Getting PDF files right using Adobe Acrobat 6.0 - Details
[Why?]
[How?]
[To create security settings that are accessible]
[To add structure in Word and in Acrobat]
[To add alternative text to an image in Word]
[To export the word document to PDF]
[To provide structure to older PDF files - such as those made with Acrobat 4]
Why?
- PDF files can be read by a standard operating system text-to-speech application or by a screen reader used in a Microsoft Windows based environment .
- Accessibility of a PDF file can be quickly evaluated.
- Keyboard shortcut navigation is enabled for students who have difficulty operating a mouse due to a disability affecting their fine and/or gross motor skill skills.
- PDF files are able to be saved as text for students who are using a text browser or don't have a screen reader that is compatible with PDF files, and can be viewed in high-contrast mode, helping students with low vision, colour blindness or dyslexia who have difficulty reading documents with dark-coloured text on a light-coloured background.
- The student is provided with the option to customise the settings to suit their needs, including increasing the font sizes
- The student can magnify (zoom in) or reduce (zoom out) as well as customise the viewing settings to suit their needs.
- The student can resize (or reflow) the content of a structured PDF file to the viewing window to make viewing magnified content easier.
- There is a c hoice of alternate reading orders so students using screen readers or Braille software can correctly recognise the structure of your document.
- Japanese language is supported.
How?
Download Adobe Reader
- Download Adobe Reader 6.01 from the Adobe website. If using a screen reader or text-browser, a text-only Adobe Reader download webpage is available. The most recent version, Adobe Reader 6.01, also requires an upgrade to Internet Explorer 5.01 or later versions
- Choose your language, platform, and connection speed to determine the software that you will download.
- Make certain the option which includes activating accessibility features is checked. This option will double the size of the download, but is necessary to enable exposing elements of the PDF file to a screen reader.
To create security settings that are accessible
To prevent PDF files from being copied or printed, the author can set security to 40-bit encryption, however this decision, and selecting the option to eliminate all copying or extraction results in disabling accessibility. By instead using 128-bit encryption, the author can prevent the copying of content and still maintain accessibility.
To set 128-bit encyption:
- Start Adobe Acrobat.
- Under the Document tab select Security menu.
- Select Restrict Opening and Editing .... This opens a dialog box
- Select Acrobat 5.0 and later in the compatibility dropdown menu. This gives the document 128-bit encryption.
- Under Permissions , check the box that says Use a password to restrict printing and editing of the doc ument and its security settings .
- Select the checkbox that says Enable text access for screen reader de vices for the visually impaired.
- Choose the permissions you wish to set and enter your password, then select the OK button.
To add structure in Word and in Acrobat
Although creating structure in Acrobat is an option, it is better practice creating and analysing the basic structure usingthe conversion tool in Microsoft Word to take your processed document and turn it into an accessible PDF file. When you install Adobe Acrobat, a plug-in for Microsoft Applications is also installed.
The key to creating accessible PDF based documents is to use the styles and structure in the native application. For example, use Heading 1, Heading 2 and so forth rather than simply bolding text and increasing the font size. If you find the existing styles limiting, then create a new one based on the existing style structure. Use the outline structure when needed and above all don't make things up as you go along (for how refer to: Getting Microsoft Word documents right the first time )
The style menu provides structuring data to a document, and behaves in a similar manner to working with fonts. Denoting which text is a heading and which is a paragraph will be beneficial later on, especially when working with complex layouts, such as multi-column layouts. As mentioned above, it is also beneficial when the document is resized in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, because the document can then reflow to fit the width of the available screen. Without structure, none of this would be possible
To export the word document to PDF
Although you have structured and added the text, before exporting to PDF, it is a good idea to check the Conversion Settings to ensure that your export will maintain its accessibility.
- Select the Acrobat menu.
- Select Conversion Settings .... This opens a dialog box
- Select the Settings tab.
- Ensure the Enable accessibility and reflow with Tagged PDF checkbox is checked.
- Select OK .
This ensures the document retains meta information about the document, including your alternative text, and also ensures reflow, mentioned earlier. Upon changing the conversion settings, you can go ahead and create a PDF from your Word document.
To provide structure to older PDF files - such as those made with Acrobat 4
Before version 5 of Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, files developed in PDF were not structured (also called tagging ), so were unable to send structural and information about the content to screen readers, making them inaccessible.
To retrofit your older PDF file, you will need to first download the free Make Accessible Plug-in , designed solely to automatically analyse the structure of your document, and add the appropriate tags. It is time saving and easy to use.
First:
- Start Adobe Acrobat
- Open your older PDF file, such as that created in Acrobat 4
- Select the View menu, then Navigation Tabs , then Tags . This should bring up the Tags window, showing the structure of the document. If there is no structure to the document, there will be no tags available.
- Select the Options drop down menu and select Create Tags Root .
- Select Accessibility Quick Check on the Document menu.
- When the check is complete, an Accessibility Quick Check dialog box appears with the information on the structure and any accessibility features of the PDF file.
Then:
- Select the Advanced menu, and go to Accessibility .
- Select add tags to document .
You should now see that the header and paragraph information. If you cannot see these elements, select the plus box next to the Tags Root to expose the child elements.
Unfortunately, this plug-in will not work for documents that were scanned in, simply because scanned documents are saved as an image, instead of translating the document into text. Adobe has addressed this problem through the Capture Pack which has the ability to save the document as text instead of an image, greatly opening up the document's accessibility. For additional information visit the Capture Agent Pack from Adobe.
To add alternative text in Acrobat
If you don't have access to the original document before it was converted to PDF, you are still able to add alternative text to images in the resultant PDF file.
First:
- Start Adobe Acrobat
- Select the View menu, then Navigation Tabs , then Tags .
- If Tags Root is in the tags window, then the structure is in place, and you can continue to add alternative text to images. If you see No Tags Available , you must first make it accessible. Refer to Providing structure to older PDF files, in the previous section, for help with this.
Then:
- Select the View menu, then Navigation Tabs , then Tags .
- Find the image in the tree hierarchy (see Figure ).
- Right-click on Figure and select Properties . This should bring up a dialogue box allowing you to type in the alternative text.
- Then select Close.
To make accessible forms
Forms have their own accessibility issues, but they are very similar to those of an image. Elements within forms, by default, can't be seen by screen readers, thus making them unusable for people with certain disabilities.
For existing forms:
- Download and open the PDF form using Acrobat.
- Select the View menu, then Navigation Tabs , then Tags , to see the structure of the form
- If there is no structure to the document, there will be no tags available.
- Select the Options drop down menu and select Create Tags Root .
- Now choose the Select Text Tool .
- Select the title text.
- From the Tags drop down menu in the tags window, choose Create tag from Selection . A New Tag dialogue box appears.
- Choose the type of tag you want and give it a title. Select the plus next to the Tags Root and you can see that you have now added the text to the tree.
Now, to add the electronic form:
- Go to Tools, Advanced Editing, then forms.
- Select the Text Field Tool .
- To open the Field Properties dialogue box, draw a rectangle around the lower half of the field you are working with.
- Under the general tab, in the dialogue box, enter a name and a short description, making sure it ends with a period so sentences don't run together.
- Change other options. For example, under the appearance tag, the size should not be auto. Also, under the options tag, you may want to change the alignment to Left and deselect all the checkboxes
The last step:
- Select Find in the Tag Window. This opens the Find Element dialogue box.
- From the drop down menu, choose Unmarked Annotations .
- Select Find Next . The dialogue box will show that it has found your form element. You now need to fill in the information for it
- Select Tag Element in the Type field, choose form.
- Give it a name in the Title field.
- Select OK.
If you need to remove something from the tree, you can right-click, then delete the element.
Now, to make sure that all the form elements have text descriptions, for each you will need to repeat the above process.
Your Choice
- may cause barriers to access for some users
- presents inherent usability issues
- requires significant author awareness to create accessibility features to mitigate barriers
- is quick and easy to create
- low cost for extensive conversion projects
- good for print presentations and standardized visual presentation