Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Introduction to Accessible PDFs – Hands-on Lab

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 14289 (PDF/Universal Access) • Referenced in WCAG • Subset of ISO 32000 (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 14289-1 (in process of revising) is a subset of and references ISO 32000 • Subset of ISO 32000 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

7. Source Document 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 < Make Accessible PDF Maker >

12. Session 2 – Getting Ready

13. Acrobat Accessibility Setup – Tools Pane Tools Tab > Select Add Tool > Organize Tools Pane • Action Wizard • Accessibility

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

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 - https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html • 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 • http://access-for-all.ch/en/pdf-lab/pdf-accessibility-checker-pac.html • Full check against the PDF/UA Standard • Does not verify full WCAG conformance • 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 PDFto 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”. https://theblog.adobe.com/accessible-pdfs-in-acrobat-dc-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 www.Adobe.com/Accessibility Adobe Blogs Document Cloud Blog https://theblog.adobe.com/document-cloud/ (search for PDF or Accessibility) Accessibility Blog blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/ Follow us on Twitter @AdobeAccess

37. Adobe – Make it an Experience