Creating Accessible PDF Documents

Overview

Description

This single day course deals with accessibility when creating PDF documents. The elements here are available in both Adobe products and in Foxit PDF products. Attendees will learn about Accessibility standards and attempt to create and/or repair PDF file to become accessible.

Prerequisites:

Experience in creating PDF files. Basic knowledge of HTML tags. This course is NOT suitable for those that have ONLY Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader.

1: Overview

• What is Accessibility and Accessible documents
• What are the current policies and standard for accessibility (IE: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act)
• Reviewing best practices for the creation accessible digital documents, specifically PDF files
• Understanding the errors and correcting them and accepting warnings given the document and its contents
• Understanding the importance of Metadata and document tiles and file naming, author name etc.

2: Digital Accessibility

• Documents must be:
• Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can easily navigate.
• Operable: User interface components and navigation must be simple to use and look through.
• Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understood by all users.
• Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of software people use to access documents, including assistive technologies.
• How to address each of the accessibility principles within the source document and then in the PDF file(s).
• Font Selection for best accessibility. Embedding fonts, the process.
• Color and Contrast for accessibility. Using tools to verify the WCAG color and contrast standards to A, AA, AAA standards
• Bookmarks and other landing locations within the document

3: Acrobat PDF accessibility and compliance

• How best to create the PDF file to retain source document tags and metadata
• How and when to run the Accessibility Checker
• Interpreting the Accessibility Checker results
• What does the Accessibility Checker NOT check for
• Adjusting the Document Properties for best Accessibility

4: Dealing with Non-Text elements in the PDF file

• Addressing images with placement and alternate text, knowing how and when to mark items as decoration(Artifacts)
• How to handle charts
• Creating excellent alternate text for images
• Addressing logos within the PDF file
• Addressing and handling of repeating areas, such as headers and footers

5: Making accessible tables within the PDF

• Understanding assistive technologies handling and reading of tables
• What the ‘redundancy error’ indicates
• Restructuring tables to be accessible
• Adding alternate text to tables for improved accessibility

6: Working with the Tags Panel, and Content Panel and Reading Order Panel

• Exploring the tags panel, and modifying elements using the tags panel
• Moving and deleting tags
• Identifying empty tags and how they were created
• Using the Content Panel to view the elements and structure within the PDF file, how to use it effectively.
• Using the Reading Order tool and Reading Order panel
• Adjusting the reading order for document ‘flow’ and assistive technology need for correct reading order

7: Accessibility Checking features within the PDF file

• Built-in to most PDF editors there exists ‘checking’ tools. The tools will display both errors and warnings.
• Using the Accessibility Checker
• Rechecking after editing
• The Accessibility Checker report

8: Setting the “Initial View” options

This will establish what users, sighted and non-sighted, will be presented with when opening the PDF file.

9: The PDF Standards (pdf-A, pdf-UA) standards

Building to these standards, exporting to these standards and using FIX-Ups to meet these standards.