Post on 16-Dec-2015
- PDFs Suck!
- Use semantic HTML!
2004: PDF hatin’ was all the rage…
PDFs never went away, did they?
10 years and billions of PDFs later…
While technology has come a looooong way…
Are you winning the war on inaccessible PDFs?
Measuring PDF Accessibility
@dboudreauPSUWebConf 2014
Deque Systems, Inc.
PDF a11y testing for the rest of us
What’s your strategy?
PDFs…
What’s your strategy?
PDFs…
Not everyone is a PDF expert!
Not everyone has access to one!
“Trust me, everything will be all right!”
Have no fear, Frank is here!
PDF AccessibilitySelf-Defense Techniques
Measuring PDF Accessibility A Testing Proposal For the Rest of Us
Or, as I like to put it…
in 12 easy steps!
fake your way into looking like a
PDF expert
How to
But we don’t wanna use no stinkin’ screen readers!
Some Tools to Consider Acrobat Pro XI Accessibility Checker
Runs on both Windows and MacOs
CommonLook PDF pluginFor Adobe Acrobat on Windows
PDF Accessibility Checker 2Independently runs on Windows
Faking Your Way Up the PDF a11y Ladder
1. Access Restrictions2. Default Language3. Document Title4. Bookmarks5. Content Reflow6. Read Out Loud7. Semantic Structure8. Tabbing Order9. Informational Images10. Decorative Images11. Meaningful Hyperlinks12. Data Tables
10,000 ft. ViewStep Technique WCAG SC
Access Restrictions -- 4.1.2
Default Language PDF16 3.1.1
Document Title PDF18 2.4.2
Bookmarks PDF2 2.4.1
Content Reflow -- 1.4.4, 1.4.8
Read Out Loud -- 1.3.2
Semantic Structure PDF11, PDF21 1.3.1, 4.1.2
Tabbing Order PDF3 2.1.1, 2.4.3
Informational Images PDF1 1.1.1
Decorative Images PDF4 1.1.1
Meaningful Hyperlinks PDF11 2.4.4
Data Tables PDF6 1.3.1
Access Restrictions
Are there any access restrictions on the document, such as password protection?
Default Language
Is the natural language of the PDF document specified?
a11yTip #2Specify the default language of PDF documentshttp://bit.ly/1ogdC52
Document Title
Does the PDF have a meaningful title (not just a file name)?
a11yTip #3Specify descriptive and meaningful titles for PDF documentshttp://bit.ly/Q3WLWW
Image-Based Documents
Text-Based Documents
Bookmarks
Does the PDF contain bookmarks and are they helpful for navigating efficiently to various sections of the document?
Content Reflow
When Reflow mode is activated, does all the content reorganize naturally in a single, easy to read column?
a11yTip #5Ensure the reading order of a PDF makes sense when reflowedhttp://bit.ly/1ikVqXa
Read Out Loud
When Read Out Loud is activated, does all the content get read correctly and in the right order?
Semantic Structure
Is content organized consistently using semantically and correctly structured tags/markup?
Tabbing Order
Can the document be navigated in a predictable order that is consistent with the meaning of the content?
a11yTip #8Create a tabbing order for PDF content that is logical and intuitivehttp://bit.ly/1o8HcMu
Informational Images
Does the text alternative provided for every informational image convey the same meaning or purpose as the image?
Decorative Images
Are purely decorative images marked up as artifacts, so screen readers can safely ignore them?
a11yTip #10Turn purely decorative images in PDF documents into artifactshttp://bit.ly/1ovRTX1
Meaningful Hyperlinks
Is hyperlink text marked up using Link annotations and is the purpose of that text meaningful?
a11yTip #11Provide replacement text for PDF links that are not meaningfulhttp://bit.ly/1l02siv
Data Tables
Are the tables marked up properly and are header cells and data cells explicitly associated?
a11yTip #12Use table markup to structure tabular data in PDF documentshttp://bit.ly/1uRX2Nl
PDF AccessibilitySelf-Defense Techniques
PDF Testing Methodology http://is.gd/Wul7Rc
PDF strategy! What will yours be?
Denis BoudreauDeque Systems, Inc.
db@deque.com@dboudreau
Merci Beaucoup!
Photo CreditsAll rights belong to their respective owners.
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