Measuring PDF Accessibility PDF a11y Testing for the Rest of a11yCamp TO 2013 Deque Systems, Inc.

Are you losing the war on inaccessible PDFs?

PDF Accessibility What’s YOUR Strategy?

Anybody Feeling Helpless?

We’ve all read those comments before… PDF Documents Suck!

…and no matter how often we read them… Use Semantic HTML Instead! PDF Documents Suck!

…it still comes down to the same thing… Use Semantic HTML Instead! PDF Documents Suck!

Haters Gonna Hate…

Stop complaining. PDFs aren’t going anywhere. Learn to deal with them instead. WHO CARES WHAT I, YOU, OR ANYONE ELSE THINKS ABOUT PDFs?

Measuring PDF Accessibility * Learning basic PDF a11y “self-defense” techniques. * Similar to testing regular HTML pages against WCAG 2.0. * Based on the same W3C accessibility guidelines.

By the way… It’s ok to feel clueless! ?

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

PDF Techniques for WCAG 2.0

PDF14 Example: Providing Running Headers and Footers

Breaking News! Not Everyone is a PDF Expert!

Shocking Truth! Not Everyone has access to a PDF Expert 24/7!

Be Careful What You Search For! Some people even pretend that it’s actually easier to find a good movie starring Nicolas Cage than it is to find an a11y expert with true PDF skills.

PDF Accessibility Testing A Proposal For the Rest of Us (Or how to fake your way into looking like a PDF expert in 15 easy steps)

Some Tools to Consider Adobe Acrobat Pro XI Accessibility Checker Runs on both Windows and MacOs Most convenient option to validate PDF accessibility CommonLook PDF Plugin for Adobe Acrobat on Windows Available at PDF Accessibility Checker 2 (PAC2) Runs on Windows (no need for Adobe Acrobat or Reader) Available at

Screen readers!? We don’t wanna use no stinkin’ screen readers!!! Though admittedly, that would really help… but between you and me, you can also leave it to the “experts”.

Text-Based Documents Is the PDF document text-based and can all text be selected? If the document is text-based, you are ready to start faking your way up the “PDF a11y Skillz Ladder”. If the document is image-based, send the author directly to “jail”. (if he passes GO, he doesn’t collect $200)

Image-Based Documents So, your PDF documents are made up of scanned images and not text? Report the document can’t be tested for accessibility until there is actual text to work with (OCR might be best option). Minimally report issues related to access restrictions, default language identification and document title.

Faking Your Way Up the PDF a11y Ladder 1.Access Restrictions 2.Default Language 3.Document Title 4.Bookmarks 5.Content Reflow 6.Read Out Loud 7.Tagged Structure 8.Semantic Structure 9.Tabbing Order 10.Informational Images 11.Decorative Images 12.Meaningful Hyperlinks 13.Page Numbering 14.Data Tables 15.Form Fields

A 10,000 ft. View StepTechniqueWCAG SC Access Restrictions Default LanguagePDF Document TitlePDF BookmarksPDF Content Reflow , Read Out Loud Semantic StructurePDF11, PDF , Tabbing OrderPDF32.1.1, Informational ImagesPDF Decorative ImagesPDF Meaningful HyperlinksPDF Page NumberingPDF Running Headers & FootersPDF Data TablesPDF Form FieldsPDF12, PDF , 3.3.2

Access Restrictions Are there any access restrictions on the PDF, such as password protection? In Acrobat, open the Document Properties dialog box, go to the Security tab and make sure the “Enable text access for screen reader devices” option is checked.

Default Language Is the natural language of the PDF document specified? In Acrobat, open the Document Properties dialog box, go to the Advanced tab and look for a language indication under “Reading Options”. Make sure the language indication correctly identifies the language the content is in.

Document Title Does the PDF have a meaningful and descriptive title (not just a file name)? In Acrobat, open the Document Properties dialog box, go to the Description tab and look for a descriptive title in the title field.

Bookmarks Does the PDF contain bookmarks and are they helpful for navigating efficiently to various sections of the document? In Acrobat, look under the Bookmarks panel to see whether the document contains bookmarks. Make sure they actually allow the user to jump to specific sections of the document.

Content Reflow When Reflow mode is activated, does all the content reorganize naturally in a single, easy to read column? Enable Content Reflow in Acrobat or Adobe Reader, make sure the content reflows into a single full width column and that no content is lost.

Read Out Loud When Read Out Loud is activated, does all the content get read correctly and in the right order? In Acrobat, go to View » Read Out Loud and check if the content is properly conveyed through text to speech in the order in which it appears in the document’s logical structure tree.

Semantic Structure Is content organized consistently using semantically and correctly structured tags/markup? In Acrobat, look under the Tags panel to see if elements that are visually presented as headings, paragraphs, lists and such are also marked up accordingly.

Tabbing Order Can the document be navigated in a logical order that is consistent with the meaning of the content? Using the keyboard, tab through the PDF to determine if the tabbing order allows for a logical reading order. Make sure form controls allow for keyboard interaction.

Informational Images Does the text alternative provided for every informational image convey the same meaning or purpose as the image? In Acrobat, use the TouchUp Reading Order dialog box to validate that an equivalent text alternative has been provided for images that do convey information.

Decorative Images Are purely decorative images marked up as artifacts, so screen readers can safely ignore them? In Acrobat, use the TouchUp Reading Order dialog box to validate that all decorative images have been turned into artifacts (background images).

Meaningful Hyperlinks Is hyperlink text marked up using Link annotations and is the purpose of that text meaningful? In Acrobat, look under the Tags panel to make sure link tags all have a Link-OBJR tag assigned to them. Make sure the purpose of each link can be determined out of its immediate context.

Page Numbering Does page numbering differ from the numbering displayed in the viewer page controls? Go through the document and verify that the page numbering in the PDF is identical to the numbering in the PDF viewer page control.

Running Headers & Footers Are running headers and footers provided consistent with existing section headings? Go through the document and verify that the information provided in running headers and footers is consistent with the section headings.

Data Tables Are the tables contained in the PDF marked up properly and are header cells and data cells explicitly associated? In Acrobat, use the TouchUp Reading Order dialog box to validate that tables are marked up correctly and that data and header cells are explicitly associated.

Form Fields Can assistive technologies gather information about and interact with form controls in PDF content? In Acrobat, for each form control, select the corresponding Properties Dialog box and make sure a value has been added to the tooltip field.

A Reminder PDF Accessibility * Basic PDF accessibility testing is not rocket science. * If you have basic accessibility skills you can test PDF documents. * Know WCAG 2.0? You’re already familiar with the PDF techniques.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel? So get out there and document those issues!

PDFs Show ‘em who’s boss!

Merci beaucoup! Denis Boudreau Web Accessibility Avenger Deque Systems,

Photo Credits All rights belong to their respective owners