the author know how to create an accessible document
For Example: In Word, are Styles used to apply Headings or are headings “created” by changing the font size and making the font bold?
It is almost always easier to remediate the source document then the converted PDF document.
The first, most common, and arguably the most important challenge to creating an accessible PDF is to create an accessible original (source) document.
Using Word as an example:
The Accessibility Checker in Word will help the author fix some common errors
However, if the author chooses to not use Word functionality such as styles to create heading but instead used font effects (such as bold, italics or text size) the Accessibility Checker will not catch that and it will need to be manually remediated in the Tag Tree
And yet, even if the author uses the correct styles and formatting, and passes the built-in Accessibility Checker the source document may have accessibility issues that have to be resolved in the Tag Tree. For example, a Word document has no concept of a row header (you can only create column headers) for a table. Yet tables are very likely to have both column and row headers. The row headers will need to be created in the Tag Tree by changing the <TD> tag to a <TH> tag.
Other authoring tools have different levels of support for creating an accessible document in their native format and will require a varying level of investment to remediate the PDF document. And some things, like color contrast just cannot be remediated except in the source document.
ALWAYS start with an accessible source document.

5. Converting to PDF Multiple Methods Varying Results Save As Export
Print to PDF
Plug-ins
3rd Party Tools
Varying Results
Tables and Lists may be inaccurately tagged
Resulting PDF may be untagged
Custom tags may be created
Many products have “Save As” or other functionality to convert from their original document format to PDF. Additionally the are stand-alone products such as CommonLook or plug-ins such as Acrobat Plug-in for Word that allow the author to convert from the original document format to PDF. Most will product different results in the tagging of the converted file so it is important to understand the strengths and weakness of each as it applies to your “typical” type of document and the format you most often use.
Additionally, in some cases, it may be easier to convert a document to PDF without applying any tags.
Later I’ll introduce the hierarchy of tasks. Depending on the type of document there may be work that needs to be done prior to tagging the document so converting to an untagged PDF will be the right approach.
Also some products may provide tagging that is not the most useful so it is better to tag the document after conversion. For example, FrameMaker, creates all custom tags for a document. Although maybe not technically “wrong”, it does set the author up for additional work in mapping the custom tags to standard tags. It might just be easier to tag the document after conversion using a tool such as the Adobe Auto Tag tool to create standard tags for the document.

6. Hierarchy of Tasks (Here There Be Monsters)
Is the PDF created from a scanned image?
If yes – perform text recognition
Is the PDF a form with fillable form fields?
If yes – add the form fields
Does the PDF document or form contain links?
If yes – add the links
Does the PDF have multimedia?
If yes – add the multimedia (make sure it is accessible with captions and video descriptions)
Now – tag the document
After or during tagging have you edited the document
If yes, at the very least you will need to remove all tags and re-tag the document or form, it may be necessary to remove all tags, multimedia, links, and form fields and return to step 2
Back in history maps contained the phrase “here there be monsters” or “here be dragons” to indicate areas that were unknown or fraught with danger. Sometimes looking at PDF can feel the same as there are too many opportunities to fail.
The first thing authors need to understand is the hierarchy of tasks. You need to know what is contained in your document so you know how to convert it and in what order to proceed.
(Read through the list in the slide)

7. Manually Remediate Tag Tree (All Roads Start at the Tag Tree)
Create Tag from Selection – Untagged Content (Exercise 3)
List - Create List (Simple List Doc)
Table (no demo - like doing lists)
Logical Reading Order (Exercise 12)
Content shall be tagged in logical reading order (PDF/UA)
Edit Role Map (Exercise 4)
e.g., Custom Tags created in FrameWorks

8. Artifacts Create Artifacts (Exercise 7)
Tag Panel (change tag to artifact)
Order Panel (tag as background)
Content Panel (create artifact)

9. Tables
Simple Table - Repair Table in Tag Tree - Create Table Header Cells (Simple Table Doc)
Complex Table – Reading Order Panel (Complex Table Doc)
Repair Table – Fix Header Cells (Exercise 10)
Add Scope – Reading Order Panel/Cell Data
“Artifact” Grid Lines (Exercise 11)

10. Reading Order Panel Repair Tags (Exercise 8)
Add Content to Reading Order (Exercise 9)

11. Figures (Images)
Add Alt Text (Exercise 13)

12. Links
Manually Add Links (Exercise 14)
Auto Tag Links (Exercise 15)