Creating Accessible PDFs - Part I Peter Mosinskis Supervisor of Web Services CSU Channel Islands Rev

Overview Review Hands-On Exercises MS Word to Tagged PDF Untagged PDF to Tagged PDF Scanned file to Tagged PDF

Review Best practices for Word; and When/why to choose PDF?

7 Steps to Accessible Word Documents 1. Add text description to graphics and images 2. Use color correctly 3. Use Styles to add structure 4. Use Tables instead of tabs 5. Let Word create Bullets and Numbering 6. Provide a Table of Contents for long documents 7. Add document metadata

Accessibility Spectrum HTMLPDFMS Office MORE ACCESSIBLE

PDF Pros & Cons Pros Reader is free Very accessible when done correctly Similar support of assistive technology as HTML Maintains print layout Cons Requires users to install PDF reader on their computer Not easily editable by others Must be generated by a source document (Word, InDesign, etc.) Can’t automate compliance checks Complex documents can only be made accessible with difficulty

Use PDF Format When… It’s important to preserve print formatting Example: a printable form Document is being distributed to a wide audience Document will be posted on the web Document won’t be changing frequently Requires you to constantly re-build your PDF

Accessibility and Adobe Acrobat Golden Rule: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Garbage In = Garbage Out Your PDF will only be as good as the structure & layout of your source document Accessible Word document = Accessible PDF file made from Word document = Accessible web page

Acrobat & PDF Overview Portable Document Format (PDF) Open standard developed by Adobe Adobe provides free reader for PDF files (Acrobat Reader)

Tools You’ll Need Acrobat Professional 7.0 or later “Reader” version will not create & check PDF files Earlier “Pro” versions have limited accessibility check & fix tools Adobe InDesign CS2 (optional) Recommended for large-scale print-to-PDF workflows, or complex layouts Mac OSX PDF Generator (not recommended) Doesn’t generate tagged PDF

Before You Begin Some minor, one-time MS Word configuration

Check PDF Settings in Word Click on “Adobe PDF” menu Choose “Change Conversion Settings” option

Check PDF Settings in Word Set Properties as follows: Conversion Settings: select “Standard” Check all checkboxes except “Attach source file to Adobe PDF” Click OK to finish

Steps to Accessible PDF 1. Create PDF from Word 2. Add Tags 3. Check and Fix Reading Order 1. Add alternative text to images 2. Fix tables 4. Save As Text (Accessible) 5. Check & Set Document Metadata & Language 6. Save Your Changes

Exercise 1 Volcanoes

Creating PDF from MS Word Use the PDFMaker plug-in for Office Option 1: “Adobe PDF” menu in Word Choose “Convert to Adobe PDF” option Option 2: “Convert to PDF” icon Go to “View” menu, “Toolbars”, PDFMaker 7.0 to enable

Creating PDF from MS Word Choose where you want to save your PDF Type in a file name Click “Save” to finish

Add Tags Should already have tags, if not… Go to the “Advanced” menu in Acrobat Choose “Accessibility” Then Choose “Add Tags to Document” If option is grayed out, document already has tags!

Check and Fix Reading Order Go to Advanced > Accessibility > TouchUp Reading Order… Also available on “Advanced Editing” toolbar

Check and Fix Reading Order Click “Show Order Panel”

Check and Fix Reading Order “Order” panel shows pages & how what order reading items appear

Check and Fix Reading Order Save your changes! There is NO UNDO when repairing reading order There is NO UNDO when making many of the changes we are discussing today When you have something the way you want it, save it! Keep a backup of your original PDF document Or, you can re-generate one from your MS Word source document

Check and Fix Reading Order Review ordering of numbered areas For minor re-ordering Expand a page in “Order” panel Click on a numbered element Drag a new location in the Order panel

Check and Fix Reading Order For major repairs, choose “Clear Page Structure” button in TouchUp Reading Order Then you will have to re-define the reading order of the entire page

Check and Fix Reading Order Open TouchUp Reading Order Use the crosshairs to draw box around objects Make sure to make the box bigger than you think Only text boxes highlighted in blue rectangles will be converted

Check and Fix Reading Order Selecting New Areas Use the crosshairs to draw box around objects Make sure to make the box bigger than you think Only text boxes highlighted in blue rectangles will be converted

Check and Fix Reading Order Choose appropriate content type button “Heading” for headings “Text” for paragraphs “Figure” for images/graphics “Background” for decorative or non- essential images/graphics

Check and Fix Reading Order Re-defining content types Click on the number to select the reading area Choose a different content type from the toolbar

Check and Fix Reading Order Breaking up reading areas Use the crosshair to select text within a reading area Choose a different content type from the TouchUp Reading Order dialog Content is now broken up in two sections Re-order as necessary

Check and Fix Reading Order Deleting reading areas In the “Order” panel, select the reading area Press “Delete” on keyboard Will be removed from reading order WILL NOT remove text visually from document

Add Alternative Text to Image Select the reading area for a “Figure” Or, select an object and mark it as a Figure Right-click on the Figure and choose “Edit Alternative Text…” Type in your text description Click OK

Fix Tables – Step 1 Using the Touch-Up Reading Order tool, click the number of the table text area

Fix Tables – Step 2 Click on “Table Inspector” button

Fix Tables – Step 3 Right click on a table header cell, and choose “Table Cell Properties Choose “Header Cell” button Set the Scope Click OK to finish Repeat for all header cells…

Fix Tables – Step 4 Right click anywhere on the table Choose “Edit Table Summary” Add a table summary Click OK

Save as Text (Accessible) Go to File menu, choose “Save As…” Set “Save as type” to “Text (Accessible)” Shows you how a screen reader will read it

Set Document Metadata Go to File menu > Document Properties… Select the “Description” tab Fill in Title and Author Field Be sure and include “CSUCI > “ at the beginning of the title, to improve web searchability Click OK to finish

Set Document Language Go to File menu > Document Properties… Select the “Advanced” tab Set Language to “English (US)” Click OK to finish Save your changes!

Lather, Rinse, Repeat Practice Exercises: Text Boxes, Untagged PDF, and 3 Column

Scanning to PDF Similar process with a few extra steps

Scanning Process Outline Scan document Run OCR Fix Reading Order Change reading order using “Order” tab Save as Text Accessible to check

Exercise IT Confidential

Step 1. Scan your document Scanning hard copies to convert to PDF Scan at 600 dpi whenever possible Many copiers on campus will scan direct to PDF &

Step 2. Run OCR Go to Document menu Choose “Recognize Text Using OCR” Choose “Start…” Then, click “Edit” button

Step 2. Run OCR (cont) Confirm OCR Settings OCR Language: English (US) PDF Output Style: Formatted Text & Graphics Downsample Images: Lowest (600 dpi) Click OK twice to begin OCR.

Step 2. Run OCR (cont) Document > Recognize Text Using OCR > check “Find All OCR Suspects” Document > Recognize Text Using OCR > select “Find First OCR Suspect”

Step 2. Run OCR (cont) Confirm text correctness Change text as needed in “Suspect” box Click “Accept and Find” to continue Close when finished

Step 3. Add Tags Advanced > Accessibility > Add Tags to Document Then open TouchUp Reading Order tool

Step 4. Fix Reading Order Clear Page Structure first Re-select reading areas Use WIDE selection areas to reselect Selections may be as wide as the page! Change reading order using “Order” tab Save as Text Accessible to check

Exercise Chancellor’s Office Letter (as time permits)

Notes Simpler documents = faster path to accessibility ABBYY Fine Reader Handy tool for large-scale document scanning & reading order repair Better OCR capabilities Word-to-PDF conversion Images marked as “Table” in TouchUp Reading Order although image read correctly by screen reader

PDF Resources Adobe Accessibility Resources Accessible PDF tutorials HTCTU: ccessibleAA8.pdf ccessibleAA8.pdf WebAIM: Ohio State Web Accessibility Center: state.edu/pdf/word/PDFfromWord-graphic.htmhttp:// state.edu/pdf/word/PDFfromWord-graphic.htm AccessELearning:

More Workshops This Semester! PDFs II (PDF Forms) Creating Accessible PowerPoint Web Content Management with Collage Web Accessibility HTML I

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