1. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Introduction to Accessible PDFs
Rob Haverty, Senior Product Manager, Document Cloud Accessibility
Revised November 2017

2. Agenda Session 1 – Getting Ready in Acrobat Pro DC
Session 2 – The Basics of PDF Accessibility
Session 3 – Fixing Inaccessible PDF Documents
GOALS:
It is possible for a PDF document to be accessible
Understanding what people need to know to make PDF documents accessible
There is always more to learn 

3. Session 1 – Getting Ready in Acrobat Pro DC

4. Acrobat Accessibility Setup
Tools Pane
Tools Tab > Select Add Tool > Organize Tools Pane
Action Wizard
Accessibility
Navigation Pane
Use B1 - Basics Demo Doc - Intro to Accessible PDF
View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes
Tags Panel
Content Panel
Order Panel

5. Keyboard Navigation Standard Navigation (Tab & Arrow Keys)
Keyboard Shortcuts F6 F2
Ctrl + D – Document Properties

6. Table Editor Set up Table Editor Access via Tag Tree and TURO
Set display
Enhancements
Click anywhere
Select cell

7. Touch Up Reading Order (TURO) Tool
Access via Order Panel
Set up Display
Editing Tags in TURO

8. Session 2 – The Basics of PDF Accessibility

9. The Source Document is Supreme
Things to consider when creating the 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?
REMEMBER: It is almost always easier to remediate the source document then the converted PDF document.

10. Let’s Talk About PDF/UA
ISO (in process of revising) is a subset of and references ISO 32000
Electronic document file format enhancement for accessibility
Designed to identify the semantic information necessary for assistive technologies to access the information in the document such as text, structure, and organization of the content.
Shall vs. May
e.g., lists – Individual list items shall be specified by <LI> tags. <Lbl> and <LBody> tags may be included.
Organizations define their own specific rules
e.g., HHS requires <Lbl> and <LBody> tags for compliance
Conventions
<Document> tag should be the first tag in the tree structure (not required by PDF/UA)
Artifact images with captions (no alternative text - AltText)

11. 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

12. Converting to a PDF from a Source Document
Multiple Methods
Acrobat Plug-in
Application Save As
Export
Print to PDF
Other conversion tools or plug-ins
Varying Results
Tables and Lists may be inaccurately tagged
Resulting PDF may be untagged
Custom tags may be created

13. PDF Conversion Process
Converting an Accessible Word Document – Use 2 - Basic Demo Doc
Acrobat Plug-in (Office Ribbon)
Print to PDF

14. PDF Maker vs. Make Accessible (Autotagging)
PDF Maker uses the semantic information of the source document to tag the PDF
Make Accessible attempts to imply the structure of the document
PDF Maker >
< Make Accessible

15. Document Properties (Ctrl + D)

16. Session 3 – Fixing Inaccessible PDF Documents

17. Fixing Tags Content Shall be Tagged in the Logical Reading Order
Common areas for review:
Tables
Figures
Artifacts
Lists
Unique considerations depending on the source document and means of conversion:
Scanned Document
Role Mapping
Links
Form Fields
PDFMaker vs. Make Accessible (previously shown)

18. Editing in the Tag Tree – The Basics
Covered in specific exercises later.
New Tag
Select where you want the new tag inserted in the Tag Tree (inserts below selected tag)
Right click to open the Context Menu
Select “New Tag” and the tag type
Move Tags
“Drag and Drop” or “Cut and Paste”
Change Tag F2

19. List Basics
According to the PDF/UA ISO standard, a list must have the List <L> tag and List Item <LI> tags. They may also have the Label <Lbl> and List Body <LBody> tags.
Open document 3 - Word Document with Errors and convert to PDF
Open Tag Tree
Find mis-tagged list items (usually will have a <P> tag)
Create <L> tag
Change list items <P> tags to <LI> tags and make them children of the <L> Tag

20. Table Basics
Column and Row Headers need to be tagged with the <TH> tag and data cells with the <TD> tag
Using the PDF version of 3 - Word Document with Errors
Open Table Editor (context menu in Tag Tree or TURO tool)
Select and change <TH> tags to <TD> tags and add Scope
Demo with Screen Reader

21. Tables with Merged Cells
Use document 3 - Word Document with Errors
Add scope and span to Merged Cells

22. Artifacts
An artifact is content that does not provide meaningful information such as decorative images or line spaces. Artifacts should not be present in the Tag Tree. See the blog on Tagging Content as an Artifact.
Continue using document 3 - Word Document with Errors
Open document in Acrobat
Open the Tag Tree (this step is not necessary but for illustration only)
Note the empty <P> tags, we will come back and check for them after creating the artifact tags
Open Order Panel
Select “Show Reading Order Panel” (TURO)
Select item number for content to be artifacted
Select “Background” from TURO
Return to the tag tree and note that the previous empty <P> tag is now gone. (again, this step is unnecessary and only for illustratation)

23. Images Use document 3 - Word Document with Errors
Figures with Captions (Artifact?)
Without Captions (Alternative Text)
Accessibility Tool

24. Links Convert 4 - Links with PDF Maker delete tags and
re-add tags (can work for forms – see hierarchy)
Convert 4 - Links with Print and
Add links (similar to scanned doc).
Only need short URL

25. Contacts Rob Haverty Haverty@Adobe.com Adobe Accessibility Website
Adobe Blogs
Document Cloud Blog
blogs.adobe.com/documentcloud/ (search for PDF or Accessibility)
Accessibility Blog
blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/
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26. Adobe – Make it an Experience