1. George Irwin Syracuse University

2.  Definitions  Creating PDF  Retrofitting PDF documents  Assistive technology and PDF  Resources

3.  PDF stands for Portable Document Format  PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the this the application software, hardware, operating system. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed2-D document that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2-D `graphics which compose the documents.

4.  Image only PDF  Scanned image, no actual text recognized.  Requires optical character recognition (OCR)  This is the least accessible PDF  Searchable PDF  Recognizes text  Tagged PDF  Recognizes text and document structure

5.  Tags allow for:  Logical reading order  Proper structure  Accessible PDF format  Image description

6.  MS Office 2000 or later  Adobe Acrobat V 7,8,9  Save as PDF plug-in in Office 2007 also works  When you save as PDF>at the bottom of the screen > options  Check “document Properties and “Document structure tags for accessiblity”

7.  Create Content  Specified your column headings for tables  Use styles and formatting to designate headings.  Add appropriate text for images

8.  Select the image  In the “size ribbon” open the size properties  Choose “Alt Text”  Enter the text description for the image

9.  PDF document does not contain tags but contains content (e.g., Searchable PDF)  A sample workflow in Adobe Acrobat 1. Use “Add Tags to Document” function (under Advance> Accessibility on the menu bar) 2. Add text descriptions for images, check logical reading order, and set data table headers P.S. Don’t make the mistake – there is no undo!

10.  Save the PDF as text (Accessible) or plain text.  This will provide a text flow of how information may be communicated to access the technology  Review the songs of the PDF document  Watch for:  Multiple columns  Text boxes  Figures labeled as tables

11. Choose your file to be checked Open “Export” Choose “accessible text” Save. Open the file and the reading order is there for you to see.

12.  Sometimes you just need to a “Do Over”  Use the “clear page structure” option to clear the structure of the current page  This does not affect the visual aspect of the PDF - just the structure. Do you will want to

13.  The touchup reading order tool provides an option to add alternate text to images and figures  Right click on image and add alternate text.

14.  Properly created documents are usable with current assistive technologies  Not all assistive technologies provide full access to document organization or function well with a PDF viewer applications  Content should originate as accessible webpages-accessible PDF versions may be used in addition to web content ( Yes There are exceptions)

15.  PDF Training Manual  http://www.htctu.net/trainings/manuals/tutmain.htm http://www.htctu.net/trainings/manuals/tutmain.htm WebAIM http://www.webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/ NetCentric CommonLook Plug-in to Adobe Acrobat http://www.commonlook.com/products/cl_s508_sadobe.as px PDF – Universal Accessibility Specification http://pdf.editme,com/PDFUA WCAG Samurai on PDF http://wcagsamurai.org/errata/pdf.html

16.  Can be done through a Adobe Acrobat.  Most optical character recognition programs have a conversion tool in them.  I use Nuance PDF Creator.  Has the ability to create different word documents, spreadsheets, forms, and PowerPoint.  It will need proofing especially if you’ve got a poor PDF.

17.  You’re going to have to use an add-on tool to convert.  Math  Math ML  Infty reader  MathTalk Reading order is very important as a screen reader will jump around the page trying to figure out what’s to be read next.

18.  Kegan, S. May 19,2008 “PDF Accessibility and Usability Issues” Presentation at University of California at Berkeley.  PDF Training Manual http://www.htctu.net/trainings/manuals/tutmain.htm available on-line May 31, 2010 http://www.htctu.net/trainings/manuals/tutmain.htm available on-line May 31  Adobe, 2001 “Advanced Techniques for Creating Accessible Adobe PDF Files” http://adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/CreateAcce ssibleAdvanced.pdf available on-line May 31, 2010. http://adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/CreateAcce ssibleAdvanced.pdf

19.  geirwin@syr.edu geirwin@syr.edu  asnyder@binghamton.edu asnyder@binghamton.edu  ch286@cornell.edu ch286@cornell.edu