Transcript Creating Accessible PDF Documents

Creating Accessible PDF
Documents
Debi Orton, NYS GOER
Jeff Bennett, NYS CIO/OFT
Today’s Program – Part I
• Objectives for first half of program:
– Background on the Portable Document Format
– Defining “Accessible PDF”
– Screen Reader Demonstrations
– Creating Simple PDF from MS Word 2007
Background on
Portable Document Format
(PDF)
What is “PDF”?
• Acronym for “Portable Document Format”, now
an ISO standard
• “Page Description Language” – Describes how
document should appear
• Adobe’s Version 1.0 of PDF announced at Comdex
Fall in 1992; won ‘best of Comdex’ award
• Acrobat released on 15 June 1993
• One of the proprietary formats most often used
on web
PDF History
• PDF v. 1.1 (Acrobat 2, 11/94) – hyperlink
support & security
• PDF v. 1.2 (Acrobat 3, 11/96) – forms and
multimedia
• PDF v. 1.3 (Acrobat 4, 04/99) – annotations,
digital signatures, JavaScript actions
• PDF v. 1.4 (Acrobat 5, 05/01) – 128-bit
encryption, tagging, improved JavaScript
support
PDF History
• PDF v. 1.5 (Adobe 6, 04/03) – support for
layers, improved support for tagging and
compression, XFA (XML Forms Architecture)
• PDF v. 1.6 (Adobe 7, 01/05) – embedding
Open Type fonts, use of PDF as “container” to
embed other files, XML forms
• PDF v. 1.7 (Adobe 8, 10/06) – Improved
security, commenting support, embed printer
settings
PDF History
• Adobe Proprietary extensions:
– 2008, Adobe 9.0 – 256-bit Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) support
– 2009, Adobe 9.1 – XFA 3.0 (update to XML Forms
Architecture)
PDF File Format
• Independent from the platform viewed or
created on
• File structure fixed, contains four sections:
– Header, identifying version of PDF spec in use
– Body, contains descriptions of elements used on all
pages
– Cross-reference table referring to all elements from
the body
– Trailer, identifies location of cross-reference table,
always ends with ‘%%EOF’ - if missing, PDF file is
incomplete and cannot be read
PDF & Other Formats
• XPS – Microsoft’s XML Paper Specification
– Another page description language
– Integrated into Windows 7
– Not intended as intermediate format, editing
options limited
– Use for final only
PDF & Other formats
• PostScript – PDF based on PostScript, both
created by Adobe
– PDF files smaller because of compression
– PDF can be visualized easily; PostScript files can’t
– PDF easier to modify
– PDF more device independent
– PDF files can be more versatile
PDF & Other Formats
• HTML
– HTML started out describing structure of
document, not moderating appearance;
appearance governed by browser, not author
– Newer versions of HTML focused on appearance
– Adobe added web functionality to PDF, created
browser plug-ins
PDF & Other Formats
• XML – Extensible Markup Language, describes document
contents; PDF describes document appearance
– PDF 1.3 included structure tree that could contain XML-like
data, but no mechanism to embed that information into
PDF document
– Mars Project introduced in ‘06
• XML-friendly representation for PDF documents called
PDFXML
• PDFXML file format incorporates additional industry
standards such as SVG, PNG, JPG, JPG2000, OpenType,
Xpath and XML into ZIP-based document container
PDF & Other Formats
• Acrobat – Software suite developed and sold
by Adobe to generate, visualize, and
manipulate PDF documents
– NOT a “flavor” of PDF; an implementation of PDF
– Uses ISO PDF standard, adds proprietary
“extensions”
PDF & Other Formats
• PDF/A – ISO standard intended as an archival
format that would be compatible with future
versions of PDF
• “…has the clear aim of ensuring that the
display of documents is entirely clear - both
today and in the future. “
From www.pdfa.org
Working with PDF Documents
• PDF documents need specialized software to
visualize (view) or edit them
• Adobe Acrobat Reader most widely used
means of accessing PDF files
• Reader comes as browser plug-in or as standalone program
• Reader is free; Acrobat Distiller is expensive
(Standard $299 list, Pro $449 list)
Working with PDF Documents
• Some word processing packages can generate
PDF files from native documents:
– Sun’s Open Office Suite
– Microsoft’s Office Suite 2007
Defining “Accessible PDF”
What is “Accessible PDF”?
• Readable by assistive technology
• Content presented to assistive technology in
proper order
• Visual elements are described
• Form markup supports keyboard navigation
and provides sufficient information to allow
completion
Common Problems
• PDFs from scanned images
• PDFs containing content that is not described
• PDFs generated from documents with
complicated formatting
• PDF forms that are not created to work with
keyboard
Screen Reader Demonstrations
Creating a PDF from Microsoft Office 2007
• Microsoft provides a free plug-in:
• Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS
• http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=
4D951911-3E7E-4AE6-B059-A2E79ED87041&displaylang=en
• Works with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and
Access
• Download and install; automatically shows up
on “Save As” menu
PDF from MS Word 2007: Simple
Document
• “Simple document”: One or more pages of onecolumn text content
• How-to:
– Save original document
– From Office menu:
• Save As/PDF or XPS
• Complete “Save As” dialog box – be sure to select PDF
as file type
• Select appropriate options
10-MINUTE BREAK
Today’s Program – Part II
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NYS Standard 14 on Proprietary Formats
Section 508 and PDF Documents
Myths and Caveats
Factors in PDF Accessibility
– Creation Method
– Content
• Demonstrations
• Questions and Answers
PDF and Accessibility
• Rule #1 of web design: You have no control
over the user or platform consuming your web
content
• Adobe changed file format for v. 6.0 and later;
users with older versions of Acrobat (and
they’re still out there) won’t be able to access
PDF and Accessibility
• Rule #2 of web design: The more factors
involved in performing an action, the higher
the likelihood that someone will screw it up.
• Users should not have to be experts on which
versions work with which other versions.
NYS P08-005
A.14 Downloadable/Embedded Objects
• A.14.1. Word processing documents,
spreadsheets, and programmatic objects (e.g.,
Flash or Shockwave objects) must be served in
a manner that can be read and used with
assistive technology whenever possible. When
documents that cannot be read with assistive
technology are used, links to accessible
versions of the documents are required.
NYS P08-005
A.14 Downloadable/Embedded Objects
• A.14.2. When hardware, software and
assistive technology devices are controlled by
a state agency, downloadable documents
(e.g., word processing documents,
spreadsheets, Portable Document Format
(PDF)) available through an intranet or
extranet will be allowed.
NYS P08-005
A.14 Downloadable/Embedded Objects
• A.14.3. Agencies with web sites that use
downloadable or embedded objects must
provide reasonable accommodations for
individuals who do not have the software
necessary to read or use the objects, either on
the web site directly or by providing contact
information that gives such individuals access
to the information or function.
NYS P08-005
A.14 Downloadable/Embedded Objects
• A.14.4. Documents in Portable Document
Format (PDF) should be properly marked up to
support assistive technology whenever
possible. If PDFs are created from scanned
images, a link to an accessible version of the
document is required.
Section 508
• Nothing specific to PDF files
• If content requires plug-in, link to plug-in must
be provided – 1194.22(m)
• 1194.31 – At least one version of site content
must be available that does not require
specific sensory ability (that is, must
accommodate vision, hearing, mobility, or
speech impairments)
DEMONSTRATIONS
Questions?
• For questions after the session:
Debi Orton
[email protected]
Jeff Bennett
[email protected]