In this webinar, the Chief Accessibility Officer of SSB BART Group, Jonathan Avila, will walk you through the requirements for PDF accessibility. He will provide you with implementation and evaluation techniques that you can follow to create accessible documents with Acrobat XI. You'll learn how to provide textual alternatives for visual elements as well as how to use various Acrobat tools that will make accessibility implementation as simple as possible. In this webinar, Jonathan will cover: Creation of accessible source documents Use of proper heading structure and reading order Textual alternatives for visual elements Using the Make Accessible Wizard and Accessibility Checker in Acrobat Using the Touch-up Reading Order and Tags panels Best practices to maintain and update document creation processes and ensure ongoing accessibility

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Creating Accessible PDFs with Acrobat:
Requirements, Implementation, & Evaluation
Jonathan Avila (Presenter)
SSB BART Group
Chief Accessibility Officer
www.3playmedia.com
twitter: @3playmedia
live tweet: #a11y
 Type questions in the window during the presentation
 Recording of presentation will be available for replay
 To view live captions, please click the link in the chat window
Lily Bond (Moderator)
3Play Media
Marketing Manager
lily@3playmedia.com

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3. Acrobat Accessibility -
Requirements,
Implementation, and
Evaluation
Presented by:
Jonathan Avila
Chief Accessibility Officer
April 30, 2015
Time:
2pm ET / 1pm CT/ 12pm MT / 11am PT

4. 4
Agenda
• Overview
• User Impact
• Laws and Standards
• Formats and Workflow
• Native Document Preparation
• Acrobat Accessibility Features
• Make Accessible Wizard
• Implementation Tools
• Accessibility Checkers
• Implementation Best Practices
• Acrobat Accessibility Features
• Resources

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Overview
Goal: Make PDF available to widest Audience
• PDF is an open specification
– PDF is an ISO standard (32000-1:2008)
• PDF format can be accessible
– Static created documents, forms and dynamically
generated content
• Readers available that support tagged documents
on Windows
– Limitations within readers on mobile/Mac
environments
– (Adobe Reader DC added support for Mac OS X)

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User Impact
Document accessibility affects users:
• Who are blind or have visual impairments
• Who have cognitive disabilities
Interactive document accessibility affects
users:
• With mobility impairments
• Who are deaf or hard of hearing
Examples you may have not considered
• Links must be keyboard accessible
• Text should reflow when document is zoomed

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Applicable Laws and Standards
Section 508
• Federal procurement requirement -
requires comparable access
• Refresh calls out doc accessibility
Section 504
• Accommodations for federally funded
programs
Section 255
• Telecomm support documentation
• Refresh calls out doc accessibility
WCAG 2
• Guidelines that may be adopted as
standards
WCAG 2.0

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Applicable Laws and Standards (cont.)
PDF/UA
• PDF/UA as an ISO a11y standard
• Defines conformance for documents, readers, &
AT
• Provides WCAG sufficient techniques
ADA
• Employment, education, public
accommodation
International Disability Law
• Equality Act in UK
• AODA in Ontario
• M376
PDF/UA

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Workflow
There’s no magic “Make Accessible” button
Accessible content creation:
• Is a process
• Requires automated & human testing
• Should be part of the production workflow
• Requires a variety of techniques/methods

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Workflow (cont.)
Source > Destination Formats
• Word, InDesign -> ePUB, PDF, HTML
documents
Workflow Guidance
• Incorporate in design and implementation
process
• Post-production remediation is costly - can’t
address all issues
• Updates require conversion and loss of post-
production remediation
• Create priority order for pre-existing documents

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Native Document Preparation
Creating Accessible Source Documents
• Templates
• Color and contrast
• Use styles in documents
• Create multiple columns with column tool
• Add alternative text for images and objects
• Specify column header rows in tables
• Use meaningful hyperlink text
• Check the document (e.g. Accessibility Checker in Word)
• Convert to PDF using accessible PDF Settings (Windows)

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Acrobat PDF Conversion
• Some aspects will need to be
addressed in Acrobat Pro
– Other tagging tools available
• If native document was accessible
effort will be minimal
• Conversion process may create
tagged PDF files
• What are tags?
– Semantic markup to identify structure
– Ordered/nested a sequence referred
to as structure

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Make Accessible Wizard
Run the Make Accessible Wizard from Tools > Action Wizard

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Make Accessible Wizard (cont.)
Complete the Wizard
• Set doc title
• Recognize text OCR
• Detect form fields
• Set tab order
• Set language
• Add tags (if needed)
• Set alternative text
• Accessibility Checker

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Accessibility Checker
Run the Accessibility Checker
• Detects limited set of potential
accessibility issues
• Automatically appears as the
last step in the wizard
• Run the Accessibility Checker
from the Tools Panel >
Accessibility Pane
• Choose checker options

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Accessibility Checker (cont.)
Review the results and fix the issues

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Setup Toolbars
• Default Pointer Tool
– Selection Tool for Text
and Images
• Accessibility
– TouchUp Reading Order
Tool
• Print Production
– Edit Object
• To Add Quick Tools
– Right click on toolbar
– Choose Customize Quick
Tools
Add Quick
Tools
... icon shows Quick Tools

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Implementation: 3 Important Panels
Panels
• Content panel
• Tags panel
• Order panel
Warning
• There is no undo for changes you make
• Save your file often
• Save with different names so you can go back to a copy of
the file if something gets corrupted
• If the structure gets corrupted you may need to use a tool
such as AxesPDF QuickFix or CommonLook to fix.

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Content Panel
• Represents the content stream and
semantic roles from the native
document
• Order represents the stacking order
(z-order of content)
– Changing order may hide something
visually
• Deleting from the content panel will
delete from the document
• Avoid or be very careful with this
panel
Content Panel

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Tags Panel
• Reading order used by AT
– Does not change order in content panel
• Changes in Tags panel do not affect
visual document
• Advanced tag types (list, link, note,
reference)
• Provides flexibility to structure tags
• Find unmarked content/annotations
• Set actual text for symbols, formulas, etc.
• Keystroke support for quick nav

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Touch Up Reading Order tool/Order panel
• Tag most elements
• Order elements
• Changes items in the Tags
and Content panels
– Panels may become out of
synch
• Can show order or tag names
• Provides access to table
editor
• Provides a selection cursor
that can be used with the tags
panel.
Right click for tagging options
shown in dialog

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Choosing the Right Tool
Change/check reading
order
• Tag panel/Order panel
Change or check semantic
structure
• Tag panel/Order panel
Create Links, lists, notes,
etc.
• Tag panel
Tags panel and Object Properties

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Tagging Tables
• Tags panel or Table Editor (TouchUp Reading Order)
– Select content, tag, set type, and associate headers
Table Editor From TURO with
Table Cell Properties dialog

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Math and Symbols (non-image)
• Split out text formula from content
– Tags panel or Order panel
• Add actual text
– Tags panel
Tags panel showing isolated formula content

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Form Fields
• Provide Titles for Form
Fields
• Form Editor – Properties –
– Set tooltip as the
accessible name to be
announced
– For radio buttons set the
tooltip as the group name
and set each radio
button’s name in the value
field under the Options tab
• Set tab order
– Form Editor -> Order
Form Editor with Text Field
Properties Dialog

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Additional Implementation Best Practices
Mark Artifacts (lines, headers, footers, etc.)
• Tags Panel (tag as Artifact)
• Order Panel (background)
Footnotes
• Tags panel
– Tags as reference and note
– Can re-order footnote to after paragraph
Role Mapping
• Tags Panel > Edit role mappings
Watermarks
• Avoid in native format

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Test the Document
Re-run the Accessibility Checker until all issues are fixed
• Use a screen reader
– JAWS, NVDA
– Read Out Loud tool
• View > Read Out Loud >
Activate Read Out Loud
• View with Reflow option
– View > Zoom > Reflow
• View in high contrast
– Edit > Preferences >
Accessibility > Replacement Document Colors
• PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) check PDF/UA conformance

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Read Out Loud
• Text to speech built-into
Adobe Acrobat
• Reads text in order of tag
structure using arrow keys
• “Say All” command follows
the content order
• Not a replacement for a
screen reader

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Text Reflow
• Makes text easier to read
when magnified
• no horizontal scrolling
necessary
• Uses order in content
panel
• May be affected by
incorrect content tags
• Does not work on forms
and other content

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High Contrast View
• Users with visual impairments may adjust the color contrast
for text, shapes, and the background within the document

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Sample High Contrast View

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High Contrast Challenge - Watermarks
• Avoid if possible in Word
– If used in Word 2013, choose
the Semitransparent option in
the Printed Watermark dialog
• Watermark is retained when
the document is reflowed in
Adobe Acrobat

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High Contrast Challenge – Watermarks
(cont.)
• Adding in Acrobat allows the watermark to be hidden when
document is reflowed
• Opacity must be set to 100%
• Place it behind text

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Resources
• Adobe’s Accessibility Website: www.adobe.com/accessibility
• Adobe’s Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPAT):
www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/compliance/
• Adobe TV Accessibility Channel:
http://tv.adobe.com/channel/government/accessibility/
• PDF Techniques for WCAG
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/pdf.html
• PDF/UA AIMM page
http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-
Publications/Standards/Committees/PDFUA
• Accessibility Management Platform (AMP):
https://amp.ssbbartgroup.com

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Thank You!
Contact Us
Jonathan Avila
jon.avila@ssbbartgroup.com
Kim Phillips
kim.phillips@ssbbartgroup.com
Webinars
ssbbartgroup.com/webinars
SSB University
info.ssbbartgroup.com/documentacces
sibilitycurriculum
Follow Us
@SSBBARTGroup
linkedin.com/company/
SSB-BART-Group
facebook.com/
SSBBARTGroup
SSBBARTGroup.com/blog

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About SSB BART Group
• Unmatched Experience
• Focus on Accessibility
• Solutions That Manage Risk
• Real-World Strategy
• Organizational Strength and
Continuity
• Dynamic, Forward-Thinking
Intelligence
• Fourteen hundred organizations
(1445)
• Fifteen hundred individual
accessibility best practices
(1595)
• Twenty-two core technology
platforms (22)
• Fifty-five thousand audits
(55,930)
• One hundred fifty million
accessibility violations
(152,351,725)
• Three hundred sixty-six
thousand human validated
accessibility violations (366,096)

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Presenters
Jonathan Avila
SSB BART Group
Chief Accessibility Officer
Lily Bond
3Play Media
Marketing Manager
lily@3playmedia.com
Q&A
Upcoming Webinars:
 May 7: Quick Start to Captioning
 May 21: 10 Tips for Creating Accessible Web Content
with WCAG 2.0
 May 27: CVAA Legal Requirements for Video
Programming
 July 23: DIY Workflows for Captioning/Transcription
You can register for these free webinars at:
www.3playmedia.com/how-it-works/webinars/