Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Introduction to Accessible PDFs – Hands-on Lab Rob Haverty, Senior Product Manager, Document Cloud Accessibility Revised March 2018

Agenda Session 1 – The Basics of PDF Accessibility Session 2 – Getting Ready in Acrobat Pro DC 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 

Session 1 – The Basics

Compliance Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (508) The requirements to make ICT and content accessible Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Referenced in 508 W3C and ISO standard for Web Content Standard for compliance is WCAG 2.0 AA PDF/UA – ISO 14289 (PDF/Universal Access) Referenced in WCAG Subset of ISO 32000 (PDF standard) Compliance is just the start of accessibility – ultimately it is about the User Experience!

Let’s Talk About PDF/UA – ISO 14289-1 ISO 14289-1 (in process of revising) is a subset of and references ISO 32000 Subset of ISO 32000 for accessibility. Provides the text, structure, and organization of the content to assistive technologies. 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 Conventions <Document> tag should be the first tag in the tree structure (not required by PDF/UA today) May artifact images with captions – don’t need alternative text (not in PDF/UA)

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)

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? It is almost always easier to remediate the source document then the converted PDF document.

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

PDF Conversion from Word – Adobe Process Acrobat Plug-in (Office Ribbon) Print to PDF

PDF Conversion from Word – Microsoft Office Process Office Save As Under More Options, open Options and make sure Headings are used for Bookmarks is checked.

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

Session 2 – Getting Ready

Acrobat Accessibility Setup – Tools Pane Tools Tab > Select Add Tool > Organize Tools Pane Action Wizard Accessibility These are the primary tools needed to create accessible PDF. However there are several tools that may come into play in the process such as: Tools Pane Action Wizard Make Accessible Accessibility Tool Autotag Document Set Alternate Text Edit PDF Link Enhance Scans Navigation Pane Tag Panel Order Panel Touch Up Reading Order (TURO) Tool Content Panel

Tools Accessibility Full Check Action Wizard Make Accessible (automatic process) Edit PDF Links Editing breaks tagging (usually) Enhance Scans Enhance Scanned Document Recognize Text

Acrobat Accessibility Setup – Navigation Pane View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes Tags Panel Content Panel Order Panel These are the primary tools needed to create accessible PDF. However there are several tools that may come into play in the process such as: Tools Pane Action Wizard Make Accessible Accessibility Tool Autotag Document Set Alternate Text Edit PDF Link Enhance Scans Navigation Pane Tag Panel Order Panel Touch Up Reading Order (TURO) Tool Content Panel

Table Editor Set up Table Editor Access via Tag Tree or Reading Order tool Set display Enhancements Click anywhere Select cell

Reading Order Tool (Formerly know as the TURO or Touch Up Reading Order tool) Access via Order Panel or Tag Tree Set up Display Editing Tags in Reading Order tool

Keyboard Navigation Most functionality accessible via the keyboard except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user's movement. Standard Navigation (Tab & Arrow Keys) Keyboard Shortcuts - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html F6 F2 Ctrl+D – Document Properties

Document Properties (Ctrl + D)

Accessibility Compliance Testing Acrobat Accessibility Checker Does not verify full WCAG conformance Does not verify full PDF/UA conformance PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC 3) - Free http://access-for-all.ch/en/pdf-lab/pdf-accessibility-checker-pac.html Full check against the PDF/UA Standard Other Checkers

Acrobat Accessibility Checker Found in the Accessibility Tool Select Full Check Leave default settings (check all check boxes in “Checking Options”) Select Start Checking. View Results in the Navigation Pane

Acrobat Accessibility Checker - Results Document will typically have issues. Some of the results cover WCAG. Some additional manual testing will be required. Accessible PDF but not fully PDF/UA compliant.

Session 3 – Fixing Inaccessible PDFs

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 Reminder: Different results depending on the conversion/tagging method (e.g. PDFMaker vs. MakeAccessible)

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

Fixing Tags - Headings Basics Heading Hierarchy PDF/UA allows for multiple H1 tags PDF/UA requires heading tags be in sequential order (WCAG does not) Exercise – Incorrect Heading Hierarchy EX1 - Incorrect Heading Hierarchy – Intro to Accessible PDF

Fixing Tags – List Basics (Single level) 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 and convert to PDF EX2 - Word Demo Doc with Errors - Intro to Accessible 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

Lists – beyond the basics With Sub-bullets Use Print to convert EX3 - Complex List - Intro to Accessible PDF to an untagged PDF. Add tags Fix sub-bullets (tagged at the same level) Paragraphs within Bullets Use same document (convert with PDFMaker or use print version)

Table Header Cells - Office Word Header Row (Column Headers) First Column (Row Headers)

Fixing Tags – Basic Table Column and Row Headers need to be tagged with the <TH> tag and data cells with the <TD> tag Convert document to PDF EX2 - Word Demo Doc with Errors - Intro to Accessible PDF Open Table Editor (context menu in Tag Tree or Reading Order tool) Select and change <TH> tags to <TD> tags and add Scope

Table Header Cells - Acrobat Select Header Cell radio button for a <TH> tag Row Headers should have a scope of “Row” Merged Headers need both Scope and Span (Span for number or rows or columns

Tables with Merged Cells Use document EX2 - Word Demo Doc with Errors - Intro to Accessible PDF Add scope and span to Merged Cells

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”. https://theblog.adobe.com/accessible-pdfs-in-acrobat-dc-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 Access the Reading Order tool from the Tag Panel or Order Panel Tag Panel select Reading Order Order Panel select “Show reading order panel” Select item number for content to be artifacted Select “Background/Artifact” from the Reading Order tool Return to the Tag Tree and note that the previous empty <P> tag is now gone. (again, this step is unnecessary and only for illustration)

Images Use document EX2 - Word Demo Doc with Errors - Intro to Accessible PDF Figures with Captions (Artifact?) Without Captions (Alternative Text) Select the Accessibility Tool

Links Convert EX4 - Links - Intro to Accessible PDF with PDF Maker delete tags and re-add tags (best for forms – see hierarchy) Convert EX4 - Links - Intro to Accessible PDF with Print and Add links (similar to scanned doc). Only need short URL

Contacts Rob Haverty Haverty@Adobe.com Adobe Accessibility Website www.Adobe.com/Accessibility Adobe Blogs Document Cloud Blog https://theblog.adobe.com/document-cloud/ (search for PDF or Accessibility) Accessibility Blog blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/ Follow us on Twitter @AdobeAccess

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