PDF Accessibility Overview
PDF Accessibility Overview
Select Next below to begin this module.
Or choose the topic you need.
- Terminology
- Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Features
- PDF or Not to PDF
- PDF & the Workspace
- Customize Your Workspace Display Theme
- Acrobat Accessibility Setup: Tools Pane
- Characteristics of Accessible PDF Files
- Start with an Accessible Document
- Tag Tree
- Acrobat Pro DC Accessibility Guide Series
- Quiz - PDF Accessibility Basics
- Summary
Getting familiar with terminology: Adobe, Acrobat, & PDF
Source WebAIM: PDF Accessibility Links to an external site.
Before diving into PDF accessibility, it is essential to distinguish terminology: Adobe, Acrobat, and PDF. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
The terms Adobe, Acrobat, and PDF are related in the same way as Microsoft, Word, and doc.
PDF Accessibility
PDF file format accessibility features combined with Adobe® Acrobat® and Adobe Reader® allow universal access to documents.
A document or application is considered accessible if it meets specific technical criteria and is usable by people with disabilities. This includes access by people who are mobility impaired, blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, or who have cognitive impairments. Accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader and in the Portable Document Format (PDF) make it easier for people with disabilities to use PDF documents and forms, with and without the aid of assistive technology software and devices such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, text-to-speech software, speech recognition software, alternative input devices, Braille embossers, and refreshable Braille displays.
Laws
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Links to an external site. (WCAG) 2.0 (ISO/IEC 40500:2012 Links to an external site.) and the PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) Links to an external site. standard cover a wide range of recommendations for making content more accessible to people with disabilities. A great benefit to following these guidelines is that content becomes more usable for all users. For example, the underlying document structure that makes it possible for a screen reader to read a PDF out loud correctly also makes it possible for a mobile device to correctly reflow and display the document on a small screen. Similarly, the preset tab order of an accessible PDF form helps all users—not just users who rely on the keyboard—complete the form more easily.
PDF Forms
Due to the complex nature of PDF Forms, accessible forms is not covered in this course. Please check with your local Distance Education Office and/or professional development team for support and resources.
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Determine the best format/strategy for delivering content, whether it should remain as a PDF, in a Word Doc, or a Canvas page.
- Explain how the Tags Panel is a logical structure tree of a PDF that indicates the reading sequence of the document.