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

2. 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 

3. Session 1 – The Basics

4. 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 (PDF/Universal Access)
Referenced in WCAG
Subset of ISO (PDF standard)
Compliance is just the start of accessibility – ultimately it is about the User Experience!

5. Let’s Talk About PDF/UA – ISO 14289-1
ISO (in process of revising) is a subset of and references ISO 32000
Subset of ISO 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)

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. 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.

8. 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

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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. Session 2 – Getting Ready

13. 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

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

15. 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

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

17. 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

18. 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 - F6 F2
Ctrl+D – Document Properties

19. Document Properties (Ctrl + D)

20. 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
Full check against the PDF/UA Standard
Other Checkers

21. 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

22. 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.

23. Session 3 – Fixing Inaccessible PDFs

24. 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)

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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)

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

30. 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

31. 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

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

33. 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
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)

34. 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

35. 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

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