Hierarchy of Tasks (Here There Be Monsters)-2

Many historical maps contained the phrase, “here there be monsters” to indicate areas that were unknown or fraught with danger.

Sometimes, looking at a PDF can be just as daunting, given the many opportunities to steer off course.

 

PDF Accessibility Overview

 

The first thing authors need to understand is the hierarchy of tasks. You need to know what is contained in your document so you know how to convert it and in what order to proceed.

 

Step 1: Is the PDF created from a scanned image?

 
  • If yes, perform text recognition (OCR).
  • If no, continue to Step 2. 
 

Step 2: Does the PDF document or form contain links?

 
  • If yes, create active links.
  • If no, continue to Step 3.
 

Step 3: Does the PDF have multimedia?

 
  • If yes, consider creating a Canvas Page (if appropriate) or providing the URL to the video (if hosted on a website like YouTube or 3C Media Solutions). 
  • If no, continue to Step 4. 
 

Step 4: Is the PDF a form with fillable form fields?

 
 

Step 5: Does the PDF have tags?

 
  • If you have access to the source document or original Microsoft Word Doc:Select Action Wizard to add Tags
    1. Apply all accessibility principles in the source document.
    2. Save as a PDF and export with accessibility tags. 
  • If you don't have access to the source document, run Action Wizard. The Action Wizard's Make Accessible automatically guides you through the process:
    1. Prepare: Set a title and ensure it displays in the window title bar
    2. Set Language & Tags
    3. Run Accessibility Check
 

Step 6: Run Accessibility Full Checker

 

Run the Accessibility Full Checker to assess the tagged document. Double check that all content objects are represented in the Tags Panel and are in logical reading order.